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The way mom makes it

Liza George takes a peep at the dishes that will be offered as part of the `Mothers' Day food festival'

Who wouldn't love a home cooked meal? However, most restaurants in the city do not offer home cooked fare. Uday Samudra Leisure Beach Hotel, as part of its `Mothers' Day food festival' (May 14 to 16), decided that the flavour of the fete would be that of dishes made by mothers.

Signature dish

A unique festival, six regular women customers of the hotel were asked to bring their signature dish or dishes to the hotel .

"We asked them to bring anything they considered their speciality, be it snacks, side dish or dessert along with the recipes. These women are gourmets in their own right. They commend or criticise if a dish is not prepared right," says Raja Gopaal Iyer, Corporate Director of the hotel.

Traditional German potato salad, rich Shahi arbi jholl, and mouth-watering pineapple delight, were some of the fares offered by the women.

Some of the dishes were innovations of a known recipe. Says Deepak T. Das, executive chef of the hotel, "Mothers normally prepare food according to the family's preference in taste, especially the children's." For instance, Remani George, a homemaker from Kollam experiments with dishes. "My mother tries out different recipes; she then adds her touch and makes them to our taste," says Anjana Mary George, her daughter.

She cites the example of Onion bake, which was submitted as one of the entries, "According to the original recipe, more butter is needed. Since we are not too fond of it, she added more of potato to make it soft and crisp."

There are some recipes that though available in cookbooks can't beat the ones handed down from generation to generation. A rich Shahi arbi jholl and traditional desi kheer were what Shika Agarwal, another homemaker had to offer. "These dishes were popular during the days of the maharajas. The recipes are passed down," she says.

According to Ellen Allen, from Germany who participated in the event and shared her grandmother's recipe to make potato salad; potato salads are a must during Christmas in Germany.

Keen sense of taste

Substantiating Deepak's view that kids have a keener sense of taste than adults especially in the sweets department is Shoba K.C., an advocate. Her two sweet dishes - caramel cashew pudding and traditional banana roast - were treats her mother used to make and which are now her children's favourites.

Impressed with the fare, Deepak says, "Nothing can beat home cooked food. Restaurants have a strict recipe to follow when preparing a dish aiming for perfection."

These dishes will be offered to the customers of the hotel as part of the menu during and after the food festival for the next two months at an affordable rate. So rush to Uday Samudra and dig into some home cooked fare.

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