About 3 weeks ago I got a mail from a long lost school mate, asking if I’d like to be a part of a travel n food show. Its with Carol Selva Rajah a celebrated Australian Celebrity Chef and one of the Australian master chef finalists, he said. I was like sure, why not … anything for food. Now I must be really lucky, I blindly said yes, without really knowing the details, All I was told, is that they’d like me to do a little bit of Fusion Cooking. The day after that 8:30 pm sharp, they were at my door – The celebrity chef’s with their filming team. Its only then I realized how big this was, and how fortunate I was to have Beau Cook and Carol Selve Rajah in my house, let alone cooking for them !! They were shooting for this new series – Eat With Your Eyes, that will be out early in 2013. They had toured all over India and covered the food and culture and were now in Mumbai. After filming the popular street food, they were in my house, filming Beau n me, in my kitchen – Cooking ! I cannot even begin to tell you how that felt. I was nervous as hell initially – ya ! first time on camera : it can be pretty unnerving believe you me, plus an amateur home cook, cooking for pros. But it went off so smoothly. It was like one big house party. I didn’t realise where the time slipped by from the moment they entered that door. It was so much fun, just being around them, talking about food, sharing stories and experiences. It was the DP’S (camera man’s) birthday, so we cut a cake, ate, drank, and some part of me wished the night would never end. But as all good thing do, this had too, and thankfully just before they left I remembered to pull my camera out and get a picture of us.
Its only after they left, that I got to see my phone, n realised I had a over dozen messages. Half the girls of the city were envious and would give an arm n a leg to be in my place. Hahahaha … yes it was because of the very talented, extremely kind and sweet, not to mention cute as ever : Beau Cook. Turns out, MasterChef is very popular here, and Beau very famous. So this picture is for you ladies … eat your hearts out … lol :-p
Cherry on the pie is … A little interview with him for you
I just followed the recipe at every point and worked clean and efficient (pays to be clean haha!)
Carol Selva Rajah, is an award winning author of eleven cookbooks on South East Asian cooking. She has had international success as the first Australian woman invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard Foundation in New York, and subsequently on the QE11. She has worked as celebrity chef in hotels in major cities around the world and lectures to students and to interested cooking students and historians. Over the years, Carol has contributed to a diverse range of publications including the Australian Gourmet Traveler. The Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Living Magazine and Kitchen Culture Food and Travel, Singapore. In 2001, she won the coveted Jaguar Gourmet Traveler Award for excellence in Gastronomic Travel for “Day trips to Asia” in Cabramatta which have become a template for other food tours today. Carol divides her time between Malaysia, Los Angeles, California and Sydney writing, teaching and pairing spicy Asian food with beer. She conducts yearly lectures to culinary historians in the US and is in the process of doing a couple of television shows. Carol, was very sweet, warm and I felt comfortable around her instantly. She’s a lady of great experience and yet so humble. She was too kind to give me an autographed copy of her book “Malaysian Cooking” from which I made Sambal Oelek today. The sauce was so good and it took no time at all to prepare it. Its so versatile, that you could make Prawns, Fish anything you like in it. Its great even on its own as a dip. I had some chicken so I just marinated it for a couple of hours in it, and made it a bit saucy-curry style to have it with steamed rice. Sambals are popular in Malayaisa, Indonesia, Singapore, Phillipines, Sri Lanka … Its a paste made from red chillis. I remember I fell in love with it last year, when our family went on one of our many Phuket Holidays. I bought back a jar from there, but after making this I would be silly if I ever bought one again.
Sambal Oelek
24 Red Chillis
2 onions ,sliced
10 cloves of garlic
2 inch piece of ginger
2 teaspoons of soft/shaved palm sugar
200 ml rice vinegar
salt to taste
2 tablespoons oil
Just grind all these ingredients together to form a smooth paste. In a sauce pan, bring to a boil and cook for 5 mintues till the water from the onions evaporates and the sauce reduces a bit. You can cool the sauce and store it in the fridge . Great for marinades and dips.
Chicken Sambal Oelek
Take one whole chicke, jointed and cut into pieces, Make gashes all over so that the sauce seeps deep into the meat. Take a few tablespoons of the sauce and rub it in the chicken and let it marinate about 2 hours.Take some oil in a non stick pan, and stir fry the chicken, making sure it gets colour on all sides. Now pour some more of the sauce , mix well and cover with lid. Let the chicken simmer for about 20 mins or till its done. Now lift the lid and check for seasoning. Add some light soy sauce and a pinch of salt if required. Serve with steamed rice.
This is a spicy dish
I am so proud and happy for you Anky! Wish you continued success, you truly deserve it! It has been long overdue… soak in every minute of this glorious ride!! I am sure this is the beginning of many more exciting things your way
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Good looking family and some good looking food.
Congratulations! This is awesome.
Your chicken dish looks mighty tasty.
Cheers,
Rosa
Wow how lovely does that Chicken look and Beau is dishy. I am in Australia and watched Masterchef religiously. Lucky you
Bebu…very proud of you..and as I watch Masterchef as and when possible, which is quite often, I know Beau quite well..and this chicken looks “orgasmic”….
India’s favourite chef meets Australia’s best! What a combination! One can easily rate her among the best that India has today! The world will now take notice of the sumptous food along with masterclass photography!
After following MC so religiously it seems surreal that Beau was actually cooking and dining with my closest and most talented friend!! I had been super excited for you the whole day and the no. 1 contender on the envious girls list
The chicken looks absolutely succulent to this dubious veggie!
Foodification with the legends,epic!Wish you tonnes of success and experiences every moment ahead.Bon appétit!
Dear Anko,
Im sooo proud of you!you keep suprising us with these unreal achievements…
And first of all….Beau you are so hottt…
And the bonus points are the fact that cook so well:)
Its great to see two extremely talented people get together to do some great work!!!
talent meets super talent!! what fun!! congratulations KT
I am salivating at the food as always … slurrrrp
First of all congratulations…
We are so proud of you Anky Di…!!
You have always been inspiration for me..
You have got great talent and hopefully the whole world will come to know about our GREAT INDIAN MASTER CHEF …!!
Good wishes… lot’s of love…!!
What a fun evening! The food looks delicious as always. Looking forward to seeing this show – it sounds very interesting! Congratulations and big hugs.
Woaahh.. To be in ur shoes and standing next to Beau (swoon) !!! What I wouldn’t give.. Anyways not only am I going to save this, I also going to grill u for every single detail next time I see u… Also I m so very proud of u, congratulations Anky Didi Keep it up.. Please tell Beau how much we love him on our behalf..
Wow Anky! First of all Congratulations.. You have done an amazing thing yet again… But I have to say from all of your achievements this interview with Beau is the hottest and my personal favorite… I watch religiously watch masterchef and I have seen all episodes… We all adore Beau and were so happy when u told us about it… We love you Anky and hope you do many such amazing things in your career.
I am so happy for you! You deserve every bit of recognition for the amazing creations your bring to all of us! Well deserved! And more to come
Anky Di,a big congratulatory hug for your achievement.
I can only imagine how wow the experience must be, to be cooking next to the cutie, Beau Cook. Can’t wait for his show to come out and especially the episode with you.
The Sambal Oelek Chicken look yummy.
Keep up the fantastic work!
The chicken looks great, just like everything you cook! And to do it with a Masterchef finalist and Selva Rajah must have been brilliant! Congratulations, and wish you all the best for everything!!
This is so exciting and so very well deserved, a glimpse into the future! It is no surprise they chose you for their show in India, your delicious and beautiful creations that you dish out speak for themselves. You’re an inspiration for all the moms and young ladies out there! Keep up the great work and keep being bold. The day is close when some girl is going to be giddy to get photographed with you as you were with Beau and Selva!
Anky!! So proud of you. You are one talented cook and hot too
Great to see you and the family and FINALLY eat something you made.
And those tartines were delicious, in case any was wondering. Big hug.