Rocky Mohan is not just a name in India’s food and beverage world. He is an author, a connoisseur, and the chairman of Mohan Goldwater Breweries Ltd. He has spent decades building a deep, lived relationship with what goes on the table and what fills the glass. At the NDTV Food Awards 2026, in front of a beautiful tribute backdrop dedicated to the legendary chef Gulam Qureshi, Rocky met with NDTV for a warm, rapid-fire chat. In under two minutes, he covered goat meat, his go-to comfort meal, his food journey, and what the awards mean to him, all with effortless charm.
“The journey has been beautiful,” Rocky said without missing a beat. He described it as a natural progression that started with beverages before expanding into the wider world of food, writing, and culture. His books, he explained, have been another way of sharing his love for India’s culinary heritage with a broader audience. For a man who has built a career across both what you drink and what you eat, it is a journey that clearly still excites him.
“The goat meat is basically the ultimate meat,” Rocky said and then explained why in a way that was half science and half poetry. “Because it allows the collagen to travel into the gravy.” The broth can be boiled, the fat renders slowly, and when cooked over a period of time, “it gives you that depth that you can create in cuisine” like nothing else. It was a concise, confident defense of something most North Indians already know in their bones: a slow mutton curry has a soul that no other meat can match.
“Matar Pulao.” Again, no hesitation. Not biryani, not khichdi, not some elaborate dum preparation. Just simple, fragrant matar pulao. Clearly, Rocky Mohan finds joy in the understated, the homely, and the things that do not need to announce themselves.
“Rajma chawal with matthi.” No hesitation, no caveats. For someone of Rocky Mohan’s stature, you might expect something elaborate. Instead, he went straight for north India’s most beloved Sunday meal, paired with crispy, flaky matthi.
Rocky smiled and deflected with characteristic charm. “I think NDTV will answer that for you,” he said, gesturing to the glittering awards evening around him. It was a smooth sidestep that got a laugh and, frankly, made perfect sense given the company he was in.
“Excellently well done.” Rocky did not technically stick to one word, but nobody was complaining. It summed up precisely how he feels about an event that has, over the years, become one of the most credible celebrations of culinary excellence in India. Coming from someone who has seen the food and beverage industry from the inside for decades, it means something.
What makes Rocky Mohan such a compelling voice in India’s food world is exactly this: he is never performing. Whether he is talking about collagen in goat meat or reaching for Rajma Chawal on a quiet Sunday, there is a consistency and a sincerity to him that is rare. He understands food not just as a business or a subject to write about but as something lived and loved. At NDTV Food Awards 2026, in front of a sea
