She may have impressed the judges of Masterchef Australia with pani puri and Indo-Italian meatballs, but there’s plenty more where that came from with Sumeet Saigal. The Indian-origin contestant — who made it to the top 9 of the sixteenth edition of the competition — sits down with Lifestyle Asia to talk about representation, her favourite dining spots in her home city Bangalore, and how she taps into her spice box of recipes to create culinary magic.
“The biggest influence of my cooking style has got to be my Indian heritage. That is my main game,” Sumeet Saigal states, adding that she’s not wholly traditional. This is courtesy of the fusion of cultures in her life — starting with her Punjabi identity, going on to her childhood in the South Indian city of Bangalore and culminating in her time in Australia. She brought a fresh take on the cuisine to the sixteenth outing of the popular reality culinary series Masterchef Australia — impressing judges Andy Allen, Poh Ling-Yeow, Sofia Levin and Jean-Christophe Novelli with her flavourful creations. This included whipping up an impressive plate of Pork Kofta Curry with Cumin Raita in just 30 minutes.
“It’s beautiful,” judge Sofia Levin shared after a bite. “It’s generous, it’s you, it’s sauce boss,” she added. The Indian-origin contestant has carried the moniker with her since she conquered a challenge that resulted in her creation ‘Sumeet’s Intalian Simmer Sauce’ going up for sale in retail stores. And although her time in the Masterchef Australia kitchen drew to a close with a stunning plate of Blue cheese, Bacon and Egg Naan, there’s much to look forward to from Sumeet Saigal. In an exclusive interaction, we delve into her world — touching upon her time in the kitchen, her childhood, and what keeps her going.
In conversation with Masterchef Australia season 16’s Sumeet Saigal
Have you encountered any preconceived notions about yourself or Indian cuisine?
Because I look Indian, people expect that I would only be making Indian. But Indians in general do cook many different cuisines and are very well versed in the foods around the globe. When I first entered the kitchen, I think the judges as well as my co-contestants sort of expected that the only thing that they could expect out of me was some sort of an Indian curry. I do bake and dwell in other cuisines of the world, I do a lot of roasts and steaks and different types of food.
Then there’s the curry stereotype — it’s such a generic term to be used for a country that has so many different varieties of foods. It’s like saying European food, which you can’t box it into one thing. Within India, Indians are aware of the fact that with a South Indian curry — a Kerala curry can be so different from a Chennai curry and a Hyderabadi-style curry. But outside of India, there is that stereotype which needs to be broken.
You have been quite vocal about celebrating your culinary heritage. What challenges have you encountered so far or braced yourself for?
When I make a curry, people expect it to be somewhat butter chicken-esque. But it doesn’t need to be, there can be other flavours outside of the butter chicken style of a curry. Sometimes you are trying to describe food to the judges and you are telling them the style of the food because they are not always aware of the different nuances of India. It becomes hard to give it a description and likeness of what they should experience. So that was definitely a challenge for me to express in the competition.
What inspired your out-of-the-box and innovative cooking style?
Definitely my grandfather, my daarji. But then also growing up and living in different parts of the world has also inspired me to look at Indian food a little differently. Now people are doing such beautiful things with Indian food — Indian chefs doing incredible things, chefs outside India doing incredible things with Indian flavours. Indian food itself has taken such a modern turn, that there is inspiration everywhere.
Indian food often looks simple but is quite technical or takes hours to get right. How do you work around that in a competitive, fast-paced competition like Masterchef?
It is actually about trying to find hacks in terms of how to pack in as much flavour as possible in the time challenges. My approach has always been to stay true to the authentic base spices but try to find quicker ways to be able to cook the onions through, get the masala going faster, roast the spices. And work as fast as you can, to be honest. There are also other limitations like the Masterchef pantry doesn’t have everything that I would need for the curry or the proper masala that I require for the dish that I’m making. Then I have to work and adapt and edit sometimes and compensate with other spices that there may be.
Fusion food has always been the heart of Indian dining. What are some of your favourite Indian fusion combinations or creations?
Yes, lots of influences have already come to India — Mughals, Portuguese, Chinese, British, Dutch, French — which make it such a melting pot of fusion food. My favourite has got to be Indo-Chinese, oh my god. Love! My mouth waters as I’m talking about. It is something that I really look forward to every time I travel back to India.
If you had to craft a sauce for your city Bengaluru, what would it have?
I think I would like to craft the sambar masala type of vibe, you know. So actually bring that sambar masala into a sauce that can be used for different purposes.
You have spoken about your love for spices in the past — what are your top 5 favourite spices to work with in the kitchen?
I think my five most favourite spices would have to be the cornerstones of Indian cooking — cumin, coriander, chilly, turmeric and kasuri methi. And if I could do a sixth one I would say cardamom.
What are your favourite places to eat in Bengaluru and what’s on your bucket list for the next time you are in town?
Tell you what, my favourite places to eat in Bangalore are actually old school. Somebody who recently moved to Bangalore wouldn’t even know what I’m talking about. I loved breakfast at — it’s very sad but it has closed up — Chalukya on Palace Road. I love Woodland’s and Kebab Corner. I love the Bangalore Club Chilli Chicken in the lawns. And then there used to be a restaurant (now it’s closed) called Quality on Brigade Road. I love Koshy’s for their Liver Masala, Gangotree for the chaat, and Anand for the mithai. You shouldn’t have asked me this question because I can keep going. I really like the Lauki Ka Halwa in Bhagathram Sweets on Commercial Street. That’s another big favourite of mine.
Is there anything that you’d like to say to our readers?
I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to highlight Indian cuisine and represent it in Masterchef Australia. I know it is such an aspirational, inspirational program that Indians across the world watch and aspire to be in. So I’m really grateful that I had this opportunity but also to highlight the versatility of an Indian cook. Yeah and also just follow your dreams, you know. Keep at it, Don’t give up.
Watch Sumeet Saigal in MasterChef Australia Season 16 on Disney+ Hotstar here.
(Hero and feature images: Courtesy Sumeet Saigal/Masterchef Australia)
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