How to Make Your Favorite Recipes Vegetarian: Top Chef Asha Khatau Shares One of Her Go-To Dishes
“Always use authentic ingredients of any cuisine…use the best products from the best brands” In another installment of “Not Your Average Kitchen”, today’s woman dreamer, Asha Khatau, one of the world’s top chefs known for her use of authentic ingredients, and talent for making recipes vegetarian friendly without compromising on flavor. A well-known figure of gourmet vegetarian cooking, she is the author of multiple cookbooks and founder of Epicure cooking classes. She shares her top tips to beginner chefs, how she built her cooking empire, and one of her favorite recipes (Roti Canai and Malay Curry) Enjoy her story!
1. Your journey started when you cooked some mexican food and sent it over to friends who loved it and from then to now, you have travelled all over the world, learning and mastering various cuisines. What was your motivation to start cooking classes?
Some friends and their children tried my food and they all made a group and asked me to teach them , so in order to help them I taught them Mexican food and I thought that was it, but to my surprise, the following week. there were more people wanting to learn. So in order to help people learn, Epicure cooking class was born..
2. You have been named one of the world's Top Ten Chefs, won multiple awards and written numerous vegetarian recipe books. What are some tips you would give a novice cook?
Hard work is the key to success.
Always use authentic ingredients of any cuisine.
Don’t be afraid of failure, it teaches you to do better.
Go marketing yourself and select fresh produce.
When you try any recipe, arrange all the ingredients and keep them ready so you don’t have to run around while cooking.
Remember practice and only practice makes one perfect.
3. Your foods and recipes have delectable taste and you do not compromise on your ingredients, and source ingredients from all over the world.What advice would you give to a chef looking to start their own business?
Use the best products from best brands, do a little homework on prices to get best results at affordable prices.
4. You cook cuisines from all over the world, but keep them strictly vegetarian. Please tell us about the time you converted a chicken and lamb shawarma recipe to a vegetarian version without compromising on flavor?
I was sitting in a Lebanese restaurant abroad and saw a huge pies of meat on rotating rod, over burning coal. I was quite fascinated with the whole procedure, and I thought to myself why couldn’t I make this vegetarian? ! And to my surprise, I managed to marinate the cottage cheese, same way, same spices and give a charcoal smoke to give non veg flavour. I was very excited when I achieved this to everyone’s approval.
5. What’s your next big dream?
My dream is to have a cooking school which can educate students who can further pursue the same and have a career or Business.
6. Share a couple of of your most popular/go-to recipes for vegetarians below.
Roti Canai with Malay Curry
Part 1: Roti Canai
Ingredients - Roti Canai
500 gmsPlain flour, sieved
½ cup(each) Milk and water
½ cup Butter
1 mediumEgg or ¼ cup milk
½ tsp (each)Sugar and salt
To Serve Malay Curry (recipe follows)
Directions - Roti Canai
Mix together flour and salt.
Make soft dough with water and egg or milk.
Make small balls, cover the dough with ½ the butter and keep over night.
When you want to make the rotis, take 1 portion at a time; knead and then roll it as thin as possible.
Cook it on an inverted round vessel or iron griddle till brown specks come on.
Brush little butter on each one while cooking. Turn over and cook the other side as well.
Serve hot with Curry.
Makes 6 rotis
Part 2: Malay Curry
Ingredients - Malay Curry
3 cups Thin coconut milk
6-8 piecesShallots, chopped
2-3 tbsp Tamarind pulp
½ cup (each) Blanched broccoli florets and cubed potatoes
2 stemsSpring onions, cut into 2” pieces
2 tbsp (each)Curry powder and red chilli-garlic paste
2 tbsp (each)Oil and brown sugar
Salt to taste
Directions - Malay Curry
Heat oil in a saucepan and fry shallots and chilli-garlic paste.
Add curry powder and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Now add spring onions, broccoli and the potatoes.
Bring to a boil. Serve hot with roti or rice.
Makes 3-4 cups. ENJOY!!!!
Thank you Asha for sharing your lovely recipe and story with us! We are excited to have you in our global women’s network!
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