Guess what my New Year resolution was? Well, I decided to lead by example in 2011 and stay clear of all forms of allium cepa (onions). In fact, in our kitchen, thanks to celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s suggestion, we started the year by cooking an all-new dish, suitably christened ‘chicken no pyaza’! And believe me, it tastes divine. Even better than the one with those messy onions. What’s more, taking off from this innovation, my wife Pratibha has devised an entire range of ‘no pyazas’, which include vegetarian dishes, tea and coffee. “It’s all a mindset,” is how Sanjeev put it. “This obsession with pyaz has no justification. You can cook with it or without it. In an authentic diet, onions and garlic have no place.” I couldn’t agree more with him although some of my cabinet colleagues refuse to see the wisdom in boycotting the pungent veggie. My daughter Supriya (she too has switched to the ‘no pyaza’ diet) even dug up this quote from Shakespeare’s...
Sharad Pawar
"Don't be a minion to the silly onion. No pyaz is the new andaaz (style)."
Illustration by Sorit
