Wednesday 6 October 2010

Commonwealth Curry






Getting into th e international spirit I baked some whole wheat /oatmeal muffins. I always improvise if all th e ingredients are not available and I did not use any measurement, just tipped in everything , and they turned out very good.

This is my Ratatouille. I got the recipe from BBC Food. Substituted and improvised and the result was delicious.



(Photo of the Games Village)


India is doing very well on the medals tally.
Gold 10
Silver 7
Bronze 2
The day is not over, still a lot more to come.


But let me tell you what the guests are enjoying at the dinner table.








Athletes and delegates from all over the world will descend on the Capital for the Commonwealth Games, but they will be made to feel at home going by the variety of cuisine available at the Games Village.
The dining room at the Games Village.Master chefs from India and overseas will provide delicacies for the residents and there is something to suit every palate.
The dining area is divided into various sections on geographical lines. Hence, one has a 'Western Flavour,' 'Asian Flavour', 'Indian Flavour', 'Vegetarian Flavour', 'African Flavour' etc.
Also, there is a separate section for salads, Italian pastas and pizzas, fruits and snacks as well as liquid refreshments.
"We have divided the cuisine on geographical basis into six sections-Caribbean, American, Asian, Indian, continental and Oceania," Ajay Grover, consultant for catering in the Organising Committee said.
So, one encounters typical north Indian delicacies such as chhole-bhathure alongside chowmein. A little distance away, one finds African grilled fish and fried chicken next to Italian pasta.
"We have been working on this for the past one year," Grover said, adding that the menu does not include beef.
"It is one of the largest dining areas in the world and we can serve nearly 2,300 people at one go. The facility is open 24 hours a day and we can serve up to 40,000 people in a day." There are as many as 2,500 personnel operating the kitchen and the dining area at the Village, with 250 of them being chefs.
"About 14-15 of the staff is from overseas with about seven or eight foreign chefs," Grover said.
The catering contract was awarded to Australian firm Delaware North Company, which also worked at the 2006 Melbourne Games.
With the nutrition and safety aspect of food being vital, samples are regularly tested in laboratories and there are nutritionists at hand to ensure that the athletes take in the right kind of food.
The raw material for the food also comes from all over the world.
"Certain fruits which are not available in India at this time of the year will be brought from as far as Africa. Lamb will be sourced from New Zealand," Walter, a supervisor, said.
"A total of 120 dishes will be served in a day within a six-day cycle," he said.
The number of people served will be steadily increased.
"We started with food for 50 and by the time the athletes start arriving, we will be up to our optimum capacity," Rick Aylett, director at Delaware, said


( courtesy India Today)


Here is another interesting piece from the I Food website

Let’s take a look at the essence of the different cuisines at Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010:
American Cuisine: Derived from USA, American Cuisine is known for numerous ingredients and cooking styles. Some of the popular dishes and recipes in American Cuisine are Apple Pies, Chocolate Brownies, Grilled Cajun Fish, Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Spicy Fried Chicken, Texan Cornbread Pie and Waldorf Salads.



Asian Cuisine: The food of Asian countries is popularly known for the various culinary traditions, techniques and flavors that are found throughout the different region. Authentic dishes like Japanese Shabu Shabu, Spicy Indian Curry, Chinese Dim Sum, Korean Bibimbap, and Singapore Chili Crab represent the diversity in Asian culture.


African Cuisine: African cuisine is widely appreciated for combining the traditional vegetables, fruits and exotic seafood that varies with different cultures within the country. A few of the popular African dishes are chicken soup, Gbegiri&Ewedu, Ofada, Veggie Delight and Buns.



Oceanian Cuisine: Oceanian Cuisine is basically a blend of dishes from various other cuisines from all across the world. Some of the cuisines included in Oceanian Cuisine are Australian Cuisine, Tongan cuisine, Chamorro cuisine, and Cuisine of the Mariana Islands.


Indian Cuisine: A delicious combination of spices, herbs and other traditional Indian ingredients, Indian cuisine is widely appreciated all across the world for its taste and flavor. Some of the popular Indian dishes at CWG 2010 are hot chicken curry, butter chicken, vegetable biryani, gol gappas.


Continental Cuisine: Continental cuisine usually refers to cuisine from the European continental. It is basically the food dishes adopted from various countries like France, Italy, Spain and Portugal.
With all these different cuisine at CWG 2010, you can use as many superlatives as you want to describe the food at CWG. So, it is quite obvious that the variety of cuisines will be ruling the roost at Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010.

A Shera sandwich made by a blogger. She used brown bread, olives, carrots, peppers and cheese and cucumber.

15 Fertilize my soul:

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

Thanks for sharing those tasty items!

I so miss having an Indian food restaurant close to me - my town had one but it closed -

Now I have to travel 25-30 minutes and I just don't get to do that much -

The tiger 'toast' in the last pic is quite cute!

Arts&Disability said...

Hi, Amrita!

This looks so great! And, appreciate your coverage of the games.... I "tweeted" you on it!

Love in our Lord,
His Sonshine (& Merry Lynn)

Sandy said...

Everything looks so delicious,
Amrita. I enjoy an Indian
restaurant here in town called
India Garden. They have a great
buffet that my friends and I
always get. Last time we were
there we had a wonderful dish
that we assumed was a dessert
due to the sweetness of the
taste. It looked like some type
of white sticky rice but had a
much thicker consistency. We
need to go back and ask them
what we ate I guess.It was so
good!

Terra said...

Hi Amrita, that would be great fun to visit the center where all these cuisines can be tasted.
We have an Indian buffet restaurant in our town here in California and it is one of our favorite restaurants. I always get Mango Lassi to drink, and we love the naan and so many of the dishes.

Amrita said...

Thank you dear friends for you r sweet comments. Oh I wish all o f you can savor some real good Indian food whereever you live. I just updated this post with some new photos.

Nadwrażliwiec said...

Very interesting post. I knew that Indian cuisine is very varied, but I didn't know that in this extent. In Poland many exotic products from Asia or Africa aren't available in shops (if they are - then they are expensive), but when I was in Germany I could see most of them. Some of them I saw also in Internet shop (for example asafoetida) - in Internet they are cheaper. Ratatouille seems so good :) I wish You good evening and congratulations for Indian team :)

Felisol said...

Dear Amrita,
Your multiple dishes have made me hungry in the middle of the night.
I really should not eat this late.
But I will.

Congratulation to India and all her medals.
I hope Canada is capturing some as well.

Serina taught me one semi-Indian dish this summer.
Currey in a hurry, tasty and simple.

Vaisakh said...

Dear Amrita Aunty[hope I can call you that way;)],

I'm ecstatic the way India is performing ;)

Since you have a lot of International friends, you are doing a great job in showcasing our achievements through your blog...

Keep the good work going..

Cheers.

Vaisakh said...

And those yummy dishes......!!!

Amrita said...

Hi Zimb, I read in the newspapers that Indian students are going to Cracow. Maybe you will bimp into them one day. And I wish I can get some Polish food here, maybe i should check the Internet.

Dear Felisol, You have an interest in International culture and people.
Pictures of your dining table with your family an d friends gathere d around also arouses my apetite (smile)

I remember all th e special treat you have during celebrations.
Curry in a hurry sounds very good to me. I like to cook everything in a hurry, but Indian food requires a lot of prepararion.

Dear Vaishakh you can call me Aunty,
Maasi or Bua- my nephew is around your age . And I have a couple of grey hair too.LOL

Ye s I like to share the achievements and beauty of India with my International friends, but I don 't ignore the sadness and misfortune our people suffer.

Amrita said...

Dear Sonshine and Merry Lynn thank you for your visit. I am on Facebook but I do appreciate you tweeting about my blog.

Anonymous said...

I've never tried Indian food. There aren't very many Indian restaurants around were I live in California.

Have a great weekend

~Ron

Amrita said...

Ron I think you will find them in metropolitan cities like LA.
Maybe. There are lot s of Indians living in CA.

Rosemary said...

Indian food is wonderful, I love it and first tried it in London (I know, hardly traditional eh?). It is so rich and full of flavor that enhances the food beautifully. I just recently made my first attempt at samosas and then chicken tikka with naan. So delicious and full of good ingredients. I'm loving the coverage you are providing here and good luck to India!

David Edward said...

i love coming to this place, you never know what you will be reading about or looking at
it is refreshing