Sandhu flies solo

Mushroom galouti kebab

After walking past a string of car garages, we hit a dead-end. Google Maps has erred, we assume. Just then, a familiar voice floats through. On pushing the black door, we see chef Amninder Sandhu doling out instructions to a worker who is making a flower bed. In her usual black tee, denims and black chef coat, she tilts her head, her characteristic manicured bob in place, and breaks into a smile.

We are welcomed into her brand new kitchen space in Pune's Wadgaon Sheri. "It's all mine," she grins. One half runs in an L-shaped central kitchen spread across 2,000 sq feet that services Ammu, her new delivery menu that is a month-old.

Butter chicken dosa

The rest is empty. "This will be an experiential setting, where I can cook for an intimate group," she says, as we settle into a sofa and hog the fan. The view on all sides is the open field. This week, she also launched Ammu's Mumbai outpost in Bandra that offers a few of her signatures and new trials too.

Last year, three weeks before the pandemic, Sandhu launched Iktara. "After Arth, I wanted to do another restaurant, which made sense pre-pandemic. Meanwhile, I felt it was the right time to do a delivery kitchen with a few of my signature dishes first up. The city was ready for a quality-focused delivery menu, one that wasn't just price sensitive," says Sandhu.

Why did she pull out? "Sometimes, stars are not aligned," she smiles. referring to her faith in destiny. Sandhu admits she doesn't take herself too seriously. The same cannot be said about her craft. "I like to walk into the kitchen and cook delicious food. No extra ingredients, nothing fancy. Just, good tasty food. Whether it is wedding catering, a restaurant or a delivery kitchen, it doesn't matter."

Chef Amninder Sandhu

Finding investors, on the other hand, makes her pull out her hair. "There is no such thing as the perfect investor. They talk numbers and it is a challenge to show them what passion can do. Sometimes, it is exhausting to convince them that I know what I am doing. You have to be open to rejection. Our pitches are bettered by these rejections," she shares.

In the pipeline are four Indian brands, including a mithai venture and a Mexican brand. Sandhu calls it "piecing a jigsaw puzzle of multiple brands". "Usually investors prefer testing waters with one [delivery] kitchen. But, running multiple brands from the same place makes a lot more sense as you are able to cover up costs," she says.

After being the captain of many ships in partnerships, Sandhu is bullish about the road ahead. "With Ammu, which is what my friends call me, I just wanted the brand to be an extension of my personality."

After launching Arth, Chef Amninder Sandhu says launching another brick and mortar restaurant in the pandemic did not make sense. Pics/Neel Paradkar

Two dishes, which we try at the kitchen, are one-off meals she cooked for her family. One has lauki, that poor man's vegetable we didn't want to eat as a child. In lauki mussalam, bottle gourd is presented as discs stuffed with paneer and spinach and cooked in an aloo Bukhara gravy. Lauki will never be the same again. Another is a south Indian chicken in dosa, made with Manipuri black rice batter.

The flavours of butter chicken folded into the comfort of dosa is an ideal match. Her famous Sandhu saab's chicken makes its way into a biryani, and her rolls are moist and juicy, with no need to add a chutney or sauce.

Her signature dishes, like the Naga mushroom gilawat, Chef's Table paneer and Deomali mutton cooked in bamboo are all available. "I didn't want to keep them out just for the want of doing something new. People love them, and they deserve to be here, with me," she says.

Her packaging is simple, and she steers clear of bumping up prices for fancy boxes. "I prefer to let the food do the talking." Are you liking Pune? we ask, and she breaks into a wide smile. In July last year, Sandhu married Yogesh Manwani. "We didn't see each other for four months during the first lockdown. It made us realise that abhi nahin toh kabhi nahin.

We wanted to be together and not wait to plan a grand wedding. We'll plan a party at some point," she says. She now divides her time between Mumbai and Pune. Sandhu met Manwani, who is also part of the F&B industry, in 2017.. "Back in the 90s, Yogi ran some iconic Mumbai restaurants like Monza, Azziano and Lemon Grass."

Sandhu calls him her light at the end of the tunnel. "When I feel low and down, he reminds me of how far I have come and that it is not the time to give up. Yogi is blessed with the best tastebuds and he is the only one whose feedback I take. I have been able to improve a lot of my dishes thanks to him. He is my favourite eating partner."

She has also picked up a few kitchen tricks from her Sindhi mother-in-law. "Her nuances in the kitchen are exemplary. To make green chutney, she uses only the light green chillies to ensure the paste is bright, and to make thecha she has her own novel ratio of light green to dark green mirchi," says Sandhu.

Call: 7977387107 (Mumbai); 81494 72454 (Pune)