CURRY COOK-OFF!
DURBANITES with a passion for cooking are set to pit their skills against each other in the Springfield Retail Centre Curry Cook-Off.
POST is a media partner in the contest, which has four food categories: mutton, chicken, seafood or vegetable.
Twelve finalists have been selected from the many entries and they will be put to the test at the centre on Saturday morning.
They will recreate their recipes to be served to the judges, who will taste them and decide on the best curry in each category.
The judges are seasoned professionals who have all been involved in the food industry for more than a decade.
They include Warren Frantz (executive chef at uShaka Marine World), executive chef Petros Madoda Cele (Gooderson Tropicana Hotel), Frank Chemaly (food critic) and Ingrid Shevlin (food blogger for Shrewd Food).
The finalists will have to cook and present their dishes within an hour at a specified time – between 9.30am and 3pm – with the help of an assistant of their choice.
The ingredients will be supplied by Springfield Retail Centre.
The winner in each category will receive R5 000, the runners-up will scoop a R1 000 hamper and set of Lassar knives and the thirdplaced winners will get a R1 000 hamper.
As part of the judging process in selecting the finalists, the creativity of the dish and the team name were taken into consideration.
MEET THE FINALISTS SEAFOOD:
■ Red Hot Chilli Peppers: Pranitha Singh, 49, of Isipingo (Creamy prawn delight).
■ Durbs to Goa... Like it Hot: Zora Bee Khan, 58, of Shallcross (Goa-style hot-and-spicy crab and prawn curry).
■ The Hot and Spicy Pair: Samson Maistry, 54, of Isipingo (Fantastic fish curry with fish roe).
CHICKEN:
■ Fiery Headed Chefs: Tanusta Jainarain, 41, of Reservoir Hills (Victorious vindaloo).
■ The Flaming Flamingos: Adeline Ellapen, 34, of Newlands West (Cheeky butter chicken).
■ Dad's at its Best: Devendra Parsuram, 44, of Merebank (Klucking good chicken curry).
VEGETABLE:
■ Team Thabheki: Bajabulile Msomi, 54, of the Bluff (Vegetable curry extravaganza).
■ How to Cook so she Loves You: Hitesher Gef, 35, of Amanzimtoti (Forgiveness curry for husbands).
■ Golden Fierys: Radha Thumarnath, 54, of Newlands West (Special delicious charo green banana and chickpea curry).
MUTTON:
■ The Flaming Charous: Pregan Moodley, 38, of Queensburgh (Volcanic mutton curry).
■ Chop it like it’s Hot: Pravina Pillay, 41, of Glenwood (Karahi dhal gosht with calabash).
■ The Mirchee Tails: Rakesh Thumarnath, 30, of Newlands West (Tika thitha lamb curry in coconut cream.)
■ For enquiries, visit www. springfieldretailcentre.co.za