J. Inder Singh Kalra, universally known as Jiggs Kalra, who died on June 4 at the age of 72, can be called a pioneer in popularising Indian food. His son Zorawar Kalra, who has launched many popular restaurants such as Farzi Cafe and Pa Pa Ya, called him a “legend” and his “mentor and hero” in a social media post.
Jiggs delved deep into the myriad culinary traditions of the country, unearthing long-forgotten recipes, re-discovering ingredients that had vanished from daily use and tracking down chefs who still practiced those techniques. He made it his mission to document these findings and was passionate about informing the world that there is more to Indian food than butter chicken, biryani and greasy curries.
The galouti kebab, now a staple in many eateries, was virtually unknown till Jiggs introduced it in restaurants. Many of the dishes were from erstwhile royal families, guarded for generations. Though he was not a chef, his knowledge of cooking techniques was encyclopedic.
Honours followed and he became the first Asian to be included in the International Food and Beverage Hall of Fame. He represented India in several food festivals and summits.
A journalist-turned-food-writer and entrepreneur, Jiggs brought these cuisines to public attention, and some of his discoveries became huge successes. One such was dum pukht, a style of slow cooking that created subtle dishes well-known in Awadh. ITC Welcomgroup Hotels, where Jiggs was a consultant, opened a restaurant of that name and it is still going strong. One of the biggest practitioners of that style was chef Imtiaz Qureshi, who Jiggs helped turn into a star. Unlike now, when chefs are celebrities, at one time they were hidden away in kitchens of hotels. Kalra brought them out into the public limelight.
Jiggs Kalra began his career as a journalist with The Illustrated Weekly of India under Khushwant Singh in the 1970s. He was then sent by Singh to Delhi to help Maneka Gandhi launch her magazine Surya. Even then, he was interested in food and eventually left journalism to venture into food writing and consulting.
Likening himself to a detective, he travelled around the country looking for ideas and co-wrote Prashad: Cooking with Indian Masters, a book replete with recipes from around the country. Often, the dishes demanded several recipes and short cuts were discouraged. It became a reference book not just for families in India but around the world as well. Kalra often said that he was pleasantly surprised to hear people tell him that they had found out something about their own food that they had never known.
Some of his other books were Classic Cooking of the Punjab and Classic Cooking of Rajasthan.
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As I discovered on more than one occasion, a meal with Jiggs used to be an elaborate ritual. The guests were not supposed to suggest anything, much less order. He took over the proceedings, often demanding sample tastings of many dishes before proceeding to the main course, by which time no one could eat any more. Each dish was lovingly explained, with its history, provenance and even health benefits. His reputation was such that in restaurants, chefs were only too happy to oblige him, cooking up dishes exactly the way he wanted. Guests went away not only fully satiated but also better informed.
This was at a time when Indian food and food writing was not as widespread as it is now. In pre-liberalisation times, in the 1980s and early 1990s, stand-alone restaurants were few and far between and only five-star hotels had specialist restaurants. At the time, convincing even newspapers and magazines to give space to food writing was difficult, but Jiggs managed to breakthrough, paving the way for the generations to follow. His stroke in 2000 left him debilitated and he could not take full advantage of the many platforms available today, nor could he get the funding to open his own restaurant at the time, though he did eventually open the Masala Library chain.
But, in the 1980s and 90s, for big hotel chains, he was an invaluable resource who could foster new ideas and create properties and dishes that proved winners. Taking advantage of the lifting of import restrictions, he experimented with novel fusions such as a tandoori salmon tikka, which was a bestseller.
His legacy has been carried forward by his son Zorawar, who, helped by his father’s ideas, has opened restaurants in Delhi, Mumbai and Dubai. He leaves behind his wife Lovejeet, and sons Zorawar and Ajit.