Chaat time with Sarah Todd

You mention in My Indian Kitchen that every Indian state has been a learning experience Which were most memorableTravelling through India reinforced the significance of food as a language I travelled to remote villages and even though we didnrsquot speak the same language we communicated through foodKashmir I fell in love during my first visit Everything about Kashmir is unique its people culture and beautiful produce Almost every household grows their vegetables and cooks with this fresh food I discovered a unique type of spinach that Irsquove added to a delicious brothNorth East I was invited to a Mising familyrsquos home in Assam We entered through the kitchen and cooked a meal over an intricate fireplace called the merumLamb and fennel with lemon pickle green chilli and coriander salsa PicChris MiddletonGoa I fished in Goarsquos backwaters and cooked freshly caught crab xacuti with a family by a river bank A version of this is on my menu at Antares her restaurant in Goa Traditional Indian food is not only prepared to satiate the appetite but also has health benefits Sol kadhi that is popular near Goa and Maharashtrarsquos coastline is an appetiser made from coconut milk and kokum and is usually drunk after meals This cooling drink is a beautiful pink or purple colour and is high in antioxidants I prepared my version in the form of a dessert for my degustation menu at the Australian Open last yearRajasthan I visited a village while researching for this cookbook One of my picks is laal maas a royal favourite The dish was created around the 10th century The royals loved to hunt and after these sessions the meat was cooked in large cooking pots with whole spices onions and dried red chillies to mask the gamey odour I incorporated this favourite in a course in the same degustation menu I chose saltbush lamb because of its lean juicy tender flavour derived from their grazing on the native Australian saltbush plant It was served with fat hen or pigweed which is foraged spinachSarah Todd loves to play with Indian spices in her recipesWhatrsquos your favourite Indian street foodI am fickle about my choices Currently it is papdi chaat and you will find the recipe in my cookbookHow do you include children more in the cooking processTo engage children in the kitchen find a recipe or a dish that they like and include them in the process of refining it The first thing that Phoenix her son and I cooked together was chocolate chip cookies It took several attempts before we were both happy with the recipe either it was too dry too hard not enough choco chips etc We now call them Phoenixrsquos Choc Chip Cookies because they are made to his taste and exactly how he likes them It gave him a sense of achievementYour tips to make fussy kids eat betterMy son is a fussy eater but itrsquos about compromise He has his favourites so we mix it up through the week Educate your kids to understand that eating healthy is what gives them energy to play sports and have fun He loves lamb chops so I ensure he has a healthy side of vegetables One must accompany the other itrsquos as simple as that What are the biggest misnomers about Indian cuisineIndian food is often thought of as heavy and that it should be eaten occasionally On the contrary it is one of the healthiest cuisines in the world The food is diverse with an emphasis on vegetables Spices are an integral part and in addition to adding flavour they have numerous health benefitsWhatrsquos the best way to experiment with desi ingredientsMy advice is to not experiment with traditional Indian dishes If you wish to incorporate desi ingredients into a meal choose French Italian Spanish or Australian dishes These cuisines have fewer ingredients so adding a wellbalanced spice or two will add an Indian touchWhen it gets safer to travel which Indian destination is on the top of your visit listI would love to visit Amritsar the home of the Golden Temple and explore more of Punjab that also happens to be my sonrsquos ancestral originLog on to sarahtoddcomau for signed copies of My Indian Kitchen Cost Rs 1400 plus shipping The book will be available for purchase in India by the end of this month