Creative chef

At the launch of From Beginner to Chef — Simply Creative Cooking by Nishat Pestonji, her mother Meher recalled how rebellious her two daughters were and how they maneuvered to get rid of maids so that their mother would cook. As a response, Meher pushed them into the kit­chen to cook, if they wanted to eat. This book is the culmination of the hard work of those years. Launched at Oxford bookstore on November 9, 2011 by Nikhil Chib — renowned celebrity chef and managing director of a chain of South Asian cuisine restaurants, Bu­saba Restaurant — the 114-page book is published by Popular Prakashan Private Limited, 301 Maha­laxmi Chambers,22, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Bombay 400026 and is priced at Rs 145.

In her brief speech, Nishat thanked "Ni­khil, mom” and addressed the guests, "hope you enjoy my book. Happy cooking.” Words as simple as some of the recipes in the book. A fan of Sanjeev Kapoor and Jeroo Mehta, Nishat picked up cooking from watching programs on TV. Bread pudding is her favorite recipe in the book and when Chib asked which was the easiest to follow if he were a "dumbo cook,” she responded with good humored repartee — "sandwiches.”

In fact Rita D’Souza from the publishers firm mentioned how "these simple recipes have become the building blocks in creative cooking for beginners. The book deals with various different recipes that form the basis of all cooking.” D’Souza’s commitment to publish the book happened when "in walked Nishat to my office with a neatly bound spiral folder containing basic to complex recipes. Her excitement and enthusiasm were apparent, as was her deep, deep love for cooking.”

The book was ready for serving in two years. The condiments for it were persistence, quiet and encouragement — all from the Pestonji holiday home in Lonavla. D’Souza emphasized "the use of basic, everyday ingredients so you can make at least 100 things — practical, easy and fun.” Due to the easy recipes in the book as also the easy to get ingredients is the unique selling proposition of the book so that it can also be functional in small towns where fancy ingredients are hard to come by. In fact, the audience therefore urged that it also be brought out in some of the vernacular languages. D’Souza agreed readily and added that her publishing house already has publications in Hindi, Marathi and even Malayalam. The evening ended with sample foods served to the audience of about 50 friends and relatives who had come to partake of the chef’s joy.

Nikhil Chib launching Nishat Pestonji’s first cookery book

Reviewing recipes

The 100 recipes packed in 15 sections of the book are clubbed as per basic recipes of cheese sauce, tomato chutney, kheema (minced meat), mayonnaise, yoghurt, steamed rice, etc. The simple spinoffs are vegetable au gratin (from cheese sauce), tomato pulao, kheema cultlets, fish mayonnaise, mishti doi (sweet yogurt) and celery, as well as ham and bacon pilaf from steamed rice. In her first attempt, Pestonji has not stated timings for preparation or the number of people to be served, which could be unsettling for a beginner.

The section "Parsi Fiesta” contains dhansak, sas-ni-machhi, jardaloo sali boti, rava and also chicken coconut stew — which is none other than the white chicken served at lagans and navjotes. "Egg Extravaganza” is a stand-alone group with various vegetables crowned with egg — a Parsi home regular. There is bhaaji-par-eendu, bheeda-par-eendu, capsicum-par-eendu, papeta-par-eendu and sali-par-eendu. With spinach, ladies fingers and potatoes, the list of vegetables Parsis relish is almost exhausted! To cater to the Parsi passion for eggs and their non-vegetarian instincts, there is kheema-par-eendu also dished out under the section "Kheema capers.”

Pestonji’s innovation is evident in her mayonnaise recipe which has boiled potato as an ingredient to cut down on the oil content. Similarly, her recipe for Vegetarian Hawaiian Delight — mixed sprouts in stuffed papaya — makes for an interesting low caloric dish. Her dhansak recipe is so simple that it belies the apprehension that preparing this signature dish is time consuming.

If you are a gourmet cook, this first attempt may be deceptively simple. The cheese and walnut soufflé, peanut and cheese dip and chicken liver cutlets seem to be Pestonji specials. Whether you crumble or whether you dip this book is sure to give you a pick-me-up just as Pestonji serves the traditional good olde broth as "the pick-me-up soup.”

MEHROO KOTVAL