Press Release
Dipna Anand : Indian Cookery Guru
Indian cookery expert, Dipna Anand is on the brink of creating the next wave of Indian food as the number one healthy option. Dipna, 23, has created a complete menu of delicious low-fat recipes for her father's award-winning Brilliant restaurant in Southall. Her A-Level food technology project on low-fat Indian cookery earned her top marks and won an award from the, British Nutrition Foundation as the best project in the country.
Dipna then studied and gained a first-class honours degree in Hospitality and Catering from Thames Valley University and was awarded a post-graduate scholarship. She is currently studying for a Masters whilst teaching a BTEC in Indian Cookery.
Her secret is transforming traditional Indian recipes such as masala chicken into low-fat dishes by using nutritious olive oil and a marinade of low-fat yoghurt and spices. As an alternative to deep-fried fish pakoras, she cooks them in a tandoor, transforming the dish into a healthy fish tikka.
She said: "A decade ago, no one had ever heard of tandoori salmon or aubergine, which is one of the healthiest ways to cook."
One of her signature dishes is Vegetable Keema, made with soya mince mixed in olive oil and tomato masala. In desserts such as carrot pudding and Indian rice pudding, traditionally made with ghee - clarified butter - she uses skimmed milk and less sugar.
She said: "Low-fat options are so relevant in this age when people are more and more health-conscious. Curry is very popular and a low-fat alternative means people can eat it more often without risk to their health. The days of chicken floating in oil are gone."
Combining her experience of running the restaurant with her academic studies in food technology Dipna is creating a recipe book with the best of Indian cuisine low-fat alternative dishes.
She said: "My father and I have been working on the Brilliant recipe book. So I suggested we incorporated the healthy options into the book. We did a taste analysis of full-fat and low-fat recipes and many people preferred the low-fat options. Tasty Indian food is not about the fat, but about balanced spice content. People are thrilled that their curries can now be healthy. Indian food has the reputation of being high in fat, but my low-fat recipes make it one of the healthiest."
Dipna is set to be the woman to transform the perception of Indian food as going hand-in-hand with healthy food. "My mission is to raise the profile of Indian food as healthy food and I see myself as the face of healthy Indian cuisine."
