Tastes of India, in association with t2, brought some of the yummiest food options under one roof at Sector V’s Nalban Food Park. Held on February 25 and 26, the event boasted some 70 stalls, comprising both heritage brands as well as upcoming home-chefs and bakers.
“There are many home-chefs who are excellent but aren’t as well known as the bigger brands. This was a platform for foodies to sample them all,” said Rohini Baid, who along with Siddhant Jaitha, is a partner of Shubh Labh Events that organised the festival. The venue, added Siddhant, was chosen for its view of the bheris adjacent to the park.
THE YUMMIES...
This pretty peacock with a 12-piece tail wasn’t just for show. “It’s fondant and is perfectly edible,” said Pooja Jhunjhunwala of Cake by Pooja. The young lady, who has attended courses in pastry-making and cake decoration in the US, started her venture last year. She was also selling cute cupcakes and cookies.
Chocoholics coated their marshmallow sticks under the chocolate fountain at the Sylph Chocolate stall.
The Au Gratin Samosas were quite sought after at the Galang Gabaan stall. “I wanted to give the traditional samosa a Continental spin,” said chef and owner Sonal Athwani. “We also have BBQ Chicken Samosa, shawarmas and sandwiches.” Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Galang Gabaan is Santhali for ‘whenever you serve, serve with love’.
A food truck had driven into the park and was selling Mutton Galouti Burgers for Rs 150 and Scotch Egg Surprise for Rs 60. “My partner and I started our venture — That Food Truck — last year and it’s usually parked at Sector V,” said Shashank Pandey, as the chefs rustled up delicacies from within the truck and handed them out.
Paturi? Yes. Bhetki? No. “It’s chicken,” said Eshna Dey Dutta of The Mermaid’s Myth stall. “The Patta Chicken is a great hit at home and at this fair.”
Luna Chatterjee took a mouthful of the Fire Paan at the On My Way stall. “It was like a vodka shot!” she laughed. Shop owner Anup Ladia explained that the moment someone takes the burning paan in and closes the mouth, the oxygen supply is cut out and the fire is doused. “We also have paan in flavours like mango, litchi, butterscotch,” Ladia said.
Purple was blackcurrant, green was phuchka, they also had orange, kiwi and even vodka! The Swati’s Flavours of Rasgolla stall served the fave Bengali dessert in 19 quirky flavours. “Try the green chilli flavour,” Swati Saraf offered curious customers. “Initially it’ll be sweet then suddenly the chilli will strike you like a current.”
The cute and colourful Patchwork Orange stall sold natural extract juices like Hibiscus-Lime, Lavender-Lemon and so on. Also on offer was popcorn in fun flavours like Chunky Oreo Cookie and Strawberry Gems. “Chocolate has been done to death so I experiment more with fruity flavours,” smiled Nisha Periwal, the brain behind the delicacies.
The Burnt Garlic stall had a live counter for the chefs to make spaghetti and risotto.
The Frollz stall had a live counter for guests to customise their ice creams. “Not just choice of toppings, we have an imported machine that can include your choice of ingredients to make the base of the ice cream as well. It also gets scraped off the machine into ‘rolls’ that add to the beauty,” said Rudresh Agarwal of Frollz.
... AND THE FOODIES
Medical students (l-r) Harshita Bhakat and Moulima Ghata’s diagnosis was that they would soon get stomach ache from over-eating. “We’ve had lots of burgers and kebabs and are now eyeing this huge Rajkachori from Bandana Chaat Centre,” said the girls.
“I’m sharing my food with friends so I can try different dishes,” smiled fashion designer Priyanka Jaiswal, with a Peri Peri Pizza and Lavender-Lemon drink in hand.
“It may not look like it but I’m a huge foodie and plan to eat lots today,” said student Juhi Bengani, before digging into Malai Mushroom.
Gourav Bhatia guzzled a pint of beer faster than anyone else in the beer-drinking contest. “I’ve won a similar contest once before too,” laughed the photographer. “The beer was refreshing in this sultry weather.”
Text: Brinda Sarkar
Pictures: Mayukh Sengupta
