Kudampuli, karimeen amaze master chef Sanjeev Kapoor

Kochi: There is no sincerer love than the love of food, said a great author. For chef Sanjeev Kapoor, the man who became a byword for Indian cuisines on a global platform, there is nothing called a healthy diet; until you are ready to 'die-eat'ing.

On his brief visit to Kerala, which has always amazed him with spices and flavours, Sanjeev Kapoor unveiled his new culinary dais at the food court of Lulu Mall on Monday in the form of 'The Yellow Chilly', which is his signature food network.

“The Yellow Chilli looks forward to a cultural interaction with the God's Own Country. We have so much to offer and pretty much to adopt. The Yellow Chilli is known after the regional and native dishes and preparations it patronises. We bring the world down to a town while not forgetting to take that town around the world. Adoption and adaptation are key techniques in this process. I am delighted to explore the very versatile Kerala cuisine, contribute to it and take the best of it to the rest of the world,” he said, speaking at the event.

Marvellous kudampuli

Lauding Kerala food, the celebrity chef noted kudampuli (Garcinia cambogia) works wonders in Kerala cuisine. “I speak of kudampuli on almost all international platforms where I get an opportunity to speak about Indian food. For most people in the west, Indian food is the spicy, curried or steamed variety of rices and rotis. They seldom know about the complex preparation styles we follow and the well-guarded secrets our households keep to make our fish curry special,” he said.

Picking his most favourite dish from Kerala cuisine, Sanjeev Kapoor lauded Kerala's karimeen pollichathu and promised the crowd to take it around the world with his signature brand. “I have a couple of friends from Kerala. One of them prepares a really spicy, steamed and smoked dry dish with pearl-spot fish. I learned that it is called karimeen pollichathu. It is one of my favourite dishes from Kerala's native cuisine. I really wish to adopt that preparation and introduce it to the rest of the world. Unavailability of pearl-spot fish elsewhere is a hurdle, but I promise I'll try the preparation out on other fishes and pick the best from them at each place,” he promised.

Master chef also revealed that he is a great fan of Kerala's puttu-kadala, pradhamans and anything made in coconut milk gravy.

Kerala foray

Rinz International Private Limited, a global restaurant chain that spans over India, the Middle East and Europe has brought the Yellow Chilli to Kerala's cosmopolitan hub, in association with Sanjeev Kapoor.

Commenting on the new venture, Aslam Abdul Rahman, the chief executive officer of Rinz recollected his long years of close association with the famed chef. “Our partnership has grown beyond business as both of us share an exquisite passion for food. We look forward to bring the Yellow Chilli to more parts of south India where we can make better platforms for food and cultural interactions,” he said.