Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi
Udupi, Apr 7: Top chef, filmmaker and author Vikas Khanna, who was in Manipal to inaugurate India's first culinary museum interacted with reporters after dining at a restaurant here. During the course of the interview, he spoke spoke on various aspects of his career, challenges and his culinary museum.
The culinary museum, which was inaugurated on Thursday April 5 is the only one of its kind in the country, a treasure trove of antique culinary collections of hundreds of years ago. The near-2000 valuables that have been collected from all over the country have been aesthetically arranged in the museum which forms part of the new department of culinary arts building of Manipal University. The museum is spread approximately over 25,000 sq ft.
Excerpts
Q: Whenever you visit Udupi, you always make it a point to come down to Maharaj Hotel at Manipal. Any special reason?
A: When I visited here for the first time, it made me feel emotional. I feel at home here and get to taste amazing dishes.
Q: What is your favourite dish in coastal Karnataka?
A: (My best experience is) eating ghee roast with kori rotti on the terrace. I will never forget this experience. CoastAsia Restaurant here serves world class dishes.
Q: How will culinary museum help in preserving Indian culture?
A: There is a huge pan and other ancient stuff given by a Bunts family. There are wooden and brass items collected from Maharashtra and Punjab. Before the British came to India, different parts of the country had different measuring tools for measuring liquid and oil, flowers and grains. They were different from one another. More than preserving Indian culture, the very thought process of how to unite the country under one roof is interesting. I have been collecting stuff from various places and now my dream has come true.
Q: Why did you choose Manipal for setting up the culinary museum?
A: I have been collecting precious materials from over twenty years. Today, anybody can get the funds easily. I could have done it in New York, Europe, Tokyo, Spain or in other country. But everyone should have the responsibility to back their college in terms of contribution. I do not know a better location than Manipal. This college gave me my first opportunity. Dr Pai used to tell, 'I love to talk about students who are doing so well, but I do not want to talk about those who are just making money. I just want to talk about students who are adding value to our culture’.
Q: How tough was it become as the best chef in a competitive world?
A: My struggle was not in India. My real struggle started in America. They threw Indian food out on the streets and did not want it. One needs to be much focused in order to survive in this job. Talent sometimes means nothing and hard work does not get its due recognition.
Q: What message would you like to give to youngsters who want to become chefs?
A: I just want to say, whatever you do, do it with complete dedication.
Q: Tell us more about your culinary museum.
A: I have collected more than 2000 different ancient artifacts from Coorg, Sringeri, Tirupati, and Shravanabelagola, because these places are the ancient hubs of kings. There must be somebody to preserve this rich heritage. Little things like clay pots, brass vessels from north east; wood work and clay pots, bamboo stuff from Kolkata are present in my collection to start the museum.
Nowadays, stainless steel, aluminum and plastic have taken over the use of brass vessels. If the present generation does not get to see these things and get adequate knowledge, it will be difficult for the next generation to see them. I have got different juicers from Jodhpur, Tamil Nadu, and Kashmir which are made of wood, brass, and copper metal. I am just trying to preserve one of each of these pieces of ancient era.
In the process of getting them here, many things were broken because of sheer age. We are trying to recreate them. There is a grain container which is as big as a man and was taken from a palace in Jodhpur. It is made of mud and neem. Neem protects from termites and insects.
There is a 700-year-old metal stuff which was used to draw water from well. There is a 600-year-old oil extractor made out of wood from Bishnoy in Haryana. Around 2,000 items will be displayed in the culinary museum. Items from London, Spain, Tokyo, Canada and America will also be part of exhibition. This museum is dedicated to my father. I have put my heart into it.
Earlier in the evening, Khanna visited CoastAsia restaurant, a pan Asian cuisine restaurant, located at Manipal here. He also dined with the Pai family at the restaurant.
Vikas Khanna was accompanied by his mother Bindu Khanna. He spent time with the Pai family and his friends at CoastAsia. At the venue, he was welcomed with the traditional aarti.
The menu for the dinner was carefully selected by chef Sudhindra, a young graduate from WGSHA with experience in hotel industry. Vikas Khanna was served chicken sukka, baby corn, mushroom sukka, chicken ghee roast and cashew ghee roast, anjal tava fry, bolinjeer rava fry and butter fruit rava fry. The main course included akki roti, hingauda, dali tove, gulla baji, pathrode, and mango gojju. The dessert included coconut pudding and ragi manni.