Johns Hopkins Magazine - September 1996 Issue Kishin Moorjani
Theoretical physicist, Applied Physics Laboratory

Born and raised in India, Kishin Moorjani at an early age developed a passion for things gastronomic. "Some of my earliest memories are of food," says the researcher at Hopkins's Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). "As a teenager, I learned to cook. People would laugh at me because an Indian male of that class doesn't get into the kitchen," he says, with a rich, rumbling chuckle.

Moorjani's wife, Angela (PhD '69), is a professor of French literature at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and she brought to their marriage an expertise in French cuisine. Over the years, the two have married their ethnic specialties into a fusion of French and Indian cuisine.

In 1993, renowned French chef Jean-Louis Palladin invited Kishin Moorjani to his acclaimed restaurant at the Watergate in Washington, D.C., to cook up a menu featuring the Moorjani fusion. "His interest was in seeing how different spices could be used," says Moorjani. "These days even the very top French cooks are using ingredients that come from outside France." Palladin must have liked what he saw (and tasted), because a few months later, the three-star chef recreated Moorjani's menu at the James Beard House in Manhattan for 80 guests (including the surprised Moorjanis; they had no idea that the meal would be a showcase for their fare).

The menu included a complicated goat dish that involves cooking the meat with 13 different whole spices and yogurt, then separating it from its sauce and reducing the sauce to enhance its perfume. "That's more of a French technique, as is adding cream for body and richness," Moorjani explains of the fusion with the traditionally Indian spices and meat. Also on the menu was Shrimp in Mustard Oil (right).

The dish, which comes out a golden yellow because of the turmeric, is a feast for the eyes as well as the palate, Moorjani says. He cautions against overcooking the shrimp ("That's too often what you get around here at restaurants"), and he recommends using no more than one green chili per pound of shellfish. "Some people love a lot of spiced heat, but they're not really paying attention to the food they're eating," he says good-naturedly. With this recipe, he says, "The sweet astringency of the ginger will come through."

Suggested Wine: While the rule of thumb calls for serving white wine with most seafood, for this dish Moorjani recommends a young, light-bodied, fruity red wine "from a decent vintage--such as a wine based on the gamay grape, like a Beaujolais." He explains: "You want a wine that stands up to the slight spiciness of the green chili but that isn't too heavy- bodied. Otherwise it will drown the delicacy of the shrimp." Temperature is important. Lightly chilling the wine (62-64ø F) before serving brings out its slight astringency and heightens its fruity flavor, he says.

"For an ideal marriage, try a C“tes du Rhone village wine, from the village of Cairanne, for example," he suggests. His personal favorite is the C“tes du Rhone produced by Daniel Brusset. "This wine has its own appealing spiciness that provides a lasting dialogue with the dish."


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