Flavors of Burma at The Orient, City Centre New Town – Cooking Workshop & Recipes by Chanda Dutt

I first had the Burmese delicacy, Khauk Suey (Burmese Chicken Soup) nearly six years back at Chanda Dutt’s Beniapukur residence. She had still not started her extremely popular one day food festival Authentic Taste of Myanmar and we were a group of around seven very hungry men and women waiting to be initiated into the delightful world of Burmese cuisine. The Khauk Suey that day was lip smacking. I’ve had the privilege of tasting Chanda di’s food many times after that and I can say only one thing, when it comes to Burmese cuisine in Kolkata, she is ‘the boss’.

When i got an invite from The Orient to attend a Burmese Cooking Workshop to be conducted by ‘the boss’ herself, my joy knew no bounds. Why? Because it’s been quite some time since I had that Khauk Suey and I was also hoping she would make her signature red and golden pork with fish sauce (she did not but I’m waiting for the winter edition of Authentic Taste of Myanmar to gorge on it). I was also excited because till date, I’ve only eaten her food but now I would actually get to see her in action and learn how to cook these dishes.

Khauk Suey is obviously synonymous with Burmese cuisine but it is so much more. Their salads are so unique and Chanda di made one with chickpea tofu called Shan Tofu Salad and another one with noodles, rice and veggies called Letho Sone or Mixed salad. In Burmese cuisine, nothing goes waste. They mix and match ingredients to come up with something so tasty! She taught us two more dishes, the famous Khauk Suey and Tomato Nga Pi Chet, a rich, spicy and hot tomato gravy to be had with steamed rice. Needless to say, both were outstanding. Burmese cuisine has been influenced by Chinese, Indian and Thai cuisine and the result is something totally unique. They don’t scrimp on the addition of oil and spices in their food so forget about healthy options in Burmese cuisine. Just enjoy the taste and you can do that at The Orient’s Flavors of Burma food festival that is on till 31st August. And if you love the food and can’t have enough of it, try making these recipes shared by Chanda di at home. Do let me know how they turn out 🙂

Shan Tofu Thoke (Tofu Salad) 

Ingredients :

• 2 cup gramflour
• 1 cup crushed garlic
• 1 cup chilli/turmeric oil
• 1 cup garlic crushed in water
• 1/2 cup roasted gramflour
• 1 cup chopped coriander & spring onion
• 5 ml fish sauce
• 5 ml soya sauce
• 1 lemon wedge
• 2 gm sugar
• 3 gm salt

Preparation Method :

• Mix gramflour with a pinch of turmeric powder, salt, sugar, crushed garlic or garlic paste in two cups of cold water
• Bring to boil 1 more cup of water, pour the mixture, keep stirring, add two tbspn of white oil and stir till sides start to come off and the texture is like Chinese tofu. Pour the mixture in a flat aluminium container and cool
• When cool, cut them into squares and slice. Mix the sliced tofu with the greens, garlic water, garlic turmeric oil and other things given in the ingredients list
• Garnish with crushed roasted peanuts (optional)

Chicken Khaukswey 

Ingredients :

• 100 gm boiled noodles
• 250 gm roasted gramflour
• 100 gm rice powder
• 75 gm chicken cut in small pieces
• 1 ltr coconut milk
• 50 gm onion paste
• 15 gm ginger paste
• 15 gm garlic paste
• 5 gm shrimp paste (nga pi)
• 10 ml fish sauce
• 5 gm sugar
• 5 gm salt

For garnishing :

• 15 gm fresh coriander
• 10 gm chopped spring onion
• 15 gm sliced onion
• 60 gm shredded cabbage
• 2 nos lemon wedges
• 15 ml chilli garlic oil
• 60 gm crisp fried noodles
• 3 nos boiled egg

Preparation Method :

• Cook chicken with the usual onion, garlic and ginger paste
• Add 1 litre hot water and when the chicken is more or less soft, add half the coconut milk, roasted gramflour, roasted rice powder mixed with 2 cups of water
• Add salt, nga pi paste, sugar, light soya and keep stirring. Add the remaining coconut milk (the more you put, the better it is). Bring to boil, check for seasoning, add more fish sauce if required. Let it simmer and add 2 to 3 spoons of chili garlic oil
• In a bowl, put in a handful of noodles, the chicken gravy and garnish with the topics listed.

Tomato Nga Pi Chet 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 30 ml garlic paste
• 30 gm shrimp paste
• 15 ml fish sauce
• 15 ml light soya sauce
• 5 slit green chillies
• 5 gm red chilli powder
• 5 gm salt
• 5 gm sugar
• 30 gm chopped coriander
• 60 gm crisp fried balachaung
• 1 cup tamarind soaked in water

Preparation Method :

• In a wok, add white oil. When smoking, add sliced onions and fry. When the color changes, add garlic paste, chopped tomatoes, add nga pi.
• When water releases, add light soya, fish sauce, green chillies, salt and sugar to taste
• Add red chilli powder, add little tamarind water and balachaung

Thank you The Orient for inviting me to the workshop. To book your table and sample exotic Japanese, Malaysian, Mongolian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Taiwanese, Thai and currently, Burmese cuisine at this fine dining restaurant, call +913365410399. The restaurant is located on the ground floor, City Centre New Town, Kolkata.