Azmul dishes out a treat

Cooking for his family of ten gave Chef Azmul Huda the push to seek a career in catering which has led him to Parsia at the Pars International Hotel in Juffair.

The multi-cuisine restaurant offers multi-ethnic buffet and a la carte dishes and Sous Chef Azmul has been serving up the menu for the outlet as well as the hotel's room service and banquets for four years.

His culinary experience began 15 years ago when he left his home state West Bengal, India, in 1993 to travel to the crowded city of Mumbai.

He said: "I left my home when I was in my 10th grade.

"I didn't go to a hotel management school but had always been interested in cooking. I used to assist my mother sometimes in the kitchen and after she passed away, I managed the kitchen and used to cook meals for 10 people daily."

In Mumbai, Chef Azmul, 33, first trained as a chef de partie and worked with Han Utsav Hotel. He then joined Hotel Suba Palace in Mumbai where he worked for five years before coming to the island.

Chef Azmul, from Juffair, is a master in cuisines including Arabic, Continental and Chinese which he learned during his stay in Mumbai working with various international and experienced chefs.

The 24-hour outlet at the Pars International offers lunch and dinner buffet for diners who prefer a laid-back and cozy atmosphere as well as an extensive breakfast menu.

The venue has delicacies direct from the grill such as hammour fillet, sirloin steak, Oriental mixed grills, shish tawouk and seafood platters. A fried corner section offers golden fried prawns, English fish 'n' chips and American fried chicken.

Other options in the menu include Chinese fried rice and a pasta station.

Aside from the buffet, the a la carte menu has a variety of soups, appetisers, sandwiches, burgers and dessert.

The chef's selection includes chilli chicken tender and chicken or vegetable chowmein but Chef Azmul's specialty still remains an Indian favourite, the Tandoori chicken.

He said: "I learned Indian first and tandoor has always been my strong point. Personally, I like butter chicken the most."

For the future, he wants to continue preparing new dishes and tastes and also hopes to someday return to work in his home country.

Here he shares one of his favourite Continental dishes with GulfWeekly readers.

Chicken breast with pepper sauce

Ingredients for chicken breast:

All-purpose flour 2tbsp

Ground black pepper 1/8tsp

Chicken breasts 2

(Skinned, boned and split)

Unsalted butter 2tbsp

Thinly sliced fresh mushrooms 2 cups

Chopped onions 2 cups

Minced Parsley 1/4 cup

Hot cooked rice (without salt) 2 cups

Procedure:

Combine flour and pepper and coat the chicken breast with mixture and reserve the excess flour.

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat and place chicken. Cook until it becomes brown on either side and remove them from the vessel.

Add mushrooms and onions to the skillet and sautŽ until tender and golden.

Stir the extra flour and blend with the pepper sauce. Bring to boil stirring frequently.

Put the cooked chicken back into the skillet and add parsley. Cover the skillet and on low heat simmer for 25 minutes or until chicken is tender.

Serve over rice and garnish with parsley.

Ingredients for pepper aauce:

Butter

Garlic

Ginger

Celery

Carrot

Refined flour

Cream

Water

Procedure: Heat butter in a pan. Add chopped garlic, celery and carrots.

SautŽ all ingredients, add water and refined flour. Cook for some time and add cream and pepper.

When sauce is ready, strain and serve.