Residents of BH Block took part in a Battle of Spices on Sashthi, armed with ladles instead of swords.
The block residents’ forum had organised a culinary contest which drew lots of participation. On Panchami contestants were asked to draw lots to determine the two primary ingredients in their dish. They had to prepare the same and present before the panel of judges the following day.
The pick of ingredients through lottery resulted in a variety of dishes. Manisha Todi had picked chickpea and tomato so she made Chhole Tikki. Tannishtha Mukherjee used garlic and vinegar to make Mutton Vindaloo. Putul Singh had got corn and beans and made a tasty preparation of the two, with white sauce.
Mutton Vindaloo
The judges comprised members of the committee — Dev Kumar Mukherjee, secretary, Brinda Mukherjee, cultural secretary and Anirban Mukherjee, treasurer.
The most important criterion for judging was innovation.
Sunita Goel won first prize in the vegetarian category. Her ingredients were paneer and flour, and she had made Vegetable Au Gratin with garlic bread. “This was my first time in a cooking contest and it’s a proud moment for me to have won it,” she said. “I was not confident about winning as other participants were very experienced as well,” she said.
Debashis Sengupta, the lone male participant, topped in the non-vegetarian category. “I picked fish and parsley and so made Fish and Chips Beer Batter with Japanese tempura. “I am a self-taught cook. I had begun cooking out of necessity but gradually it became a passion. I stayed abroad for a while and am quite inspired by British fusion food. Today’s Fish and Chips was one such item. Parsley was used for marination and for the batter,” said the IT professional.
Paramita Das won the dessert category with her Fusion Tiramisu, made of coffee and cream. “It was a new combination for me but I like experimenting,” she said. “I only took 15 minutes to prepare it.”
A special prize was announced for the youngest participant — 14-year-old Tejdipto Sengupta who had made a soupy rasam with kafir lime. “I made this as my ingredients were lemon and coriander. I added a homemade masala, prepared by my south Indian grandmother,” smiled Tejodipto, a Class IX student.
“We planned this event for Sashthi as usually most Puja activities are scheduled from Saptami onwards. We wanted to start the buzz earlier this time,” said Abhigyan Sengupta, organiser of the event.
saltlake@abp.in