Shorshe Ilish Bhapa
On my first trip to Kolkata, I went to Bhojohori Manna a restaurant specialising in home-style Bengali cuisine. The steamed Shad fish with mustard, yoghurt and coconut paste was a revelation and made me appreciate the importance of researching regional Indian cuisine. The experience was very humbling and helped shape my philosophy as a cook and chef.
Chicken & Crab Xiao Long Bao
The Xiao Long Bao is an unassuming king of dumplings. I was lucky to eat some at the original Din Tai Fung in Shanghai. The broth that burst from the dumpling was exquisitely flavoured and yet tasted so clean. Taking inspiration from these dumplings, we add jellied broth to all stuffing used in our restaurant.
Kori Rotti
When I was a child my grandma would babysit me while my parents were working. She would make this for every family gathering. My job was to help her prepare fresh coconut milk for this curry, and help her stir the large pot of chicken, fresh spice paste and coconut milk, it always felt like a privilege to help out making the dish.
Gongura Mamsam
A firm favourite in the southern Indian coastal town of Visakhapatnam. Sorrel leaves are cooked with spices and ground to a paste and then used liberally to flavour a fiery goat meat curry. Chef Srinath Sambandan training me in his kitchen and instilled a deep love for Andhra cuisine in me. He would take us young cooks to dine at local restaurants to understand the cuisine and culture.
Watermelon Slider
When we opened Punjab Grill Abu Dhabi in November 2015, we had no idea that of all the dishes in our menu, The Watermelon Slider would become synonymous with our restaurant. It was our interpretation of a street-side dish of cut fruits, chutneys and seasoning salts. We use seedless watermelon, passion fruit jelly, sprout chaat and fresh watermelon juice foam to create a visually stunning, chilled appetizer.
Punjab Grill, Ritz-Carlton Grand Canal, Abu Dhabi. Tel: 02 449 9839
