Winning tastes of India

Five winners walked home laden with gifts after preparing their best dishes for the ninth Nestle Taste of India Cookery Competition organised by the Association of Mar Ivanios College (AMICOS).

The event, held at the Indian Club, Manama, saw 100 participants compete to win in five different categories including salads, vegetarian dishes, non-vegetarian dishes, healthy meals and desserts.

Anju Jojy, AMICOS member and co-ordinator of the cooking competition said: "This has been the best event we have had. Over 600 people attended the competition.

"The presentations were creative and the dishes were innovative. It was a very tough contest as people have started getting an idea of what the judges look for.

"The tastes, texture and appearance of the dishes were excellent too."

The winners were Aysha Aziz for salads, Vibha Kothari for vegetarian dish, Ummal Hassana Kabeer for non-vegetarian dish, Rebecca Thomas for healthy meal and Nimmi Elizabeth Thomas for dessert.

Mrs Aziz, 40 from Gudaibya, a volunteer at the Sneha Recreational Centre in Hoora said: "I prepared a seafood salad. I have been taking part in the competition for six years now. I also prepared a non-vegetarian dish 'methi prawns' which won the second prize."

Mrs Kothari, 37, a speech therapist from Hoora said: "For the vegetarian meal category, I prepared a dish from the Rajasthani (West Indian state) cuisine called 'bedhami paratta' with a yoghurt gravy and mango chutney.

"I also made a dessert called rabid malpua.

"This is the first time I participated in the competition. I did not cook much when I was living in India as I used to work but after coming to the island 11 years ago that changed. Now I really enjoy it."

Mrs Kabeer, 40, a housewife from Manama, took her family's love for fish to the contest table by preparing a traditional Indian dish called 'tawa fish', a recipe she learned from her mother-in-law.

She said: "I learned to cook from my mother as a teenager and loved it. For the competition I also participated for the dessert category using one of my mother's recipes."

The healthy meal and dessert prizes were taken by a mother and daughter duo who co-worked in creating, decorating and presenting.

Mrs Thomas, 38, a housewife from Hoora said: "For the competition, I prepared the tiny tot wheels. These are simple and small idlis or steamed rice cakes for children with the added attraction of vegetables."

For the dessert, her daughter, Nimmi, a 13-year old Indian School grade nine student suggested her mother prepare her innovative hearty nut delight cake.

Nimmi said: "The cake is awesome! I did the decorations, icing and presentation.

"My mother's mango pickle is, however, the best!"

The competition was judged by Saurav Nag, master chef from the Elite Hotel, Sylvester Rosario, executive sous chef at the Gulf Hotel and Ranjeeth Bhaskar, food and beverage manager from the Ramee International Hotel.

Second and third prize winners included Amina Bhatia and Vandhana Kapoor for the salad category, Ranjana Bhansali and Jency Mathew for the vegetarian category, Aysha Aziz and Meenaz Abdul Aziz for the non-vegetarian category, Shiny George and Rashida Hafidh for dessert and Sangita Raghani and Manjiri the healthy meals.

The prizes included a Nestle gift hamper, Orbit microwave oven sponsored by Mega Mart, Atlas Jewellery Gold Voucher worth BD20, Samsung Microwave Oven, Grandma's Gift Hamper, Thampi's Nagarjuna Ayurvedic massage, Kenwood Toaster (Y K Almoayed), Food Court Buffet Voucher and Certificate.