From Acting To Acing The Culinary Space - Chef Amrita Raichand Has Done It All

Chef Amrita Raichand is one of those faces that you recognise in an instant. Popular as an actress and as a celebrity chef, she has a positive aura around her that makes you want to listen to her and trust her recipes enough to replicate them exactly like that for your kids. The switch from fictional television to cooking was so smooth for her that it is enough to define how multi-talented Chef Amrita is.

As she begins another season of the cookery reality TV show called Baker's Studio, we caught up with her for a quick chat about her career, how kids are not fussy eaters but happy eaters if health and taste come together and what the main social media trends are nowadays. Here are some excerpts from the interview.

The switch from acting to the culinary world was never planned, it was just destiny playing its part. I was actively pursuing my acting assignments but post my marriage, I struggled with giving that much time to acting. When I became a mother, I started experimenting with a lot of exciting recipe options for my son, Agastya. Nutrition has always been my focus and I never wanted to compromise on the taste as well; so I made “Healthy is not Boring” my Mantra which helped me raise a happy eater as opposed to a fussy eater. I guess word spread around about my experiments in the kitchen and I landed my first TV cookery show, 'Mummy Ka Magic'. Honestly, I feel the show was a natural extension of my personality and my love for cooking healthy, yet delicious food. It was only after getting an overwhelming response to the show is when I realised that Cooking was my true calling! I was already blessed with my mother’s genes of being a good cook and needless to say I was always passionate about the same. However, once I decided to make this a serious profession, I signed up for an advanced culinary course in Singapore to hone my skills further. Following this, I also worked in a 5-star hotel to understand what really goes on behind a commercial kitchen counter. Food always excited me but now it started inspiring me too. I began curating regular content and started posting recipes and other nutrition and food-related information on my social media platform which slowly but surely paved a very successful path for me, leading me to bag many endorsements in the food space, TV shows most importantly a lot of love and respect from followers in India and abroad. It has been a fulfilling journey but there are miles to go before I sleep.

What are the key trends in the culinary space in this age of social media?

Social media has virtually packaged food in ‘bite-sized’ portions, sometimes more than we can mentally chew. Over the last few years, food trends are moreish and ever evolving and the pandemic has just triggered another wave, helping home bakers don the chefs’ hat and dish out a variety of recipes.

In my case, one thing that I’m truly proud is my live cooking session called 'Mere Ghar Ka Khana' that I started doing every Friday to help my audience prepare everyday meals during the pandemic. I believe that what started out as a necessity to help people has now become a dedicated property on my social media platforms.

Also, for long, Indian cuisine on the global plate meant chicken tikkas and paneer masalas. Not anymore. It is extremely encouraging to see regional Indian dishes being savoured worldwide. I think there’s a newfound love for simple, home-cooked meals and regional cuisines which is very refreshing.

In the context of India, we always prefer having meals together with the family. It is like a bonding ritual. But considering the difference in taste across generations, how do you suggest that we maintain a balance?

I cannot recollect any fond memory that does not have my friends, family, and good food. As a kid, I saw my family bonding over meals the most and I believe that in the Indian culture, the resonance is even greater. As a parent there is nothing more assuring than to spend quality time with your family, especially over a meal. And that’s what we’re trying to inculcate in the second season of Zee X Alpenliebe Juzt Jelly Baker’s studio. The message of “Family mein masti chali” by Alpenliebe Juzt Jelly is very relevant in the Indian context as it talks about any family’s bonding activity - Cooking.

Talking about the generational differences in food preference, kids are the fussiest eaters. How can we add veggies to their food and create a balance between taste and health?

I genuinely don’t believe that children are fussy eaters. It’s us parents who are not creative enough. It is really easy to disguise healthy ingredients through great presentation and taste. I’ve always used fun tricks of doing the same. My YouTube Channel, Amrita Raichand - Chef and Beyond has innumerable such recipes that can provide a variety of food solutions to every concerned parent. From Tiffin recipes, to recipes for toddlers, from playdate recipes to simply delectable recipes in my new playlist “ Thoda Aur Magic” there’s something for every parent and child.

Kids generally love desserts and Alpenliebe Juzt Jelly can be a great home-baking ingredient. Can you suggest ways in which we can make innovative desserts with Juzt Jelly?

I remember when I was a little girl, my mother used to bake and decorate cakes for me with whatever little colourful ingredients she would get her hands on and decorate the frosting with it. We used to live in a small town and the options were very limited. But nowadays we have access to a variety of wonderful ingredients and one of them is Alpenliebe Juzt Jelly. What it has done is given a baker, wings to fly; besides being easily accessible, the variety of flavours they provide are absolutely delicious, the textures they provide not only elevates the look of the finished good but also provide that much-needed pop of colour, it’s elasticity enables one to shape it super creatively, well what more can one ask for? But here, Alpenliebe Juzt Jelly gives us one more thing- it is made with 25% real fruit pulp, well for me, that’s a winner.

Peanut Butter Bites with Alpenliebe Juzt Jelly (16 Pieces)

Ingredients

•Oats – ½ cup

•Peanut butter – 3tbsp

•Alpenliebe Juzt Jelly Strawberry – (1 per piece of surprise)

•Castor sugar – 2tbsp

•Cinnamon powder – 1tsp

Method

• Toast oats till slightly golden with a nutty aroma. Take it off the flame, cool and grind to a fine flour.
• Add peanut butter to the oats flour. Mix well. Now take small portions of the prepared mixture, fill each of them with Alpenliebe Juzt Jelly Strawberry which contains 25% Fruit Pulp and close it completely with the mixture to make small cubes out of it.
• Now in a plate, spread out the castor sugar, add cinnamon powder to it and mix well.
• Then coat the prepared cubes with the cinnamon sugar.
• Take a skewer, add a Alpenliebe Juzt Jelly, then one peanut butter bite and finally another Alpenliebe Juzt Jelly and watch these get pounced onto while in your hands itself!

You have been cooking and feeding people since so long. We would like to know what your personal favourite cuisine and your go-to comfort food is.

My personal favourite cuisine is Thai cuisine and I make a mean Thai curry even if I must say so myself. I find Thai food highly enjoyable; it provides a welcome contrast between delicate aromas and robust flavours. The tanginess and unusual spice that each dish usually consists of make it really satiating to the palate.

My go-to comfort is dal-chawal, aloo ka bhujiya, tamater ki chutney. This also happens to be the first meal that I ever made when I was all of 8 years old and something that I’ve grown up on.