When Sandeep Pandit was eight-and-a-half-years-old, his mother taught him how to cook basic Indian meals — dal, rice and subzi. What started off as a chore everyone needs to learn, soon became a passion for him. “Back then, 30 years ago, we didn’t have a refrigerator. So it was important to heat the food so that it wouldn’t get spoilt. I had to learn how to do that. My mother and grandmother taught me how to cook,” says Pandit, who is a contestant in one of the most prestigious cooking reality shows, MasterChef Australia Season 11.
Born in Kashmir, brought up in Bengaluru and settled in Australia since 2016, Pandit is a somewhat of a wizard when it comes to spices. “My biggest strength in the kitchen is cooking savoury food. I think I have the ability to know how to balance flavours in any dish using spices, which has come with good experience,” he says.
Though the chef received some flak from audiences online, who were dissatisfied with the way he was dishing out various curries on the show, many came out in support of him being inspired by his roots. “I wanted to showcase the length and breadth of Indian cooking. And this means not just the curries and a couple of naans put together. I wanted to show audiences around the world that there is a lot of variation in dishes which simply have rice as well. These rice dishes are made in thousands of ways in India, and if I was to make one such dish for every single day of the show, I would still make it to the end. I think I was successful in helping the world discover the various Indian rice preparations,” he says. The contestant was lauded for his Lemon Pepper Chicken and Lemon Rice, as judges marvelled at the dish and gave him a perfect score which made him win the ‘immunity pin’.
Ask him what he thought gave him an edge over the other participants and the chef credits the diverse cuisine of the country he grew up in. “My ability to understand Indian cuisine, right from Kashmir to the southern states, and the various street food, makes me understand food I feel. I’ve been doing this for 30 years now as an amateur cook, and it definitely gives me an advantage over the other contestants,” he says.
But the ultimate test of skill, says he, is the pressure test. “Many a time, people forget that we only have 60, and sometimes 75, minutes to make the entire presentation. So time management is a very important aspect in the show. You have to practise a lot. Before anyone commences their MasterChef journey, they get some time to practice. I did so too at my home before going on the show. You have to hone your skills. Since time is of the essence, you constantly have to make sure that you use your 60 minutes judiciously, and practice is the only way you can be confident about it,” he says.
Though he doesn’t think desserts are his forte, he definitely has a sweet tooth. “I actually make a lot of ice cream and enjoy it with my son. We even have a commercial grade ice-cream maker at home,” he says, adding, “But my guilty pleasure would be Gulab Jamun. I just can’t get enough of them. There’s nothing better than deep fried Gulab Jamun. I also like Kala Jamun, which is similar. You can call it a heart attack on a plate, but I’m willing to get as many heart attacks as possible,” he laughs.
Apart from cooking, he is also an enthusiastic reviewer and an interesting blogger. You can find his reviews of various restaurants in Bengaluru on Zomato. Though he did not win the show, he continues to pursue his ambition of opening a concept restaurant that serves Indian varieties of barbecue and biryani. “I want to continue my journey of talking about food, presenting the recipes that are getting lost. And TV is the best medium for this because of its wide reach. I’ve already got a headstart with MasterChef. I want to run a concept restaurant that introduces people to barbecue meats and vegetables, and biryani from different parts of India. I am also marketing my own brand of garam masala called Spice Angel,” says Pandit who was nicknamed Spice Angel on the show.
