New Delhi: In a culinary rich nation like India, there is food for every occasion. Each house has a different recipe for the same dish and we are spoiled for choices from Kashmir to Kerala, and from Gujarat to Nagaland. With Zee Zest, set foot on the journey to discover our nation’s 50 best dishes through ‘India’s 50 Best Dishes’ hosted by globally reputed chef Ajay Chopra. The show will be on air every Monday and Tuesday at 2.00 p.m. from 5th October 2020.
Join chef Ajay as he starts the journey to locate the 50 dishes carefully selected under 16 food categories ranging from chaat, Indian mithai, garam nashta, thele ka khana, parathe, daal to rice preparations and lots more. To help him curate India’s 50 best dishes, we have 3 groups, which map the food atlas of India, namely Kitchen Gurus, Masala Mantris and Desi Deewane. Sharing some fun facts, insights gone unnoticed, personal favorites and by rooting for their favorite dishes, the three groups will help Chef Ajay make the final list.
Stalwarts from the food industry formulate The Kitchen Gurus, and they keep alternating every episode, this dynamic list of design shapers who share their knowledge from their home kitchens includes Vicky Ratnani, Kunal Kapur, Rakesh Raghunathan, Pankaj Bhadouria, Sadaf Hussain, Chef Jolly, Rakhee Vaswani and more. They bring in their years of culinary experience to this segment of the show. They are followed by Masala Mantris, a permanent panel on the show and link to the entrepreneurial and media section of India’s food fraternity. Our Masala Mantris Suprio Bose, Jasleen Marwah and Sherry Malhotra share their discerning point of view in a friendly interactive debate and help inch closer to making a decision. Now coming to the heart of India, Desi Deewane. This cohort is the common voice of India and they formulate the video vox pops segment of the show. Expert tips and anecdotes are cherry-picked from people belonging to different regions in India. Chef Ajay in his inimitable manner reacts to these opinions and finds which dish falls under #50KiBaazi before making it for the audience sharing his anecdotes and tips.
Chef Ajay Chopra, Host, India’s 50 Best Dishes says, “This show will be a conversation starter. A chef always loves to hear what the patrons have to say and this is going to be a process of deep discussion, debate, and determination. I am excited as this is going to be the toughest job for me, the Gurus, the Mantris, and the Deewanes representing the audience. In a country where we find a hundred plus dishes cooked in one household, we have to make a list of 50! I am looking forward to this and hope the audience enjoy this fascinating journey.”
