Sarah Todd a fan of India's orthodox cooking techniques, reveals how a tandoor can enhance flavour

Celebrity chef Sarah Todd shuttles between Australia (her home) and India (where she has set up restaurants), the latter of which she’s learnt a lot about given the ample amount of time she’s spent on the sunny beaches of Goa, the busy streets of Mumbai and everything in between. “The first thing I noticed about India is that everyone is a huge foodie! It’s something I realised instantly.”

Technique tools
Todd also says that she loves the way Indian cooking includes a lot of technique, “I feel there is a lot of techniques in India like cooking with the Tandoor or over the flame to add more flavour to the dish. I also discovered the orthodox way of cooking, In a world we talk about advancement out here we still believe in the orthodox way of cooking that is something which reflects Indian cuisines on a global level.”


Diversity in one
But the thing that perhaps fascinates the most is the cultural food diversity in India. One country, many cuisines. “I have travelled across India and something I found very fascinating was the fact that every state has a different food culture or dishes which represent that state and even in a particular state you would find something different every 100 kilometers which shows the diversity of Indian cuisines.”

Another thing that she loves about India is the nutritional value and often, medicinal properties certain dishes tend to have. “As foreigners, we often think that Indian cooking is all about butter chicken and butter naan. Food that is often heavy. But one thing I noticed is that there is something for every situation. If you’re not well, it’s dal khichidi; if you’re dehydrated sip on nimbu paan iro chaas. This kind of diversity isn’t something you find in a lot of cuisines.”