New TV Channel for Food

I still have hangover of Curtis Stone.  Remember him?

Now i also got aroma of James Martin -if I got his name correct? Since i am more focused on food-rather than the cook! However that was not the case when i saw Curtis?

James I found is very innovative. The most intriguing thing to me was the location of his shoot. Is it a shop or a restaurant or a part of street? Or His hideout? When he cooks, many things at his back are visible through transparent glass. I can see the STREET on MOVE. People, cars even A HUGE TRUCK type of vehicle all moving in that street.

Second thing which i noticed was that SINGLE CIRCULAR WOODEN piece. On that everything is done, cutting, mixing etc. Without washing or cleaning with cloth or anything.  Which unlike in another program called Saturday kitchen, i noticed him and his assistants cleaning the table with piece of towel. Anyway His this HIDEOUT is very good, i think the space is optimally utilised. 

In one of his show we can see many famous persons of cookery shows, fighting or competing to make Omelets. The BIKERS were there too. Then there was another concept where they have invited people to tell their recipe and people of cook show try to cook those dishes as per recipe. That was also one of a good interactive program.

NOW in INDIA too we have a full fledged COOKery Channel. Named as KHANA KHAZANA
the nick name of the programme of ZEE hosted by Sanjeev Kapoor.
The TV channel is in developing stage. I hope it may churn out some good shows as well. Not just Imported ones like saturday kitchen etc. which i pre-suppose must have been outdated in the countries of their origin.
Let the TV channel People start a programme on regional food. Our India has greatest Diversity in World.
Even from imitating OPrah Winfrey to the most original food in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya or the most STRONG Chilli of the world in Assam- nick named as Bhoot Jholakia. Lemon rice to the Mughlai Biryani.
New Channel has to grow further. In a country where with every kilometre langauge/dialect changes I am sure even fooding habits also change. Here we have FAMILY Traditions of FOOD. Many families have food traditions followed since centuries and passed on by generations to generations.
Not many celebrate the NAVROJ festival and only few families know the secret tradition of cooking food on NAVROJ. Similarly, regional things are also there. The TV channel can think of preserving the Diversity of food. I think Channel may be having shortage of Funding or sponsorship. Do we have large companies involved in commodities to sponsor these food shows. I doubt?
There is a flood of Food programs cookery shows and TV Channels. KhanaKhazana #FOODFood #LIVINGFoodz etc. Travels shows on BBC and Discovery also featured some cookery or food related shows.
Later TLC started airing various programs on Food. Some 30 years back one or two programs were shown on Doordarshan, that was only TV channel we had. After 1982 National Program of Doordarshan started beaming throughout India. Thanx to ISRO scientists.
I liked few shows on TLC and Discovery channels. most memorable must be the Nigella Lawson,



obviously has to be due to the beautifull Host?

Earlier there was Smt Madhur Jaffery whose indian cooking shows on BBC were most awaited by me.

Later her programs on Indian cooking shot in Indian locations such as goa, Kolkata, Mumbai or Delhi etc were very good. Most exciting was her show on cooking at Wagah Border at Indo Pak Border.

Then there was one program where she talked to many Indian origin ladies settled in Britain but they started cooking delicious food and made it as their occupation or livehood option. As back home they knew this cooking and not any other skills?

Khana Khazana and shows of Sanjeev Kapoor were famous on Zee TV and also the blue version of Star Plus.

 

HOT soup

Watching these mouth watering cookery shows, i think if i can do the same.
I like all the cook show presenters Nigella, Kylie, James, FLoyd, Madhur,  Curtis (add if i left anybody here). What they do is put lot of green vegetables. Few even just take it and put in the cooking pot. But being in the place where we live, It becomes impossible for me to use so much green. Once Nigella poured the entire packet of spinach straight out of a packet into the pan.  I just cannot imagine doing here.
Now days on TV we get to see how dirty the veg markets are?. The farmers are using PESTICIDES, FERTILIZERS, INSECTICIDES. Now in the age of Science and Information technology farmers or traders are putting even PRESERVATIVEs. not only that HARMONAL injections, COLORing agents to keep the vegetables Saleable!!. To add it more, the Ayurveda TSUNAMI came into India. So everybody is going green. Sweet gourds, Bitter gourds and lots of other herbs and medicinal plants are in demand and if I may say so these things are being tailor made now a days. 

Recipe of a HOT SOUP

So what I just did is:-

Take few cubes or pieces of carrots, beetroot, green peas, Onion (chopped in four pieces), Ginger (diced) or crushed, one or two cloves of garlic, Green chilies( as per your limits !!!!) , Properly washed Coriander leaves. Tomato etc as per your need.
Put every thing into a pressure cooker (why??- just to save fuel).  just pressure cook, not completely but only one whistle.

I also add cumin, HEENG  asoefiteda , fenugreek seeds, cloves, Black Pepper (few kernels as per taste or liking) into the pressure cooker.

Take out all the half cooked things. Use blender, grinder, mixer etc..all things into paste

Put a WOK/ kadai or Pan on stove. Put some oil of choice.  When oil heats, put Mustard seeds, cumin, fenugreek seeds.
if you like one can add masala, garam or curry masala, dry ginger powder. On cracking, add the paste from  the blender.  Add salt to taste. heat upto one boil?

ADD ONS:

few small pieces of fried bread. to float
Mint leaves
or 
Basil leaves- but here in India we dont use Basil while cooking soups etc
Butter or cheese or cream can be added on top.
If anyone wants ONLY TOMATO SOUP then remove all other veg and take only tomatoes.

At first sight, Take cook home

Food for thoughts. Is it correct?

when i saw Curtis Stone in "Take home a cook" a program on TV, i forgot the food!!!

the most sexiest and handsome cook ever came to my TV. It was like Love at first sight!  

I could not take my eyes off TV. I Thought how to take this cook HOME?

I even started thinking to start such venture in Lucknow. But then on second thought I dropped it. Since in Lucknow this format of take home a cook concept may not work. Though now when so many cook shows are being aired, who knows even this concept becomes popular.

Earlier Nigella show was on the top slot on Discovery and TLC TV channels

Few shows I liked are Kylie Kwong, Madhur Jeffrey, Floyd's, James Martin etc. 

Initially Nigella Lawson was always on our must see list, when the living channel of Discovery started beaming in our home TV. Her trade mark was the scene where at the end of show she is shown eating some left over kept in her fridge/refrigerator. Thus on one hand she teaches not to waste or not to throw away left over food. On the other she indicates that there is no specific time of eating, specially if you have desire to eat.

One of the Kylie's show where grandmother, mother and daughter came together was very nice one. They cooked mashed potato, a sweet dish. We never eat or prepare potato with sugar etc, its beyond our apprehension or pallet's taste. But the show was nicely done. There was a competition between Kylie and her mother. The daughter was supposed to judge, as to who the kylie or the grandmother cooked tasty.  I remember grandmother won the contest. This symbolized that the elder generation had lots of magic in their hands, and most probably the magic was the untiring LOVE for the children. Though Kylie is a professional cook but still her mother cooked a better dish, as far as the grand daughter is concerned. Family bonding is most essential ingredient to making of a perfect HOME. not the walls or materials of wall, or the cost of A/C in your house. The bonding between the family members must be healthy.

Moreover Kylie describes every nuances related to food or dish in a very tactful manner and often with her smiling face lots of positive vibes comes into the cooking. Thus she makes cooking a lighter and stress-less exercise. She often tells about cooking secrets of Chinese food/dishes. { Confucianism etc in food ]

Other show once I saw was of Anthony Bourdain?, Ian wright, Food bazaar or Feast bazaar.
Anthony Bourdian's show is very light and free spirit type. often a traveler's diary type. it is without any element of stress. But with lots of information, hints.

The Floyd's was something strange. I felt it was full of Colonial Aura!!. The show was only meant for the UK audience.

Then there was a show by much famous Madhur Jaffery. Dont you remember her? She acted in a Ismail Merchant film Merchant Ivory? this pic shows her in that role

Her show was earlier telecast on other channels also prior to Discovery's living channel. Her style was if i may say so, full of RAW Technics- means devoid of any sophistication. Everything is just thrown into the hot WOKE, put together and mixed to cook. Which, otherwise people on other shows take time in sprinkling even a pinch of salt.

Floyd's concept of using the bowls made from leaves is superb and ecofreindly. Unlike, in other shows i find there are small and smaller bowls of glass for everything. for a spoon of vinegar, a spoon of masala etc. which look funny to me. But in Madhur and floyds show it is different. Madhur ji  did a show on Wagah border, that too i liked.
However they are all nice. But in few cook shows i found food and food making concept takes a back seat than the personality of the cook itself. then these shows become personality shows not the cookery shows.

 
In this context latest addition ranked First among all the shows. Kismet production- The FOOD SAFARI on Fox Traveller. The show concept is totally different, but the packaging and editing is very cleverly done. I loved this show. In a short span of time it tells the story of food culture, the background-history, the process, the variety of food, the ways of cooking. So it is a nice mix of everything. As I found out.













I just wish that if i can keep copy of all the programmes.

Samantha concept is somewhat based on projecting the Hotels and travel, but not the FOOD. Once she opened a can and tasted those fish, they were rotten. 
Next time i will write on the new shows.