Vikas Khanna rolls out a book on non-alcoholic drinks for summer

Vikas Khanna rolls out a book on non-alcoholic drinks for summer, before he heads to Cannes next month to launch Utsav, his book on festival food.

Chef Vikas Khanna’s latest book, Shaken and Stirred (DK/ Rs 899) promises to “refresh, soothe, revive and energise”. “Unlike the rest of the world, India has a lot of non-spirited drinks. We all have vivid memories of our comfort drinks. For me, it was warm milk, scented with cardamom, sometimes garnished with almond slivers,” says Khanna.

The book was born in his New York restaurant Junoon, where he was brainstorming with his multinational team, creating interesting flavours and innovative twists. For instance, star anise has been used in mint iced tea, while sandalwood and basil seeds have been infused with lime juice and pomegranate juice is mixed with jaggery and coriander sherbet. “I realised that we all have so many spices and ingredients in our kitchens but we end up using them only in main course meals. I tried different concoctions and arrived at 340 recipes, out of which 101 are in the book,” says Khanna, who is also planning a book on 100 varieties of rice, available across the world.

But before that the celebrity chef is waiting for his trip to Cannes next month, where he will launch his book Utsav, on festival food in India, which comes with a heavy price tag of Rs 8 lakh.