GLENWOOD resident Pravina Pillay took top honours in the recent Curry Cook-off competition at Springfield Retail Centre.
Pillay’s mutton curry earned her the title in the mutton category. The competition saw 12 finalists cooking for the top spot in the four categories, seafood, chicken, vegetable and mutton. ‘
Each contestant had one hour to prepare and cook their dish, with three finalists announced in each category.
Judging the competition were seasoned professionals who have all been involved in the food industry for more than a decade, including chef Warren Frantz, chef Petros Madoda Cele, Frank Chemaly, a food editor and critic, and Ingrid Shevlin, a food blogger and critic.
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Taking top honours in the mutton category, 41-year-old Pravina, and her team named Team chop it like it’s hot won best dish for her Karahi Dhal Gosht with Calabash (Lamb with gram lentils and calabash). Pillay is an area manager at a local bank and says that cooking is her passion. She was assisted by family member, Niren Jayram, on the day.
She shared her winning recipe with our readers:
Ingredients:
1kg lamb curry pieces
1 large onion chopped
2 sprigs of curry leaves
3-4 tablespoons Oil for cooking
2 cinnamon sticks, 2 bay leaves, 1 star anise
1 teaspoon ginger and garlic
4 green chilies
2-3 tablespoons Kashmiri masala
3.5ml tumeric
Salt to taste
2 grated tomatoes
1 cup water
2 cup gram dhal soaked overnight and boiled until ¾ cooked
1 butter calabash cut into chunks
Method:
Heat oil, fry onions until slightly brown. Add cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and star anise. Add masala and turmeric, ginger and garlic and braise for a few seconds. Add meat and stir well until all pieces coated with masala. Add grated tomatoes. Allow to cook on low for about 25 minutes. Add gram dhal, curry leaves, green chilli, salt, water and calabash. Allow to cook for a further 15-20 minutes. Take off heat and garnish with coriander . Serve with roti or rice.
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