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00:22Hello, I'm Adam Liao and welcome to The Cook-Up.
00:23Every day, billions of people ask me what to make for dinner
00:25and finally, I am here with an answer.
00:27Three answers, in fact.
00:28Curd rice, spiced elote and prawn ghee roast.
00:32Let's meet our guests.
00:33Justin Narayan is a cook, entrepreneur and cookbook author.
00:37After taking the Master of Australia title in 2021,
00:39he's continued to find fans of his authentic Indian flavours
00:42with a modern twist.
00:43Welcome, Justin.
00:44Thanks for having us on.
00:45Thanks for coming.
00:47Bhavna Shavalka's expertise in Indian cuisine
00:49has seen her collaborate with Kylie Kwong, Maeve O'Mara
00:51and the Powerhouse Museum.
00:52As a cook, writer and culinary tour guide,
00:55she connects cultures through food.
00:57Hi, Bhavna.
00:58Hi.
00:58Thank you for having me.
00:59Bhavna, how did this become your career, educating through food?
01:03So, when I moved to Australia 15 years ago,
01:06I was surprised to see how stereotyped Indian cuisine was.
01:10Everyone thinks that we eat chicken tikka masala
01:12or butter chicken or windaloo.
01:15You don't?
01:16What?
01:17I promise we don't.
01:18So, as an Indian, I thought it is my mission to basically teach everyone
01:24and educate that Indian food is so much more
01:27and you don't need 100 spices to make one dish every single day.
01:30Thank you for all you do.
01:33Justin, what does life look like for Justin Narayan these days?
01:37Yeah, great question.
01:38I'm still trying to figure it out.
01:40But, no, I kind of take it as it comes.
01:43There's a lot of awesome opportunities that kind of open up post-MasterChef
01:46and you're thrust into this new universe of really hospitality
01:50and kind of food media and, yeah, I've just taken those opportunities.
01:54Well, congratulations on your cookbook and all the things that you do as well.
01:56Yeah, thank you.
01:57Tonight will be invigorating because we are making fast, fresh Indian.
02:03Bhavna, I think that, like, Indian cuisine has this idea
02:08that everything is like a slow-cooked stew.
02:10There are dishes that can take hours, but on a daily basis,
02:14my cooking takes less than 30 minutes or an hour at the most.
02:19As it should be.
02:20Yes.
02:21Justin, are you a quick cook or are you a...?
02:24It depends what mood you're in.
02:26I think usually it's a quick cook just because we're just short on time,
02:29but, you know, I love the...
02:32Food's still like therapy for me, so I love the long cooks
02:35and the have people over and just take, you know, the whole day cooking.
02:39It's a dream.
02:40Absolutely.
02:40It doesn't have to be one thing.
02:42Like, we're just in this...
02:43Anyway.
02:44Yeah.
02:44My fast, fresh Indian dish is curd rice.
02:51So, curd rice.
02:53Do you guys make this, both of you,
02:55like, as part of the things that you would make in your home cooking?
02:59I didn't grow up eating it.
03:01Yeah, I mean, this is a South Indian-style dish
03:05and your North Indian heritage.
03:08Justin, what about you?
03:09Yeah, like, this is very nostalgic for me.
03:12Just like, yes.
03:13Yes, yeah.
03:14Don't screw it up.
03:14It's kind of like, you know, you think about summer, like an Australian,
03:19like, I was born here, but family's Fijian, Indian,
03:22before that South India, right?
03:23And so my memory of summer is, like, hot day, you know?
03:28Yeah.
03:28And then it's, like, my grandpa on the back porch having yoghurt, rice,
03:33onions and salt.
03:34That's summer for me, you know what I mean?
03:36Fantastic.
03:37Yeah.
03:37Well, I mean, that's, like, fast, fresh Indian.
03:39I think there's probably nothing faster and fresher than taking leftover rice,
03:44mixing it with some curd or, I mean, yoghurt, as we would call it in Australia.
03:48I put a bit of milk and a bit of yoghurt in here.
03:51It's like mixing it together, essentially.
03:53That's really all I'm doing.
03:54To me, like, as a Chinese person, this is fried rice without the frying.
03:58Like, it's, like, where it fits into the world is, like,
04:02you've got some leftover rice, what am I going to do with it?
04:05You know, make something like this.
04:06So I don't think anyone is out there going,
04:08I'm going to make curd rice and then starts cooking rice for it.
04:10It's like you've got leftover rice and that's what you're doing.
04:13It's a great way to use leftover rice and it's very cooling,
04:16especially for hot summers.
04:17If I had to say, the thing that I think people get wrong
04:21about Indian cuisine is they think that it's one thing.
04:24What do you think people get wrong about Indian cuisine?
04:26I think exactly what you said.
04:27They think that it's just one thing.
04:29It's heavily spiced.
04:31Not every Indian dish is heavily spiced.
04:34It also depends on where in India you're from.
04:37And I feel like people think that's so, you know,
04:39we're all eating hot, spicy curries or lots of cream.
04:43That's not what we're doing.
04:45I'm barely using any spices here.
04:46I've got a couple of, like, mustard seeds, a bit of asphotida,
04:51three chillies and that's it.
04:53Can I get a check on consistency here?
04:56I would mush it up.
04:59Mushier?
04:59Well, yeah, like, it's one of those dishes you have to eat with your hands.
05:03Exactly.
05:03Because you kind of, like, mush it and massage it as you eat it
05:07and it's, like, it was the best thing.
05:10Yeah.
05:10Keep mushing.
05:11Keep mushing at them.
05:12Almost like a congee, right?
05:14Like a whole...
05:16Yeah, okay.
05:18Maybe congee.
05:19Yeah, maybe it's better than fried rice.
05:20But I think, like, where it fits into how you cook
05:23is probably where I would cook fried rice is like that.
05:26Okay.
05:26I've got a few kind of things that are going into it.
05:29I've got some ginger, some chilli, some cucumber, some onion
05:35and then later, actually, some grapes and pomegranate.
05:39So don't judge me.
05:41I'm not judging you.
05:42I've been on the edge of my seat seeing the grapes going.
05:45Curd rice.
05:46Do you know, there's some grapes in the steak or...
05:49Well, what would you have added into it in your family growing up, Justin?
05:53Ours was super simple.
05:54We would just have, like, raw onion, like thinly sliced raw onion
05:57so it has that crunch, those pops of flavour.
05:59And we didn't grow up with the tadka being added to it.
06:03Yeah, right.
06:03It's like, oh, we're almost like the lazy curd rice,
06:06which was like, you know, just that.
06:08And sometimes the flavour would come from pickles
06:11or some other condiment on the side.
06:14Yeah.
06:15But this is, you know, it becomes a standalone dish on its own
06:18once you've added the tadka and everything.
06:21Again, something as simple as curd rice is different for every house.
06:24Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:25Like, I love adding grated carrots in my curd rice for that crunch
06:29instead of onions.
06:31Interesting.
06:31Some people don't do anything.
06:33They'll just do a tadka with some pomegranate and that's it.
06:37So, yeah, it completely changes from house to house.
06:40Well, I think that's the...
06:42I think when you have a dish that is well-loved,
06:45it has to be like that.
06:46If there's only one way of making a dish,
06:48then there's just not enough people making it, to be honest.
06:50Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:51Totally.
06:52Okay.
06:52I've got some ginger.
06:53I've got some onion.
06:56I'm going to start to slice some chilli too.
06:58But I'll try and keep that as small as possible.
07:01And throw a bit of coriander in here as well.
07:06Bhavna, what would be the most frequently cooked Indian dish
07:10that you would make at home?
07:12Dal and rice.
07:13Yeah.
07:13Most comforting thing ever.
07:16Takes less than 15 minutes in a pressure cooker.
07:18Does not need many spices.
07:21And, you know, you use your fingers,
07:23dig into the warm rice and dal,
07:24have some pickle.
07:25Life is good.
07:26I think that's one of the accessibility...
07:29Justin, would you be the...
07:30Yeah, dal and rice, 100%.
07:31Yeah.
07:32I think it's one of the accessibility things
07:34for people cooking Indian food
07:36is like you research an Indian recipe or something
07:38and you'll say,
07:38just cook the lentils for four whistles.
07:41Yes.
07:42What's a whistle?
07:44Yes.
07:45There's a lady in the kitchen just whistling.
07:47Yeah.
07:48Is there a song that you have to whistle and then it goes...
07:50Like, how to India you will hear it for lunch and dinner.
07:53You will hear, you know, pressure cooker,
07:55the whistles going on in unison.
07:57You know people are making lunch or dinner.
07:59Or you'd have, like, a friend over from school
08:01and they'd hear this traumatic noise and be like,
08:03oh, it's just the pressure cooker.
08:04And they're like, is everything okay?
08:06Sometimes it'd be like a bang,
08:07like when it drops back down in the tin.
08:09I think it would be great being an Indian kid
08:11kind of going like,
08:12where's dinner going to be ready?
08:13And just, like, you're counting the numbers.
08:15All right, so we're starting to get there.
08:17I'm going to do my thadka now.
08:20Bhavna, could you explain what this is?
08:22So this is a thadka pan.
08:23So instead of using a really big pan
08:26and washing it up,
08:27it's just really easy
08:29and it also works like a ladle.
08:30So if you're doing a dal and you do a thadka,
08:33because it's got so much flavour,
08:35you could just pour the thadka in the dal
08:37and just ladle it up.
08:38Oh, right.
08:39Like, scoop it out with the pan.
08:41You could, right?
08:42It's got all the goodness in it.
08:43I like that as an idea.
08:45Also, less washing up today.
08:47I'm using some untoasted sesame oil,
08:50gingerly oil.
08:52Sesame.
08:53And I've got some mustard seeds here.
08:55I've got some ura dal,
08:58some black graham,
09:00but it's the shelled and split version.
09:03Some chillies
09:05and some asphotida.
09:06Perfect.
09:07If you're doing this, like,
09:09for a lot of different meals
09:10in Indian cooking,
09:12is there not just, like,
09:13a lot of spluttering
09:14that happens everywhere?
09:16It does.
09:18It's a brave cuisine.
09:19Yes.
09:20But usually thadka is reserved for dal
09:22or something like this.
09:24Sure.
09:25Also, there are dishes
09:26where you will do the thadka first.
09:28Yeah.
09:29So you'll use, like,
09:30a bigger pan
09:30so the spluttering
09:31is not as crazy.
09:33Sure, sure, sure.
09:33I feel like I've added things
09:34in the wrong order already.
09:35Yeah.
09:38The whole spices
09:39would go in first.
09:40Yeah, okay.
09:40So the chillies and the...
09:42Yes.
09:43Okay.
09:44Curry leaves,
09:44just be careful, though.
09:45Yeah, I know.
09:45And the ura dal will go in
09:47before the curry leaves.
09:47Okay.
09:48Because they'll take longer to cook.
09:49Did you grow up
09:50with an outdoor kitchen?
09:51Like, this was always done...
09:53Wish, I wish.
09:54...outside.
09:54Yes.
09:55I think that a lot of Indian cooking
09:56is kind of almost done outside,
09:58like, just because of raisins like this.
10:02Aspartita or curry leaves first?
10:03Uh, curry leaves.
10:04Okay.
10:05Aspartita just to the end?
10:06Yeah.
10:07Or you...
10:07It doesn't matter
10:08because it's just a few seconds
10:10anyway, it is, right?
10:11Oops.
10:13It's...
10:13Good one.
10:14It's kind of nice, though.
10:16Like, it's not too bad.
10:18You did have a tip for that, Bhavna.
10:20Yes.
10:20So, I actually was telling Justin
10:22chop the curry leaves
10:23and add them in.
10:24Oh, okay.
10:25So they don't splutter as much.
10:26Oh, that's a great tip.
10:28Yes.
10:28I always like the site
10:31of the whole curry leaf,
10:32so that's kind of why
10:33I leave it in.
10:34But actually, that's a great tip
10:35to have it not splutter so much
10:36in a small pan.
10:38Okay.
10:38We're getting to the end now.
10:40That looks good already.
10:41Oh, thank God.
10:42Yes.
10:43So, now I'm going to add in
10:44my bits and pieces,
10:47coriander.
10:48I'll throw some of the grapes
10:49in here as well.
10:51And I'll start to mix it together.
10:54Gosh, I'm so nervous, you know.
10:56Making a dish that is
10:57well-loved by anyone
11:00and you're doing, like,
11:01something a bit weird to it
11:02is kind of like...
11:04There's no good can come of it.
11:05Yeah, yeah.
11:06But something like this,
11:08everyone kind of does...
11:09has their own version.
11:10You know what I mean?
11:10Like, even within the household,
11:12like, everyone's eating
11:14their curd rice
11:14differently.
11:16I also believe
11:17if you've made it with love
11:18and you're not giving food poisoning,
11:20it's okay
11:22to do your own thing.
11:24And I'll try and make it look
11:25a little bit pretty
11:26just with a few
11:27pomegranate seeds on top
11:28and maybe I'll tuck a...
11:29tuck a grape or two.
11:31Very pretty.
11:32Top there.
11:33Curd rice.
11:39You're peer-pressuring me
11:40into eating with my hands here.
11:42That's the only way to eat.
11:44100%.
11:44Although, I did grow up with it.
11:46Like, it's a very common thing
11:47in Malaysia as well.
11:48So good.
11:49You can feel the freshness
11:50of the cucumber
11:51and the pomegranate
11:52just come through.
11:54It's amazing how,
11:55firstly, how much
11:56the tadgateng changes
11:58the profile of flavour,
11:59but then also how much
12:00those ingredients
12:01that seem a little weird
12:02when you're putting them in,
12:03like, raw ginger plus grape,
12:04plus pomegranates,
12:06they all kind of
12:07play a part in it.
12:07Yeah, yeah.
12:08It's got that full, like,
12:09spectrum of sweet,
12:10salty, like,
12:12texture.
12:13It's awesome.
12:14After the break,
12:15Justin and Bhavna
12:15will get into it.
12:27Welcome back to The Cook-Up.
12:28Tonight, two of Australia's
12:29finest Indian cuisine experts,
12:31Justin Narayan
12:32and Bhavna Shivalka,
12:33have joined me
12:33to make some fast,
12:34fresh Indian food.
12:35Bhavna, what are you making?
12:37Prawns key roast today.
12:39Lovely.
12:39And, uh, Justin?
12:40A little bit controversial.
12:42Elote.
12:43That's not Indian.
12:53Elote,
12:53sometimes known as
12:54Mexican street corn.
12:56Like, I don't see
12:57the word Indian in...
12:59Explain yourself, Justin.
13:00Well, look, I'm just using
13:01Elote because people
13:02are familiar with it.
13:04But there is corn
13:05found in India
13:06called bhuta,
13:07which is like this
13:07Indian street corn,
13:08but people just don't
13:10have the association
13:11with, you know,
13:13India and, like,
13:14street corn.
13:14And then when you go
13:15to Fiji,
13:15there's kind of street corn
13:17everywhere,
13:18just roasted over charcoal,
13:20spices on it.
13:21And this is leaning more
13:23into the Mexican style
13:24of how you would develop this.
13:26But I'm also going in
13:28with a lot of Indian spices.
13:29So the flavour of it
13:30is like halfway
13:32between Indian and Mexican,
13:34but also the technique
13:36and structure of it
13:37is very much Indian.
13:38Yeah, you know,
13:39we are very much limited
13:40by the languages
13:41that we speak
13:43to describe things
13:44that do not exist
13:45in those languages.
13:46100%.
13:46Like, for me,
13:47everything that is flat
13:49is a pancake.
13:51Everything that is enclosed
13:52in a batter
13:53is a dumpling.
13:53And, like,
13:54in Chinese,
13:55there are so many
13:55different words
13:56for everything
13:56that we would call
13:57a dumpling in English.
13:58100%.
13:59And there's just
13:59no way to get around it.
14:00You have to meet people
14:01where their vocabulary is.
14:03And if their vocabulary
14:04is Elote,
14:05then go for it.
14:06It just got there first.
14:07Do you know what I mean?
14:07And we're catching up.
14:08We're catching up.
14:09That said,
14:10I see feta cheese,
14:11I see jalapenos.
14:13Well, there's a bit
14:14of, like, Greek.
14:15There's a bit of,
14:16you know,
14:16some of the ingredients
14:17that we would have
14:19here in Australia.
14:20I'm using feta
14:21instead of katia
14:22because that's
14:23difficult to find here.
14:24So all you do,
14:25you get some feta,
14:26kind of pat it down dry.
14:27So it just, like,
14:28takes all that moisture out
14:29and you get that dry,
14:30crumbly kind of
14:31katia cheese-esque feel.
14:34Understanding, I guess,
14:35how those ingredients
14:36work.
14:37Like, you might have
14:38somebody who's running
14:39around trying to, like,
14:41find this specific cheese
14:42from this specific area
14:43that does this specific thing
14:44when there's something
14:45in their supermarket
14:46that is 98% of the way there.
14:48Totally.
14:48And I think that's why
14:49this one is Indian for me
14:51because the essence
14:52of, like, Indian food
14:53is kind of like,
14:54we think it's stagnant,
14:56like it was what it was
14:57back then.
14:58Sure.
14:58And that's how we have
14:59to always make it.
15:00But there's also
15:01this kind of essence
15:03of it and tradition
15:04that it was just using
15:05the ingredients
15:06they had around them.
15:07What have you got
15:07in the pan there?
15:08I've got the pickle liquid
15:10going for our pickled jalapeno,
15:11just a real simple pickle,
15:13salt, sugar, vinegar
15:14and jalapenos.
15:15Got the water on the boil
15:17for our corn
15:18and I'm actually going
15:19to chuck these in now.
15:20Boil the corn?
15:21We boil the corn,
15:22get them cooked
15:23and then we add
15:23some char to it later.
15:25It's just a quicker,
15:26easier way to do it.
15:27I love that.
15:27Yeah, 100%.
15:28And you've got these
15:29little handles here
15:30so, you know,
15:30it's handy.
15:31Yeah, brilliant.
15:32All right,
15:33I'll come back a bit later.
15:34Done.
15:36Bhavna.
15:37Hi.
15:38This sounds delicious.
15:39Prawn, ghee, roast.
15:42Where's it from?
15:42I see the ingredients here,
15:44there's a lot of
15:45kind of South Indian
15:47type ingredients there.
15:48Yeah, so this dish
15:50is from a place
15:51called Mangalore
15:51in the south of the country
15:53and it is a deliciously
15:55versatile dish
15:56and I really love
15:57making it
15:58because if you're
15:59using prawns,
16:00it will take less
16:01than 15 minutes
16:01to come together.
16:02Great.
16:03And it just is
16:04a great blend of flavours,
16:05it is hot.
16:08You can obviously
16:09adjust it as per your taste.
16:11So I feel that
16:12it works beautifully
16:13with any kind of
16:14protein you like.
16:14So you could do
16:15a chicken ghee roast
16:16if you wanted to.
16:17Obviously the cooking time
16:18will increase
16:18if you're doing chicken
16:20but prawns work beautifully.
16:21You could do an egg,
16:22so boiled eggs.
16:23Oh, yes.
16:23Yeah, okay.
16:24So it's a very versatile dish
16:25and that's why I love it.
16:26So I see here
16:27you've got,
16:29that's some jaggery.
16:30Yes, so I have
16:31some jaggery
16:31which is Indian sugarcane sugar.
16:34I've got some tamarind,
16:35I have some roasted spices
16:36which a lot of coriander,
16:38dry coriander.
16:39I've got chillies
16:40that I've soaked
16:41and I've got garlic
16:42and a little bit of cashews
16:44and yeah,
16:45it just blends beautifully
16:46and you could freeze
16:47this paste
16:48and yeah,
16:49you're good to go.
16:51So what we're looking for
16:52is a smooth paste.
16:53And so we're going to
16:54cook the paste off
16:57with some ghee.
16:58With some ghee.
16:59Oh, you'll marinate prawns as well.
17:00We'll marinate the prawns
17:02and then we'll fry the prawns
17:04separately
17:04and just mix them together
17:05and it's done.
17:06Oh, this is...
17:07That's how we do this?
17:08Seems quite straightforward.
17:09It is, yes.
17:13Justin.
17:14Yes.
17:14Corn's cooked.
17:15Corn's cooked.
17:16Give it a quick blanch
17:17and now next step,
17:19usually over an open flame.
17:21Yeah.
17:21So either barbecue,
17:23charcoal,
17:23something like that,
17:24you can kind of,
17:25if you're confident,
17:25use it as a handle
17:26and get it over there.
17:27Oh, this is such a cool way
17:28of doing it.
17:29Yeah.
17:30Because you get that charry flavour
17:32but you also,
17:33you know,
17:33sometimes when you're
17:34charring it like this
17:36on a barbecue,
17:37it can take a very long time.
17:40Yeah.
17:40And the corn's basically cooked
17:42so you're just getting that colour
17:43and that kind of like,
17:44you know,
17:45just gnarly flavour
17:46and giving it some attitude.
17:47So.
17:48How did you get into cooking,
17:49first of all?
17:49Oh, I think just grew up
17:51in one of those households
17:52where like mum was always
17:53in the kitchen.
17:55My grandparents lived with us as well
17:57so multi-generational
17:58and that was really,
18:01really what got me into it.
18:02That multi-generational aspect
18:04of living
18:05when it comes to learning
18:06about food
18:08is something that you really
18:09can't overstate.
18:10Like I learned so much
18:11about cooking from my grandmother.
18:13Yeah.
18:13And because Indian culture
18:15isn't quite written,
18:16it's very oral.
18:18Yeah.
18:18So you have to be there
18:19in the moment
18:20like to really
18:21get the tips and tricks
18:22and really understand
18:24what's happening.
18:26And then now,
18:27this is where
18:27the little bit of Indian
18:28comes into it.
18:29So our spice mix here,
18:31we've got cumin,
18:32chilli powder
18:33and traditionally like
18:36Wutha,
18:36the one you would get
18:37in India,
18:38it's just lime
18:39and then chilli powder
18:40and salt
18:40and you kind of just
18:41rub that over it.
18:42For sure.
18:42And now I've taken that
18:43to the next level
18:44by adding some smoked paprika
18:45which again,
18:47you know,
18:47just reinforces
18:48that smokiness
18:49that you'd get
18:49from some sort of charcoal
18:51and then you've got
18:52some brown sugar
18:53and salt
18:54and the brown sugar
18:55and salt
18:56give it this sweet,
18:57salty
18:58addictiveness
18:59that is
19:00very cool
19:01and I think
19:03it's something
19:03that I just call
19:05an Indian
19:05but it makes sense
19:07to me.
19:07Absolutely.
19:10Okay, Bhavna,
19:11this smells amazing already.
19:13I know, right?
19:14You can smell
19:15the chillies
19:16and you can smell
19:16a little bit
19:17of the tamarind
19:17and the curry leaves.
19:19And so you've put
19:20some turmeric
19:21and lemon juice?
19:21Yes, so what I've done
19:22is I've marinated
19:23the prawns with salt,
19:24turmeric and lemon juice
19:25and I'm just going
19:27to fry them
19:27in a little bit of ghee
19:28and all I'm going
19:30to do is transfer
19:30it to the spice mix
19:32and we're done.
19:33There you go.
19:34My goodness.
19:34I know, right?
19:36One of the easiest
19:37dishes you can make.
19:39Amazing.
19:40You could,
19:41if you wanted to,
19:42just cook the prawns
19:43in the curry.
19:44You don't have
19:45to fry them separately.
19:47I just feel
19:48that it gives
19:48a lovely texture
19:49to them
19:50and they're fried.
19:51And I think,
19:51you know,
19:52probably traditionally
19:53would have been
19:54done with prawns
19:55with the shells
19:56and everything still on.
19:57Yeah, typically
19:58you would have
19:58the tail,
20:00the tail.
20:00You could also
20:01do chickens.
20:02If I was doing chicken,
20:03I would cook
20:03the chicken
20:04a little longer.
20:05And the masala
20:07here is the paste
20:08with the cooking ghee
20:10and a little bit
20:11of water?
20:11A little bit of water,
20:12some curry leaves
20:13and literally
20:14that's it.
20:15What we're doing
20:16is we're just
20:16making sure
20:17that the masala
20:18is cooked through
20:19and you can see
20:21when the ghee
20:21starts to float
20:22on the top,
20:23all the water
20:24is drying out
20:24from the masala
20:25and it's just
20:26almost ready.
20:27I am hungry already.
20:28Tasting time
20:29cannot come fast enough.
20:30When we return
20:31and we'll share
20:32our favourite
20:32pre-made products
20:33for quick Indian dinners.
20:46Welcome back
20:46to The Cook Up.
20:47Justin Narayan
20:47and Bhavna Shivalka
20:49are finishing up
20:49their fast,
20:50fresh Indian food.
20:51Bhavna,
20:52how's it looking?
20:52It's done.
20:53Smelling amazing.
20:55Justin,
20:56this truly
20:57could not look better.
20:58That looks
20:59spectacular.
21:00The feta
21:00is going over the top.
21:02And if you wanted
21:03to make it more Indian,
21:04go for some paneer,
21:05you know,
21:05it still works.
21:06Sure.
21:07Why not?
21:07And then a few things
21:08to serve with it.
21:09Yeah, yeah.
21:09We've got some coriander
21:11and then the pickled jalapenos.
21:13So just some pops
21:14of sweet, sour spice on it.
21:17Just gives, you know,
21:18a little bit of attitude
21:19to every bite.
21:21That is seriously impressive.
21:26The smell of this Bhavna
21:27is absolutely spectacular.
21:29I know, right?
21:31It's the ghee
21:32and all of the spices
21:33and the coriander
21:34and everything
21:34coming together.
21:36You added some jaggery
21:38at the end,
21:38salt and lemon juice?
21:40A little bit of lemon juice,
21:41jaggery and salt
21:43just to balance
21:44everything out.
21:45You could heat
21:46some chilli and ghee
21:48and pour that
21:50if you felt like.
21:51Or you could do
21:52chopped green chillies
21:53for a little bit.
21:54But then that's not
21:55authentic enough.
21:57Jeez, a lot of rules.
21:58Pour on ghee roast
21:58and spiced elote.
21:59Yes, there you go.
22:10Bhavna, this,
22:11like, it looks amazing.
22:13You can feel the heat
22:15and the sweetness
22:16of the tamarind.
22:17The sweet, sour
22:18that you have there,
22:19like, of the jaggery
22:20and tamarind together
22:21is wonderful.
22:22But it's not like,
22:23it's not like sweet and sour.
22:25It's just a change
22:26in the seasoning.
22:27Yeah, it's a good balance.
22:28Yeah, super fresh.
22:30All right, Justin,
22:31corn time.
22:32Corn time.
22:34It looks like
22:34you spent half an hour
22:35making this on the barbecue,
22:36but you didn't.
22:37Nah.
22:37You know?
22:38I think blanching it,
22:39which takes two minutes.
22:40Whoa.
22:42That's delicious.
22:43That's tactilo.
22:45How do you feel,
22:46auntie?
22:48As we said,
22:49auntie's a state of mind.
22:51It's just,
22:52I mean,
22:53it brings me back to India,
22:55where during monsoons
22:56you will have
22:57roasted corn.
22:58Yeah, yeah, yeah.
22:59Or bhutta
22:59with lemon juice and chilli.
23:01Yeah.
23:01Right.
23:02But the addition
23:03of the feta
23:06gives it a lovely,
23:08delicious kick to it.
23:09Yeah, yeah.
23:09Because feta has a tang.
23:11Yeah.
23:12Love it.
23:12I think this is how
23:13I'm going to eat my corn
23:14going forward.
23:16Two absolutely
23:16delicious dishes.
23:17But we're also talking
23:18about cooking things quickly
23:19and having some good shortcuts.
23:21So I've asked you guys
23:22to bring your
23:23favourite Indian
23:24cooking shortcuts in.
23:26Yep.
23:26Who's got the,
23:28who's got this one?
23:28Me.
23:29Bhavna, tell us about it.
23:31First of all,
23:32I love pickles.
23:33Yeah.
23:34So I find having
23:35a bottle of mango pickle
23:36in your house,
23:37it could be lime,
23:37whichever pickle you like,
23:39but the more spiced
23:40it is, the better.
23:41Yeah.
23:41You could use the oil
23:43and put it on eggs.
23:44Like a chilli oil.
23:45Yeah.
23:46We needed that
23:46for the curd rice earlier.
23:48Right.
23:48Exactly.
23:50Because sauces
23:51and pickles
23:52and chutneys
23:52and things
23:53are so important
23:53throughout Asia.
23:54I'm not talking
23:54just India specifically.
23:56And the way
23:56I kind of describe it to you,
23:57sometimes you see people
23:58at an Indian restaurant
24:00or something
24:00and there's no pickles
24:01and there's no chutney
24:03or anything on the table.
24:03I'm like,
24:04to me that's like
24:05if you're getting
24:05a sausage and bread
24:06from Bunnings
24:07and putting no sauce on it.
24:08Correct.
24:08You know,
24:08the balance of seasonings
24:10that you get
24:11from adding,
24:11you know,
24:12if it's in Thai cuisine,
24:14fish sauce and chilli
24:15to something
24:16or in Indian cuisine,
24:18the pickles
24:19or Malaysian cuisine,
24:19sambals
24:20and that kind of thing.
24:20It's what brings
24:22the completeness
24:23to the dish.
24:23So, yeah,
24:23I'm really glad
24:24that you brought that in,
24:25Bhavna.
24:26I'm going to assume
24:27this is yours, Justin.
24:28100%.
24:28Yeah.
24:29Always in the freezer.
24:31Yes.
24:31Yeah.
24:32It's just one of those things
24:32like you can whip up
24:33a curry in 15 minutes
24:35and then you've got
24:36a full meal.
24:37The utility goes beyond
24:38Indian food as well.
24:39Yeah, yeah.
24:39Like just wraps
24:40or, you know,
24:41like quick lunches,
24:43anything,
24:43Vegemite,
24:44butter,
24:44delicious.
24:45Like, yeah.
24:45Absolutely fantastic.
24:47For me,
24:48I brought in
24:49the garlic and ginger paste.
24:51Is this something
24:51that is common
24:52in Indian homes?
24:54Yeah.
24:54We have a bigger tub
24:56but, yeah,
24:56that's like a little...
24:57Well,
24:58this is the thing,
24:58like, you know,
24:59I ran out
25:00and my wife
25:01went to do the shopping.
25:02She said,
25:03I only have the really big jar.
25:04I'm like,
25:05we'll get through that.
25:06Don't worry.
25:08I find it really,
25:09really useful
25:09if you have a good quality one
25:11to be able to just,
25:13not, again,
25:13not just for Indian food.
25:14Like, there's a lot of
25:16Malaysian food
25:17and Southeast Asian food
25:18where just a spoon of that
25:19can really help
25:20start things off.
25:21Justin and Babna,
25:21thank you so much
25:22for joining me.
25:23It has been absolutely fantastic
25:24and I've learned a lot.
25:25Thank you for having us.
25:27I just took a massive bite.
25:29That's fair.
25:30That's fair.
25:30It is delicious.
25:31In the Battle of Weeknight Dinners,
25:33we have shown you
25:33that fast,
25:34fresh Indian food
25:35triumphs every time.
25:36If you want more
25:36of The Cook Up
25:37and more delicious food ideas,
25:38follow SBS Food
25:39on Instagram,
25:39TikTok,
25:40Facebook and YouTube.
25:41We are everywhere.
25:42I'm Adam Liao.
25:42Thanks for watching The Cook Up.
25:50We'll see you next time.
25:52Thanks for listening.
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