Eating Out

Mum's the word

May 26 - June 1, 2010

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The magic of mum's cooking won all the plaudits at this year's Nestle Taste of India Cookery Competition held at the Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam in Segaiya.

Organised by the Association of Mar Ivanios College Old Students (AMICOS), the contest celebrated its 10th anniversary with 90 cooks from across the kingdom battling for prizes.

There were five featured categories - salads, vegetarian, non-vegetarian, desserts and healthy meals and each participant was allowed to submit two entries.

The salad section was decorated in an attractive array of fruits and vegetables with a 'rainbow' winning the accolade. Creator of the dish, Baby Rani, 34, praised her husband, Denny, for allowing her to test and trial her concoctions without complaint. The mother-of-two from West Riffa, said: "With summer coming in I thought of preparing a fresh and colourful dish.

"I am always trying to find out new recipes and add my own alterations to them. My husband is the judge always and he provides my motivation and inspiration."

For 29-year old Neha Thacker, thinking out-of-the-box helped her to win the top prize in the vegetarian category. Originally from the west Indian state of Gujarat, Mrs Thacker, a mother-of-two from Hoora, travelled to A'ali Pottery to find the right kind of earthen pot to present her traditional dish, Kutchi Undhiya.

She said: "Punjabi food from the Indian cuisine is quite common in Bahrain. This dish is a traditional dish of the Kutch area in Gujarat."

Mrs Thacker decorated the pots with paint and added mirror embellishments for a true reflection of flavour.

Winner of the non-vegetarian category was Rincy Mary Roy. The former Indian School Bahrain student and mother of one-year-old, Sarah, decided to stick to what she is most comfortable with - Keralite chicken stew. It is a typical Keralite dish and she picked up the winning recipe from her mother-in-law when she began cooking just a year ago.

Rincy, an engineer with Standard Chartered Bank, said: "I decided to stick to the most popular dish of our household rather than try anything new. But I never thought I would win, in fact I almost forced my husband Roy to take me back home when I saw all the other participants with their wonderful creations and presentations."

"But he has great faith in my cooking and persuaded me to stay."

Roy, a project manager with Tech Mahindra, offers great encouragement, she added.

The Hawaiian Avocado Nutty Pudding won first place for the dessert section. The dish was prepared by Jasmine Siad, 42, a housewife from Hoora, who has been cooking for 27 years.

Ummal Hasana Kabeer, 31, believes healthy meals should also be tasty and proved the point by winning her category using a recipe she inherited from her mother. She prepared a breakfast porridge dish using lentils and explained that it was the one her family most enjoyed waking up to.

Ummal Hasana's daughter Ummal Raseena, 10, accepted the award on her behalf.

The dishes were judged by a panel of experts and chefs from leading hospitality names on the island, namely Sous Chef Sylvester Rosario from the Gulf Hotel, Chef Senthil Kumaran, concept manager, Food Division of the Al Rashid Group, Executive Chef Sangeeth from the Food Court of Marina Mall and Chef Arun Nair from the Elite Hospitality Group.

Winners were awarded a Nestle gift hamper, $200 cash prize, a BD25 Joyalukkas Jewllery voucher and a certificate. All participants were given a gift voucher by Al Jishi.

The event also featured a presentation by Nestle Bahrain on food hygiene and LG presented a demonstration on cooking using the brand's home appliances.

A series of contests, games and activities were also staged including an evening musical treat for guests by Indian maestros Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya on santoor, Dr Nandini Muthuswamy on the violin, and Abishek Basu on the tabla.

The winners

Salads

1st - Baby Rani

2nd - Alicia Devassy

3rd - Ranjana Bhansali

Consolation prize - Bobby Jacob

Vegetarian

1st - Neha Thacker

2nd - Alicia Devassy

3rd - Nisitha Tarun Kumar

Consolation prize - Rebecca Thomas

Non-vegetarian