Foodie Talk with Sanket Savalyia

#FoodBuzzz

Name – Sanket Savaliya

Instagram handle - @iamsankey

What is your favourite food memory from childhood?
Well, there are many but the interesting one is after my school I used to have Pani Puri from a street side vendor near my school. Even before I had reached his stall, I would find him smiling and starting to make the Pani puris as per my taste. The taste was so good that I always compare and expect the same flavours when I have it elsewhere even now.

What’s your favorite comfort food?

My comfort food is something healthy and can be part of one’s menu every day. I love the way in which my mom cooks and serves it. Even today it’s a comfort food for me and I suppose the nation also.  Khichdi with hot-piping Kadhi, topped up with dollops of pure ghee. To add a twist to it, I crush some roasted papad and spike it with a tangy chunda pickle. Surely mouth-watering for everyone.

3 reasons why you consider yourself a Foodie?

Firstly, I am Gujju. Most Gujjus are by default big foodies. We have rich food legacies which keeps on passing generation to generation.

Second I always customize my food whether I am at home or at any restaurant. I make it my way #Sanketism. 
And lastly, i love to experiment with food from trying out new delicacies to curating some fancy cocktails/mock-tails. The feeling of being a foodie is pure ecstasy.  I just love it being surrounded by food recently i have crafted 3 new Cocktails. Be my guest would be happy to host you.

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Which are your three favourite cuisine? Why?

I like global cuisine but my favorite is Mexican. It’s healthy as well as tasty and the beauty of Mexican food is it has the rich spice taste which is rare in most cuisines. 

Do you have a favourite food ingredient?

Aamchur powder is something I just love adding to most of my daily dishes. It enhances taste and make you feel good.

Which food ingredient do you loathe/think is overrated?

Oregano, people just keep adding it just because it tastes good.

What’s the strangest dish you’ve ever tried?

I tasted one the finest chef creation at Asilo Mumbai and I found it strangest. Unfortunately i don’t remember the dish name. It was strangest because the taste was a mix of spices (sweet and sour) and it was perfectly garnished with herbs. 

What is your favourite fruit and vegetable? And your favourite herb/spice?

I love musk-melon very much. For vegetables, tomato and cucumber is part of our daily salad routine. Black salt and jeera powder is something we use more frequently.

  

If you had to eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I don’t mind having dal khichdi rest of my life. It’s healthy, it aids in quick digestion and I feel satiated. So dal khichdi anytime.

Have you ever travelled anywhere just/mainly for the food?

Yes, i travelled to Delhi just to taste street food of Khan Market and parathe wali gali which is prime location for food lovers. Delhi has a diverse food life. One of my close friend settled in Delhi so i travel more often to Delhi and whenever i visit i ensure to feast on at least one unique dish. Recently i travelled to Surat to have the city’s famous Khaman Dhokla.

What’s been your biggest kitchen splurge so far?

There are many but the biggest one is when I brought a MasterChef Kitchen kit. It has everything which make your cooking more comfortable and saves your time too.

Do you indulge in food porn? Actively or passively? What impresses you with food porn?

Yes, I do indulge in food porn actively specially food porn photography I just love clicking those pictures and posting it on my food blog. So far have contributed more than thousand post on #Foodporn.

What kind of oil do you use most of all?

Most of all I have sunflower oil and also have olive oil for Salad garnishing to my routine diet.

Which is the most over-rated food cuisine?

I feel Gourmet doughnuts are over-rated. I could forgive the silly flavours, the exorbitant prices and the tendency to stuff them full of inedible amounts of caramel, but gourmet doughnuts’ greatest crime is their wilful blindness to the fact that a deep-fried doughnut is best when freshly cooked. Letting them sit out for hours to go stale, sweat and weep sugar before an Instagrammer decides to throw their cash away is not doing them any favours.

Any quirky food dishes combinations you have invented or love feasting on?

Yes, happy to share my recent quirky inventions which is grilled pineapple plus Tabasco sauce garnished with clove powder, barbeque styled cheese cherry pineapple dipped in Maple syrup.

In desserts, i curated which has impressed everyone who has tasted so far. Its Vanilla ice- cream blended with Blueberry yogurt garnished with corn flakes and raisins topped with honey. I named it after my nick name "Shady the Maddy"

Your take on:

Keto diets – i am not in favour of Keto diets but I respect who are having it. One has to be careful and be in discipline to avoid any health risk as Keto diet could be detrimental, since cutting out carbs increases health risks and mortality over time.

Intermittent fasting – I would always be a staunch supporter for anything which is good for health. There are many health benefits of intermittent fasting.

In Gujarati, we called it "Ek Tana". I have done it several times and observed many health benefits. At the end of the day, you have to achieve a caloric deficit if you want to get rid of the extra weight. So you have to keep a watch on how much you are eating. The quality of food that you consume also matters.

Fusion food cuisine – Fusion food is another great way showcase the creativity. When we talk of Fusion food, we thought of a merger of flavours from two or more cultures to make something new and interesting. And that’s been going on for as long as cultures have been colliding.

Due to globalization, I think almost anything can be wedged into the fusion food category. Now-a-days most of the cafes and restaurants have fusion food in their menu. I like the fusion food of Bombay canteen and Mustard. Some of the dishes are so good that you keep ordering again and again.

Which superfoods have impressed you the most?

Broccoli and Quinoa impressed me as both has plenty of health benefits. Quinoa in breakfast fills me up and love have broccoli with Thai green curry.

What are your favourites?

Indian street food – all the chat items are my favorite but love Pani Puri most.

Indian dessert – Gajar ka halwa, i can have it all day long, especially the delicious one made by my mom.

How do you detox your body after an overdose of eating out?

I have hot turmeric milk before i go to bed, it cleans out all the toxins from body. Apart from that green tea is my regular day to day detoxing agent.

Who’s your favourite celebrity chef?

There are many but I like Chef Vikas Khanna most and Chef Rakhee Vaswani is my favorite.

What’s your favourite food-related TV programme?

Rocky and Mayur's Food Express on Living Foodz and of-course the Master-chef (all versions). I also follow ‘Chopped’ and Ramsay's ‘Hell's Kitchen’.

What’s your favourite food magazine?

Timeout and Uppercrust