Chef Pillai on the aesthetics of food and fusion recipes

Celebrity Chef Suresh Pillai is all about the aesthetics of food. It is said that you should first taste the food with your eyes, then comes the nose and finally the mouth, Pillai says. Presentation is so crucial when it comes to food. If the food is tantalizingly presented, it is said that half your tummy is already filled.

Chef Pillai is all set to open a brand-new restaurant that showcases the authentic flavours of Kerala in Kochi called ‘Restaurant Chef Pillai’. It will be opened for the public at Kochi's Le Meridien on May 26. You can expect some of Pillai’s signature dishes like fish nirvana, chicken puliyinji lollipop, pal konju etc. There will also be fusion experiments with unniyappam and falooda.

“We can see a lot of homemakers cooking and presenting food with the finesse you see in restaurants and sharing it on Instagram. Take for instance the importance of cutting vegetables. Be it cubes or julienne or whatever style, you can learn it in no time with the help of some YouTube tutorials.,” he says.

“Garnishing can be considered an art in cooking. If you are able to practice it regularly you will be as good as a professional chef in no time,” Pillai added.

When it comes to food, Pillai has no qualms about venturing out to new plains. His fusion recipes that blend the best of several cuisines into one has many takes on social media thanks to it's novelty and aesthetic appeal. This time, Suresh Pillai is delivering a surprising snack recipe for Manoramaonline - pazhampori chaat.

Pillai says that the pazhampori or banana fritters are used in this recipe are sun-dried unlike it's oil-fried counterparts.

“Malayalees love Nendra banana. Chaat is a North Indian street favourite. Infusing both into one dish, this pazhampori chaat is made by mixing the sun dried bananas with two sauces – one made of yogurt and honey, the other of dates and tamarind sauce. Garnish it with Kerala mixture, pomegranate, julienned ginger and coriander leaves and you get a scrumptious snack on your hands,” Pillai adds on.