NewsFlash

Sweet, sour and spicy!

What exaggeration adds to a rumour, pickles add to food. It helps to spice up the content and make the experience more enjoyable. Pickles are almost synonymous with our culture. Every meal seems incomplete if you don't have some pickle to go along with it.

Prothom Alo and Pran organised an extraordinary national pickle competition on the 22nd of October. 400 participants sent in almost 2400 different kinds of pickles from all across the country. These were sent to the Home Economics College laboratory for initial selection and screening. The best entries were categorised according to the different regions.

Sweet, sour and spicy was the anthem of the day with six well-known celebrities from the local media acting as judges. The list included the Principal of Home Economics College Shahin Ahmed, actress Sharmili Ahmed, artist Konok Chapa, actress Parvin Sultana Diti and finally model-turned-actress Sadia Islam Mou.
Once called upon to judge, the celebrities forgot all about their job and were in fact savouring the delights dished out in front of them.

Judging criteria was based on taste, quality, innovativeness and nutrition. It seemed at one point that the judges were simply overwhelmed by the extensive array of pickles set out before them. Some of the judges showed an acute sense of knowledge on this field and even shared some of their expertise with the audience. Sharmili Ahmed, particularly seemed to know her stuff, and was never hesitant about giving her opinion on issues that were discussed.

The organisers thanked the public for their overwhelming response and the general manager of Pran group was quick to emphasise on how important pickle was in our daily food and how it could actually become a source of livelihood for women in general.

The regional winners of the competition were awarded first, and then prizes were distributed amongst the 32 finalists who were selected from the 2400 initial applicants. Apart from the top three, the rest of the Final round participants were given gift certificates courtesy of Pran so that none of them went home unhappy.
A Raffle Draw was held for the audience and the ten lucky winners were given special gift packs, again courtesy of Pran. It was a lovely way to spend a warm cozy evening highlighting the diversity of our culture. It was also an enlightening experience for the audience, who I am pretty sure, never had the idea that you could make pickles from so many different things ranging right from mangoes and olives to cauliflowers and green peas.

By Tanzeena Zaman

Epique Institute completes its first batch

When you're bogged down with work and studies, it's hard to find time to pick up on domestic skills like cooking and housekeeping, etc. Epique Institute, located at Swarachito Sheboti, House 50, road 9/A, Dhanmondi, promises to help you out in the shortest time possible.
The institute began operation on October 14 this year, and concluded its first four-day Culinary Course on October 18. The Principal, Ms. Rahima Sultana, conducted the course, and besides practical demonstrations on Bakery and Confectionery, she briefed the participants about Ingredients, Utensils, Food Value, Baking Methods, Processing, Preparation, and Presentation.

The Director of the Institute, Mr. Mizanur Rahman Laskar, handed out course-completion certificates on the closing day. Marketing Advisor for Epique Institute, Mr. Quazi Jahangir Kabir was also present. The programme ended with a Raffle Draw for the participants, and the winner walked away with a microwave oven, presented by Ms. Rahima Sultana.

The next two courses begin on October 26, and November 2, and will also end with a Raffle Draw.
For further information on course timings and fees, contact: e-mail: ehal@dhaka.net

By Sabrina F Ahmad

A true taste of Asia byTommy Miah

Tired of the same old iftar fare? At the end of a long day of fasting, one will surely want to have a good meal to look forward to. Read on below for recipes that'll please your palate and bring some variety onto your iftar table.

Bangladeshi Vegetable Kebab
Ingredients
3-4 medium sized boiled potatoes
¾ cup of boiled green peas
100 gms spinach
1 tbsp. chopped green chillies
2 tbsp. chopped green coriander
1 tbsp. chopped ginger
1 tsp. chaat masala
Salt to taste
2 tbsp. cornflour (cornstarch)
Oil for deep-frying

Recipe
Peel and grate boiled potatoes. Mash boiled green peas. Blanch spinach leaves in plenty of salted boiling water, refresh in cold water and squeeze out excess water. Finely chop.Mix grated potatoes, peas and spinach. Add chopped green chillies, chopped green coriander, chopped ginger, chaat masala and salt. Add cornflour for binding.
Divide the mixture into twenty-five equal portions. Shape each portion into a ball and then press it in between your palms to give it a flat tikki shape.

Heat oil in a kadhai. Deep-fry the tikkis in hot oil for three to four minutes.
Chef's Tip : You may also shallow fry hara bhara kabab on a griddle plate or a tawa. It is recommended that you do not use colour in this recipe. If you feel you may increase the quantity of spinach leaves to give a dark green colour. In that case add a little more cornflour/cornstarch for binding.

Mirch Ka Salaan Curry
Ingredients
Ten large sized fat green chillies
Mustard seeds: Half a teaspoon
Kalonji: Half a teaspoon
Fresh cream: One tablespoon
Tamarind juice: Four tablespoon
Ginger and garlic paste: One tablespoon
Jeera powder: One teaspoon
Dhaniya
Recipe
Bring salted water to boil. As the water starts boiling, put the washed, slightly slit chillies marinated for an hour in salt and mustard oil in it and cook for two minutes. Take out.
In a kadhai heat refined oil and sprinkle mustard seeds.

Aloo Masala
Ingredients
600 gms of potatoes
1 one inch piece ginger
10-12 cloves of garlic
4-5 green chillies
1 ½ cups of gram flour (besan)
1 tsp. of red chilli powder
Salt to taste
A pinch of soda bi-carbonate (baking soda)
¼ tsp. turmeric powder
2 tbsp. of chopped coriander leaves
Oil to fry
Recipe
Boil, cool, peel and mash the potatoes and keep aside. Make a paste of ginger, garlic and green chillies.Prepare a thick better of besan with water, red chilli powder, salt and soda bi-carbonate. Heat a little oil. Add ginger-garlic-green chilli paste.
Add mashed potatoes and turmeric powder and mix well. Add chopped coriander leaves and salt to taste. Let the mixture cool. When cold, form lemon sized balls.Heat oil in a kadai. Dip the potato balls into the besan batter and deep fry in hot oil till light golden brown.
Serve hot with chutney or sauce of your choice.

Hanging Out

Truss

Truss Food Corner has probably started their journey to build real trust in the mind of the people of this capital. Truss is located in sector # 3 of Uttara Model Town.

This new outlet maintains a wide range of delicacies to satiate your craving for yummy pizzas, chicken broasts, sandwiches, hot dogs, rolls, shashlick, salad, chicken kharagi, chicken popcorn and burgers. Their pizzas are available in three (6, 9 and 12 inches) different sizes.

The 12-inch Truss special pizza will cost you tk.320. Your entire family can happily feast on one such grand pizza. Two pieces of chicken broast will cost you tk.75 at Truss. The chicken popcorn, which is served with garlic sauce, tomato sauce and coleslaw salad is available at tk.90.
Truss also serves fresh mango, pineapple, apple, orange and grape juice at tk40 to tk.50. Tasteful and decorous interior and exterior characterise the place. So you too can visit Truss with your cronies and cousins and spend some delightful moments over their appetising eats. Truss promises to take over a trustworthy status in the hearts of the Dhakaites.

Address: Plot#32, Road#7, Sector#3, Uttara, Dhaka.

By Wara Karim

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Nilkhet

The place to be when there's a test tomorrow and you don't have a book. Starting from issues of Reader's Digest dating from back in the 1970s to books on communism to the latest of what's around on A-Level Biology, everything is available at the cheapest of prices.

Everyone knows that. However, there may be some doubts about customers being aware of two Tehari shops on the southern end of Nilkhet, the side opposite to the Petrol Pump and the motorcycle servicing shops. The Tehari shop on the left-hand side is what Hanging Out is featuring today.

No worries. It won't be hard to differentiate between which of the two was actually focused on Hanging Out although both are nameless. The one with more people is the one where you want to have your Tehari. The crowds here aren't exactly the most polished of people. They vary from University students to rickshaw-wallahs, with a sudden emergence of a couple maybe once a week.
The food is good. That's the bottom line. The only item available though is Tehari with a free glass of water, which perhaps isn't in its most purified form. "Plates" are available in "quarter", "half" and "full". Readers (if they want the best deal) are suggested to start off with the "quarter" (obviously the cheapest of the three) and then go on to have a few more "quarters". You can rest assured that you'll leave satisfied and full.

By Alex

The shop we've talked on today isn't the most hygienic of places. It's a typical outlet for people on the lookout for a quick, filling and delicious meal. The most unique part is the tiny basin, where customers are supposed to or at least try to wash their hands. The owner has been providing "Cosco Glycerine Beauty Soap" since God knows how long, and there have been numerous cases reported where the red coloured soap fell down the basin hole, which quite naturally left the owner at a loss of words since it was happening almost everyday. So readers are requested to take caution when they wash their hands. They should also stay prepared to wipe their hands with old newspapers (replacement for tissues) after their hand cleansing session is complete.

So, if you are looking for an inexpensive plate of Tehari with some lebu (lemon) and peyaj (onion), Nilkhet is definitely the place to be.