Recipe corner

Jasmine Singh

With a rough draft in hand, Nita Mehta gets behind the burner of her plush kitchen for what she calls a curtain raiser to her dish. She whips, mixes, marinates and sprinkles the condiments, creating a fine dish. But hang for a minute! “This isn’t complete yet; I think I need to add a little more maida. Ahem… perfect,” Nita smiles to herself and quickly makes the additions on the rough draft. Now, that she is sure about the recipe, she keys the same in the computer, takes a final print and clips it with the other pages that will make it to her next recipe book.

This is how Nita Mehta, who has written over 600 books on cookery, does the selection of her dishes…with precision. The same precision has been applied to her newly opened restaurant, Keylong at Elante Mall, Chandigarh.

Keylong, with a seating capacity of 80 people, welcomes you with interiors that are neither jarring nor subtle, and certainly not intimidating. And once you are settled, the only thing you want to immediately get to is food. Here is where Nita’s expertise comes in, as she shares, “We have traditional dal makhani, which north Indians cannot do without and we also have given an Indian twist to the international dishes.” Don’t worry, in culinary language or in any other language it is called creativity!

So, right here in front of you are the creative dishes, priced nominally and also the regular ones. You might want to start with burnt garlic coriander rice (Rs 145) or with veggies in hot garlic (Rs 235). If you are gung-ho about ‘trying something different’, Chicken pinwheels (stuffed chicken breast with mustard wasabi sip) for Rs 250, Paprika puffs, again for Rs 250, or Chicken olive bites for Rs 275 can be tried.

As Nita watches over the trained chefs, she doesn’t forget to add her signature additions as and when needed. The pretty woman who counts Thai curry and rice as her all-time favourite dish is not a religious watcher of food-based reality shows. “I would rather travel and meet people in order to create new dishes, than sitting in front of TV and trying to figure out dishes that are not feasible in a normal kitchen,” she makes no qualms about this.

Feasibility is what Nita, who is currently working on two books, likes to keep in her kitchen — right on the shelf. Out come some signature dishes like Peri peri pockets (Rs 325), Masaman thai curry with basil rice (Rs 295) and many more!

jasmine@tribunemail.com