IT’S BEEN a busy week in food news, but you know you can always count on us, here at Slurrp, to bring the developments that truly matter to your attention. Here we go:
Tim Cook’s First Vada Pav Tasting Is An Unqualified Success
Despite having first visited Mumbai in 2016 — and earning brownie points by doing the quintessentially Mumbaikar thing of visiting Siddhivinayak Temple for morning darshan — Apple CEO Tim Cook’s experiences of the city had a glaring hole that not all the Shah Rukh Khan-hosted dinners at Mannat could fill. (Okay, maybe they could, and did. We’ve just never been invited to one of those, and our SRK-loving hearts have no shame in admitting: it’s a sore point.) Anyway, having recently been anointed as Mumbai’s Best Street-Food by the Supreme Oracle commonly known as ChatGPT, the vada pav has found a new convert in Cook.
The egregiously delayed meeting between Cook and the vada pav was brokered by Madhuri Dixit during the former’s ongoing visit to Mumbai to launch Apple’s first physical store in India. Even as Cook’s deprived tastebuds (and previously affronted citizens of this great megalopolis) thanked Ms Dixit for her timely act, the Apple CEO summed up the life-changing experience in one word, declaring it “delicious”.
Fine Dining Takes Flight With Emirates’ Eid Menu
Airline food has frequently been the butt of flyers’ jokes, but it seems that Emirates is determined to change all that with its limited-period Eid-special in-flight menu, for all departures from Dubai. The menu, which will be in effect over April 21-24 across all classes of Emirates flights, will have you looking up ticket prices for flights to and from Dubai, just to sample the delicacies mentioned (excuse us for a moment while we go clear out a few entries from our Search history).
Here’s what Emirates’ Eid meals will comprise for passengers in Economy —
Chicken mandi in traditional spices, served with rice and crunchy fried onions
Fish harra, i.e. a baked dory with spiced tomato sauce, accompanied by ghee rice and roasted pistachios
Braised lamb with jameed, served with rice, roasted cashew nuts and almonds
Seafood machboos marinated in Middle Eastern spices
For dessert, batheetha (a saffron and date crumble), and sweet pumpkin asseda topped with roasted cashew nuts.
For the Premium Economy, Business and First Class passengers, the in-flight dining will include —
Fish matfy (Middle Eastern-style fish in tomato sauce served with basmati rice)
Chicken tahata (prepared with Emirati spices and served with dill rice, roasted potatoes, aubergine and carrots)
Roasted beef madfoon with aromatic rice
Gulf-style braised lamb, with vegetables and Basmati rice
For dessert, warm date pudding garnished with fresh berries, dates and pistachios (First Class); vanilla sponge cake with white chocolate and hibiscus cream (Business and Premium Economy Class)
A selection of pastries and Arabic coffee cakes with a choice of berries, dates and pistachios will be served on the Airbus 380 lounges. And to top off the festive experience, all passengers flying Emirates will also be served a portion of ashta sfouf — a Lebanese turmeric and sesame cake that is had with cream.
How The UK Likes To Say Sláinte: With Margaritas
Beating out stiff competition from the likes of the Pornstar and Espresso Martinis, the Margarita has been named the UK’s most popular cocktail. The title was conferred on the classic cocktail on the basis of monthly search volumes online, under three key phrases: ‘how to make [drink name]’? ‘[drink name] ingredients’ and ‘[drink name] recipe’. Over 350 cocktails were subjected to the analysis, after which a top-10 list was compiled. The Margarita, which is made of lime juice, triple sec and tequila, toppled last year’s #1 — the Pornstar Martini — from the rankings to win the spot. These two top-runners were closely followed by the Mojito, Espresso Martini, Piña Colada, Old Fashioned, Cosmopolitan, Negroni, Aperol Spritz and Mulled Wine in the UK’s top 10.
Hyderabadi Haleem Has A Fan In Gary Mehigan
The former MasterChef judge and celebrity chef is known for his abiding appreciation for all things Indian cuisine, but a glimpse of just how deep his love for our food goes came via a video of him sampling Hyderabadi haleem. Mehigan held forth articulately on the preparation techniques and ingredients that make haleem such a cherished Ramzan delicacy. To top off the 101, Mehigan delved into the history of haleem, and how the Nawabs of the erstwhile State of Hyderabad brought the dish to India and guaranteed its popularity with their patronage. The chef is in town to host a masterclass on April 26.
… And People Who Eat Off Banana Leaves With Spoons Earn Chef Ranveer Brar’s Ire
Dosa’s Healthier Than Pizza
This and other tummy-pleasing revelations have come to us via a new ASSOCHAM report that concluded “Indian food — including snacks, drinks, accompaniments and sweets — has fewer calories than its non-traditional counterparts”. Dishes like gulab jamun, pav bhaji, vada pav compared favourably against options such as chocolate cake and burgers, as per the report. Apparently, the use of fresh ingredients and fewer preservatives in these (and other Indian foods that are often mislabelled as “unhealthy”) is what makes them the superior option. Dosas and parathas also make you feel fuller for longer.
Other Headlines
Italy may soon ban lab-grown meat — a move that comes close on the heels of governmental orders that prohibit the use of “flour derived from insects such as crickets and locusts in pizza or pasta” — seemingly to “protect its food heritage”; Hardik Pandya has invested in instant food brand Yu; Coca-Cola has acquired a 15 percent stake in food delivery platform Thrive. Oh, and Taylor Swift is a super-awesome chef — Gigi Hadid says so.