'Healthy food needn't be bland'

“Whisper chicken no butter masala, to any calorie-conscious foodie and they are bound to go crazy,” says MasterChef India Pankaj Bhadouria, who recently visited the Cambridge University.
Since the idea of her visit to Cambridge and London was to let people know that healthy food needn’t be tasteless, Pankaj doled out steamy hot chicken no butter masala for the audience.“It is a myth that healthy food has to be bland. There is a lot you can do to make your boring meal luscious. I chose Indian dishes like chicken no butter masala, gatte ki subzi, fish in coconut sauce, vegetables in poppy seed paste and berry sandesh and mango sandesh for desserts. But the response I got for my chicken no butter masala was overwhelming.”
Pankaj says preparing these is no big deal. All you need is fine knowledge of the ingredients to be used and the best low-calorie substitutes. “You can relish chicken masala without adding oodles of butter. Similarly, for gatte ki subzi, you can opt for yoghurt gravy instead of the regular pyaaz tamatar gravy. You may find berry sandesh and mango sandesh funny, but both these fruits make for best substitutes for sugar or artificial sweeteners. None of the dishes I made had the health, nutrition and taste factor ignored.” So, what more did she do during her visit? “I launched an Olympic menu at a restaurant in London,” she claims.
She also got a chance to meet celebrity chef Vikas Khanna, “I visited Vikas’ restaurant and we both judged a food festival together. I’m looking forward to my next visit,” she says and then adds as an afterthought, “I can ask someone at the Cambridge University to help me prepare something nutritious, yet interesting for The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.”
Talking about her new-found celebrity status, she says. “It is a great feeling when people admire you and say “Aapne Lucknow ka naam roshan kar diya.”
Pankaj, who is now busy with her cookery show, promises to help viewers enjoy the art of cooking. “I’ll make sure that people look at cooking as a stress buster,” she says.