New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) Helly Raichura, a self-taught chef who grew up in the humble lanes of Ahmedabad, moved to Australia in 2007 and soon found a calling in cooking that was different from the many versions of Indian cuisine already available in the country.
A crafty Raichura switched to native Australian herbs in reinvented Indian dishes and started inviting guests to her home, the entry for which was through the laundry. The idea flourished into her restaurant Entry Via Laundry in 2022.
“I started by cooking from my home while I already had the job. Initially I cooked everything, I cooked dumplings, puff pastries and donuts, ice creams and things like that.
“But then I made khandvi once. Then I realised after hosting people at home for a couple of months that I want to do regional Indian cuisine,” Raichura, a former HR professional, told PTI.
The Melbourne-based chef was in India recently as part of a delegation of Visit Victoria, the official tourism body for the State of Victoria in Australia.
In her distinct style, Raichura gave the humble Indian vada pav an innovative Aussie makeover. Result: a flaky puff pastry with native herbs and ingredients including Davidson plum, myrtle and Geraldton wax.
It was a mix of nostalgia and love for Indian food that led Raichura to experiment with ingredients that were alien to her thus far.
“For me it became a very beautiful exercise because I was connecting to my home language. Everyone misses when they leave the country, of course, there is the glitz and glam of Melbourne, but then also there is always the dissatisfaction that you’re away from your motherland,” she said.
From switching tamarind with Davidson plum in the vada pav, potatoes with Jerusalem artichoke in ‘Bengali bhorta’ and cardamom with strawberry gum, the opportunities were endless for her.
“So I started discovering different cuisines from different regions that gave me that connect. But also I wanted to connect with Australia so I started using native ingredients from there. It was very natural for me to bring those two things together and create this cuisine and no one was doing that,” the 35-year-old added.
At the lunch hosted by Visit Victoria, Raichura conjured up some Indian delicacies with distinct Australian touch, including ‘Lemon myrtle and honey dew cold rasam’, ‘Kashmiri bun with Australian mountain pepper’, ‘Victorian lamb with Australian native limes, mountain pepper, paperbark smokey carrot, and lemon gum dress salad’.
The meal ended on a sweet and tangy note with a ‘Gift of Apple’ – a preparation made with strawberry gum basundi, and dessert lime lace cookie.
Raichura is also known for her intricate ‘pasta, not pasta’ khandvi dish which she prepared as a guest judge on MasterChef Australia in 2020.
Her restaurant in Melbourne focuses on blending native and indigenous Australian ingredients with ancient regional Indian cuisine.
It is a common sight at Entry Via Laundry, she said, to see women wearing traditional sarees for the occasion because “they feel like home”.
“It’s a fine-dine setting and they wear their beautiful sarees because they feel like home. And when they are leaving they always say, ‘Helly, thank you for representing this rightly. We have never had patra poda in Melbourne or Macher Jhol in Melbourne or a shukto. A lot of Kashmiri dishes for that matter,” Raichura said.
It is this sense of homeliness and celebration that is satisfying, she added.
Visit Victoria, during the event, presented an ‘Every bit different’ showcase of major events and experiences, including the Boxing Day Test against India, Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, the Australian Open, Yayoi Kusama at NGV and the Formula1 Australian Grand Prix. PTI MAH MG RDS RDS
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