If America is a melting pot, then to me India is a thali -- a collection of sumptuous dishes in different bowls. Each may not mix with the next, but they combine on your palate to produce a satisfying repast.
I buy soy sauce and flavor it five different ways: with sake, mirin, sugar, kombu and bonito flakes. I use them on lots of dishes at home.
I realized very early the power of food to evoke memory, to bring people together, to transport you to other places, and I wanted to be a part of that.
I concentrate in my work on preserving and displaying the original flavor from each ingredient in a dish.
I like to cook Indian food when I can. I find the process of creating a home-cooked meal to be unwinding.
Being a food show and being me, I always kicked it up a notch, which means I would always elevate the spice level or the complexity of a particular dish. So, it was always like we're going to kick this up a little bit.
I love strong flavors too. Like I don't mind if it looks clean and clear and you know what you are eating if it has Italian, Chinese or Japanese flavor I love them all.
When I venture out to eat, I like to go to places with food that I don't know how to make. So my favorites are Japanese and Indian. Indian food has so much layering of flavor, and the dishes go together so harmoniously.
I love how Vietnamese cuisine always tastes like flowers, and how they had the ingenious idea of pairing that floral flavor with seafood: such a combination shouldn't work as well as it does.
Chinese food tries to engage the mind, not just the palate. To provoke the intellect.
As with lemon juice, the more sorrel you use, the more it has to be balanced with something sweet, starchy or creamy - it's a yin-yang approach to cooking that I find rather calming.
I love mixing Indian and Western.
I came literally to the table with a wealth of knowledge by simply understanding how food should taste.
