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Suvir Saran head shot - Epicurious

Suvir Saran

Contributor

A respected culinary authority, Suvir Saran has served as Chairman of Asian Culinary Studies for the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and travels extensively to teach audiences ranging from home cooks and fellow chefs to physicians and nutritionists. Saran has long been regarded as a legend in New York City food circles, having garnered a Michelin star at Devi, a first for Indian cuisine as well as a first for any non-French or non-Italian restaurant in North America. At Devi he shared the authentic flavors of Indian home cooking and, under Saran’s leadership, Devi consistently received popular and critical acclaim and earned a four-star rating from TimeOUT NY, a three-star rating from New York Magazine, and two stars from The New York Times. Since its inception, Devi served as muse to many restaurants looking to emulate it in the “modern Indian” genre.

Suvir Saran’s recipes have been featured in Bon Appétit, Cooking Light, Food & Wine, Fine Cooking, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Departures, InStyle, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, USA Today, and many more. He has served as a judge on Iron Chef and Next Iron Chef on the Food Network, and has appeared on numerous programs on national broadcasts. In spring 2011, Saran was a break-out star on Bravo’s Top Chef Masters.

In 2018, Saran joined the board of a hospitality group in New Delhi’s Capital Region. By bringing his 25+ years of expertise in fine and casual dining to New Delhi, he looks to recreate contemporary Indian cuisine, pioneering as he did when he opened Devi in NYC.

Garam Masala

No Indian pantry is complete without a batch of homemade garam masala. This fragrant version combines mainstays like cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg with rosebuds, cumin, bay leaves, and more.

Stir-Fried Green Beans With Coconut

This is going to be your new favorite way to serve green beans.

Fried Chicken Masala

My friends Renée and Carl Behnke are consummate hosts and gourmands, and fried chicken is one of their favorite dishes to offer a hungry crowd. Renée's secret for an amazingly crispy and crunchy crust, which is now mine (and yours), is to let the chicken rest in flour as the oil heats. I have adapted her recipe, giving it an Indian twist. Indians (like many southern Americans) love buttermilk, so it's natural to use it as a liquid for the overnight brine. I add spices to the brine and flour coating to give the chicken an extra hit of flavor.

Crispy Okra Salad

Kararee Bhindi

Mangalore Fried Shrimp

Jhinga Mangaloree This dish is from the southern Indian coastal state of Karnataka, where seafood is an important part of the diet. The shrimp has extraordinary flavor. I sometimes vary the recipe by adding 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut along with the mustard seeds, or 2 to 6 chopped small fresh green chiles with the scallion. Serve with green chutney or lemon wedges, lemon rice, and a raita.