Ruta Kahate

RK: My parents are excellent, adventurous eaters and cooks, and so my interest in food must have begun in the cradle! Growing up, my brother and I were surrounded by such a wonderful attitude towards food, there was no other way for us to go other than pure love for it. My mother never forced us to eat anything we didn't immediately like, she simply recreated any particular ingredient in different ways until we did like it. This fascinated me. The fact that there were so many ways to approach food and cooking, to me this was the epitome of creativity.

 

 

By eating and cooking! My father was in the Ministry of Finance so we lived all over India for his job. Everywhere we went, we absorbed the cooking of the region into our kitchen. In our pre-teens my parents taught my brother and I to cook, encouraging us to create and experiment. This developed into a life-long passion, which I have nurtured and fed wherever I went. For the past 20 years living in California, I really steeped myself in food — I've been experimenting with recipes from all over the world. For fun I read recipes as others would novels. And when I decided to finally make food my profession over 16 years ago, I set about gathering as many experiences as I could: running the pastry department in an Italian restaurant, then the hot line in a small French restaurant, after which I had a catering and private chef business of my own. Most recently I ran a successful cooking school, wrote a well-received cookbook and have been bringing folks to India every year to eat. 

Has food always been a fundamental excitement of the travel experience for you; what was your first experience of the connection between travel and food?

 

Yes, for me, travel has always revolved around food! My parents were very unusual for their time, and would frequently pull us out of school and take us traveling to the then remote corners of India. Most of our travel was by train or car and the day of our departure would be filled with much bustling and preparations. But my excitement would truly mount when I saw my mom slicing potatoes for our food bag to be taken on the journey. She frequently made this same picnic for our travels, maybe because it held up well and was easy to eat without cutlery — a spicy potato and onion dish which she served rolled up in hearty chapatis (whole-wheat flatbreads). This potato dish and its connection to my wanderlust is so strong I christened it "Railway Potatoes" and included the recipe in my cookbook "5 Spices, 50 DIshes."

 

And then, once we got to our destinations there always was the thrill of discovering different cuisines. I still remember that first time I tasted cheese in Sikkim, or salted tea in a monastery. Or when I was 12 and we were hiking for hours through pouring rain in the Western ghats we ducked under the thatched roof of a small tea shop for a short respite — and had the most exquisite cup of ginger tea. Or that blustery night we arrived late in the small mountain town of Mount Abu and had a bite at the only eatery still open — a dinky little lean-to tucked into a corner. It was cold and we were wrapped in woolen shawls; we crowded around the cook's wood stove to keep warm. And then to our delight he pulled hard, round unleavened breads called baati straight from the coals, broke them into steaming halves and poured melted ghee over it all. I could have eaten them just like that, but he served a platter of the most delicious yellow dal cooked with onion as a dip. One of the finest meals I've ever had! 

 

 

My goal in life is to bring India and its food to the world. Through my work — tours, cookbooks and an upcoming culinary centre in Goa — I aim to demystify Indian cooking and show the world how fun it can all be. And the three places we will visit on the trip — Kerala, Goa and Mumbai — are just that, oodles of fun. Goa is my new home, Mumbai is my old home, and Kerala has been one of my destinations for many years now. Each boasts distinct and amazing styles of cooking and eating. Also, I want people to experience how food and cooking are an intrinsic part of people's lives in India. 

 

 

Oh dear, this is a hard one. I've reworked the itinerary many times in order to focus on all the highlights that these three locations have to offer, so I simply can't choose a few highlights. Each day will take us through a unique experience, very different from the one the day before, yet all linked with the underlying warmth and genuine hospitality that is India and its people. And let's not forget the food!

 

 

Helping my clients discover the distinct cuisine of each region, at the same time helping them realize how all of Indian cooking and eating follows certain underlying guidelines. We eat with chefs, home cooks and everyone in between! 

 

 

Most of the feedback I get at the end of my tours is about India's warm, welcoming people. And it's true! India is a fascinating and frustrating place all at the same time. And this is epitomized in its people. They may take the longest time (and most number of people) to fix that lightbulb, but they'll touch your heart because they also brought you a special morsel from home while you waited for that lightbulb to be fixed. (Ok, I'm talking about food again!) But truly, I've hosted many first-timers to India and I have to say they get hooked, returning to India over and over again. I love to see that!

 

 

Indian food is based on the principles of Ayurveda, an ancient system of medicine that essentially states: if you eat right, you won't need medicine, and when you do need medicine, make food your medicine. So when Indians cook, they are putting together a recipe which is based on more than just its taste or how it fits into a menu. They consider whether the dish is appropriate for the weather, time of year and even day, and the physical constitution of the diner.

 

Freshness of ingredients is highly prized — people shop for their produce and meats on a daily basis. And the most important — all food is prepared with an eye towards its digestibility. Many tricks are used to enhance the digestibility of a dish, from cooking techniques to smart use of spices and ingredients, to pairing with other menu items that influence the overall digestion of a meal. After all, the main goal of food is to nourish your body and then the body needs to expel the rest in order to maintain optimum health.

 

 

I believe that learning how a person eats is a window into their soul and so it is with countries as well. Indian cooking is as old as its people and its monuments. That's old! When a system of eating and food preparation is that old you can be sure a lot of thought has gone into it over the generations. Cooking and eating is a way of life in India, and not just an activity that punctuates other pursuits during the day.