The Time To Be Happy Is Now was the song that set the mood for a fun gourmet session themed on ‘smart dining’ attended by the members of the FICCI Ladies Organisation Calcutta at The Salt House on Shakespeare Sarani on July 10.

The two-hour-long session had chef Auroni Mookerjee taking the ladies through five easy-to-make and healthy recipes, starting with a soup and a salad and moving on to a risotto, a noodle-based dish and a healthy dessert. At the end of each recipe, a tasting portion of the same was laid out for the members to try. 

From questions to anecdotes, the afternoon was one of much learning and laughter. t2 sat through the session and here’s all that we learnt.

Tips from chef Auroni Mookerjee:

♦ Make your own stock: Don’t use premixed stock cubes. Homemade stock is richer in flavour and adds depth to your dish. Vegetables such as carrots and celery make for great stock; you could also add pumpkin and other vegetables of your choice. 

♦ Temperature is key: When cooking chopped shallots and garlic for something like a soup, do not overheat and fry them till dark. Conversely, when frying or tossing vegetables with high water content, keep the pan on a high flame.

♦ Do not crowd your pan: When tossing vegetables such as mushrooms or zucchini, the key is to not overcrowd the pan as these release water, and if there is too much water then the vegetables get soggy instead of getting nice and toasty.

♦ Assemble your ingredients: Do not go around looking for your ingredients at the last minute. Keep your components ready so that the cooking time is reduced.

♦ Less is more: A good risotto should spread on your plate rather than sitting on it, hence do not add too much beschemel or white sauce. This makes the dish heavier to digest as well. 

♦ Go local: The idea is to make use of fresh and easily available ingredients rather than run after imported items. Each area has locally grown ingredients that when used wisely can be great substitutes for their foreign counterparts.

t2 PICKS

(From top) Mango, Millet, Quinoa & Microgreen Salad; Edamame, Pistachio & Mixed Rice Risotto; and Granola, Fruit & Doi-Parfait were the star dishes from the session. Easy to plate and prepare, all three have a balance of local, seasonal as well as healthy ingredients.

Text: Zeba Akhtar
Pictures: Pabitra Das