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Sandeep Pandit was just eight years old when his family packed their bags and fled from Kashmir in the dead of the night in 1989. From Srinagar to Jammu to Bangalore, the Pandit family straddled two states to find peace and settle down after migrating. Though his upbringing and education was in posh Bangalore, Sandeep stayed close to his roots and explored the rich culinary heritage of Kashmir.
Thirty years later, Sandeep has not only made Jammu and Kashmir but all of India proud by being selected to compete in the prestigious MasterChef Australia. From Rogan Josh (mutton dish with red gravy) to Yakhni (mutton dish prepared in yoghurt), Hakh (collard green; the staple diet of Kashmir), Muji Chetin (reddish chutney) and Tehr (yellow rice), Sandeep expressed his feelings through Kashmiri cuisine and eventually impressed the judges.
Born in Azad Basti Budshah Nagar in upmarket Srinagar in 1981, Sandeep completed a degree in Chemical Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) in 2003. Later, he completed an MBA from Bangalore University and joined the IT industry in 2005. Given his professional acumen and body of work, he was sent to Australia in 2016 by his company, Cognizant, to head one of their projects.
Cooking, however, remained his first love and thus, when applications for MasterChef Australia were invited, he was among the first to apply. As luck had it, he was selected among the first 50 and later given the apron, which is exclusive to the 24 contestants who are selected.
Sandeep has been cooking since he was nine. From helping his mother in the kitchen to making tea and trying his hand at some old recipes, he has dabbled in all kinds of cooking to pursue his passion.
And it was his love for Kashmiri cuisine which stole the show and led judges to appreciate Sandeep for his deep insight into the culinary history of his motherland.
In another challenge, he made Yakhni (lamb) and the judges were amazed at the simplicity of a complex dish as complex as that. “I am just fortunate to be able to showcase Indian cuisine at this level”, he said.
The show is currently on air in Australia and our prayers are already with the son of our soil.
For the 38-year-old techie, the MasterChef Australia journey is a stepping stone in realising his dream of setting up his own restaurant.
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Published: 08 Jun 2019,12:38 PM IST