Model Citizen: Septugenarian’s handy kitchen app

“I wanted to make their job easier with my app AskChitVish Premium. The way each item is made has been explained stage by stage with photographs. One has to just fix the mobile at a convenient place in the kitchen and begin to cook,” says Chitra Viswanathan, a 78-year-old culinary expert. 

The highly tech-savvy Viswanathan, with her love for Indian cuisine launched the app – AskChitVish Premium - six years ago. She has a steady stream of people asking her about the app, which surges during Deepavali. The app has over 3000 recipes in it. 

Viswanathan uploads her recipes, after she tries them out personally, on her app almost daily. With nearly 16 categories of gastronomical delights, the app is hailed for being user-friendly. Traditional sweets such ladoo, katli, almond burfi, coconut burfi karangi, milk powder chocolate burfi, dry fruit burfi are neatly listed out. Plenty of payasam varieties can also be found, including unusual ones like mixed vegetable, carrot kheer, dates kheer, macaroni kheer, sweet potato kheer, orange kheer and mock badam kheer. When asked about the last, she quips, “It’s made using yellow pumpkin, no one can spot the difference.” 

Other categories in her app include home remedies, health and herbal food, menus and jiffy cooking; kozhambus and dhals, rotis and  breads, to name a few. What are most sought after? Of course with health conscious people on the rise every day, salads, preserves, rasam and soups are popular, she says.   

Despite her age, she is in great demand with people sending her mails not only from India but also abroad. When asked about the challenges in using a computer and mobile to explain her recipes, shoot pictures and be alert on the whole, the septuagenarian smiles beautifully. “I am pleasantly engaged with this app. Cooking is my passion. Sharing what I have learnt for 50-60 years from my elders in the family, friends and while on the move, makes me happy. I want to leave the small tips and cooking nuances for posterity”.  

She is against all the refined oils and recommends cold pressed virgin coconut oil, groundnut oil and gingelly oil for cooking. Her sweets have more of palm sugar, cane sugar and coconut sugar. Chitvish, as she is popularly known was once head of the cookery section of a website.