GARIMA ARORA

RESTAURANT GAA BANGKOK

Garima Arora’s passion for the culinary art began in her family’s humble kitchen in Mumbai. Having studied to be a journalist, Garima made the switch to the culinary world with a short cooking stint in Paris, France. Since then, she has worked in some of the top kitchens of the world to eventually opening her own Restaurant Gaa in 2017. Known for applying traditional Indian cooking techniques with locally sourced ingredients, Garima creates an experience that is completely unique. She is a strong advocate for the relevancy and resourcefulness of Indian cooking techniques. She is the founder of Food Forward India; a not-for-profit initiative aiming to explore and catalogue the immense diversity of the cuisines of India. In 2018, Arora became the first Indian female chef to earn a Michelin star at the age of 32. In the following year, she was voted as Asia’s Best Female Chef 2019 while her restaurant Gaa officially entered the ranks of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, debuting at No. 16 with the Highest New Entry Award. Gaa is currently ranked at No. 46 on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2020 list.

INGREDIENTS Moong Daal Chilla

1 cup yellow mung dal / ¼ cup rice / 8 to 10 coriander stems / 1g cumin / pinch of hing / pinch of turmeric / 1 tbsp cabbage 1 tbsp carrots / 1 tbsp green peas’ / 1 tbsp onions / 1 tbsp tomatoes / ½ tsp ginger 1 tsp coriander leaves / chenna, roll into small balls, 8 to 10 balls / salt for seasoning vegetable oil or ghee for cooking

Method

Wash and rinse the lentil and rice. Add the corridor stems, hing, cumin and turmeric. Soak it for 45 minutes. Drain and blend everything without the water. The blend should be grainy. Take the batter, add the rest of the ingredients. Add water to adjust the consistency. It should be a semi thick batter. Take a small pan, preferably an omelette pan. Add ghee, then add the batter and spread it. Let it cook until golden brown and flip it. Continue with making the rest using the same method. Take it out on a plate and serve it with mint chutney, tamarind chutney and a side of green salad.

Mint chutney

50g coriander / 25g mint / 40g raw mango 10g ginger / black salt for seasoning / salt for seasoning / 2g chat masala / few ice cubes / 1 lime

Method

Blend everything together.

Tamarind sauce

100g tamarind / 1g black salt / 1g red chili powder / 1g ginger powder / 250g jaggery / 1g chat masala / black pepper for seasoning / 1g coriander seeds / 2g cumin powder / 2g fennel

Method

Soak the tamarind for 30 minutes, then put it in a pan to boil. Once it starts boiling, add the jaggery and rest of the ingredients. Reduce it to a saucy consistency and strain it. This is a recipe of a savoury Indian pancake called Moong Daal Chilla. These nutritious pancakes will get you ready for the day with healthy carbs, fats and fibre. It is made of rice and yellow moong daal, topped with tamarind and mint chutney then served with a side of green salad

MOONG DAAL CHILLA

by GARIMA ARORA