GOOD FOOD MASTERCLASS AT ITC SONAR, KOLKATA

It was really my pleasure that I was invited to attend a wonderful event Good Food Master Class at ITC Sonar held on 13th of December, 2013. Chef Sunayan Pramanik begun the class with a Middle East recipe 'Winter Green Pea Hummus With Gobindo Bhog Tortillas'. You may guess from its name itself how amazing fusion food it is. Mediterranean food 'Hummus' which was made with fresh Winter green peas (which is abundantly available in Winter), olive oil, lemon juice and tahini; whereas, Mexican Tortillas was infused with Bengali's gobindo bhog rice flour and maize flour. Both dishes were served with 'Cucumber Labneh'  - a delightful plate but not that much satisfied my taste buds.

Chef Sunayan presented his next recipe which was followed by French cooking method which he made with 'Bay of Bengal Betki In White Wine and Asparagus Topped With Gondhoraj Lime Foam'. 'Gondhoraj Lemon' is a special type aromatic juicy lemon, which is very popular and commonly used in Bengali households. In this recipe, Betki fillet was marinated in white wine, gandharaj lemon juice, crushed pepper, basil, cilantro, olive oil and seasoning; cooked in fish stock Personally, I like asparagus. So, while poached Betki topped with boiled asparagus and gondhoraj lemon foam presented infront of us, couldn't take off my eyes from the palate and it tasted great. The recipe is given below:

POACHED BAY OF BENGAL BEKTI IN WHITE WINE AND ASPARAGUS TOPPED WITH GONDHORAJ LIME FOAM

INGREDIENTS:

TO MAKE POACHED BAY OF BENGAL BEKTI:

300 gm Betki Fillets
100 ml White Wine
1 Lemon, juiced (preferably Gondhoraj Lime)
2 tsp Salt
500 ml Fish Stock
100 gm Asparagus
2 Basil Leaves
Crushed Pepper to taste
1 tbsp Roughly Chopped Cilantro
2 tbsp Olive Oil

TO MAKE GONDHORAJ LIME FOAM:

1 Gondhoraj Lime, juiced
50 ml Cream
20 ml Olive Oil
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Marinate the betki fillet in white wine, salt and lemon juice for a few minutes.

Warm some of the fish stock in a pan and add the marinated fillets along with the marinade and remaining white wine. Poach the fillets till soft, but cooked.

Remove the fish and keep aside.
Cook asparagus and basil leaves in the poaching liquid for around 5 minutes.

Place the asparagus on a plate and the betki fillet on the top of it. Pour the residue juice on the fish.

Fill a can with the cream, gondhoraj lime juice, salt and olive oil. Infuse nitrogen and spray the froth over the fillet in the form of a carnation.

Chef Sunayan also described very nicely how to make fish stock in home. In ice or ice-water, mix fish bones and simmer it for long time. He suggested us never letting it to a boil, just adjust temperature below boiling point and letting the bones to release their flavor to infuse into the stock and might store it in refrigerator for a couple of days. Chef added, Tilapia fillet also a very good option for them, who are not easilly getting betki fillet.

Next, Bakery and confectionery, Chef Harpawan Singh Kapoor for two yummilicious dessert on Master Class menu. It was really very interesting lesson which he shown us. The first dish was 'Chennar Tiramisu Nostrano'. We never thought before about Tiramisu without Italian mascarpone cheese. Mascarpone made from cream, coagulated by the addition of citric acid or acetic acid. Chef Harpawan explained us how one could made mascarpone cheese with home made 'Chenna' or paneer. It was a wonderful combo of chenna tiramisu, meringue and coffee liquor. It was absolutely toothsome dessert. Sprinkled cocoa powder, grated chocolate and tiny Amaretti cookies. It was just awesome and luscious. The recipe is given below:

CHENNAR TIRAMISU NOSTRANO

INGREDIENTS:

THE CHENNA TIRAMISU:

500 gm Chenna / Fresh Paneer
50 ml Fresh Orange Juice
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
5 or 100 gm Egg Yolks
250 gm Whipped Cream
30 ml Marsala
250 gm Vanilla Sponge Cake
1 tsp Custard Powder

THE MERINGUE:

5 or 150 gm Egg Whites
100 gm Sugar

THE COFFEE LIQUOR MIX:

20 gm Coffee Powder
500 ml Water
100 gm Sugar
20 ml Marsala

METHOD:

For the tiramisu, mix the chenna, orange juice, custard powder and vanilla essence in a mixing bowl, till the mixture becomes smooth and fluffy.
Add the egg yolks to the mixture and blend it. Refrigerate the mixture.
To make maringue, take another mixing bowl and wipe it clean so that there are no water droplets in it. Add the egg whites and start whisking. Slowly add the sugar and continue whisking till it forms soft peaks.
Take the chenna mixture out of the fridge and fold in the whipped cream. Slowly add the meringue using a cut and fold motion. Keep this mixture back in the fridge.
To make coffee liquor mix bring the coffee powder, water and sugar to a boil. Remove it from heat and the Marsala. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator.
Cut 3 roundels of the vanilla sponge cake as per the diameter of a glass you will serve it in, and soak them in the coffee liquor mix.
Pipe the tiramisu mixture into a glass till it fills 1/3rd of the glass. Cover it with a soaked roundel and pipe some more tiramisu mixture on top of it to fill 3/4th of the glass. Repeat the process and top the last roundel with the tiramisu mixture till the brim of the glass.
Serve chilled, garnished with either cocoa powder or grated chocolate.

The next dessert presented by Chef Harpawan was my personal favorite and lipsmacking good 'Crepe Suzette with Nolen Gur'. Crepe Suzette is a French dessert consisting of a crepe with beurre suzette, a sauce of brown sugar and butter, tangerine or orange juice, zest and grand marnier or orange curacao liqueur on top, serve flambe (from wiki). At the place of liqueur he used Bengal's famous 'Nolen Gur' (a typical type of lequid palm jagerry). He did full justice with this dish. It was really a delicate and delicious dessert, gur gave a nice dark colour to the sauce, truely a succulent dessert. 

CREPE SUZETTE WITH NOLEN GUR

INGREDIENTS:

THE CREPES / PANCAKES

200 gm Refined Flour
500 ml Milk
125 gm Sugar (powdered/icing sugar)
100 gm Unsalted Butter (melted) + a Little Extra for greasing the pan
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
3 Eggs
Vanilla Ice Cream to serve

THE SUZETTE SAUCE

250 gm Brown Sugar
100 gm Unsalted Butter
500 ml Fresh Orange Juice
50 gm Marmalade
100 ml Nalen Gur

METHOD:

To make the crepes, mix the refined flour, milk, sugar, melted butter, vanilla essence and the eggs. Mix till it forms a smooth batter.

Strain the batter through a sieve to remove the lumps. Keep the batter aside and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat the bottom of the pan is coated evenly.

Once the crepe turns golden brown, turn it over. Cook for about 30 seconds till the other side also turns golden. Keep aside on butter paper.

To make the sauce, caramelize the brown sugar in a pan. Add the unsalted butter, fresh orange juice, marmalade and nolen gur. Simmer the sauce for around 5-8 minutes.

Add the crepes to the pan and let them absorb the sauce.
Serve the crepes hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Chef Sunayan Pramanik (L), Chef Mayank (M), Chef Harpawan Singh Kapoor (R)

Disclaimer: Sanoli Ghosh was invited to attend the Good Food Masterclass at ITC Sonar by ITC hotels.

DATES (KHEJUR) CAKE

A lovely light moist textured favourite is Dates Cake. This is very old-fashioned which can be a pleasant alternative to a fruited cake and a great sweet recipe for Christmas. It is very easy to make, full of nutritious and tastes just wonderful!

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups Dates / Khejur (seedless)
1&1/2 Cup Self-Raising Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda (Soda bi Carb)
1 Cup Water
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Butter
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1&1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence

METHOD:

Combine dates, sugar, butter and water in a sauce pan. Heat together and cook till it comes to the boiling point.

Add baking soda in the paste and mix well. It helps to break up dates well. Let the paste cool down for 20-30 minutes.

Whisk eggs nicely and pour it in dates mixture. Fold well by using a rubber spatula. Add vanilla essence in it. Mix again.

Preheat oven at 180 C. Add flour and baking powder to the mixture. Mix it thoroughly.
Take a square pan. Spread a parchment paper or wax paper inside the pan and grease it little.

Pour the mixture inside the baking paper. Flat the top evently by using a rubber spatula. Bake for 40 minutes.

Take out the pan from oven and let it cool normally on wire rack.

Turn the cake out upside-down onto serving plate. The cake can be kept, wrapped in foil or stored in an airtight container, for upto 5-6 days. Cut and serve in desired shapes.

Sending to:  Lets cook Christmas party food .

Sending to: Favorite Recipes: Christmas Recipes 2013

Sending to:  Let's cook for Christmas event

Sending to: "Eat Vegetables Stay Healthy" & JUSTEAT

ASH GOURD WITH YELLOW MOONG

Today's recipe is a traditional Bengali dish, very healthy and filling side dish made using ash gourd and lentils, tempered with cumin seeds and bay leaves. Being grown on creepers, ash gourd has the highest life force which helps in making our meditation practice more effective. It is generally cultivated for its nourishing and medicinal values. In India it is well known as 'Petha', contains lots of minerals and vitamins. It is broadly used for making sweets. Ash gourd juice is highly recommended for maintaining general good health and in curing many deseases. It is very comfortable and delicious side dish with rice, pickle and papad.

INGREDIENTS:

750 gm Ash Gourd (petha)
1/2 Cup Yellow Moong Dal
2 Bay Leaves
2 Red Chillies
2-3 Green Chillies (chopped)
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
A pinch of Asafoetida
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder (optional)
3-4 tbsp Clarified Butter (ghee)
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Chopped Coriander Leaves for garnishing (optional)

METHOD:

First cut ash gourd from the middle and cut into wedges. Peel the ash gourd by using a knief or peeler and deseed. Cut into 1&1/2" thin slices as shown in the picture below. Set it aside.

Dry roast moong dal for 3-4 minutes, till it turns into golden brown and a nice aroma comes out. Keep it aside.

Heat clarified butter in a kadai. Add asafoetida, cumin seeds, bay leaves and green chillies. Saute till cumin seeds lightly changed its colour.

Add Chopped ash gourd in it. Stir for 2 minutes followed by adding roasted yellow moong dal in it. Mix nicely. Add turmeric powder and salt in it. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes. Ash gourd releases lots of water and it is getting cooked in its own juice. Keep stirring occassionally.

Add broken red chillies in it. Fold well. Cook uncovered till all water evaporates and oil comes out from the sides. Mix sugar in it. Keep frying for 3-4 more minutes. Switch off the heat now.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice. Its delicious!

MUTTON NILGIRI KORMA

Kormas are typically made by mutton marinating in yogurt. With other spices, it is then cooked in its own juice. This is a zesty, my all time favorite mutton recipe cooked in coriander and other rich flavours. As much you put it on low flame, its getting more tasty and delectable. First time I had this yummilicious mutton curry made by my mom, since then I am a great fan of it. Just explore it in your kitchen, you'll definitely admire this dish.

INGREDIENTS:

800 gm Mutton (goat meat), cut into medium sized pieces
200 gm Plain Yogurt (curd)
2/3 Cup Grated Coconut
100 gm Onions (thinly sliced)
50 gm Cilantro / Coriander Leaves
1&1/2" Ginger
8 Pods Garlic
5-6 Green Chillies (as per taste)
2-3 Red Chillies (as per taste)
1 tbsp Coriander Seeds (dhania)
Garam Masala (3 Green Cardamoms, 1" Cinnamon, 2-3 Cloves, 2 Mace Blade & pinch of Nutmeg)
50 gm Clarified Butter (ghee)
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Clean and wash mutton very nicely in luke-warm water. Drain water completely. Marinate mutton with beaten yogurt and set it aside for atleast 1 hour.
Dry roast garam masala for 3 minutes. Pound coarsely and keep it aside.
Grind ginger, garlic, 1/2 portion of onions, green chillies, coriander leaves, coconut, red chillies and coriander seeds together to make a smooth paste.
Heat oil in a kadai/wok. Fry onion till it turns into golden brown.
Add grinded spice paste in it and fry till spice leaves oil from sides.
Now add marinated mutton in it. Fold well. Cover and cook for 30 minutes on medium heat. Stir occassionally.
Pour mutton with gravy in a pressure cooker, add 1 cup warm water in it. Pressure cook upto 4-5 whistle or till it is tender.
Wait till pressure releases normally, open the lid now. Sprinkle pounded garam masala on the top, mix well.

Serve hot with roti, naan, paratha or rice.

PEAS PULAV (MATAR PULAO)

A very traditional, popular and quick rice dish is Peas Pulav. This tasty, delightful, little spicy one pot meal goes well for lunch box or picnic which can be made within 20 minutes. You may have it in any lazy day or when you think for Basmati rice, it is a great delicious option for that. Can be served with any tomato based gravy or raita or simply with curd.......its always superb!

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups Basmati Rice
1 Cup Green Peas
2 Bay Leaves
1/2 tsp Caraway Seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
2 tbsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Garam Masala Powder
2 Onions, Cut into thin slices
6-8 Green Chillies (according to taste)
2" Ginger
2 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp Clarified Butter (ghee)
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Wash rice nicely. Soak it in water for 30 minutes. Drain water completely and set it aside.

Dry grind green chillies and ginger in mortar and pestle.

Heat oil in a large pan. Add bay leaves, cumin seeds, caraway seeds in it. Saute for few seconds. Mix sliced onions in it and fry till onion turns into golden brown. Add turmeric powder, fry for a minute. Add pounded green chillies and ginger in it, saute for a minute till raw smell of spices disappear.

Add coriander powder and garam masala in it. Mix well. At this time, add soaked rice in it and fry for 3 minutes on medium heat.

Pour 4 cups of warm water, peas, clarified butter and salt in it and fold well. When water starts to boil, cover with a lid and lower the heat now. Cook for 15 minutes. Switch off the heat now. Open lid after 6-8 minutes.

A nice aromatic peas pulao is now ready to serve.

"THE CHINA-JAPAN DEBATE ON A PLATE" AT ITC SONAR, KOLKATA

ITC Sonar, a luxury hotel in Kolkata having a distinctively modern and sleek architechtural design contrasting with the rich historical essence of Kolkata. After Delhi and Mumbai, an exquisite event is going on at Pan Asian, ITC Sonar, Kolkata; named  'The China-Japan Debate On A Plate' partnered with Johnnie Walker for a very short period from 7th Nov to 10th Nov. In this, the Corporate Chinese Chef Liang Xiao Ping and Contemporary Japanese Expert Chef Vikramjit Roy, both are offering delectable menu and contesting against each other. The pair have offered outlandish menu pairing with delicate blended Johnnie Walker Black Level. Join this event through Twitter, Facebook or Google+. Visit http://wcom.in/chinajapandebate and put in your words to get a chance to win exotic signature culinary experience in this short event. 

Before the main event begins, we were asked with a lovely cocktail as a welcoming drink, I choosen 'Wasabi infused drink Rising Sun'. It was an exquisite cocktail of pomegranate, whiskey, pickled ginger and some other ingredients, shaken well and served over ice cubes. This was a Japanese version of cocktail, on the other hand Debi parna choosen Chinese tea infused cocktail, which I tasted, a lovely stong cocktail of Chinese tea and Johnnie Walker Black Lebel whiskey.

Before sitting up in dinning table, Chef Vikramjit told us that he would have a special drink for us to start and when it came in our table, I was really very excited and that vodka based peachy drink, the glass rimmed with soy based salt and served in a very special manner. I really surprised to see how it was presented so wonderful way. Chef Vikram describes us how to drink it with plum tomatoes, bean curd, wafer with pinch of celery salt.

I choosed option for starter and soup, starters 'Golden fried prawns with crispy garlic chilli powder and sesame seeds', a Chinese classic; where as soup 'Edamame soup sansho crisp, foie gras foam', a fusion Japanese contemplation. In golden fried prawns, prawns were crisp from the outer side but soft and tender from inside, truely a mouthmelting dish.  On the other hand, 'Salmon with confit melon, miso cream cheese, bubuarare smoked corm mash' was made as Japanese non-veg starters. The second dish which was an absolutely delectable soup offered by Chef Vikramjit where 'Foie gras' i.e made of the liver duck or goose that had been specially flattened. Its flavour is rich, buttery, delicate and not like ordinary duck or goose liver. The speciality of soup served a covered dome, when it opened a roundel of sansho crisp with a slice of foie gras, warm Edamame soup poured on it, simply a super fusion and delightful Japanese combo soup. Mr. Raveen Mishra, Regional Brand Ambassador, Diageo India who describes about three types of Johnnie Walker whiskeys which we would be served with Four courses of dinner. The first it came with starters was Johnnie Walker Gold Lebel. I must say it was a wonderful paired menu.

For main course I opted Chinese classic, 'Double Fried Pork with mild chili and hoisin sauce' with chinese fried rice, actually a traditional and popular dish in Sichuan, China. Pork was tender, tasty, slightly sweet but I missed its crispyness. Raveen brought out for us 'Johnnie Walker Platinum Label' for pairing with this delectable Chinese speciality. Both flavours so well, which tuned with me for a long time. But Japanese segment's 'Blue cheese and spinach stuffed chicken breast, freeze dried tomato, whiskey ponzu reduction' caught definitely my attention, I tasted it little bit and it was just amazing!

For dessert, I choosen Japanese delicacy, 'Poarched pear carpaccio yuzu probiotic Yoghurt ice', it was absolutely delicious and wonderfully paired with 'Johnnie Walker XR 21' a whiskey which preserved in cusk at least for 21 years. The whiskey smelled so well and tasted divine with desserts. On the otherhand, PB went with fried ice cream from Chinese segment. It was also a mouth watery dessert.

Another surprise came from Chef Vikramjit, a fusion dessert and which was not in menu list. A lovely combo of sweet-bitter combo in a one dish, valhrona mousse based with crumbled biscuits and a scoop of yummy mint ice cream; small balls of fruits - a total fusion dessert, simply awesome!!! 

(Group Photo - Picture courtesy: Poorna Banerjee)

Lastly, we were gifted with a lovely pack of goodies by ITC and returning back to home with a ton of sweet memories, will remain with me forever.

Pan Asian, ITC Sonar
Date: 7th - 10th November 2013
Timing: Dinner Only - 7.30 to 11.45 pm
Price: INR 4000++ per guest
For reservation and further information call 033-23454545.

CHICKEN CURRY

This one is such recipe which can never be tired to cook this Chicken Curry. It is such a favourite dish which I made often is enjoyed by our friends and family. As usual Indian spices are used in this curry, only the special thing is fried onion grinded with yogurt and green chillies used while cooking.

INGREDIENTS:
500 gm Chicken, cut into medium sized pieces
3 Onions (sliced)
1 tbsp Ginger Paste
2 tbsp Garlic Paste
3 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
4-6 Green Chillies (as per taste)
1/2" Cinnamon, 2 Cloves, 2 Green Cardamoms (roughly crushed)
100 gm Plain Yogurt (curd/dahi)
3 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp Clarified Butter (ghee)
1 Cup Warm Water
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Heat oil and clarified butter in a wok. Add sliced onion in it. Fry till onion turns into golden brown. Set it aside and let it cool.

Grind fried onions with yogurt and green chillies to make a smooth paste.

Add crushed garam masala (cardamoms, cinnamon, cloves) to the same oil. Stir for a minute till a nice aroma comes out. Add chicken pieces in it. Fry well till chicken turns into golden brown. Remove from heat and keep it aside.

Add ginger-garlic paste in the same oil. Stir for a minute, add coriander powder and kashmiri red chilli powder in it. Fry for 2 minutes till raw smell of spices gone.

Mix onion-yogurt paste in it. Fold well for 3-4 minutes.

Add fried chicken pieces in it. Keep stirring and mix everything for 2-3 minutes. 

Add salt and a cup of warm water in it. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes on medium heat or till the chicken is tender.

Serve warm with roti, paratha, naan, pulao or simply with plain steamed rice.
For Original Recipe: CLICK HERE