If destiny hadn’t intervened, Rahul Akerkar would have become a biochemical engineer and the world would have been deprived of his stupendous culinary skills.
After a falling out with his advisor at Columbia University and dabbling in various other professions such as real estate and selling silver jewellery, Rahul realised that the one thing that has remained constant is cooking – he had been working at various restaurants at night to earn that extra buck. “One day it just hit me – ‘hey, you’re enjoying this, so why not make a life out of it? And that’s how it was,” he says with a smile.
Starting with Under The Over, and then Indigo, his flagship restaurant in Colaba, to the year-old Qualia in Lower Parel, the chef has packed in some mighty three decades of serving good food. In these 30 years, the chef shares that the things that have changed and the things that have remained constant are connected in some or the other ways. “I have always paid attention to detail and sweated the small stuff. But the way you did that in the ‘90s is different from the way you do it now. People have different expectations from their meals today than they had back then. The expression of what we do has changed but the underlying ethos stays the same,” he shares.
Secondly, he believes that the Indian diner is pretty adventurous when it comes to trying out new things. “That’s always been there but now, people are a lot more exposed and have all the vocabulary to express their likes and dislikes about the food. So, that’s a big change, but again the underlying spirit that drives it is the same,” he adds.
At his labour of love Qualia, the dishes are completely ingredient-driven. “The dishes can be very simple, but you make the ingredient the star. At Qualia, we do a lot of pickling and fermenting that give certain boldness to the flavours and make them pop in your mouth,” he concludes.
RECIPE BY CHEF RAHUL AKERKAR
Fermented Tomato Burrata, Avocado Soup, Pickled Celery with Almonds
Ingredients
For Fermented Tomatoes
Red Tomato, 500 gms
Celery, 50 gms
Salt, 30 gms
Water,1 ltr.
Black Peppercorns, 10-12 nos.
Garlic, 4-6 nos.
Bay Leaves, 2 nos.
For Tomato Salad
Heirloom Tomato, 250 gms
Fermented Tomato, 250 gms
Chive, chopped, 10 gms
Parsley, chopped, 5 gms
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 60 ml
White Balsamic, 20 ml
Honey, 10 ml
Salt and Pepper
For Avocado Soup
Avocado, ripe & mashed, 1 no.
Sour Cream, 50 gms
Spinach, blanched, 10 gms
Coriander, 5 gms
Vegetable Stock, chilled, 150 ml
Lemon Juice, 10 ml
Honey, 10 ml
Green Chilli, 1 no.
Salt and Pepper
For Pickled Celery
Celery Stalk, 200 gms
Sugar, 50 gms
Salt, 5 gms
White Wine Vinegar, 50 ml
For Garnish
Almond Flakes, roasted, 40 gms
Pickled Celery, 20 gms
Celery Microgreens, 15 gms
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 20 ml
Baby Burrata, 4 nos.
Preparation
For Fermented Tomatoes
- Wash tomatoes and prick the top and bottom a couple of times with a fork.
- Place tomatoes, celery stalks, garlic and spices in a sterilized mason jar.
- Bring water to boil in a pot. Once heated, add salt and pour the hot liquid over the tomatoes in the jar, leaving an inch of free space on top. Seal the jar and let it sit at room temperature for several days.
- After the second day, you will need to “burp” your jar by opening and resealing the lid to release the build-up of fermentation gas.
- After 3-4 days, you will find the liquid in the jar has turned cloudy. This is good. It’s meant t.
- Bubbles will rise through the liquid and pop on the surface around the fourth day. The tomatoes are ready to eat by this point, but you may choose to let them ferment further. They’ll get funkier as time goes on. Whenever you decide to stop, transfer the jar to the refrigerator to slow down the fermentation, if not totally stop it. Just remember to “burp” the jar every three-four days even while refrigerated.
For Avocado Soup
1. Peel and de-seed the avocado.
- Add the avocado flesh with other ingredients to a blender jar. Blend to a thick soup consistency. Refrigerate, well covered, to prevent it from discolouring until use.
For Pickled Celery
1. Separate the individual celery stalks from the bunch by prying them off the bottom until they snap off.
- Wash the individual stalks under cold running water to remove any dirt. Trim off and discard the large white section from the bottom of each stalk.
- Using a vegetable peeler, remove the fibrous, thread-like outer skin on the convex surface and discard. Continue using the peeler and shave off long ribbons of celery peels.
- Marinate celery ribbons in a dressing of vinegar, salt and sugar and store in a non-reactive container, refrigerated for two hours before use.
For Heirloom Tomato Salad
1. Cut heirloom tomatoes in different shapes (wedges, rounds, halves, slices) depending upon the size.
- Using a pair of kitchen tongs, remove a couple of fermented tomatoes from the brine. Peel and cut into wedges.
- Dress with a vinaigrette made from the vinegar, oil and herbs and adjust the seasoning.
To Serve
- In a coupe plate, place the marinated tomatoes along one edge and pour some of the avocado “soup” beside them in the centre.
- Garnish the tomato salad with pickled celery, microgreens and roasted almond flakes.
- Place a cut open burrata on the tomato salad and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over it and the tomatoes. At last, season with crushed black pepper and a pinch of salt.
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