Cook Love Eat, with Sarab Kapoor

Monday, 4 August, 2014 5:04 PM
Cooking


Sarab Kapoor is a Singapore-based celebrity chef, cooking instructor, culinary consultant and cookbook author. She has fronted five seasons of the internationally acclaimed TV series 'Cook Love Eat with Sarab' and penned two cookbooks, 'Om Cooking' and 'Cook Love Eat with Sarab - Creative Recipes from the Global Vegetarian Kitchen'. She is also the culinary consultant and in-house chef for Wine & Dine, Singapore's longest established food magazine.

'Cook Love Eat with Sarab', the TV series and the cookbook, embody Sarab's philosophy of infusing food with love. Her mantra says it all - "Food that is cooked with love, served with love and eaten with love not only nourishes the body but also the soul." It is the selfsame philosophy held dear by every loving home cook, regardless of race, religion or nationality.

Sarab in Pink

Sarab's signature dishes typically mix and match ingredients and influences from two or more cuisines. She believes in raiding the global pantry and market garden to bring together diverse flavours that work like a charm. Her recipe for Edamame Cilantro Hummus is a perfect example of three incongruous cuisines deftly blended to create a new taste sensation that surprises the eye and the palate. Who said you can't mix Japanese, Mexican and Middle Eastern, after all?

Though ethnically Indian, Sarab has led the last thirty years of her life in Singapore. During her extensive travels with her late businessman husband, she collected recipes instead of souvenirs.

At the merest suggestion of sampling home cooking, the intrepid culinary adverturess would throw all caution to the wind and literally follow strangers home. As she sampled time-honoured home-cooking, she would mentally make notes and reverse-engineer the dishes in her own kitchen, experimenting until attaining perfection. Then she would tweak it to her own ends, creating something that is at once both comfortably familiar and delightfully new.

When Sarab was coaxed to step in front of the camera, her natural telegenic flair surprised nobody more than it surprised herself. She soon attracted a legion of fans all over Asia-Pacific, especially in Thailand and Indonesia. In addition to her five seasons of 30-minute episodes, she has also embarked on 5-minute cooking demonstrations, which are essentially potted versions of her full-length show.

Filming her show has been a family affair. Not only does Sarab front the show, she feeds the crew. Not to mention the guests. Episodes have been graced by celebrities ranging from Bollywood film stars to fellow chefs.

When pressed to comment on the local vegetarian dining scene, Sarab shared, "Choices are multiplying. Globally and locally, there seems to be a growing awareness of the importance of healthy eating. I am heartened by the fact that most causal and evening fine dining restaurants routinely offer one or two decent and often imaginative vegetarian options among their listings of main courses."

Sarab stressed that she is not fanatical about abstaining from meat. Vegetarianism is very much a personal choice for Sarab, and not something she preaches with evangelical zeal.

Angling for some parting words of culinary wisdom, we asked Sarab what was the secret behind her success. She replied, "Somebody famous one said - I think it may have been Confucius - that if you find a job doing something you love, you'll never have to work a day in your life. I love cooking. It's as simple as that."

When we sampled the spread that Sarab had graciously laid out for us, we could literally taste the love. LessonsGoWhere is honored to have Sarab offering her classes with us! If you're interested to learn more from Sarab, you can book her classes here!

Barbecue Grills

Light 'n' Easy Cooking for Weight Watchers

Fuss-free Eggless Desserts

Sarab's Recipe for Edamame Cilantro Hummus

Edamame -Muhammara-Pomegranate Molasses

Ingredients

500g Edamame, shelled
1/2 Cup Cilantro Leaves
2 Cloves Garlic
2 Tbsp Tahini (a paste made from ground, hulled sesame seeds, typically used in Middle Eastern cuisine)
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Tsp Cumin Powder
1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
3/4 Tsp Salt

Method

Boil the edamame for 5 to 6 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Process the edamame with the rest of the ingredients together until smooth. Transfer to a serving dish. Drizzle some olive oil on top and serve with pita bread.

Sarab Says

Always keep a packet of frozen edamame on standby in your freezer. You can blanch the pods, shell them and toss the beans into a salad or fried rice.