BENGALURU HOST INDIA’S FIRST TEA FESTIVAL

Posted on March 20, 2017

India’s First Ever Tea Festival – Tea Festival India (TFI) will be held at JW Marriott Hotel on March 18 & 19 in Bengaluru. Despite being world’s largest tea-drinking nation and having savoured tea for centuries, this would be India’s first ever celebration of the drink. Over 20 leading tea brands like Brooke Bond, Tetley & Lipton would be part of the festival. Also showcasing their blends would be specialty brands like Teaveda & Teamonk Global. Tea Festival India is being organised by Smart iDeAs and It’s Our Cuppa Tea – a popular tea group of Bengaluru.

TFI Organizer Susmita Das Gupta considers tea similar to wine, in every aspect. “Tea is not very different from wine, if you were to compare their aromas and flavours. High-end tea is quite capable of triggering our senses the same way fine wine does. At Tea Festival India, we are showcasing some high-end varieties of tea that are famous over the world! And we want to help more people understand and appreciate tea as a drink.” Susmita proudly mentions that India’s contribution to tea is massive and varieties like Darjeeling & Assam Tea are just the tip of this iceberg.

Some of India’s Star Tea Masters would be holding workshops at Tea Festival India. These include Gurmeet Singh who has 24 tea inventions to his name and Anamika Singh – Founder of Anandini Himalaya Tea. Jyoti Bhat who has done some ground-breaking work on tea pairing will also be mentoring a workshop at TFI. Among workshops that visitors to the festival will get access to are sessions on Tea Sampling & Tasting, Tea Appreciation, Tea Brewing and Food Pairing. Tea Festival India is endorsed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and approved by The Tea Board of India.

The festival will also see the launch of Integrated Tea Tourism, as part of which travellers will be offered tours of tea estates in Darjeeling, Munnar, Himachal & Nilgiris, providing them with an immersive tea experience. Tourists will get to see how different tea varieties are made, right from them being plucked to them being served. Organisers of Tea Festival India will be releasing India’s First Tea Table Book on this occasion. During the festival, visitors will also be treated to plenty of tea, poetry sessions, art, photography & music.

Malaysian Sambal Sauce – Home Made

Posted on March 1, 2017

Sambal is a condiment that has a chili-based sauce. Sambal is popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southern Philippines, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Typically made from a variety of chili peppers, it is sometimes a substitute for fresh chilies. Different countries make different kind of sambal depending on the natural availability of ingredients. Apart from the basic chilly base the secondary ingredients of sambal often includes shrimp paste and/or fish sauce, garlic, ginger, or shallots/green onions .

• 10 shallots or 8 small red onions
• 2 ounces or 8 fresh chilies
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 stalk Lemon grass (use only the bottom 3 inches of the stalk)
• ½ ounce or 10 dried chilies (soaked in hot water for 5 minutes) or 3 teaspoons chili powder
• 2-inch piece fresh  Turmeric ( Haldi ki ganth ) or 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
• 2-inch piece Galangal or 1-inch piece ginger
• 5 tablespoons cooking oil
• 2 tablespoons Tamarind paste
• 3 tablespoons palm sugar
• Fishsauce, to taste

Method

1. Peel and roughly chop the shallots or red onions.
2. Slit the chilies and scrape off the seeds. This step is entirely optional. Removing the seeds will remove some of the heat from the chilies. Roughly chop the chilies.
3. Peel and crush the garlic.
4. Thinly slice the lemongrass.
5. Peel the turmeric and galangal then chop as well.
6. Using a mortal and pestle, blender or food processor, grind the first seven ingredients to form a paste. If the mixture is too dry and grinding is difficult, add a tablespoonful or so of water.
7. Heat the oil in a wok or small frying pan. When the oil is moderately hot, sauté the paste over low heat until fragrant. This should take about 15 minutes. Keep the heat low throughout the process and stir the paste constantly so that it does not stick to the wok/pan.
8. Add the tamarind paste or juice, palm sugar and fish sauce.
9. Let the paste cook while stirring occasionally. It is ready when the solids separate from the oil. Use immediately or cool to freeze for future use.