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For the endless love of food

Down foodpath
Last Updated 14 December 2016, 18:25 IST

I was born and brought up in Midnapur in West Bengal. I knew fairly early on that my calling lay in the culinary arts.

I had always dreamt of becoming a chef. It takes a lot of hard work and perseverance to succeed in this field. However I believe that as long as one is passionate, honest, dedicated and confident in one’s own ability, nothing can stop you. Food cooked from the heart is always well appreciated.

My first experience with the Taj Group was when I started working at the Taj Garden Retreat in Chikmanglur. I was the Chef de Partie and played an instrumental role in the launch of the ‘Active Breakfast’ menu – a menu which is served at all Gateway hotels across the country now.

One of the most interesting phases of my career was when I was asked to helm culinary operations at the Taj Nadesar Palace in Varanasi. I extensively researched Varanasi street food, food from local villages as well as food served in the Maharaja’s kitchens. The final menu included a mix of local and regal dishes like ‘Litti Chokha’, ‘Sattu Paratha’, ‘Paani Puri’, ‘Awadhi Murgh’ and ‘Nihaari Ghosht’. I was also involved with the team designing the menus. That was an entirely new experience for me – each menu was made of Benarasi silk of a different shade.

My favorite part of being the executive chef at The Gateway Resort Damdama Lake, Gurgaon is that I get to constantly experiment and innovate. As a result, I am able to present guests of the resort with unique food and experiences.

I love to travel and incorporate my experiences in the menus and recipes I create at the resort. In fact, we recently created a special Thanjavur menu at Buzz, the all-day diner, where we gave guests an authentic South Indian experience.

Sumalya Sarkar
As told to Jayashree Narayanan


Recipe

Steamed Pesto Chicken

Ingredients
For pesto
Fresh basil leaves, 250 gm       
 Clove garlic, 2-3        
Grated parmesan cheese, 1/2 tbsp.       
Olive oil, 125 ml       
Pine nuts, 1 tsp
Chicken supreme, 150 gm n Pesto, 1 tbsp   
Salt to taste       
Crushed black pepper, 25 ml       
Mixed fresh vegetables, 50 gm       

Method

Combine basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and nuts in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Blend to a smooth paste.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Rinse chicken breast and pat dry.       
Mix pesto and adjust the seasoning
Cut the vegetables in medium dice and mix
little olive oil, salt and pepper.   
Take one large piece of foil. In the center of foil, place the vegetables, top with chicken breast.
Fold up ends of foil to create a pocket, seal ends tightly, leaving the top open.   
Fill a pan with 1/2-inch of water. Place pockets in the pan.
Cook in oven for 15-20 minutes.
Once chicken is cooked, carefully open the pocket and shift entire food on a plate.   
Serve hot.

Recipe


Broccoli Stuffed Tandoori Momos

Ingredients

For momo sheet
Refined Flour, 50 gm
Oil, 5 ml
Salt to taste
Water, 25 ml

For filling

Chopped onion, 10 gm
Chopped garlic, 5 gm
Chopped broccoli, 20 gm
Chopped ginger, 5 gm
Chopped Green Chilli, 5 gm
Salt to taste
Roasted cumin powder, a pinch
Butter, 5 gm

For marination
Hung curd, 20 gm
Deggi chilli, 3 gm
Black salt, 2 gm
Cumin powder, a pinch
Garam masala, a pinch
Oil, 10 ml

Method

For sheet
Mix all ingredients together and make a medium tight dough.
Keep it for rest for 10-15 minutes.
Now take the dough and cut it into small equal pieces
Roll it with Roll pin.
 
For filling

Heat a pan, add butter into it.
Sauté onion, garlic, green chilli, ginger.
Add chopped broccoli and sauté it.
Add remain spices and sauté for a while.
Keep it to get into room temperature.
Heat oil in a pan, add deggi chilli.
Immediately add hung curd and mix it.
Add rest spices and make marination.
 
For momos

Take a rolled flat round sheet, put broccoli mixture in the centre and give required fold as momos.
Do it for all the sheets.
Now apply marination on all the momos.
Steam them for four to five minutes to cook it half done.
Keep them for cooling.
Put it into skewers and roast it in sigdi or in Tandoor.
Once nicely cooked, take it out and squeeze lemon juice and sprinkle chat masala on it.
Serve it hot.



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(Published 14 December 2016, 14:50 IST)

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