The Resort, a Mumbai-based luxury beach resort, located at Aksa beach, recently introduced the concept of festivals of home-chef-made food starting with Bohri cuisine. The highlight of the festival was a live-cooking session by home-chef Umami Abdulally.
The cuisine was a part of lunch buffet with no extra charges. The food served comprised welcome drink ‘Gol Pani,’ a main course ‘Dabba Gosht,’ and a dessert ‘Kalamro.’ The welcome drink was a lime flavoured drink made of jaggery with basil seeds added to it.
Talking about the food, Abdulally stated, “Kalamro is a rice and curd-based dessert made during the month of Rabi-ul-awwal to celebrate the birth of Prophet Mohammad. It is a fairly simple dessert made using handful of ingredients and garnished with fruits and dry-fruits. Pomegranate is the most common fruit added to Kalamro. The goodness of rice and curd make it a guilt-free dessert.”
“Dabba gosht (chicken) is Bohri White Chicken packed in a foil container and baked topped with eggs. Dabba refers to the foil container or baking dish, the gosht (meat) is baked in, hence the name. The meat is cooked along with light spices in rich cashewnut- based gravy and then baked with a generous beaten egg layer and ghee. The dish is commonly served during weddings or community feasts as a “kharas” or entrée.”
About creating a niche for home-based chefs to demonstrate culinary talent, Satyajit Kotwal, general manager, The Resorts, stated, “ The idea is to introduce this unique venture that gives a new dimension to the concept of home-chefs by providing space to cooking enthusiasts to display their skills and giving gourmets an opportunity to taste the cuisines of different communities cooked in their most authentic form by people actually belonging to them. The Resort will soon also be holding similar such sessions which will feature more distinctive cuisines from across the country.”
“Home-chef is a trend nowadays. We are expecting approximately 140 customers who are local daily visitors, member cardholders, and people from the events at banquets.”
The forthcoming home-chef food sessions will include ‘Koli Food Festival,’ ‘Paratha and Lassi,’ and ‘Herbal Tea Festival.’
