For Chef Raji Gupta, cooking is not just a profession. She says it’s her passion. And this passion has propelled her to seek proficiency in various types of cuisines. Having started with cooking traditional Indian dishes and baking at home, Chef Raji went on to hone her skills in the art at prestigious institutions across the globe.

A specialist in Goan cuisine, she has worked in Mumbai and Thailand, and went to Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland where she was trained by celebrity chefs Darina Allen, Rachel Allen, Tim Allen and Rory O’Connell.

Chef Raji, who has gained mastery over the art and science of Asian and European cuisine, is now a gourmet chef and gourmand.

She has shared a couple of her special recipes with The Statesman.

Berry & Me Mocktail

Ingredients

Frozen Cranberries: 1 Cup
Lemonade
Lemon Juice of 1 lemon
Maple Syrup: 3 Tbsp
Few berries
Some ice cube frozen with edible flowers (Optional)

Method

Crush the berries in a blender.Add Lemon juice, Maple Syrup and blend again.Remove in a Jar, Add Lemonade, berries and Ice cube.Serve Chill.

Mug Cake

Ingredients

Soft butter: 2tbsp
Egg: 2tbsp
Honey: 1 tbsp
Caster sugar: 3 tbsp
Almond flour: 3 tbsp
Self raising flour: 3 tbsp
Ground cinnamon: 1/2 tsp
Mixed dry berries
Frozen berries of choice

Method

Mix all the above mentioned ingredients in the mug and mix it well.

Streusel Topping -(to add on the cake batter before baking )

Ingredients

Cold Butter: 3Tbsp
Self raising flour: 1/2 tbsp
Caster sugar: 1/2 tbsp
Rolled oats: 1 tbsp
Ground cinnamon: 1/2 tsp
Almonds roughly chopped: 1/2 tbsp

Method

Bake it for 4 or 4.30 min in microwave and check if done by inserting toothpick if comes out clean it’s ready.
* 350 ml mug microwave usable

Stuffed Bread Vada

Ingredients

Bread slices sides removed or cut in shapes: 6-8
Pistachio and mixed dry berries finely chopped: 1 small cup
Curd: 1 cup
Sugar
Salt

Method

Cut bread in circle shape. Stuff pistachio and mixed berries in between two breads. On a plate, place stuffed bread and add curd on top of all the bread. For Tadka-
On a pan, heat oil. Add, Mustard seeds, Jeera, Dry Red Chillies. Add the Tadka on stuffed bread.

The chef also has her own designated ” speciality” drink. Made out of scoby, which is the live culture for bacteria and yeast, it transforms Kombucha from a sweet tea into a tangy, fizzy beverage. This healthy drink is increasingly creating a niche for itself in India’s foodie culture.