Celebrity chef Vikas Khanna’s fondest food memory of a dish cooked in an Indian iron kadhai is his grandmother's aloo methi ki sabzi. He reminisced about how methi sabji in cast iron has a different kind of tone and can never taste right in a non-stick or aluminium pan.
During our conversation about cookware and his recent launch with Bergner, he said that Indian cuisine was never meant to impress. It was always about cooking to heal and nourish. But with changing times, everything requires a 2.0 version. Adaptability is the key to evolving and surviving, and this is where kitchens have evolved to more open styles in design, and also where a new essential need has arisen for designer cookware that can make its way to the table directly from the stove. That is where his interest in creating a new and modern range of cookware came from.
Vikas said, “My mother refuses to throw away her pans. Her non-stick pans have burned out and lost their layers and coating, but she claims they still work. This is where a true understanding of cookware and coating is important. I want to be a pollinator of the right information. The truth is, we are overusing old non-stick pans at the cost of our health. We are ready to pay double to eat organically grown food, but we do not have enough information and conversation going around that talks about the cookware we need to use.”
