Cook Off Contest - Good Concept - Badly Planned

As a food blogger, I do get invitation to attend many culinary events, such as food demonstrations, restaurant review or potluck parties. I like to go for such events because it gives me content to write on my blog and I get to meet many interesting (and not so interesting) people during these meets.

First things first…what is your idea of food blogger?

Are they the bunch of food crazy bloggers who are always seeking free meals in a shiny restaurant? Why do they get invited? Are they The-last minute-save-the-face-fill-the seats-guests-that-highly-priced-paid-media-refused-to-attend?

Food bloggers like me are passionate about the food and we like to share our love for food with our readers. We are honest and blunt; and more importantly, we are not looking for free meals, we just want content for our blog, a knowledge to share. We solely write for our own pleasure. We know all about taste, presentation and the creativity of a dish.

This week I received an invitation from Rohini Dey, to attend a cook-off for vermillion restaurant. I had deleted the first invitation to this event from my mail box, but when I discovered that a food blogger friend, Rushina was to be a judge to this event, my curiosity was aroused and I wanted to attend as an audience. The second invitation came, inviting me to two events, a ‘cook-off’ event at Indigo and ‘’meet and greet’ at IBar, (a launch of new restaurant) I willingly accepted both the invitations.

When I reached the venue, I looked for the hostess, Rohini Dey, to say hello. I looked for the participants who were to be judged for their culinary talent, I looked for the cooking stations.  My bad! I had misunderstood it all! We were not invited to watch the participant prepare a dish. We were invited to watch the judges eat!!!

This must be the most embarrassing moments for the judges too. How could one taste food when thousand of cameras flash on every bite they take?

It would be more appropriate if there were 2-3 extra plates prepared for the audience too and placed on separate tables for the media to taste and click pictures if they wished and let the judges taste the food in peace.

I am still confused as to why the food bloggers like me were invited? We could not hear the conversation (there was no mike), we could not see the presentation (the creativity of the dish was visible only at the judges’ table,) we could not taste the dish (it was cooked only for the judges)

 The photographers, writers and bloggers looked uncomfortable because nobody offered them a glass of water, not before the event, not during, nor even after the event.

I am hoping that they will pay attention to these details when they have one more event at Delhi the next week.

After the event, I ordered a cup of coffee for my friend and I. We waited for 20 minutes, but the coffee did not arrive. What were they thinking???? Hello! I was willing to buy my own cup of coffee.......

In a place like Mumbai, where the distances are far to reach, there is heat and dust, a blogger spends his/her own money to travel to the venue, surely he/she deserve a warm welcome, no?

Truly disappointed!!!

No! I am not greedy! But I have never been treated like this. Besides blogging, I also work for the welfare of underprivileged, mentally challenged children. Sometimes I make home visits to see the child's behavior at home. Some of the children do not even have a chair in their home to sit. I cannot describe the love and affection I see in their eyes. They may not have enough money to enjoy the luxuries of life, but when any guest visits them, they will always offer food and drinks, they will talk to you and make you comfortable. 

A glass of water is MUST.

I didn’t know who this Rohini Dey is, till I saw her at the table addressing the room. The owner & Founder of Vermilion, The women behind the Indian Latin restaurant known for its pioneering cuisine in NYC & Chicago. A leading restaurateur! A proponent of Indian cuisine with her unique Latin-twist indeed!

Alas! Such is the hospitality of the person in food industry!

I made up my mind of not attending any more of such events and sent in my email to the organizer.

HelloThis is to inform you that I won't be attending your party on Wednesday at IBar My friends (Bloggers) and I had attended your ‘cook-off’ today at Indigo, and was quite disappointed with your hospitality towards your other guests. NOT Even A GLASS OF WATER was offered to the guests who attended the event. We felt like second-class citizens. If the only important people in the event were your judges and participants, why were bloggers like us invited??? Like fools we took pictures of the food that judges tasted........OMG, such fools we are.... Still confused!! Pushpa

Her PR called me the next day, apologizing and blaming the management of the restaurant for the oversight, telling me that they were supposed to serve soft drinks and biscuits to the audience. She requested me to attend the event and give her one more chance to show her sweet hospitality. She promised to be good to me.

I am taking no chances; I have enough food at home and enough money to pay my food bills.

When she insisted that I attend, I requested her to be nice to other bloggers who were to attend the event at IBAR.

I am hoping that my food blogger friends were treated well the next day.

Coming back to the event, there were six participants and six judges to select a chef who would lead a restaurant at New York City drawing a handsome salary and permit to migrate to a new city.

My best wishes to them.

All the dishes were of Latin-Indian concept.

One of the dishes was Cauvery fish platter, avocado samosa, corn cream inspired makhani.

Ingredients for Cauvery fish

80gms Rawas (Indian salmon)

1tsp finely diced raw banana

½ tsp butter

½ tsp egg white

½ tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp gram flour

½ tsp roast cumin powder

½ tsp asafetida

½ tsp lemon juice

Salt pepper to taste

Method for Cauvery Fish

1.    Remove excess water from fish with dry cloth. Rub salt, pepper and asafetida over.

2.   Make a mixture of raw banana, butter, egg white, mustard seeds, gram flour, and cumin

3.   Cover one side of the fish with the above mixture

4.   Place the fish on grill for a minute, then cook it in oven at temperature of 150degrees for 5 minutes. Make sure the upper crust does not turn black.

Ingredients for Prawns

28grm of Tiger prawn with tail

1tbsp finely diced red pepper

½ tsp gram flour

½ tsp butter

Salt and pepper to taste

½ tsp lemon juice

1tsp egg white

Method for prawns

1.    D-vein the prawn and slice it into half. Make sure the tail the tail does not separate.

2.   Remove the excess water from prawn

3.   Mix red pepper, gram flour, butter, salt, pepper, lemon juice and egg white.

4.   Roast for 5 minutes.

Ingredients for Samosa

1 tsp mashed avocado

½ tsp almond

20gms refined flour

Pinch of ajwain

2-3 drops of oil

water as required

½ lemon juice

Salt to taste.

Method for Samosa

1.    Mix avocado, almonds and lemon juice and keep aside

2.   Make samosa patti with flour, ajwain, oil and water

3.   Roll and shape into triangular pocket and stuff it with avaocado filling.

4.   Deep fry

Ingredients for corn cream inspired makhani

1/2tsp garlic paste

1/2tsp kasuri methi

500gms tomatoes

2tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp methi seeds

Salt to taste

1 tsp white butter

1tsp corn cream

1tsp ghee

½ tsp butter

Method for Corn cream inspired makhani

1.    Heat butter and add methi seeds

2.   Once the seeds start to sizzle, add garlic paste, salt, chilli paste and stir fry till butter separates

3.   Add  tomato (blanched and skinned)

4.   Blend with hand blender. Add kasuri methi and white butter, strain it through muslin cloth, then add corn cream.

Ingredients for Mash potato

100 grams sweet potato

1 tsp butter

1 tsp cream

½ tsp bacon fat

Method for Mash Potato

1.    Boil sweet potato

2.   Blend it with the rest of the ingredients

Plate Garnish

Curry leaves sautéed with mustard seeds and urad dhal.

1 papad

Serves one person

Creativity was used to arrange it in the dish to make it presentable. The judges found the concept interesting but they were not happy with the flavors.

Punjabi Food Festival at Saffron

I was traveling in Spain during the time Masterchef India 2, a reality food show, was broadcast in India, therefore I was not able to follow this season, but those who watched must have seen the culinary skills of the participants, specially of Jyoti Arora, a housewife from Amritsar.

With no professional career, nor a blog space to boast, her culinary skill alone gives her the popularity of being talented and expert chef. All her experience comes from the hours she has spent in her own kitchen for 29 years experimenting on food that is healthy and fat free, erasing the myth that North Indian food is oily and spicy.

April is the Baisaki, a NewYear month, celebrated by various hindu communities in their own way of praying, socializing and eating authentic food. Saffron at Hotel Marriot invited Jyoti Arora to host a typical Amritsar style cuisine at Punjabi Food Festival.

The Saffron restaurant is dressed with sugarcanes and assorted dry spices in large jute sack at the entrance, there are bundles of garlic pods and bottles of fresh lime at the counter separating the area of the kitchen, colorful streamer closer to ceiling giving it a festive look. A live Indian music or folk songs in the background could attract more guests into the restaurant and do justice to the moods.

The food is excellent, non greasy and healthy as the chef promised. Some of the dishes on the menu had names like ‘Beera’ and ‘Prakash’ names of the most famous joints in Amritsar who have shared their recipe with Jyoti.

The melt in mouth Beera Chicken (from the house of “Beera”, the most popular chicken joint of Amritsar) and Amritsari Prakash Meat (Australian lamb, bone cooked on dum in spicy curry), is good enough reason to believe that you are transported to Amritsar.

I could not keep my eyes off these roasted king-size shrimps on skewers that arrived at our table. Perfect cooked, succulent and sweet, it was the dish to die for.

One by one, the dishes arrived, vegetarian and non-vegetarian, till tummy begin to explode. How much can one eat? The food is not very spicy, but you are served freshly chopped onions, green chilies, chutneys and pickles. Jyoti was most gracious, willing to take any criticism (we didn’t have any), sharing her recipes and relating her stories of her hometown and her learning experience during her MasterChef days. Jyoti believes that Punjabi food is all about cooking and feeding the loved ones.

Have you ever eaten chicken pickle? This was awsum! I liked chicken pickle so much that when Jyoti offered me to a bottle to take home, I couldn't refuse. What is interesting is that this chicken pickle can be stored in the fridge for three month and still retain its freshness. I plan to eat on every non-veg days, maybe I could make a nice sandwich too and share with my guests.

Then came the best part, the dessert. A platter of assorted sweets like Jalebi (made from overnight fermented gram flour and cooked in desi ghee), Mango Rabdi (fresh mango pieces with sweetened reduced milk, chilled), Dal Pinni (Lentils cooked in milk and sweetened with jiggery and Gur Ka Karah (traditional dessert made from jaggery) arrived at our table

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There were drinks too, that included wine, mocktail, sweet and salty lassi and of course Mawa Lassi, made of just mawa, sugar and crushed ice. Unlike sweet lassi, this Mawa lassi is very light and refreshing.

And like all Indian food must end with, what else? Paan..hmmn delicious!!!

The Punjabi Food Festival can be enjoyed till 18^th April, if you are Indian food lover and health conscious, do head to Saffron, at Marriot, because food is yummicious!!!

Restaurant: Saffron, JW Marriott Mumbai

Date: April 02 to 18, 2013

Time: 7 pm onwards

Pricing: Approximately INR 2200 plus taxes for two (without alcohol)

For Reservations: 022 66933344 or log on to www.jwdining.com

Play Holi With Colors But Without Water

There is acute water shortage in Maharashtra. Water meant for industrial projects are diverted to private developers of real estate projects like water parks and golf courses. Providing clean water is going to be the biggest challenge for Indian states in the coming year

This morning, I was watching news channels and saw children of Maharashtra making a pledge of not wasting water during this festival of Holi. They will miss out the fun we had during our growing years. But then we didn't play in extremes. We never ordered water tankers to have rain dance and waste water. Anything that is used in excess becomes a curse. We have to set limits for use of water. The sooner the awareness begins, the better. Last week I had also seen kids of ‘Podar School’ walk down the street raising the awareness of water shortage. Imagine that! Five years young kids educating the public! They pledged to play Holi without wasting water. 

Holi is fun to play with colors, but we have to be careful in selecting colors too. Some of the colors are quite harmful and can bring permanent damage to the sensitive skin.

To play safe Holi, it is best to play with eco-friendly colors.

Colors are everywhere. You find them in fruits, vegetables and flowers. To play safe, it is best to make them at home.

Red colour can be obtained from tomatoes and carrots juice. This can be diluted with sufficient quantity of water to remove the stickiness. You could also use Pomegranate peels, boiled in water. Or, better still, you could soak red hibiscus flowers in water overnight get a red which also has medicinal value.

For dry red colour, you could take red sandal wood powder, known as Raktachandan/lalchandan or Pterocarpus santalinus. This is extremely beneficial to skin and is used in face packs.

For Yellow colour you could mix 4 teaspoon of turmeric powder in to two liters of water. This can be boiled to increase the concentration of color.

For dry yellow colour, you could mix two tablespoons of turmeric powder with four tablespoons of gram flour, these are extremely healthy for our skin. Flowers like Amaltas (Cassia fistula), Marigold / Gainda (Tagetus erecta), Yellow Chrysanthemums, Black Babul (Acacia arabica) yield different shades of yellow. Dry the petals of these flowers under shade and crush them to obtain a fine yellow powder. Mix appropriate quantity of the powder with gram flour or use it separately.

Green colour can be obtained by mixing a fine paste of leaves like spinach, coriander, mint, tomato leaves, etc. into water.

For dry green colour, you could use henna powder, separately or mix with equal quantity of any suitable flour to attain a lovely green shade. You could also crush the tender leaves of the Wheat plant or the leaves of Gulmohur (Delonix regia) tree to obtain a natural safe green Holi color.

Blue colour can be obtained by crushing the blue berries (fruits) of the Indigo plant and adding to water for desired colour strength. In some Indigo species, the leaves when boiled in water also yield a rich blue color.

For dry blue colour, you could dry and grind the Jacaranda flowers or blue Hibiscus to obtain beautiful blue powder.

Magenta colour can be obtained by soaking grated Beet-root in one litre of water, to get a deeper shade; you could boil it for ten minutes.

Saffron colour can be obtained by soaking a few stalks of saffron (kesar) in two tablespoons of water. Leave it for few hours and then grind it. Dilute with water for desired colour strength. Though expensive, it is excellent for our skin.

For dry saffron colour you could dry and powder the dried flowers of the ‘Flame of the forest’ (Butea monosperma), known as Tesu, Palash or Dhak in vernacular languages, which is the source of the wonderful, traditional colour for Holi

Brown colour can be obtained by boiling tea or coffee leaves in water. Also ‘Kattha’ (Acacia catechu), the one eaten in pan, when mixed with water will give a brownish color.

Black colour can be obtained from the juice of black grapes; you could dilute it with sufficient quantity of water to remove stickiness

source

Holi is all about playing with colour, singing and dancing to the rhythm of dholak and having bhang. The intoxication of bhang brings mischief to the party. This intoxicant that hits you slower than alcohol at first, could knock you off totally when it finally enters your system. It could keep you laughing or crying for hours together, as most people will testify from their experiences.

How to make Bhang

Ingredients

50 grams Poppy seeds

1 ounce marijuana (fresh leaves and flowers of a female plant preferred)

2 tablespoons whole black pepper

3 teaspoons Cumin seeds

3 – 4 pieces of cloves

70 grams Almonds

 20 strands Saffron

15-16 green cardamom

¼ teaspoon powdered ginger

4 glasses of milk

2 cups of water

 12 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon rose water

Method:

1. Soak poppy seeds overnight
2. Bring water to rapid boil and pour it in a clean tea pot and brew the marijuana leaves after removing seeds and twigs from it.
3. Strain out the leaves and flowers and save the water
4. Crush the squeezed flowers and leaves with 2 tablespoons of milk in a mortar.
5. Slowly but firmly grind the milk and leaves together.
6. Gather up the marijuana and squeeze out as much milk as you can.
7. Repeat this process until you have used about 1/2 cup of milk (about 4 to 5 times).
8. Collect all the milk that has been extracted and place in a bowl.
9. Soak almonds for 30 minutes
10. Wash the poppy seeds, letting the dirt settle at the bottom
11. Grind the poppy seeds, almonds, cardamom, cumin seeds, whole pepper and saffron and little water (that you had saved while straining the leaves) to a fine paste.
12. Mix this fine paste with the milk that was extracted from marijuana
13. Soak and strain with your fingers, squeezing the muslin cloth to extract the milk
14. Tie the remaining paste in muslin cloth and pour cold milk over it
15. Squeeze out the milk till the pulp is dry.
16. Add sugar and serve cold.