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• Q and A with S. Muralidharan

Whether it’s in a lab or kitchen, experimenting is a part of life. In the book A Short Course in Culinary Experiments, author Sukumaran Muralidharan encourages readers to do a little bit of experimenting of their own: by way of vegetarian Indian cooking. The author emphasizes simple preparation yielding delicious results. Now that’s something to look forward to. I recently got in touch with the author as he provided me with some very interesting background and his story behind the book. Tuck those napkins in your shirt collar and read on.

What inspired you to write A Short Course in Culinary Experiments? Did you have a particular audience in mind when you wrote this?

Among various cuisines of the world, Indian cuisine stands out for the exploration of vegetarian foods to the greatest degree. Vegetarian foods in the Indian context are dishes that are prepared without using meats of any kind, fishes of any kind and eggs. Another unique feature of Indian vegetarian culinary tradition is that no attempt is made, whatsoever, to make any particular vegetarian dish to “taste like” a meat dish. Thus, the idea of imitation-meat is alien to this vegetarian culinary culture. Hence, if you are a vegetarian or inclined to eat a more plant-based diet, there will be merits in learning Indian food preparations. Unfortunately there is perception among people here that Indian cooking is complicated. This might be because of the belief that numerous spices are needed, and most of them are unknown to many people. My attempt in this book is to show people that tasty vegetarian foods can be prepared in an uncomplicated way, with minimum number of spices and minimum number of steps. Thus, the theme of the book is, “Simple is Tasty”. The specific inspiration for the book came from a trip that I undertook number of years ago, to the (then) Soviet Union. You can read about this trip in the first chapter of the book.

The book will be of interest to the following groups of people: vegetarians, vegans, those who likes to likes to cook vegetarian foods (even if they are non-vegetarians), food aficionados (especially those of Indian cuisine), environmentalists, and of course, people like Kim Nguyen – just curious about other cuisines of the world and would like to go for an exploratory journey in the kitchen.

As I have just started cooking in my college years, I find it hard to venture out into unfamiliar territory (as in other types of cuisine using unfamiliar ingredients). Did you write this book as a kind of teaching tool to help stave off the intimidation

factor that comes with attempting to tackle another culture's cuisine? If so, how did you accomplish that in your book?

Yes, this book can be considered as a teaching tool to stave off the inertia and intimidation factors associated with an unfamiliar culinary practice. Many people would have sampled Indian cuisine from Indian restaurants, during their trips aboard or from friends. However, because of the perception that this cuisine is complicated or that you have to have a familial and historical connection to make this cuisine at home, most people don’t bother to attempt prepare Indian foods. Since the theme of the book is, “Simple is Tasty,” the intimidation factor is removed. My belief is that a person with some culinary skills and a curious outlook will be able to prepare tasty vegetarian foods, by following the procedures described in the book. In the “materials section” of the book, a descriptive account is given about the spices used.

How long have you been interested in cooking? Was cooking a significant part of your family life?

I grew up in India and at that time, my interest in vegetarian cuisine was limited to consuming tasty dishes prepared by others (my grandmother, mother & sister). During that period, my culinary expertise ranged from making coffee to making tea. When I went to graduate school in Canada, I was forced to prepare vegetarian foods at home as the university cafeteria had practically no vegetarian options available (now, I am sure that things will have improved greatly). I discovered that cooking and experimenting with various things were rewarding in many ways, the most obvious being tasty and nourishing foods. Now, cooking is a significant part of family life and I enjoy it very much.

What kinds of experiments does this book inspire? Do they intend to do more than venture out into another approach to this cuisine, such as giving advice on saving money while shopping for certain ingredients?

The way in which the book is organized is as follows:

1. There is a basic recipe with the minimum number of ingredients and minimum number of steps.

2. Then, there are variations on that basic recipe – this is mostly to accommodate switching of spices (if one kind is not available), alteration of cooking steps, etc.

3. Beyond steps 1 & 2, there are suggestions for trying out various experiments. Here, I hope that the reader will take initiative to try out new things, anchoring on the basic recipe, but add their own flavor (pun intended). For example: Kim Nguyen is well versed in Vietnamese cuisine. After the preparation of a recipe and tried some of the variations as described in the book, she will get a new idea to prepare this recipe incorporating some Vietnamese cooking technique(s) or ingredient(s). I have absolutely no idea what this might be; but Kim Nguyen will have discovered a new preparation on her own – and the pride and joy associated with that discovery.

I have not given specific suggestions in the book on how to save in grocery bills. My approach is this: I go to the produce market once a week (or farmers market when in season) and buy what is fresh & what is cheap. Afterwards, I try to figure out what to make with those vegetables. By this approach, I am glad to report that, so far, the food inflation of the recent months is only having a minimal impact on my grocery bill.

How do you feel about your book in an influential standpoint against the collegiate audience that makes up a significant percentage of buzz readers? Do you think it could provide many benefits and help to the college student?

Little background for this answer:

Traditionally people chose a vegetarian diet for one or more of the following reasons:

1. Religious belief – Example for this is the idea of Ahimsa (or non-violence) propagated by the Jains and a section of Hindus in India.

2. Concern for the well-being of animals. e.g.:- PETA

3. Personal health reasons. e.g.:- work of Dr. Dean Ornish

Now, an equally important reason for choosing a plant-based diet is emerging in the public arena – the environmental effects of raising farm animals for foods. The environmental burden on the planet is nearly 10 fold more for raising animals for food, compared to a plant-based diet.

University students are likely to be aware of the last point mentioned above and my book will help them towards a plant-based diet, based on Indian culinary traditions. In addition, university students are likely to warm up to the idea of conducting experiments, mentioned before, in the kitchen. Routinely, they do many kinds of experiments in their labs. These kitchen experiments have one distinct advantage – the experimental results can be eaten and it is also good for you. Yep, good deals, eh?