“Chicken biryani is a dish that you do not need to Instant Pot, and you shouldn't. I think it's a crime against humanity. Certain things, give it time.”
The Dinner Plan · Food & Beverage · September 2026
Sharma is the food writer behind The Flavor Equation, and most of this interview is him explaining the chemistry behind shortcuts — why salt masks bitterness, why baking soda turns caramelising shallots an unpleasant green. Asked which project he most wants readers to attempt, he picked the one recipe in the book he refused to speed up, a biryani his aunts made for his birthdays. His consolation is that it spreads across three easy days: marinate, cook the rice, caramelise the onions.
Transcript
Go with the Syrod Noki and chili garlic shrimp. That's been one of like the biggest hits at home. And then after I finished testing recipes for the book, I invited a couple of my friends over and this has come up by request several times. I love Noki because of the chewy potatoy texture of the pasta. But then the chili garlic shrimp is something you just prep on the side, fold it all together, call it a day. And then if you're looking for something vegetarian, the Gojujang noodles with Kalen squash. Again, that's such a nice fall dish as well. And it's a great way just even for kids. It's sweet and a little bit spicy. You can always adjust that. And then a good way to force vegetables into them.
Anything with noodles is a hint. There are also some kitchen projects in here. What's one fun project that you're hoping people will try?
Go make my chicken biryani. I did not compromise on that recipe because a chicken biryani for me growing up was a dish that I always asked my aunts to make on my birthday. And it's something that it's made by the Islamic community in India on their religious holidays, but also for celebrations like weddings and birthdays. My family's not Muslim, but even we made it. And it's such an iconic thing. It takes me back to home, but it's also a dish that you do not need to instant pot and you shouldn't. I think it's a crime against humanity. Also, don't expect it to happen in a day. And it shouldn't. Certain things give it time. Marinate the meat. And it's easy because one day you marinate the meat, one day you cook the rice, one day you cannibalize the onions, and then everything just comes together. And it's such a fun dish because honestly, if you're cooking that, it's a large part. It'll last you a couple of days. And you just need to make that. And if you don't want to cook anything else, don't even make a raita, just serve it with plain yogurt. That's it. And it's dramatic, very dramatic when you open it.
I'm curious if there is a piece of kitchen equipment that you've added to your arsenal in the last few years and really love.
Three things. I know you asked for one, but I'll give you three because they're all kind of like I use them all together. But I actually kind of like Suvi. I did not like Suvi when I was in San Francisco. I don't know why. I think it was just pushed on me all the time. But after I moved to LA, I think I've started using SUV a lot more to do a lot of fun things. Like if I'm having a large bunch of, I guess I can have one water bath control everything. So it's convenient and the texture is always reproducible because water just controls temperature much better. And the other thing is I got a compression vacuum. I'm going to call it a device. It's fun because what I'll do sometimes is I'll get fruit. And then if you want to get the flavor to fruit really well, do a vacuum compression. It shrinks and sucks the air out from the cells. And so it visibly, like a slice of pineapple, will look so much more translucent than if it wasn't. And so it's a fun way then to take that and infuse flavor into fruit if you're making even like a fruit salad. And then finally, my dehydrator. I have a smart air fryer, which is like a little toaster oven size. And I do a lot of dehydration, fun things now in it, from fruits to vegetables all the time.
What kinds of things are you dehydrating?
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