Chef Varun Totlani’s signature snap peas salad, featured in Culinary Masters for Robb Report India, showcases his philosophy of restraint at Mumbai’s acclaimed Masque. Lightly shaved peas are briefly cooked for smokiness yet kept crisp, then charred, dressed with coriander vinaigrette, and served over warm smoked tomato jam, highlighting pure, focused flavours.
In the first episode of Culinary Masters, celebrated chef Varun Totlani prepares his signature dish, Snap Peas salad for Robb Report India. He also tells us that this one is a hot favourite at his restaurants Masque and Paradox.
Snap peas don't need much. A keen knife, a little heat, and the confidence to stop before you've gone too far that, in essence, is Varun Totlani's whole philosophy made edible.
Head Chef at Masque, Mumbai's landmark modern-Indian restaurant, Totlani has built a reputation on restraint. His cooking doesn't chase complexity for its own sake. It finds the moment when an ingredient is most itself and holds it there.
Totlani's path to the top of Masque's kitchen was neither swift nor accidental. Trained at the Culinary Academy of India in Hyderabad and later at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York, he returned home with a rigorous classical foundation and a clear sense of purpose. He joined Masque's opening team in 2016 as a commis, starting with quiet intent. Over six years, he ran the pass, was appointed Sous Chef in 2021, and took the title of Head Chef in 2022.
It is the kind of progression that speaks less of luck and more of someone who understood, very early on, that the only way to truly lead a kitchen is to have worked every corner of it first.
"Cook the snap peas just enough to bring out smokiness, the crunch is the whole point," says Totlani.
Snap peas, thinly shaved
Salt
Black pepper
Olive oil
Smoked tomato jam
Coriander vinaigrette
Shave the snap peas thinly with a knife or slicer.
Dress lightly with salt, pepper, and olive oil.
Warm the smoked tomato jam to a smooth, spoonable consistency.
Cook the snap peas briefly on the heat — smoky, but still crisp.
Char with a blowtorch for extra depth.
Toss with coriander vinaigrette.
Spoon the tomato jam into the centre of the plate.
Pile the dressed peas on top. Serve at once.