Once we decided to meet at his newly launched restaurant, Karigari, in Sector 26, Chandigarh, I couldn’t contain my curiosity about his much-talked-about green butter chicken. Endorsed by Farah Khan and her children, it was a signature dish he chose to introduce in Chandigarh before rolling it out across any of his other 12 outlets.I, however, couldn’t have my way with Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi. He happily brought me a bowl of his famed butter chicken to taste but flatly refused to share the recipe.But then, who can hold a grudge against this incredibly charming chef who would oscillate between the profound and the silly, often breaking into his Namak-Shamak jig as he cooked.The Namak-Shamak guy is one identity he would like to be remembered by. “It’s a brilliant thing that has happened to me. People don’t remember my name, but they do remember the Namak Shamak guy.”All thanks to Girish Madhu, who directed Chef Harpal in television show Turban Tadka. Before the shoot started, Girish asked Harpal how he would like to be remembered long after he’s gone. It got him thinking. Once back home, he picked up the book his daughter Antara was reading. It was on Mahatma Gandhi. “I opened a chapter and it was on Satyagraha and I realised that Gandhiji started our freedom movement with salt as the main element. And I connected that philosophy with food. In food, salt is that ingredient that lifts its taste.” And this was how the idea for ‘Namak Shamak, Namak Shamak Daal Dete’ germinated.Having established the credentials about his identity, it’s time to move on to the main course. The green butter chicken! A dish he is so incredibly proud of and fiercely protective about.“Recently, I did a podcast with Farah Khan and when she came home, I decided to cook butter chicken in a different avatar. I made it with green tomatoes, with a little pesto, burnt garlic and crushed black pepper on top. Farah took a bowlful back home for her children and the children enjoyed it so much that she called me to give her feedback. I decided that when I opened my restaurant in Chandigarh, this would be the first dish on the menu. Right now, it is available only in Chandigarh.”His mention of pesto in butter chicken brought us to the trend of fusion food, a trend he has been pioneering. But fusion food is a tricky business. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. So, what’s the thumb rule? “We keep it well balanced. There are some recipes which are absolutely traditional, which we don’t fidget with. Then, there are recipes which are quirky, like the parmesan chicken tikka. Or, green garlic butter chicken, with parmesan on top. We don’t create fusion for the sake of it. Our approach is to understand the flavours of ingredients and pair them thoughtfully to create something unique. That’s the thumb rule we follow when developing fusion dishes. If I had to put it in percentages, I’d say our food is about 50-60 per cent rooted in tradition, while the remaining 40 per cent comes from international influences and more experimental, quirky flavour combinations,” he explained.To prove his point, he guided me to his cooking station and showed me how, with a simple twist, he could elevate the familiar pav bhaji to pav bhaji fondue.“The essence of a typical Mumbai-origin pav bhaji is that it should have a dominating tomato flavour and is full of butter. The masala should have a strong flavour of clove.”The pavs came in the form of a ring. He glazed the pavs with a spoonful of the masala and then poured a dollop of cheese sauce which he glazed using a blow torch. His attention to detail earned my admiration.But Chef Harpal was not done. He next moved to a mean-looking tandoor to demonstrate his another famous dish — the open kulcha. A half-cooked bread that served as a bowl for a mixture of chicken tikka, makhani sauce, onion and cheese.Cheese in butter chicken, cheese in pav bhaji, and now cheese in kulcha? “Punjab loves cheese,” he declared, with absolute certainty. Fair enough. But Punjab also loves those who truly care about its taste buds. If Karigari’s footfall is anything to go by!