Australian celebrity chef Sarah Todd: Everything I cook now has some sort of Indian masala in it

Australian celebrity chef Sarah Todd has become enamored with Indian flavors, incorporating them into her cooking and even creating a range of sauces inspired by Indian, Australian, Japanese, and Thai cuisines.

In fact, she often experiments with different dishes and feeds it to the people around her including her son, Phoenix, who has already got his mother's cooking genes. Ever since her appearance on MasterChef Australia Season 6 in 2014, Todd has had quite a journey not only personally as a chef, but also with Indian food, versions of which, often featured during the competition: one of them being the much-loved Aloo Gobi. More recently, the celebrity chef, who also appeared on the same show in 2022, took it up a notch by creating a version called, ‘Aloo Gobi takes a trip to France', where she plays around with the Indian dish using classic French flavours.

She explains, "I make a Potato Aligoté, which has got cumin and it's like a really creamy cheesy potato and then I pan sear the cauliflower in butter and add some spices and masala and then add a foam potato over the top." More recently, she has even made a hot whipped Aloo Gobi soft serve and elevated the dish like most Indians haven't seen before.

Such has been in the influence of Indian flavours in her life, that it has also extended to her making a range of sauces, not only for the Indian palate but also for Australians and people around the world, as they are not only inspired by these two countries but also by Japan and Thailand. Interestingly, their creation feels like it was waiting to happen and only required a nudge in the right direction. The seed was planted during the Covid-19 pandemic, when everybody was at home, and so was Todd, who received one call that started it all. She explains, "We were at the start of the pandemic and my friend, George Calombaris called me up and he said, ‘Sarah, I am making this Indian dish and I need this Kashmiri chili sauce or like a base for my curry any idea where can I get it from? And I replied, ‘Well, I know how to make it and I have all the ingredients here. I'll make a few and send it over in an Uber since it was in the middle of the pandemic and we are not allowed to leave our home."

Not only did Calombaris - a celebrity chef himself, a restaurateur and former judge on MasterChef Australia - use it in his Indian dish, but he also spoke about it on his Instagram. Calombaris mentioned that Todd had made the sauce for him. So, he told his followers to ask her for the recipe because he had no idea how she made it and unsurprisingly, one thing led to another. "I ended up looking at my Instagram and I had all these messages going, ‘where can I buy the sauce? And I was like, ‘well, that is the kind of like something I've been wanting to move into, for some time'. I called my brother and he had been wanting to move into the food space as well. So, we said, let's just go for it," shares the cookbook author and food show host.

India and its many flavours
After quite a bit of research and a little over two and a half years, the celebrity chef launched her range of sauces called ‘Hot Toddy' in Australia in September. It finally came to India this April, after it was facilitated by Trade & Investment Queensland, who brought in Olympia Industries as the importer and distributor for the country. Interestingly, ‘Hot Toddy' has an uncanny resemblance to toddy, a local liquor that is easily available everywhere in the country. Whether it was a play on the words, we will never know because Todd says to keep guessing. However, it does bring back memories of the time she was in Goa and actually had a chance to taste the alcohol, best obtained in the mornings and drunk on the same day. "In Goa, we actually got the sap from the tree and I did the whole process of making toddy. I loved the taste and was a little drunk by the end of it," she laughs.

Interestingly, India and Australia go a long way for the chef, and that's because every time she has travelled to different parts of the country, she has picked up some cooking influences and taken it back with her. "I think in Australia, the cuisine is pretty similar across the country, but when I came to India, just the diversity across every city and state from religion to language to food to ingredients, it just was something that really inspired me a lot. So, I definitely took a lot from traveling around India and have incorporated that into all of my cooking. Everything I cook now has some sort of masala in there."

While the chef loves masala, she also loves her spice, and that's why she believes the sauces pair well with Indian food. For example, the much-loved tomato sauce with Kashmiri chillies, she says, is best enjoyed with the Mumbai sandwich. On the other hand, the 7-spice Sriracha and ghost pepper chilli are best enjoyed with some momos, because they are spicy and the others that include ghost chilli and sweet chilli, are perfect with Italian cuisine, apart from food in Australia.

Todd explains, "There are the layers of flavours in Indian cuisine, which is really interesting. Since, Australia is multi-cultural, any place that you go to, we have a lot of influences from all over the world. We are exposed to a lot of those flavours. We love chilli because there is a lot of Thai and Vietnamese inspiration in Australia. So, the bird's eye chili is something we grew up eating. Our spice tolerance is higher than most people think."

It is evident that she has thought it out completely, especially with ones that can cater not only to Australian but also Indian palates that go beyond the north Indian food.

When India meets Australia
As Todd is innovating with the classic Aloo Gobi and many other such dishes, it seems like the time is right for people to taste these creations by the chef and restaurateur as she reveals that all these experiments are definitely going to be on the menu at her next restaurant. In the past, she opened Antares in Goa in 2015 and the now-shuttered Wine Rack in Mumbai later. Growing up in Queensland, the restaurant is definitely going to be a culmination of her many different experiences around the world including India.

She shares, "I feel like there are so many experiences that I have had along the way. I'm so ready now to do my next restaurant, because I just feel I have got a whole menu ready to go. It is a little influence of that journey across the world and India and come back home to meet my cooking style."

It is not only the creations but also the fact that the Indian palate has changed by leaps and bounds in the last decade and that gives chefs like Todd the liberty to experiment with flavours, while staying true to the essence of the dish.

She explains, "It's not that the palate has evolved but there are so many influences. You see that in the recipe and in menus in India now that there is just so much access to everything. Even when she started experimenting, she has been conscious about how she plays around with a dish, which she reminds, has a heritage of thousands of years. She says, "That's why, it's a fine line of how far you push it and what I've really realised is that instead of taking something that's amazing and changing it. I rather create my own dish and take influences from things and experiences." So, it's more about chefs, says Todd, on how they learn to nurture beautiful culture and cuisine and take influences while keeping that whole. While there is more experimentation now, she believes there is a lot more representational for regional cuisine and that without a doubt has to be done with respect.

Evolution of Indian cuisine in Australia
Over the last two decades, the availability of dishes from Indian regional cuisines has seen a lot of change in Australia and all the chefs from the country this writer has spoken to in the recent past have pointed it out. Todd shares the same observation. "In Queensland, it wasn't until probably the last couple of years that we were seeing people showcase more of the authentic Indian food rather than the traditional butter chicken and I honestly think it is just the start."

Interestingly, every time the celebrity chef pulls off a papdi chaat or a pani puri for a dinner party, it is always a hit, she says. She tells her guests that it is available in every corner of India. It is at such times that she believes it is these influences coming through that are making Australian people more open to Indian food, and she definitely has had a part to play.

One must give credit where it is due to chefs like Todd, who have opened the doors of Indian cuisine beyond north Indian cuisine or other popular dishes through their travels and active Instagram showcases, as well as innovative recipes. She explains, "Unfortunately, there is a perception that India is all about the streets and all this kind of poverty. I would be really conscious in what I share and only share the sides with really positive experiences that I have here. I show that you can eat on the streets and it's like beautiful and amazing. I think I've always been really positive in the way that I represent India. I feel it is almost a duty because of my son as I want him to be able to go to school and take a paratha for lunch and not be bullied. So, it is something that I have consciously been doing." Even though in a small way, she believes that it is changing the perception in Australia and more people want to come and visit here.

If one follows Todd on social media, he will know it is impossible to do so much in 24 hours - from being a celebrity chef travelling to different countries to constantly experimenting with dishes, and more recently launching her sauces, it has been quite hectic. So, does it get too much? She admits, "There was actually this moment where I was building the restaurant. I was feeling like I didn't think I could do it anymore. I remember calling my mom, I was breaking down, I was emotional, my hair was falling out. We had just opened and nothing was going right; there were still so many things to do. I would just get up every day and go into the restaurant and I was doing the parts like just sending the food."

However, there was a moment that changed everything for her from then on.

"I was in the restaurant and a girl came up and said, ‘Ma'am, we are so excited to see you. We have driven for six hours to see you. My friend is over there. Would you come and meet her?" I replied, ‘of course' and walked over and went to say hi. She was crying because she was so happy. I realised, ‘This isn't actually about me anymore. I am inspiring so many younger girls to do big things and there was a new fire inside of me, pushing me, because I realised, it is not just about me anymore", highlighting how food has inspired her ever since she started on this journey in 2014.