A quick scroll through Chef Sanjyot Keer’s YouTube channel, ‘Your Food Lab,’ reveals his fascination for letting indigenous ingredients shine. Launched in 2016 to showcase detailed yet simple food videos, Keer is known for coaxing flavours out of the most unassuming staples in the kitchen. His videos chronicle the length and breadth of India’s culinary glory, from Delhi’s tikki chole (a dish that combines potato patties with chickpea curry) to chicken dum biryani (meat marinated with short-grained rice), fusion paneer (cottage cheese) burritos, and Mumbai’s classic bhel puri (street food snack).
Interspersed amongst these short-form bites of deliciousness are clips of sit-downs of Chef Keer with industry luminaries. One particular clip that caught my eye featured British pop-star Ed Sheeran receiving a masterclass in making Maharashtrian misal pav (sprouts curry), complete with tips on how not to miss the cooker ki seeti (pressure cooker whistles).
It is amazing how Keer broke through the internet with his fleeting visual recipes that, along with clocking views in billions, succeeded in challenging the narrative that Indian cuisine is “too extravagant” to whip up in a hurry. From simplifying matkichi usal (a Maharashtrian vegetable preparation with sprouts) to six minutes 56 seconds, to perfecting the flavours of the dahi wali bhindi (lady’s finger in curd), every dish Keer creates celebrates India and her spices.
It’s worth noting that the now-successful Keer once felt apprehensive when he saw food blogs with hundreds of videos in their repository. In 2015, he did not even have a page to boast of, and his ideas were often ridiculed.
Today, Keer’s 6.07 million subscribers are a barometer of his skill. Here’s what went into his recipe for success.
Mumbai’s pav bhaji and the start of a journey
Watching dollops of butter rush to hug hot pieces of bread fresh off the tava (pan) transports Keer back to his childhood — to evenings when the family would head out for some street food in the local bazaars (markets) of Mumbai’s Mulund. He recalls being fascinated as pav bhaji makers, in the lane outside Mulund station, hustled to serve simmering gravy to hungry customers. “There was one cart in particular that my dad would visit, the second-to-last one in the line, headed by a man in a white kurta-pyjama.” Keer confirms that the place still exists and is now managed by the owner’s son. “I still go there for a plate of pav bhaji sometimes.”
Recalling the hypnotic effect of the dish’s preparation, Keer says, “The sounds of the tava, the aroma of the bhaji, and the hustle and bustle of Mumbai’s street made it feel magical.” It is in search of this flurry of activity that Keer veers away from the fancy restaurants and towards the ramshackle humble outlets when it comes to a good old plate of pav bhaji.
“It [pav bhaji] is not just a recipe but an experience,” he smiles, echoing the sentiment of his 12-year-old self.
Eager to recreate the symphony of flavours that he witnessed on the street, a young Keer announced to his parents that he would cook them pav bhaji. “They gave me all the ingredients and tools I needed.” That night, the room was all smiles as the family feasted on the dish. “I had noticed how my grandmother and mother’s food made people happy. When my food brought about the same reaction, I felt I too had a superpower.”
However, as Keer points out, his current take on the dish starkly differs from the one his 12-year-old self had prepared. “Through the years, I have tweaked my bhaji recipe based on the street version. I would read recipe books, ask vendors how they achieved the red colour in their paste, and try to replicate their tips.”
Despite his burgeoning romance with street food, Keer began to diversify and experiment. “I began asking my grandmother about her recipes and experiences with food. Everything I learnt from her, I began applying to my dishes. I continue to use her techniques as a guide.”
Finding solace in cooking: A passion ignited
In 2018, Keer made it to Forbes’ list of India’s Tycoons of Tomorrow — a surreal achievement for someone who was once told his idea to digitalise food recipes was ‘stupid.’
So how did a whim for cooking morph into a passion?
“As a kid you always want to pursue something at which you excel. But the moment you realise you aren’t good at it, you try switching to something else quickly,” he explains. For young Keer, whose schedule saw intensive cricket coaching, table tennis, lawn tennis, and swimming classes, it was the same. Failure to ace these found himself losing interest quickly. “But with cooking it felt different,” he shares.
The instant gratification that he got through cooking and the power to create moments of shared happiness led him to believe that he had found his forte. His repertoire of Indian curries, snacks, chaat (street food), biryanis, and fusion recipes reflect this enduring passion. Even in 2015 — a pivotal moment that threatened to derail his culinary ambitions — his love for cooking kept him tethered to his dreams.
Your Food Lab: Innovating in the digital cooking space
Keer had initially intended to pursue a master’s in culinary arts in London. However, when family finances didn’t support his dreams, he felt dejected. In hindsight, he recognises that finances weren’t the only barrier. “My father needed my support at that time. Our family has seen its fair share of ups and downs, and I’ve watched my mother stand by my father throughout. I knew that my sticking around at that time would ensure we would win as a family. And so, I decided to take a step back from cooking.”
During the sabbatical, Keer turned his attention to the family business. “But I constantly found myself wanting to return to cooking and make my dreams work.” In 2015, he registered ‘Your Food Lab’ as a flood blog. While it lay dormant for a year, in 2016, Keer couldn’t resist the pull of the kitchen any longer, and requested his dad for weekends off to focus on the blog.
“I didn’t have a plan. But having been a producer for MasterChef India (2014), I was aware of food and its role in the production space. At the time, everyone was focusing on television; no one was really thinking of presenting food on a phone screen,” he says.
So Keer decided to do it.
Your Food Lab’s USP, he decided, would be positioned around short-format food content.
With a second-hand camera as his accomplice, Keer filmed his first video. “I set up some handpainted wooden planks on the dining room table. I then made a hole in the false ceiling of the hall and bolted a steel rod that I purchased for Rs 400 from a scrap yard to a plate. I then welded a screw onto the rod and fitted it with a tripod head,” he shares. The ceiling still features the hole. That day, following a very extensive shooting process, the first video was ready.
“I wanted the videos to be new, peppy, interesting to watch, shareable, and consumable,” Keep says. However, he was anxious about how people would respond, so he kept the videos in his phone gallery for months.
What finally prompted him to upload his first recipe video? Ironically, it was a snide remark.
“I was getting a lot of mixed responses from the friends I showed my videos to. Questions like ‘How will you make money out of it?’ and ‘How will this turn into a career?’ were some of the most common doubts. Someone said, ‘This won’t work at all.’ This triggered me, and I decided to upload my video,” he says.
“I had 350 odd friends on Facebook and so assumed I’d get around that many views. I was surprised when it touched 10,000 views on the first day!” he adds.
The second video garnered a lakh views, and the third touched 10 lakh.
The brainwave of using food as a medium to connect with people struck a chord.
Reflecting on his journey, Keer says his success comes from a combination of many things, the primary being consistency. However, what really stands out, as many netizens agree, is how Keer balances avant-garde techniques with simplified approaches to cooking. “I want even someone entering the kitchen for the first time to be able to follow my instructions.” Another goal has been for the recipes to transcend their role as menus and instead become windows into the world. “Even those who aren’t able to go out and explore other cities and countries should be able to try those cuisines; whether they are regional recipes of India or international dishes.”
You’ll agree that aesthetics and skill convene in each of Keer’s videos. Through Your Food Lab, Keer has penetrated modern kitchens, urging cooks to experiment with staples.
Who knows what a few simple ingredients can achieve?
And to think it all started with an idea that was laughed at. But as he maintains, “An idea is never perfect until you execute it. Do not kill your idea.”
Edited by Arunava Banerjee; Images: Your Food Lab
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