Chef Spotlight: Executive Sous Chef Dheeraj Tomar of JUNOON – The Michelin Starred Indian Restaurant in the Flatiron

Chef Dheeraj Tomar is a native of New Delhi India and is currently the Executive Sous Chef of the first Michelin starred Indian restaurant, Junoon in the Flatiron neighborhood of New York City. Junoon is epitome of authenticity and quality Indian food that caters to the ever-growing community of food lovers from near and far.

Dheeraj's professional journey dates back to year 2000 in India where he graduated in culinary management training program from a renowned ITDC Hotel. He worked in famous kitchens of in 5-star hotels in India including the Intercontinental in New Delhi. He then moved to Dubai where he worked with Hotel Marco Polo that was awarded as the Best ITondian restaurant by Time Out.

During his years in India, Dheeraj got numerous accolades where his recipes where published in newspapers, and was widely acknowledged as an expert at Innovating newer healthier trends in eating, He was often referred to as a connoisseur of food.

Dheeraj moved to New York City in 2011 where he was at the helm of affairs in Devi Group Ltd. Before moving to work at Junoon.

Dheeraj's professional endeavors have dazzled Indian food lovers in the US and that is evident from raving reviews his restaurant gets on social and professional platforms. Dheeraj's cooking style includes both the pan cooking and tandoor cooking and is synonymous with North Indian cuisine.

His cuisine has been featured in numerous food festivals in NYC like City Harvest and Harvest in the Square etc. and he is regularly featured in the forums and platforms likewise.

Broadwayworld interviewed Chef Tomar about his career and Junoon for our "Chef Spotlight" feature.

What was your earliest interest in cooking?

My earliest interest in cooking was during my childhood in which I used to cook with my mom on weekends (during the weekdays I had to study!) I love sweets, so we would make desserts like kheer (rice pudding) and kulfi (egg-less Indian ice cream). I was always intrigued in the method in which my mom cooked everything from scratch. Some savory dishes I learned as well include chicken curry and stuffed bitter gourd.

Who were some of your career mentors?

There are a myriad of key cooking techniques in Indian cuisine that I had to master. With that comes specialty chefs who are considered "'masters" at their specific technique. The main two kinds of master chefs are Tandoor chef and Curry chef. Hotels play a key role for chefs in India as most of the best chefs globally do some form of training at some point at a hotel, I was very lucky to work under two brilliant chefs. My two main mentors were Gulam Rasool and Kartar Singh. I worked under them at the Bristol Hotel in Gurugram, India. Both of them were masters in Tandoor and Curry cooking and played a big role in shaping my career as a young and upcoming chef.

What culinary styles have influenced your career?

Mughlai (moog-lie) is a type of cuisine in Northern India that came from the Mughal rule in India from 1426-1857. During that time in India's history, the food was rich and cooked with aromatic spices, nuts, and dried fruits. As stated before, I mastered Tandoor cooking while working in hotels in Northern India so that has played a big role in my cooking. Breads such as romali roti, sheermal, taftan, and baqarkhani are some of my favorite dishes to prepare and to serve.

What do you consider the most distinguishing feature of your work?

Living in New York City for 9 years now, I have incorporated a lot of local ingredients and global techniques due to the diversity of chefs here into my own cooking style. I am still a traditional Indian chef at heart, but I enjoy creating new and fun dishes utilizing my emotions and experiences over the last 9 years which is truly unique. Working in a Michelin-starred kitchen like Junoon has allowed me the freedom to do this. We pair a famous Indian comfort food like Khichdi (boiled rice, lentils, spices, and ghee) with white truffles which is unheard of. Another signature dish is our Smoked Ribs where I make a traditional Vindaloo Spice Marinade, but we add a spiced BBQ rub and charcoal smoke it like we see in BBQ themed restaurants. Lastly, I made a Chicken Tikka marinade, but with a twist added ghost peppers to it, but the most interesting thing about that dish is that each season we go to the Union Square Green market and pair those fruits and vegetables with the Ghost Pepper Chicken Tikka (for example in the fall we like to use different squashes, and the spring and summer is more berry oriented).

What is your favorite meal?

My go to meal or favorite meal is "Daal chawal". It is extremely simple yet packed with flavor- daal means lentils so we boil the lentils (chana,masoor, toor urad lentils) and season them with cumin, ginger, garlic, green chili, tomato, ghee, turmeric, and mix it with boiled basmati rice.

Tell me a little bit about your restaurant for our readers.

Junoon is fine dining modern Indian restaurant located on West 24th street in the flatiron district. The word Junoon means "Passion" in Hindi. It opened in 2010 and has received One Michelin Star each year since it opened and is currently the only Indian Restaurant in NYC to hold a star. Here we try to serve traditional dishes with a modern twist to them and through our interpretation. It can be something as utilizing a local ingredient which isn't usually available in India, but is Incorporated into the dish because of our location in the heart of the city. We also use global techniques such as sous vide cooking for eggs and lamb shanks that adds to the complexity of the dish by offering a uniquely beautiful texture. Lastly, Modern gastronomy such as making mango-chili spheres that look like egg yolks due to the science of pairing sodium alginate and calcium chloride helps us create an experience for the guest that is truly unique during our tasting menu experience. In the dining room ,we pair our cuisine with an extensive Wine Program which has received "2 glasses" from Wine Spectator multiple years in a row and an extensive Cocktail program that defeats the misrepresented stereo-type that the only alcohol Indian food can be paired with is Beer.

Junoon is located at 27 W 24th St, New York, NY 10010. They are open for lunch and dinner and they also host special events. Reservations can be made online. Visit http://junoonnyc.com/ and call 212.490.2100.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Junoon

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