Vishwesh Bhatt remembers his first taste of okra in a Southern restaurant. “It was stewed with tomatoes, and I thought, ‘Ooh, this is interesting.’ It made so much sense to me.”
Though the seasonings were different, the taste took him back to the vegetarian thalis — large meals composed of many small dishes — his mom prepared almost daily in the state of Gujarat, India, where he spent the first 17 years of his life.
Bhatt was speaking by phone from his home in Oxford, Mississippi, where he helms Snackbar, a lively bistro known for its ever-evolving menu of inventive offerings melding local ingredients with the flavors of his Indian childhood and beyond. The week before, Chai Pani Decatur hosted a multicourse dinner for him featuring some of those dishes to celebrate the launch of his first cookbook, ”I Am From Here: Stories and Recipes From a Southern Chef” (Norton, $37.50).
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Among the courses was Okra Chaat, Snackbar’s best-known dish: okra pods sliced extra-thin and flash-fried, seasoned generously with his own blend of spices, and tossed with peanuts, herbs and other bright flavors.
“I grew up thinking forever of okra as an Indian vegetable,” said Bhatt, whose family came to the United States when his dad, a physicist, accepted a teaching position at the University of Texas-Austin. “We ate it in dals, sauteed with potatoes, grilled, stir-fried, and stuffed.”
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
He quickly learned to love it dredged in cornmeal and served alongside black-eyed peas, rice and other standbys already familiar to him, but prepared differently. He credits his friend and mentor, the culinary historian Jessica B. Harris, for helping him understand how those staples made their way from West Africa with enslaved peoples to the region he’s called home for decades.
By then, he had earned a degree from the University of Kentucky, dropped out of grad school focusing on public policy at the University of Mississippi to pursue his culinary passions, and joined forces with Oxford’s most lauded chef, John Currence, at City Grocery. He’d married a nurse who shared his love of entertaining, and they’d built a comfortable social life filled with backyard barbecues and supper club gatherings with friends.
In 2009, Bhatt and Currence opened Snackbar, the same year Meherwan Irani founded his first location of his Chai Pani culinary empire in Asheville, North Carolina. The chefs became fast friends after meeting at the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival a few years later.
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Both have since earned top honors from the James Beard Foundation — Bhatt was named 2019 Best Chef: South; Irani accepted this year’s Outstanding Restaurant Award for Chai Pani Asheville. Bhatt recently collaborated with Irani to create a curated collection of masala spice blends for Spicewalla, Irani’s small-batch spice company.
“Being isolated in Oxford, I didn’t know many people like me,” Bhatt said as he stood at Chai Pani’s entrance with Irani to greet guests. “We share ideas. Meherwan has taught me a lot about entrepreneurship.”
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Irani, who immigrated to South Carolina from his native Maharashtra in the early 1990s, admits that “it took me a while to comprehend what Vish was doing. I remember going to Snackbar and realizing that I was tasting Southern food as seen through the lens of an Indian chef. It was fascinating.”
That’s when it dawned on him. “I am an Indian chef who happens to live in the South. Vish is a Southern chef. This region is not black and white — it’s very diverse. That’s why we must help each other tell our stories.”
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
RECIPES
Here are three recipes excerpted from “I Am From Here: Stories and Recipes From a Southern Chef” (Norton, $37.50) that were served at a book launch party hosted by Chai Pani Decatur. Like the chapters in the book, each focuses on a common ingredient linking Vishwesh Bhatt’s Indian heritage to his home in the American South.
Credit: Angie Mosier
Credit: Angie Mosier
Okra Chaat
Chaat is the catchall term for savory snacks in India. This specialty of Vishwesh Bhatt’s restaurant, Snackbar, stars flash-fried, extra-thin slices of okra seasoned generously with chaat masala, a complex blend characterized by black salt. Bhatt offers a recipe for it in his book, and he also has developed a line of masala seasonings for the Spicewalla brand.
Recipes adapted from “I Am From Here: Stories and Recipes From a Southern Chef” by Vishwesh Bhatt (Norton, $37.50).
Credit: Angie Mosier
Credit: Angie Mosier
Grilled Chicken Thighs with Peaches, Chiles, and Spiced Honey
This recipe exemplifies what Vishwesh Bhatt is likely to serve for a late summer cookout in Oxford, Mississippi. If you prefer to peel your peaches, as Bhatt does, lightly score an X on the bottom of each with the tip of a sharp knife, and carefully drop the whole peaches into a large pot of boiling water. After about 30 seconds, remove the peaches from the water with a slotted spoon and peel when cool enough to handle. The skins should slip off easily.
Credit: Angie Mosier
Credit: Angie Mosier
Corn and Roasted Poblano Soup
Corn and chiles, writes Vishwesh Bhatt, is a “match made in heaven” whether in the American Southwest or Gujarat. Boiling the whole cobs for stock is key to its extra-deep corn flavor.
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