The Indian Chefs are the masterminds behind the sumptuous Indian cuisine. The diaspora of Indian food is characterised by its sophisticated and subtle usage of many spices and vegetables grown across India and also for the widespread practice of vegetarianism across its society. Whether vegetarian or non-vegetarian dish, whether north Indian or South Indian, the Indian Chefs have introduced unique processing of ingredients to place some of world`s most exquisite cuisine tastes.
The Indian chefs have brought about each family of Indian cuisine its unique characteristics by a wide assortment of dishes and cooking techniques. Thus, Indian cuisine varies from region to region, reflecting the varied demographics of the ethnically diverse Indian subcontinent. Sanjeev Kapoor is one of the top chefs in the world and has gained a celebrity status in his own land, India. Other than introducing some luscious dishes, he has authored many books and is also the host of Khana Khazana, a popular cookery program shown on Zee TV. Starting his career in ITDC under their kitchen management scheme, Sanjeev Kapoor is presently the Executive Chef of the Centaur Hotel in Mumbai. Some of the notable awards in his bag are `Hall of the Fame Award`, Gold Award at Geneva and Best Cookery Show Award. To spread the secret of his magical preparations, Sanjeev Kapoor authored books like Khazana of Indian Recipes, Low Calorie Vegetarian Cookbook, Soups, Salads and Sandwiches, Microwave Made Easy and Best of Chinese Cooking and a CD on Indian cooking.
Vikas Khanna is another popular name in the list of Indian chefs. He started his career as a helper in his grandmother`s kitchen and learned the basic art of cooking and the extensive use of Indian spices from her. Later, Vikas Khanna opened Lawrence Gardens Banquets to host weddings and family functions. He has been the chief chef at prominent places like Taj, Oberoi, Welcomgroup, and Leela Group of Hotels and soon became the Executive Chef of Salaam Bombay Restaurant in New York. The Indian chefs have earned great reputation by his sumptuous cooking talent and Khanna is no exception, who won "Access to Freedom Award", "The Shining Star Award" and great acclaim for his cooking style from the James Beard Foundation. The best-sold books by this well known Indian chef are Ayurveda - The Science of Food and Life, The Cuisine of Gandhi-Based on the beliefs of the Legend, The Spice Story of India and Mango Mia - Celebrating the tropical world of Mangoes.
The Indian chefs not only introduced the appetizing preparations, but they also popularised Indian food in overseas through their magnanimous collection of food books. Probably India is the only country producing the maximum food books in the Asian subcontinent, standing at competition with China and Arabian countries. Michael Pandya is one of the successful Indian Chefs who have published several books on Indian Cuisine. Some of them are Home, Here We Come!, Vegetarian Wonders from India, Indian Chutneys, Raitas, Pickles & Preserves, Quick and Easy Indian Cooking and so on.
Tarla Dalal is a famous name among Indian chefs and also known in foreign countries for her brilliant cooking books. She has written a total of 30 titles in 2 decades. Many books written by her have been translated in various languages like Hindi, Gujrati, Marathi, Bengali and even Dutch and Russian. The total sales of all her cookbooks exceeded 1 million copies. Her first book `The Pleasures of Vegetarian Cooking`, published in 1974, was an instant success with Indian housewives. This book is considered a classic in cookery books and has sold a record 125,000 copies.
The Indian chefs have spread the aroma of Indian food far across the Indian kitchens. They not only made cooking easy, but also assorted and tasty. Madhur Jaffrey, Manju Malhi and Hari Nayak are some other noted Indian chefs.
