Chef Kunal Kapur on the global appeal of Indian cuisine

When Indian celebrity chef Kunal Kapur passed out of school, he had a chance to get into the banking sector, which his family had hoped for and nudged him towards. But as somebody who was never good with numbers, and never had the "aptitude" to become a banker, Kunal wasn't sure if he had what it takes to enter that profession.

Kunal was always creative, someone who liked painting and art and that made him realise that even if he were to become a banker, he wouldn't be "very happy" with his work life. And so Kunal decided to pursue a career in Culinary, Hotel Management.

But he wasn't sure he wanted to become a chef, he says during our conversation over Zoom, "Sometimes you put your foot into something, and then you realise that you just discovered a passion which even you didn't know existed."

Now, Kunal is a well-known figure in the Indian culinary scene, popular for his expertise in traditional Indian cuisine and his passion for promoting the country's rich food heritage on a global stage. And that has led him to start Pincode, an Indian restaurant in Dubai that takes its inspirations from the iconic foodie destinations in India best identified by their pin codes.

Kunal is also a winner of several culinary and television awards. He has his own food-focused television shows, cookbooks, and has hosted many countrywide food events. You may also know him as the judge and host on Masterchef India and Junior Masterchef India. The celebrity chef was also invited as a judge for the semi-final of Masterchef America alongside Gordon Ramsay.

We caught up with Kunal to discuss his status as a celebrity chef, his confidence about the global appeal of Indian cuisine, and his experience so far of dealing with patrons in the UAE.

You're a celebrity chef. What does that mean to you?

I think cooking is a superpower, right? So you could impress, you could make somebody happy, sad, or angry or make them cry, or laugh with your food. So it is kind of a superpower. And a celebrity chef is somebody who is celebrated for his art, or a celebrity in any sphere is a person whose art or his contribution towards the field is celebrated. So I'm happy to take the tag on. I mean, it doesn't excite me that I am a 'celebrity chef,' but if my art is being patronized and appreciated, that's the part I like.

As an Indian chef, how has your experience been so far dealing with patrons in the UAE?

I think one of the good parts about Dubai and the UAE in general is people are very friendly. The Emiratis, when they come to the restaurant, they're smiling, they're inquisitive, they talk, and if there's something that they have liked, they make sure that they call the chef and give their regards. So that kind of positive feedback with reassurances that they are going to come back is something I like to hear as the chef of a restaurant. And I see a similar pattern with other nationalities as well; there's more openness and acceptance of your style of cooking when you're trying to do something different.

You recently mentioned that India's regional cuisine is going to take over the world. What makes you so confident about that?

For a very long time, the representation of Indian food has been these few dishes that we all know of, whether it's a biryani, garlic naan, dal makhni, curry or butter chicken. But Indian food is so much more than that. That's just typical Punjabi food. So back in India, I've seen extremely successful restaurant businesses revolving around regional Indian food in the last five years. And that has not happened anywhere else outside of India where Indians are residing. That's why that builds a lot of confidence - chefs who have done successful restaurants with that kind of food, when they come out, there is going to be a surge and a newfound interest in Indian regional cuisine, which is beyond the usual tick marks that we know of in a typical Indian menu.

Moving on to your restaurant here in Dubai, what are your future plans for Pincode?

The plan is to go slow. I think the last three years have been very challenging for the industry. And after a hiatus of almost three years, I am back with this beautiful restaurant Pincode at Dubai Hills Mall. And the target is that in the next six months, we should be known to as many people as possible for our food and great service, and let that kind of word of mouth seep into the the rest of the country. Building upon that, we would carefully move forward by trying and expanding the brand within the Middle East, but within the UAE first, have another branch in Dubai because we have realised that Dubai is just so massive. We are in one corner over here, then there is another corner of Dubai. So, not everybody would like to travel that distance, which is why we need to get closer to people once they like our food.

Is there any secret family recipe or ingredient that has been passed down to you by your family?

Actually, more than the recipe or the secrets, what has been passed down is the old utensils. I have this 'kadhai' from 1940 which my grandmother had bought, and that has been passed on to my mother and from my mother to me, because nobody seems to be interested in those old ancient antique vessels. I am the one who has got them as inheritance and I am very happy and proud because I keep on using them all the time. When you cook in an old-style utensil, I feel that the perception about the taste and the experience is far greater.

Yoghurt Cheese Kebab Recipe

Ingredients

Hung curd – 1 ½ cup

Black salt – A generous pinch

Ginger chopped – 1/2 tbsp

Coriander stems chopped – 2tbsp

Roasted cumin powder – 2tbsp

Salt – To taste

Onion chopped – 2 tbsp

Green chilly chopped – 1 no

Fried onion – 3 tbsp

Paneer grated – 1/3 cup

Bread crumb – 200 gms

Method

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Make sure the hung curd is thick.

Add seasoning according to the taste.

Make a batter of coating consistency with refined flour and water.

Lightly oil your hand and make small balls of the curd, coat it with the batter and crumb them with bread crumb.

Refrigerate the kebab for 15 minutes. In the mean time, heat the oil, and once the oil is heated, fry the kebab till it turns golden.

Serve and enjoy the kebabs.

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