Tarik Hoca is cooking up a storm in his kitchen. The executive chef at the Bab Arabia restaurants across the state is popularly known as Tarik Baba among the food connoisseurs. He has recently completed two years with Bab Arabia and in this short span of time the veteran Turkish chef has contributed many popular lip-smacking dishes, including Kapama meal to the Malayali palette.
He is the final answer to everything Turkish for the state. The famous culinarian has now introduced three new Turkish recipes to his cookbook. Among the hustle-bustle of the kitchen, with sauces simmering, steams rising, the chef sits down to speak to TNIE about his culinary journey.
His love affair with gastronomy began in 2002 while working as a hotel management trainee in a US-based restaurant in Qatar. The steak prepared by Tarik then filled up the stomachs of many with its unique taste.
Even after completing more than 20 years in the field, the chef still experiments with his home cuisine, with curiosity of a beginner. “This is my first stint in India. I came in December 2019, when the pandemic was about to make its presence in the state. A new place with new people and culture welcomed me to experiment with my home town dishes,” he recalls.
Tarik, who was based in Oman till then, flew down to Kerala when the owners of Alibaba and 41 Dishes, who also runs Bab Arabia, persuaded him that his culinary magic has much to contribute to this little land of food lovers.
However, Tarik says, it was a challenge deciding a menu for Malayalis. “Turkish dishes lacked spices which was a must for Malayali taste buds,” he says. “I tweaked my ingredients, including the Turkish traditional masala. I use a combination of authentic masala from my land and Indian spices, including pepper, hot chilly, cumin etc. Some customers also prefer authentic dishes, usually those who live in West Asian countries. Making the dishes a bit spicier was the main, so far,” he says.
The chef started off his journey at Bab Arabia with his personal favourite — the Istanbul kebab. It has 12 meatballs wrapped in cheese. The cucumber dip placed in the middle of the plate goes well to complete the taste. “A good chef should be able to figure out the right proportions of ingredients for any dish he/she is creating,” chuckles Tarik, who also makes it a point to describe the new Turkish and Arabian dishes on the menu for the customers.
Spicy flavours on the platter
Tarik is now about to flaunt his new signature dishes to the gastronomes in the state. Paper Kofta, Tepsi Kebab and Tawook Sote are the mystery dishes, explains Tarik. These are specially catered to the meat lovers here. The Paper Kofta is a blend of finely chopped vegetables, exotic herbs, chef special Turkish masala mixed with marinated beef or chicken mince. The mix is spread on a butter paper over a clay pot and baked and served hot. His second dish Tepsi Kebab is a must try for all the spice lovers out there.
The minced meat is kneaded with finely chopped onions, garlic, green chilly, red capsicum and spices and then moulded into a large circular baking tray (tepsi means tray in Turkey). The spread is topped with tomato sauce and cooked in the oven.
The third offering, Tawook Sote, is a sizzling platter with a choice of your meat. The spicy goodness is filled with roasted onion, garlic, tomato, and capsicum. “The mix is filled in a platter and decorated with paneer pieces and mozzarella cheese carvings and then baked for 10 minutes,” says Tarik. Apart from the recent delicacies, the other popular dishes are Beef Rib and charcoal-grilled fish served with flavoured rice.
@chef_tarik_baba @bab.arabia