Chef Vivek Singh reveals his secret kitchen tips
So you have decided on what it is that you want to cook in order to impress, you have rushed around the markets and supermarkets and bought all of the necessary ingredients and now all you have to do is make the actual dish itself – simple! Or not, for some. You will be surprised as to how many people are not as comfortable as they would like to be when following Indian recipes, particularly when it comes to cooking techniques that they may not be used to. Arguably critics’ favourite chef Vivek Singh heads up the kitchen at
London’ s top Indian restaurant - The Cinnamon Club, Cinnamon Kitchen and Cinnamon Soho. His simple and easy cooking tip will help you make sure you get everything right, particularly if you are cooking Indian street food.
Top Cooking Tip #1
If you want to make sure you retain the juices in any piece of meat or fish that you are cooking then you need to sear it. A lot of people cook using mediums temperatures and they either burn their meat or fish, or cook it for so long that it ends up dry and flavourless. To sear, you simply need to make sure that the pan or grill you are using is at a very hot temperature and has a little bit of oil in it – once the oil starts to smoke then you know you ready to go. You cook the piece of meat for several minutes (recipe will instruct the length of time required) until it is nice and brown – simply turn over in order to get both sides cooked perfectly. Vivek suggests that you use a cast iron frying pan, since with certain meats, such as venison, you may need to transfer it into an oven or place it under a grill in order to complete the cooking process and a cast iron frying pan is the best for this. This process will ‘seal in the juices’ and ensure that you get the fullest flavour possible from cooking.
Top Tip #2
If you are searing meat or fish, you will most certainly be adding spices to it, particularly if you want to ensure the authenticity of Indian street food. In order to get flavours from your spices, Vivek suggests investing in either a brass or stone mortar and pestle. Both will allow you to grind spices freshly to that exact texture that you require. Vivek recommends purchasing freshly roasted and ground spices as opposed to ready-prepared spices, as some of the flavour is lost upon keeping.
Grasp these two basics in modern Indian cooking and you will be sure to have friends and family inviting themselves round for dinner more regularly.
Keep an eye out for more tips from the master himself, Vivek Singh.
Follow Vivek on twitter to stay tune with his daily updates @chefviveksingh
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