The cuisine passed down through India’s real-life royal families is also surprisingly humble, Singh shared.
When he cooked with the late Arvind Singh of the kingdom of Mewar at his palace in Udaipur, for example, they made an okra dish by “smoking and reducing tomatoes with garlic and very subtle herbs, and filling the okra with it, and steaming it in buttermilk”.
Singh was taken aback by how delicate it was. “You don’t find this dish on any menu anywhere in the globe or in Indian cuisine. I thought, ‘Wow.’ The tomatoes were being grated by hand. You’ve never heard of grating tomatoes, have you? They were treating the ingredients gently to get the best out of them.”
Although Singh has studied all aspects of Indian cuisine from street food to palace feasts, he’s still learning as he goes, he said. He’s also inspired by his travels. “I think Singapore sits at the top, because I love the culture here. I love the mixed nationalities. I love the eating out. The culture of people going out and eating is, I think, very obvious, compared to any other place. I’ve met so many people here, and they associate with great food, which is what I love.”
When he’s not in the kitchen, he’s motoring, climbing, jet skiing and dune bashing. “It keeps me always on my feet. I always love to bring 10,000 volts of energy into my kitchen,” he said. And, “For me, everybody is a celebrity. I think that sort of energy drives me.”
Shikar is at 2 Cook Street, Maxwell Reserve, Singapore 078857.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/dining/chef-jolly-surjan-singh-shikar-gupshup-5939706
