In the spring of 1993, almost every Indian food-loving household with a television set, acquired a notebook.
Three decades later, the same notebook — now old, frail and dusty-brown hued — is sacred. Its pages sandwich hand-written recipes, some gently scripted and some jotted down swiftly, which are now carefully passed down from generation to generation, much like long-preserved family heirlooms.
Recipes for ‘Mango Mania’ and ‘Chicken in Wine Sauce’, which aired on 'Khana Khazana' in 1999 Lygeia Gomes
If you’re wondering what the origins of these hallowed recipes are, the answer is of course Khana Khazana, which, after first airing in 1993, delved into the intricacies of Indian cuisine, broke it down in an intelligible manner and won every Indian foodie’s heart.
The man behind the iconic show — chef Sanjeev Kapoor — was in Kolkata recently for the Bengal Global Business Summit. My Kolkata caught up with the star chef for a quick chat on the final day of the summit to discuss his new app, his philanthropy projects, cooking with courage, his love of Kolkata’s aloo posto and more.
‘I’ve always believed in making the kitchen a fun place’
Khana Khazana was all about food that was simple and yet sinful. That ideology remains intact even today. “I am currently working on making food-related content for smart devices. The type of content we are creating will essentially make life in the kitchen much simpler and easier. I’ve always believed in making the kitchen a fun place and that’s what Tiny Chef is all about,” he said.
Tiny Chef is an app that uses machine learning and AI to create an intelligent kitchen. You’ll come across all kinds of food-related content, cooking tips and shopping essentials. “All you need to do is download the app!” laughed Kapoor.
When you’re lucky enough to get so much in one lifetime you must give back’
Over the last three decades, Kapoor has built an empire that allows him to champion several social causes. He’s actively involved with the non-profit Akshaya Patra, he works closely with autistic children, he has joined hands with the World Central Kitchen, and recently, he took on spreading awareness about clean cooking.
“When you’re lucky enough to get so much in one lifetime, you must give back. I wouldn’t say that there was one big incident that happened to me that drives my philanthropy. In fact, it’s the little things in life that impact me,” said Kapoor.
“Right now, I am focussed on spreading awareness about clean cooking, which is an initiative by the United Nations, where we educate people about how smokeless cooking is important. It’s not only cigarette smoke that kills, charcoal smoke can kill too. Apart from that, we’ve been continuing our work with the World Central Kitchen in India and we’re also trying to help the people in Ukraine.”