<p>I was born and brought up in Midnapur in West Bengal. I knew fairly early on that my calling lay in the culinary arts. <br /><br /></p>.<p>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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />Sumalya Sarkar<br />As told to Jayashree Narayanan<br /><br /><br />Recipe<br /><br />Steamed Pesto Chicken<br /><br />Ingredients<br />For pesto<br />Fresh basil leaves, 250 gm <br /> Clove garlic, 2-3 <br />Grated parmesan cheese, 1/2 tbsp. <br />Olive oil, 125 ml <br />Pine nuts, 1 tsp<br />Chicken supreme, 150 gm n Pesto, 1 tbsp <br />Salt to taste <br />Crushed black pepper, 25 ml <br />Mixed fresh vegetables, 50 gm <br /><br />Method<br /><br />Combine basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and nuts in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Blend to a smooth paste.<br />Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.<br />Rinse chicken breast and pat dry. <br />Mix pesto and adjust the seasoning<br />Cut the vegetables in medium dice and mix <br />little olive oil, salt and pepper. <br />Take one large piece of foil. In the center of foil, place the vegetables, top with chicken breast.<br />Fold up ends of foil to create a pocket, seal ends tightly, leaving the top open. <br />Fill a pan with 1/2-inch of water. Place pockets in the pan.<br />Cook in oven for 15-20 minutes.<br />Once chicken is cooked, carefully open the pocket and shift entire food on a plate. <br />Serve hot.<br /><em><br />Recipe</em><br /><br />Broccoli Stuffed Tandoori Momos <br /><br />Ingredients<br /><br />For momo sheet<br />Refined Flour, 50 gm <br />Oil, 5 ml<br />Salt to taste<br />Water, 25 ml<br /><br />For filling<br /><br />Chopped onion, 10 gm<br />Chopped garlic, 5 gm<br />Chopped broccoli, 20 gm<br />Chopped ginger, 5 gm<br />Chopped Green Chilli, 5 gm<br />Salt to taste <br />Roasted cumin powder, a pinch<br />Butter, 5 gm<br /><br />For marination <br />Hung curd, 20 gm<br />Deggi chilli, 3 gm<br />Black salt, 2 gm<br />Cumin powder, a pinch<br />Garam masala, a pinch<br />Oil, 10 ml<br /><br />Method<br /><br />For sheet<br />Mix all ingredients together and make a medium tight dough.<br />Keep it for rest for 10-15 minutes.<br />Now take the dough and cut it into small equal pieces<br />Roll it with Roll pin.<br /> <br />For filling<br /><br />Heat a pan, add butter into it.<br />Sauté onion, garlic, green chilli, ginger.<br />Add chopped broccoli and sauté it.<br />Add remain spices and sauté for a while.<br />Keep it to get into room temperature.<br />Heat oil in a pan, add deggi chilli.<br />Immediately add hung curd and mix it.<br />Add rest spices and make marination.<br /> <br />For momos<br /><br />Take a rolled flat round sheet, put broccoli mixture in the centre and give required fold as momos.<br />Do it for all the sheets.<br />Now apply marination on all the momos.<br />Steam them for four to five minutes to cook it half done.<br />Keep them for cooling.<br />Put it into skewers and roast it in sigdi or in Tandoor.<br />Once nicely cooked, take it out and squeeze lemon juice and sprinkle chat masala on it.<br />Serve it hot.<br /><br /><br /><br /></p>
<p>I was born and brought up in Midnapur in West Bengal. I knew fairly early on that my calling lay in the culinary arts. <br /><br /></p>.<p>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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />Sumalya Sarkar<br />As told to Jayashree Narayanan<br /><br /><br />Recipe<br /><br />Steamed Pesto Chicken<br /><br />Ingredients<br />For pesto<br />Fresh basil leaves, 250 gm <br /> Clove garlic, 2-3 <br />Grated parmesan cheese, 1/2 tbsp. <br />Olive oil, 125 ml <br />Pine nuts, 1 tsp<br />Chicken supreme, 150 gm n Pesto, 1 tbsp <br />Salt to taste <br />Crushed black pepper, 25 ml <br />Mixed fresh vegetables, 50 gm <br /><br />Method<br /><br />Combine basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and nuts in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Blend to a smooth paste.<br />Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.<br />Rinse chicken breast and pat dry. <br />Mix pesto and adjust the seasoning<br />Cut the vegetables in medium dice and mix <br />little olive oil, salt and pepper. <br />Take one large piece of foil. In the center of foil, place the vegetables, top with chicken breast.<br />Fold up ends of foil to create a pocket, seal ends tightly, leaving the top open. <br />Fill a pan with 1/2-inch of water. Place pockets in the pan.<br />Cook in oven for 15-20 minutes.<br />Once chicken is cooked, carefully open the pocket and shift entire food on a plate. <br />Serve hot.<br /><em><br />Recipe</em><br /><br />Broccoli Stuffed Tandoori Momos <br /><br />Ingredients<br /><br />For momo sheet<br />Refined Flour, 50 gm <br />Oil, 5 ml<br />Salt to taste<br />Water, 25 ml<br /><br />For filling<br /><br />Chopped onion, 10 gm<br />Chopped garlic, 5 gm<br />Chopped broccoli, 20 gm<br />Chopped ginger, 5 gm<br />Chopped Green Chilli, 5 gm<br />Salt to taste <br />Roasted cumin powder, a pinch<br />Butter, 5 gm<br /><br />For marination <br />Hung curd, 20 gm<br />Deggi chilli, 3 gm<br />Black salt, 2 gm<br />Cumin powder, a pinch<br />Garam masala, a pinch<br />Oil, 10 ml<br /><br />Method<br /><br />For sheet<br />Mix all ingredients together and make a medium tight dough.<br />Keep it for rest for 10-15 minutes.<br />Now take the dough and cut it into small equal pieces<br />Roll it with Roll pin.<br /> <br />For filling<br /><br />Heat a pan, add butter into it.<br />Sauté onion, garlic, green chilli, ginger.<br />Add chopped broccoli and sauté it.<br />Add remain spices and sauté for a while.<br />Keep it to get into room temperature.<br />Heat oil in a pan, add deggi chilli.<br />Immediately add hung curd and mix it.<br />Add rest spices and make marination.<br /> <br />For momos<br /><br />Take a rolled flat round sheet, put broccoli mixture in the centre and give required fold as momos.<br />Do it for all the sheets.<br />Now apply marination on all the momos.<br />Steam them for four to five minutes to cook it half done.<br />Keep them for cooling.<br />Put it into skewers and roast it in sigdi or in Tandoor.<br />Once nicely cooked, take it out and squeeze lemon juice and sprinkle chat masala on it.<br />Serve it hot.<br /><br /><br /><br /></p>
