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THE MAGAZINE
India Abroad May 21, 2010
Taste of India
Chef Marcus Samuelsson, who
discovery of Indian influence on world cuisine Marcus Samuelsson, Ethiopian by birth, was adopted by a Swedish couple when he was about four
designed President Obama’s
first State dinner, tells
Arthur J Pais about his
France and the United States.
At age 24, Samuelsson caught
the attention of the culinary
world at Aquavit, a Swedish
restaurant where he would
eventually co-own. He
was offering fusion food
at Aquavit much before the craze began about a decade
ago.
One of the many interesting discoveries made during his African journey over eight years ago was the influence of Indian food in many countries. Samuelsson, who was adopted by a Swedish couple and left Ethiopia when he was about four, also
discovered that Indian food uses almost the
same spices as Ethiopian cuisine.
“I was familiar with Indian food,” he
said. “But the variety of curried food I
The popular chef and James
Beard Award recipient tells read-
ers in his book The Soul of a New
In Victoria Street Market, he
writes, ‘I found the spices of
India: tandoori, saffron and many
varieties of curry.’
In a Durban restaurant, he
remembers trying one of Nelson
Mandela’s favorite dishes —
Ouma’s Chicken. Samuelsson dis-
covered the chicken curry made
the way Mandela’s grandmother
made it had a lot of Indian spices
and herbs.
His knowledge of Indian food
came handy when he was invited
by the Obamas a few months ago
to design and execute the first
Obama State dinner in honor of
Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh.
“Since a large number of people
who came with the Indian prime
minister were vegetarians, I had to
pay extra attention to the vegetari-
an dishes,” he said. “But that was
not a problem. I enjoy vegetarian
salads, soups and main courses.”
Celebrated as one of “The Great
Chefs of America” by the Culinary
Institute of America, Samuelsson
launched his career as a graduate of the
Culinary Institute in Gothenburg, with
apprenticeships in Switzerland, Austria,
Cooking the Marcus
Samuelsson way
Farro-Orange Salad
Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking: 15 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
¼ cup almonds, blanched and chopped
1 tsp fennel or saunf seeds
2 fennel bulbs, cut into quarters with the
core intact
1 red onion, cut into quarters with the
core intact
¼ cup olive oil plus 1 tbsp for brush-
ing the vegetables
8 cloves garlic
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Juice of 3 oranges with the fiber
Radicchio, shredded (about 3
cups)
4 basil leaves, chopped
8 mint leaves
1¼ cup faro (instructions on the
packet) or basmati rice, cooked
Salt to taste
1 tsp black pepper, freshly
ground
1 tsp red chilli flakes
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, shaved
Method
Heat a small pan over low heat. Add the
almonds and fennel seeds and sauté over
medium heat for 3 minutes. Set aside.
Heat the grill over high heat. Brush the fennel and onions with 1 olive oil. Grill for 4 minutes on each side.
Grill the garlic for three minutes.
Chop the onion, fennel and garlic and transfer to a
large bowl. Add the vinegar, orange juice, remaining
olive oil, radicchio, almonds and the fennel seeds.
Season with salt and pepper. If you are using red chilly
flakes, add them now. Gently stir the mixture
Top each serving plate of the salad with the parmesan
