JOIN USWhenever the words ‘teacher’ and ‘food’ come together, the images of Satish Shah as Principal JJ Irani in Bhoothnath and Amol Gupte in Stanley ka Dabba flash through the mind with fascinating anecdotes that evoke a faint smile.
Though there is no direct relation between teachers being fond of food that students bring to school, yet one can’t even deny the fact that food is the best way to impress your teacher!
Especially with Teachers’ Day round the corner what better way to show your appreciation than preparing something scrumptious and offering the tiffin to your favourite teacher?
“From sweet to savouries, there is a huge variety that can be considered for this. Take for instance basic almond rocks that can be easily prepared and taken to school,” suggests executive chef Mayank Tiwari from Mistral. He adds that sandwiches, burgers and dry cakes are also feasible options.
“All these can be packed easily and served cold. A tomato and buffalo mozzarella sandwich with pesto is one of the sandwiches that can be tried. Even pies and quiches can be pre-baked and later packed in lunch boxes.”
For those mothers or children who are fond of baking, chef suggests a carrot or banana and walnut cake which is difficult to resist. Obviously, who can say no to a “soft carrot infused cake with green cheese frosting!”
To add to these simple yet exotic dishes is the salad. Chef Tiwari suggests salad, since a lot of teachers prefer healthy food these days.
“And that is what they even teach the kids,” says executive chef Tanveer Kwatra from Pullman Gurgaon Central Park, highlighting the importance of health foods. So instead of a chocolate one can offer a muesli bar to their teacher.
“Even smoothies and noodles can be tried since they are easy to prepare and convenient to be carried to school,” he adds warning the mothers to check if the teachers are non-vegetarian before including chicken, meat etc.
But it isn’t easy for all mothers to prepare these continental dishes. Therefore, master chef Dheeraj Mathur from Radisson Blu, Paschim Vihar, encourages one to give a western twist to the desi snacks.
“Gone are the days when the sight of a parantha or sabzi would be sufficient to impress a teacher. But mothers today, can experiment with what they have. One can stuff a parantha with a mixture of rajma, mozzarella and cheddar cheese, bell peppers, coriander and green chilli. Then microwave or grill it on a tawa to allow the cheese to melt and your quesadilla is ready!” This one is surely easy to experiment.
Chef Mathur adds, “one can also cook a besan ki roti by mixing wheat flour and cut it into four pieces. These can be deep fried and served with Indianised salsa (mix of tomato, onion, coriander and lemon juice) to be served as a new snack. To go with this, prepare shrikhand by flavouring thickened yoghurt or add pineapple or strawberry crush to a regular suji halwa and the teachers are sure to fall for it!”