It’s World Sushi Day tomorrow and on that note, Pan Asian at ITC Sonar got together with actors and real-life couple and soon parents-to-be Gaurav Chakrabarty and Ridhima Ghosh for a fun interactive sushi-making session.
Prepared with passion and emotion, the colourful spread of sushi and its ingredients at Pan Asian make for a feast for the taste buds as well as the eyes. The Special Sushi spread promises to be a memorable treat for the gourmands of Kolkata, in celebration of the exotic delicacy. Ahead of World Sushi Day, The Telegraph dropped in to participate in the sushi-making session and binge on some of the best sushis in the city along with the duo who chatted on expecting their first child, sushi and more! Excerpts...
![](https://assets.telegraphindia.com/telegraph/2023/Jun/1686957561_new-project-26.jpg)
Congratulations to the would-be parents! How has it been going?
Ridhima: Thank you so much, it's been going great... it's fun. We are very excited and looking forward to it.
Gaurav: Every family member is excited but now they keep saying things like tomar jibone khub kharap somoy ashte cholechey... brace yourself... eibar toh ghoom hobe na! I mean why doesn’t anyone say these before? Aage everyone would be like, “It's time to have a baby”! Now that we are into it, they tell us these! (Laughs)
Ridhima: Kareena Kapoor Khan had written a book during her pregnancy, I want to write what family tells you before and what is the actual reality of it!
Gaurav, are you ready to be a hands-on father?
Gaurav: I certainly want to for sure and I am geared up to help and take care of Ridhima as much as possible. It's a phase of life, I guess everyone goes through. Kharap din thakbe and bhalo din o thakbe.
Ridhima: But you know I am such a control freak that I think end of it, I will end up doing everything on my own (laughs).
What about the crazy mood swings that most people experience?
Gaurav: Na or hochche mood swings but crazy na.
Ridhima: During my first trimester I got emotional, cried and all but I am fine now!
That’s super. Since we are all here for the upcoming Sushi Day, tell us who is a bigger sushi lover between the two?
Riddhima: It has to be me! I love it! Salmon sushi.
What is your earliest Sushi memory?
Riddhima: I had sushi for the first time in California. This is more than a decade ago, that time we didn’t have so many options for sushis in the city and when we were in college and had started working sushi used to be a delicacy we would save up pocket money to indulge in. But now it’s like oh, let’s go on a sushi date!
Gaurav: I actually started having sushi for her. Ridhima was the first one who made me have sushi because previously I would stay away from it thinking it’s raw fish and would smell. The first time I had it I loved it; I just had a preconceived notion that I won’t. I love the one with the seaweed (nori). Not only that, she also taught me to use chopsticks.
Wow, she is such a good influence…
Gaurav: Oh yes, in every single way! (Smiles)
How fast did you learn to use it?
Gaurav: It took me about two or three tries to get it right. Once she taught me the physics of it… the fulcrum... I got it.
Ridhima: But I can’t eat rice with chopsticks! Gaurav, now that you have learnt to make sushi, you will make for me…
Gaurav: Yes, most definitely! It doesn’t require cooking anything, right?!
Ridhima: You need to make the rice, and cooking any rice in general is an art as it can’t be overcooked or undercooked!
Gaurav: Then we will buy the rice cooker and make for you!
So how was the experience of making sushi for the first time at Pan Asian?
Gaurav: It looked easy when chef was making it but it wasn’t. When we made it looked like aloo sheddho (laughs).
Ridhima: C’mon, it was not that bad also! But we will practise and come back next year to show you that we have become pros.
Gaurav: So I have loved watching cookery shows with my mother, Khana Khazana on TV, I loved watching food being made, but the only thing I can make is an omelette, that too the plain one. I learned that during lockdown but I want to learn to make a few more things for her.
“Prepared with skill and emotion, the array of sushi with its accompaniments is a feast for the stomach as much as a delight to the eye. At Pan Asian especially, it is a memorable treat for the gourmands of Calcutta,” said Nitin Bahl, hotel manager, ITC Sonar.
THE TELEGRAPH PICKS
![Dehydrated Crunchy Spinach California Roll](https://assets.telegraphindia.com/telegraph/2023/Jun/1686957276_new-project-22.jpg)
Dehydrated Crunchy Spinach California Roll
![Avocado and Cream Cheese Roll](https://assets.telegraphindia.com/telegraph/2023/Jun/1686957304_new-project-23.jpg)
Avocado and Cream Cheese Roll
![Ebi Nigiri (prawn nigiri)](https://assets.telegraphindia.com/telegraph/2023/Jun/1686957331_new-project-24.jpg)
Ebi Nigiri (prawn nigiri)
![Spicy Tuna Sushi](https://assets.telegraphindia.com/telegraph/2023/Jun/1686957356_new-project-25.jpg)
Spicy Tuna Sushi
Pictures: B Halder