A Valentine's Collaboration: Regional South Indian Cuisine with Seema Pai

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we are collaborating with our friend and chef, Seema Pai on a prix fixe dinner featuring homestyle South Indian cuisine.

Seema and chef Surbhi have curated an exciting menu with dishes rarely found on restaurant menus. This regional food (with its many sub-regions and culinary techniques) offers a taste and understanding of coastal cuisine from across India’s southern shores.

We spoke with Seema about her upbringing, culinary background and what makes this menu collaboration a rarity, even in New York City’s vibrant dining culture.

Seema (right) at a homestay in Chettinad, Tamil Nadu where she learned recipes from a local chef (left).

TAGMO: Where did you grow up and what foods shaped your palate?

Seema: I grew up in Mumbai (I still call it Bombay) and I was raised vegetarian, so I grew up eating lots of fresh vegetables, lentils, all that kind of stuff.

My family is originally from South India. They are from the border of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. South Indian flavors with tamarind and coconut, are still my favorite foods in the world. But after I moved to the U.S., I gave up my vegetarianism and started eating everything, because I wanted to get into food and cook for people. I felt like I will have to taste everything before I can do that.

What’s your professional background and how did you enter the culinary industry?

I'm an ex academic. I have a PhD but no culinary training whatsoever. I’m completely self taught. When I was teaching at Boston University, I started seriously thinking about how to get myself into food. A close friend of mine called me up. She said she wanted to quit her job at Microsoft to start a food truck, and asked if I wanted to do it with her. So, I moved up to Seattle and we ran a food truck for two years. We both got third degree burns. I have a skin graft to show for it. Haha.

We worked out of this 15-year-old UPS truck that we rigged into a food truck. We were these two tiny women in a big truck driving through Seattle selling kati rolls, or frankie’s as they're called in Bombay. it was essentially a kati roll truck and we would do specials. After two years, we kind of both plateaued and dropped the thing. She got married and I wanted to do more food stuff, so I moved to New York City and started working in restaurants.

My first job was at a wine bar in Union Square. I wanted to see if I can actually work in New York restaurants, you know? To see if this is what I want to do with my life. After all, I quit academia for it. I quit a very cushy situation to do food, which is so hard as you very well know. I knew if I could survive New York restaurant life, I felt like I could survive anything. I did that for about 3 1/2 years which is when I met Surbhi.

Saar had just opened and I went there to dinner with my partner. I wanted to taste the food, of course, but I had heard so much about Hemant and Surbhi. After dinner, I just straight-up asked them if they were hiring. And they said, “Sure, come in tomorrow.” And I did. That's how I got to know Surbhi and her cooking.

Now I work at a nonprofit, so I'm excited to reconnect with Surbhi and to be in the kitchen with her. It's been a while.

Seema (left) with her mother (right), who she goes to for most of her recipes.

What was it like curating this collaborative menu with Surbhi? What inspired the dishes chosen, and do they have any significant meaning for you?

Surbhi reached out to me saying she wants to do South Indian food for Valentine's Day. Firstly, who has ever done that in New York City or anywhere else? I was extremely excited because I think people are only aware of such a small portion of Indian food. There's so much diversity in our food that people just don't even know about. The menu features food from Kerala and Tamil Nadu in South India, which is a quite large region.

Our thought process was to showcase dishes that you can't get anywhere else. These are flavors that I've grown up with and miss eating. If I want to eat these dishes, I have to make them myself.

The second part was to give people an experience. It's a special day, so we want to give people an memorable experience where they discover flavors that they are not super familiar with. It’s not paneer and butter chicken. It’s really unique.

We also wanted to make sure that we have a vegetarian version of the menu and that it feels equally fun. It’s important to have harmony between the two versions of the menu so that one person doesn't look at the other person's plate and say, “God, I wish I could eat that.” We don’t want couples fighting on Valentine's Day, haha.

The dishes we chose are typically only eaten in people's homes — even in India. Surbhi has been on this journey where she is trying to showcase that kind of food that’s not available in restaurants within India. The whole time when she was doing home meal delivery during the lockdown, I think it gave people so much pleasure by bringing that kind of food to their home. And I think that's partly why she's so beloved by people. So, I wanted to compliment that when she asked me for suggestions.

Can you talk about any particular dishes on the menu?

My favorites is probably the Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu, which are lentil dumplings in a tangy flavorful sauce. It’s an unusual dish. A lot of people think if there’s a vegetarian dish it has to have paneer. But paneer is not what we eat in South India. Koftas are also we don’t eat in South India. So, I wanted to come up with something that is equally hearty, fun to look at, and fun to eat. I'm looking forward to seeing people's reaction to it.

The recipes we’re using are specifically the recipes I grew up with that come from my family. My paternal grandmother was a fabulous cook. So, it's her recipes that I keep trying to recreate and hopefully have some success with.

Okay, now we’re hungry! Thank you and we can’t wait for this special menu.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Coconut-Orange Burfi

Originally published in the Food52

The perfect winter treat with bitter chocolate, bright citrus and sweet coconut. It’s Surbhi’s take on a classic Indian mithai, with a desi diasporic spin. There is no oven needed to make this mithai, but you’ll need khoya (solidified whole milk) which can be found at your local Indian grocery stores or can be made from scratch by cooking down ricotta cheese.

by Surbhi Sahni

PHOTO BY ROCKY LUTEN

Makes 75 2-inch pieces

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup milk

2 oranges

1/2 cup sugar

1 pound white chocolate (chopped)

1 pound khoya (grated)

6 ounces unsweetened coconut powder, plus 2 tablespoons

1/4 teaspoon powdered green cardamom seeds

5 ounces semi-sweet dark chocolate

2 ounces butter

Instructions

1. Spray an 8x12-inch baking pan with non-stick spray and cover the bottom with parchment paper cut to size.

2. In a heavy-bottomed pot over high heat, bring milk and cream to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and stir the mixture continuously until it is reduced by half and has a thick consistency. This milk reduction is called rabri.

3. Zest the oranges, and add the zest and sugar to the rabri. Increase heat to medium, and cook until the sugar has melted and the rabri begins to bubble.

4. Reduce heat to low, and add white chocolate, khoya, and 6 ounces of coconut powder. After the addition of the coconut, the mixture will get quite thick and will look like it is about to set. (If it is at all thin or runny, add more coconut.) Add powdered cardamom seeds and mix well.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Spread evenly, and level the top. Refrigerate for 6 hours.

6. Once set, use a knife to loosen the burfi, but keep it in the pan. Temper dark chocolate and butter in a double boiler, and pour over the set burfi. Sprinkle remaining coconut on top.

7. Return to refrigerator and allow chocolate topping to cool and harden. To serve, cut burfi into square or diamond shapes.Let the dough cool completely, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Recipe: Cardamom Kaju Katli

Originally published in the Washington Post

Kaju katli is a favorite sweet throughout India, one that I treasured as a child. For a dessert with such lavish ingredients, it's actually very simple to make and doesn’t require any special equipment or laborious techniques. Kaju katli is by default vegan and gluten-free, which makes it a sweet that many people can enjoy.

by Surbhi Sahni

Makes 48 pieces

Ingredients

6 cups (800 grams/28 ounces) whole unsalted raw cashews

2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (135 milliliters) water (filtered, if your tap water isn't neutral-tasting)

2 teaspoons freshly ground cardamom (the seeds from about 40 pods)

2 tablespoons avocado, pecan or walnut oil (may substitute cocoa butter or vegan butter)

Food-grade edible glitter or luster dust (optional)

Instructions

1. Line a small (9-by-13-inch) rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, spraying the pan with nonstick spray to help keep the parchment in place, if desired.

2. In a food processor, process the cashews in small batches until finely ground. Be careful not to overwork the nuts, to avoid leaching oil or turning them into butter. Sort through the powder with your fingers or sift through a wire mesh strainer to remove any large pieces.

3. In a large, deep nonstick skillet or saucepan (deep is important since it will be a lot to stir by the end) over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the water. Whisk the sugar continuously until the mixture comes to a rolling boil and thickens into a syrup, which could take as long as 10 minutes. (Try to use a silicone whisk to avoid scratching the nonstick coating; a silicone spatula is also okay.)

4. Add the ground cashews to the syrup, reduce the heat to low and stir continuously with a wooden or silicone spatula until the mixture resembles a soft dough, 4 to 5 minutes.

5. Add the ground cardamom and avocado, pecan or walnut oil. Stir very briefly, just until the dough is well-combined and fluffy to the touch and takes on a glossy shine, 1 to 2 minutes. If you overcook, the mixture may end up on the dry or crumbly side.

6. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet and let cool until you can work with it, but it is still warm, 1 to 2 minutes.

7. Using greased hands or a rolling pin, flatten the dough until it evenly covers the entire pan. Smooth down the corners using your fingertips or the flat side of a butter knife. The dough will be about 1/2-inch thick.

8. Let the dough cool completely, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

9. Invert the pan onto a clean, flat surface and peel off the parchment paper.

10. Use a clean ruler as a straight edge to help trim the edges with a sharp knife, then cut the dough into the desired shapes with the knife or a cookie cutter. (A good size is 1-by-2-inch bars.)

11. If using, dust the top of each piece with food-grade edible glitter and/or luster dust in bright colors for a festive shimmer.

Cook’s Note

• You can use different kinds of oils for the added fat but avoid anything with a strong flavor. Opt for a good-quality, neutral oil with high saturated fat content, such as avocado or nut-based options, such as pecan or walnut. You can also use cocoa butter or a good-quality vegan butter, such as Miyoko’s.

• Storage Notes: Kaju katli can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 month or frozen for up to 3 months.

• Where to Buy: Food-grade edible glitter or luster dust can be purchased online or at cake/baking supply stores.