FOOD Rohit Ghai Michelin star chef Rohit Ghai: Why patience is the key to Indian cookery By Lauren Taylor, PA Carefully cutting around a pastry top, it’s lifted off the bowl to reveal a lamb shank leg inside – the tender meat effortlessly falling off the bone as it’s removed and mixed into the rice. This is a traditional Kolkata-style biryani, made in a clay pot, with saffron, baby potatoes and fresh plums, and sealing with dough helps keep the steam in and the rice moist while the lamb slow cooks. “There are about 18 to 20 variations of biryani in India.This is a different style to what we normally cook on the north side of India,” says chef Rohit Ghai on the newly-opened Vatavaran in London. “I think a lot of people’s only experience [of biryanis] is Indian takeaways or most people, they make biryani the North Indian-style – there are two versions that are very common. But if you dig into it, you come to know that every single region has their own kind of biryani.” On the island of Goa, the local biryani is made with prawns, for example.“In Kerala, south India, there’s a small Muslim community and they make their own biryanis, while the brahmin people [a Hindu group] also make their own,” explains the 42-year-old, who has also worked under with Atul Kochhar – the first-ever Indian chef to win a Michelin star in the UK in 2001. “Hyderabadi is the most popular biryani [from the state of Telangana] they make it in layers – some is started with raw rice and raw meat, that’s the most special, unique thing for hyderabadi biryani.They call it Kachay Gosht – meaning raw mutton and raw rice.” Ghai, who is considered to have been a big part of the transformation of the Indian fine dining scene, with a growing group of London restaurants, including Jamavar – which gained a Michelin star within 10 months of opening – Manthan and Kutir, as well as restaurants in Oman, Morocco and Qatar. The interior of the new multi-storeyed Vatavaran (its name meaning ‘atmosphere’ in Sanskrit) is inspired by elements of the Himalayan landscape, with a low-lit cocktail bar, Shikhar, at the very top – the word translating to mountain peak. On the menu you’ll find some pan-Indian textbook classics, alongside Ghai’s signature lamb shank biryani, whole rotisserie masala chicken with bone marrow sauce and a sea bass ‘reachaedo’ with Goan spices. While Ghai is all about elevating Indian cuisine – “I know where we can slightly tweak without compromising with the flavours, because Indian food is all about flavours” – he believes any home cook can learn to make great Indian food, but you do need time. “To be honest, Indian food is very easy to make, but it is time consuming. It’s quite a process, it’s quite lengthy.You only need onions, tomatoes and garlic, which you can get everywhere, it’s not rocket science but you have to have patience. “Caramelising onion, it’s long, especially for north Indian food, it takes a little while because you have to caramelise the onion properly and that’s the hardest part.” From dals and biryanis to chicken, caramelised onion features in many classic Indian dishes – and the slow cooking releases the vegetable’s natural sugars.
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