Putting Your Metal Where Your Mouth Is

Photo: Bobin James

It’s early morning on the first day of the PALM Expo in Mumbai and against all expectations Sahil “The Demonstealer” Makhija is hard at work in his kitchen, kneading up batch after experimental batch of dough and rolling out paneer parathas in otherworldly shapes. “Stress, so much stress,” he pants, wiping a floury hand across his forehead, looking anything but unhappy about it. This has been the ritual every morning for a week now, as Makhija readies himself for the fourth episode of his newly launched cooking-and-metal show Headbanger’s Kitchen, featuring George Kollias, drummer for legendary Florida death metallers Nile. Kollias, who was in town for a Pearl drum clinic, couldn’t be more excited about his first visit to the country. “I’ve travelled to many different countries but I’m excited to meet the fans here, I’ve heard some crazy stories and I just want to play for you guys.”

For Makhija, Headbanger’s Kitchen is his way of bringing two of his greatest passions together ”“ good food and metal. “I’ve always been fond of cooking and after getting a lot of positive feedback for a food blog I started on Facebook, I decided to take it to the next level, make it visual,” says Makhija. On the show, the Demonic Resurrection frontman exercises his culinary skills to put together heart-stoppingly calorific but delectable dishes and invites a metal band over to partake of the meal over an informal chat. So far, Dubai metallers Nervecell and Mumbai bad-boys Scribe and Bhayanak Maut have been on the show. But the fourth episode is special for Makhija and he has twice as many reasons to be nervous: one, it’s the first time he’ll be making Indian food on the show, something he’s never dabbled in, and two, Makhija’s been a Kollias fanboy since he first heard him play.

Kollias on the other hand, is a self-confessed fussy eater. “I don’t like to experiment with cuisines; mostly I eat just Greek and Italian food. When I’m out with the rest of the band, they’ll all try different cuisines while I eat cookies,” he says laughing, adding that he often gets so caught up in his drumming he often forgets to eat, but he digs in enthusiastically into the paneer parathas and mutton kebabs. “This is delicious, really good!” he exclaims to a visibly relieved Makhija, before he gets a hit of the vivid green chutney that accompanies it. “Whoa!” exclaims the drummer, doubling over slightly. “That green stuff is a little too hot for me, though.”