Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor relooks at the evolving culture, tradition and cuisine of Indian cities for his TV show Taste India

Celebrity chef and entrepreneur, Sanjeev Kapoor at Hotel Taj Malabar in Kochi
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

“How did the kappa biriyani happen? Initially the biriyani from Iran had no rice in it and now the kappa biriyani has no rice too,” says Sanjeev Kapoor. The celebrity chef was shooting in Kochi for Taste India, a TV series conceptualised by him.

Sanjeev believes that recipes like places are constantly evolving. “How can you say that a recipe is authentic when 50% of the ingredients are not local. Can you do a Malabari paneer curry but who knows 50 years hence there may be one. There may be a noodle biriyani, which is authentic,” he says explaining that travel and migration help people embrace other cultures and it reflects in their cuisine and lifestyle.

According to him Fort Kochi is a case in point.

“Even in its new avatar Fort Kochi is 500 years old,” he says, adding that “Kochi is among five other iconic Indian cities that will be discovered through his eyes for the show.

To him, a place is not just what everyone sees it to be but is a dynamic evolving multitude of culture, tradition, cuisine and more. Sanjeev will be exploring new and different nuances of Kathakali, the Chinese fishing nets, the coconut tree, kappa biriyani and sustainable and conservation initiatives in the city for the show.

Kerala Style Kappa Biriyani
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images/iStockphoto

“My research team has been working on the change in the cities for the past two and a half years and I will rediscover them,” he says giving an example of wrestling in Varanasi, which was a male domain but is now is producing world standard women wrestlers. “I engaged in a bout of wrestling too,” he says with a laugh.

In Kochi he will interact with women Kathakali dancers, who have now entered a male dominated space. An art collector, Sanjeev who has been to Kochi several times and is familiar with the city says, art has given Kochi a new and different aspect. “The series wants to showcase the familiar, the not so familiar juxtaposed with human stories. We want to showcase relevant India,” he says.

The show will also focus on the economics of the coconut tree, on the redundancy of the Chinese fishing nets and on the efforts towards conservation of mangroves.

Sanjeev started his career in 1984 and worked in different locations like Varanasi and New Zealand, before becoming the youngest Executive chef, at Hotel Centaur in Mumbai in 1992. He hosted the popular TV show Khana Khazana before launching his own show , Food Food in 2011. Sanjeev was accorded the Padma Shri in 2017 for his contributions to Indian cuisine.His latest entrepreneurial ventures are establishing a culinary school and launching a range of plant-based protein products, Good Eats.

Taste India will be aired after a year.