A sealed secret

Orange creme brulee. Pic/Rohan Hande

Chef Jerson Ferns simmers water on an induction cooker, puts on a lid and inserts a digital thermometer at 65 degrees from the side. "That's our desi sous vide set-up," he grins.

Next, he places four chicken drumsticks that have been marinated in oil, garlic, salt, pepper and rosemary springs in a zip-lock bag. He pushes the contents to the bottom of the bag and runs his palms across the mouth of the bag to remove any air. He then seals the bag and immerses it in the water bath.

"When we talk about sous vide, two things play an important role - temperature and time. I use the stove-top cooking method. You can do it at home too," he says.

While one can perform sous vide on a gas flame or an induction cooker, the latter lets you control the temperature digitally.

All for perfection

The French technique that was first adopted by a chef in 1974, which means cooking under vacuum, has been the choice of many chefs to prepare meats, vegetables and even sauces. "Sous vide was a method more common among Michelin-starred chefs to achieve perfection. The technique arrived in India eight to 10 years ago. Chefs here did face some difficulties in the beginning because of a lack of awareness and the apparatus was not easily available in the country. The fact that it will cook without contact with a direct flame in a plastic bag and for long hours, was indigestible," says chef Ferns, executive chef at Sea Princess Hotel.

But the concept was a no-brainer once chefs saw the results. Today, it is a common practice in Mumbai's professional kitchens, and requires very little fat, giving a perfect texture and better flavours to their dishes.

Finished on grill

Sous vide tends to make the contents pale, and it is usually finished on a grill. "Most of the time, we don't serve the product directly because it won't have any texture and tends to lose colour," explains Ferns, who finishes the drumsticks on a grill - each in a different sauce of pesto, harissa, BBQ Asian and a cheesy yoghurt one to offer us his specialty, one two ka four chicken drumsticks.

The apparatus

Sous vide equipment is of two types - an immersion circulator you attach to your vessel, or a sous vide water oven, also known as countertop water bath, which comes fully contained with a water bath.

Perfection, every time

Chefs across the city are using sous vide to achieve perfection. If you are following Bastian's Insta-stories, the runny poached eggs that go on their Benedicts would have tempted you already.

The technique works beautifully on tougher meats, like the duck leg at Typhoon Shelter cooked for five hours at 75°C. Rubbed with Sichuan pepper corn, scallions and ginger, all the ingredients cook together for a deeper punch. "The sous vide method helps retain a lot of texture and the flavour of every ingredient. The duck comes out juicy. We finish this with a chilly plum sauce," explains culinary head Avinash Naha.

Fresh water bhetki at Arth

Sweet surrender

Prateek Sadhu, chef-owner of Masque, uses it to make the custard for the ice-cream base at the restaurant. "When we are putting on a double boiler, sometimes, the consistency is not even, and we are working with egg and cream in this recipe, the temperature can affect the final result. I know that if we cook the custard base at a certain temperature for one hour, it will come out beautifully," says Sadhu, who does a Pondicherry chocolate sorbet with passionfruit custard and whey caramel.

For chef Rishim Sachdeva of Olive, sous vide helps him save a lot of space in the oven. "A creme brulee can go terribly wrong if the slightest detail goes awry. I use the sous vide for my orange creme brulee, to get the perfect consistency in the finished dish," he explains.

The customer has only started to recognise the technique in the recent past, Fern points out. "When I interact with my guests, they really appreciate a dish made with sous vide, because it plays better on the palate. Many home chefs have started using it too, which is great," he signs off.

Sous vide trail across city

Charred bhetki with lemon butter sauce and kaaji lemon caviar
At: Arth, Pinnacle House, 604, 15th Road, PD Hinduja Junction, Bandra West.
Call: 9594060038
Cost: Rs 475

Lobster thermidor
At: Kode, Victoria Mills, Lower Parel.
Call: 7718882924
Cost: Rs 1395

Nasuha New Zealand lamb shank in massaman sauce
At: Izaya, Amadeus, NCPA, gate no 2, Nariman Point.
Call: 22821212
Cost: Rs 1,450

Chef Jerson Ferns

Thyme infused chicken with mushroom ragout
At: The Bayview Restaurant, Churchgate.
Call: 22851212
Cost: Rs 900

The adobo pork fried rice
At: Bastian, Linking Road, Bandra West.
Call: 26420145
Cost: Rs 750

DIY
' When cooking under vacuum, after you fill your bag with meat or veggies, remove all the air.
' Vegetables like broccoli, beet, asparagus and carrots cook well with this technique.
' Make sure that there are no air bubbles left. The air will make the bag float in water, while we want it completely immersed for overall even cooking.
' Be patient. Sometimes, you won't achieve the desired temperature immediately, but that is okay. Nothing will go wrong.

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