Seychelles-India Day - A taste of Indian cuisine with Chef Karan Mehta |17 October 2016

The most delicious Indian cuisine has had its place in the Seychelles-India Day since the event was held for the first time in 2013.

It was not an exception for this year’s event which ended yesterday, as grand Chef Karan Mehta had been brought in specially to offer a good taste of his country’s rich cuisine to the local population.

For two consecutive days at the Avani Seychelles Barbarons Resort and Spa, the local cooks had the opportunity of preparing typical Indian dishes alongside the world known chef. These included the achari paneer and mushroom shashik as starter, chicken kathi roll as main course and shahi tukda as dessert.

The cooks with the best dishes were rewarded with different prizes.

To offer you a taste of the three dishes, this is how Chef Mehta presents the recipes: The achari paneer is made from spicy mushrooms and marinated cheese chunks mixed with vegetables. The chicken kathi roll is made up of chicken pieces sautéed with spices, sprinkled with chaat masala and stuffed into a refined flour roti with fresh green chutney. The shahi tukda is a rich royal dessert of fried sugar syrup and bread, topped and soaked with fragrant sweet thickened milk and garnished with dry fruits.

The culinary workshop was followed by a lavish and tasteful Indian lunch enjoyed by Seychellois and Indians alike, as well as tourists coming from various other countries.

On Sunday, guests enjoyed the chettinad soup, raw papaya and peanut salad, sweet pongal rice and goan fish curry to the sound of live romantic traditional Indian music which filled the Barbarons restaurant.

Chef Mehta has been a cook for the last thirty years and has won various culinary awards in India and around the world. These include the Indian Master Chef of the Year Award which he won in 2007.

He explains his successes by having good problem solving abilities as well as his natural desire for excellence and to create innovative dishes and menus to suit the needs of his customers.

“My passion for perfection drives me to consistently produce all types of food to enhance any dining experience. My Indian background gives me an awareness of the importance of a wholesome and healthy selection of dishes which are appealing to the eye and the palate,” he says.