Dinner with Rishi Desai, Pondicherry Café & His Signature Recipe

Last week was a bit of a blur for me and maybe that’s why it’s taken me a while to recover and post this follow-up to my Interview with Rishi Desai of MasterChef Australia fame!

Rishi was in India all of last week and after a couple of days in Delhi, he arrived in Mumbai. And I got a chance to accompany him on his culinary exploration! Since he wanted to eat seafood, we headed to Highway Gomantak in Bandra for a sumptuous meal of tisrya (clams) masala, surmai (king fish) curry and bangda (mackerel) fry. This was of course accompanied by chapatis and rice and we washed down the meal with couple of glasses of sol kadi. We decided to head to California Pizza Kitchen for dessert and wolfed down their scrumptious red velvet cake :)

During dinner, Rishi regaled me with stories of his experience on the show. Since the auditions were not aired on the show, I asked him about what he made to impress the judges. In Rishi’s words - “The audition was two-part. We had to first bring in a cold dish and I made the Maharashtrian classic snack suralichya wadya, which the judges loved. In the second round we had to make a hot dish; I made a Karwari fish curry, which earned me my place in the competition.” Rishi made a modern variation of this dish on the show recently, to highlight how much he has learned during his stay in the competition. 

• Curried Mussel Soup with Baguette
• Indian inspired Lamb Burgundy
• Moroccan Tagine with Couscous
• Karnataka Risotto

Image courtesy Sofitel

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp natural unsweetened yoghurt
• 500 gms diced goat
• 2 tsp salt

For the Curry Paste

• 1 brown onion
• Handful of fresh coriander
• ½ tsp coriander seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 cm piece of ginger
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp garam masala

For the Cauliflower Puree

• 1 tsp butter
• ¼ cauliflower coarsely chopped
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• 150 ml thickened cream
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• ½ tsp coriander powder

How to:

• Saute the onion until golden brown. Use a blender to blitz all of the curry paste ingredients to a fine paste.
• Heat the vegetable oil in an oven-proof casserole dish. Add the spice paste and saute on medium heat for five minutes until the oil starts separating.
• Add the yoghurt and saute for another minute.
• Add the lamb and saute for two minutes.
• Add the salt and a cup of water and place in the oven, covered, at about 160C to 170C for at least two hours, until the lamb is tender and shreds easily. Check every half hour and, if necessary, add more water.
• Alternatively, you can pressure-cook the curry for at least 20 minutes, then remove the lid and cook until the sauce thickens.
• Shred the lamb in the sauce and mix thoroughly.

• Melt butter in a saucepan; add cauliflower, turmeric, coriander & cumin powders and sauté for 2 minutes.
• Add cream and cook while occasionally stirring for 10 minutes until cauliflower is tender and until the mixture thickens.
• Add salt and lemon juice and let it cool down.
• Blend the mixture until fine purée forms.

To serve, smear the cauliflower puree on a plate. Add the shredded lamb and put roasted pappadums on the side. Garnish with pea sprouts.

Image courtesy Rishi Desai

Disclosure: I was invited by Sofitel to experience this offering. 
_________________________________________________________________

Related posts: 

• Brunch date with Chef Matt Moran
• Interview with Julia Taylor, runner-up on MasterChef Australia Season 4
• Interview with Rishi Desai, of MasterChef Australia Season 5
• Guest Post by Julia Taylor - includes two delectable recipes
• Wine Programme at Sofitel