Hi I am Madhu! I am a home chef with an unconventional approach to cooking. Why do I call myself unconventional? I have been creating home recipes “free” of guilt for over 20 years. I make all kinds of food – ghar ka khaana or creative gourmet dishes, that anyone can eat without hesitation. A method I have mastered.
Food has always been at the centre of my life. Being a keen observer full of curiosity and finding happiness in creativity, I am always looking for new ideas to add to my cooking repertoire. On all my travels, within India or abroad, I am always on the lookout for local and authentic dishes that could spark my imagination and inspire me to create a desi (and healthy) version of the dish back in India.
Why the focus on healthy? Well let my take you back two decades ago. As a new mom and a loving wife I have always wanted nothing but the well-being of my family. And I was fortunate to discover that the best way to a healthy life was to figure out a way to combine healthy cooking with Indian flavours – easier said than done right?
After an extended research I found the answer to my quest – an organisation in Mumbai called ‘The Health Awareness Centre’ run by Dr Vijaya Venkat and her daughter Anju. A 9 weeks course that I did with them changed the way I looked at food – for the rest of my life. The course covered everything I had to know about our body functions and rhythm, and reasons for illness and triggers and methods for wellness; and how important a role of food we eat, played in all these matters. During the course I understood the true meaning of ‘You are what you eat’. The result? Since then, for the last 20 plus years, my family has never had to take any medicine – ever. And that’s my biggest achievement.
And as they say all great things don’t just fall from the sky – the journey to a healthy and happy lifestyle was definitely a challenging but successful one. I had to unlearn almost everything about the age-old cooking style and revamp my kitchen inventory. I had make sure I did all this gradually to avoid what I call – change shock for my family. Food is very personal to everyone in their own way – it is comfort, pleasure, habit, convenience, taste, survival, health, social interaction, craving, information and many more things to people. I had to take care to address all these needs, and also keep health at the centre of my mission.
But guess what the more I did it the more I discovered the value of it and the more I enjoyed every moment of it. I created recipes which had all the parameters of healthy eating, without compromising on the flavour and taste. I would spend great amount of time understanding the ingredients and planning and creating a recipe which had texture, form, colour, flavour and taste! I felt like I a good designer. 🙂 The parameters were gluten free, vegan, no sugar (processed) and very low usage of oil. Now you must be wondering – how can I make any dish that appeals to Indian tastes without these ingredients. Sounds impossible right?? Well not anymore, because I have covered the tough part of the journey for you and I am more than delighted to share with you many easy peasy recipes, selected from my creations from the last 20 years through my column on TFN titled come let’s UN:GUILT YOUR FOOD!
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