Savour the flavours of Japanese cuisine at Courtyard by Marriott Pune Chakan

Pune, 11 March 2019: Explore the bold earthy flavors of Japan in this culinary festival bursting with hues and aromas as rich as the country's culture and heritage. The MoMo Café at Courtyard by Marriott Pune Chakan is hosting a Japanese food festival from March 11th to March 15th with Chef Prabhu Balan who will showcase the best of Japanese cuisine to the food lovers here. Chef Balan is a Japanese Specialty chef with over a decade long experience.

Guests are invited to embark on a culinary adventure of authentic Japanese dishes curated by Chef Balan and his team. Rich in a diverse culinary history, Japanese food is known for its intense flavours and exotic ingredients. Paying homage to the true essence of the Japanese cuisine, the festival will include a versatile spread of sizzling live counters, soups, Sushi’s, Sashimi, Tempura’s Main course noodles, and much more transporting food lovers to the bustling streets of Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Guests will finish on a sweet note with some of Far East’s most exciting traditional dessert Green Tea Panna Cotta.

Be a part of this Japanese sensory roller coaster at MoMo Café that will recite fables of Asian flavours. Food connoisseurs and invited to come and enjoy this food fair at Courtyard by Marriott Pune Chakan.

Price: INR 1,500

Date: 11th March to 15th March 2019

Time: 12:30pm to 03:30pm | Lunch Buffet

Where: Courtyard by Marriott Pune Chakan

Vegetable Gyoza

Ingredients

* 1/2 Onion

* 65g Enoki Mushrooms

* 50g Cabbage

* 01 tsp Soy Sauce

* Salt

* Pepper

* Sesame Oil

* 08 Gyoza Skins

* Cooking Oil

* Gyoza Dipping Sauce

* Gyoza Dumpling Press (optional)

How to Prepare

* Finely chop the onions, enoki mushrooms and cabbage. Add to a bowl and mix in the soy sauce, salt, pepper and sesame oil to taste.

* Divide the mixture into 8ths and spoon into the gyoza skins, if you have a gyoza dumpling press you can use it to crimp the edges.

* Add 70ml of water to the pan place the gyoza in the pan and pour on some sesame oil. Cover with a lid and cook for 8 minutes. Pour out some gyoza dipping sauce in saucers and enjoy.

Chicken Gyoza

INGREDIENTS

* 300g Chicken Mince

* 1 cup finely shredded White Cabbage

* 2 Green Onions, ends trimmed, thinly sliced

* 2 teaspoons finely grated Ginger

* 1 small Garlic clove, crushed

* 2 teaspoons Sake

* 1 teaspoon Caster Sugar

* 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil

* Pinch ground White Pepper

* 40 Gyoza Wrappers

* 2 teaspoons Peanut Oil

* 2 tablespoons Water

* Green Onions, thinly sliced, to serve

* 2 tablespoons Tamari, to serve

How to Prepare

* Combine chicken mince, cabbage, green Onions, Ginger, Garlic, tamari, sake, sugar, sesame oil and pepper in bowl.

* Place a gyoza wrapper on a clean work surface. Spoon a heaped teaspoon of chicken mixture on to the center of the wrapper. Brush the edge with a little water. Use your fingertips to pleat the edge 4-5 times. Fold over to enclose the filling. Place on a plate. Repeat with remaining mix and wrappers.

* Heat peanut oil in a large frypan over high heat until just smoking. Remove from heat. Arrange the dumplings over the base of the pan. Return to heat and cook for 2 minutes or until the base of the dumplings is golden. Sprinkle water evenly over the gyoza. Cook covered, for 3-4 minutes or until gyoza is cooked through and water has evaporated. Remove from heat and set aside for 2 minutes.

* Place on a serving platter and sprinkle with green onions. Serve immediately with tamari.

Takoyaki Recipe

Ingredients

* 2 cups (480ml) Dashi

* 2 Eggs

* 1 tsp Soy Sauce

* 1/4 tsp Salt

* 1 cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

* 2-3 Green Onions, finely chopped * 2 tbsp Benishoga (pickled red ginger), chopped

* 5-6 oz. Octopus, cut into 1/2" cubes

* Oil

* Takoyaki Sauce or Okonomiyaki Sauce

* Mayo * Aonori (green dried seaweed) * Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)

Instructions

* In a large bowl, mix well dashi, eggs, soy sauce, salt and flour with a whisk.

* Heat a Takoyaki pan with oil to very hot, just until the oil begins to smoke. Use enough oil to coat the pan using a paper towel so that the batter won't stick. Then pour batter to fill the holes of the pan.

* Drop octopus pieces in the batter in each hole, and sprinkle chopped green onions and ginger all over the pan.

* Cook at medium heat for 1-2 minutes and turn over using a Takoyaki turner (you can use a chopstick too). It can be a little tricky at first, so watch the video to see the technique. Cook another 3-4 minutes, turning constantly.

* Place the cooked Takoyaki on a plate and pour Takoyaki sauce and mayo over them (to taste). Finish the dish by sprinkling the Takoyaki with Aonori (green dried seaweed) and Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes).

Takoyaki with Chicken Teriyaki Filling

Ingredients

For the Takoyaki Batter

* 1 cup all-purpose Flour

* 2 teaspoons Baking Powder * 1/2 teaspoon Salt

* 2 large Eggs * 1 and 1/2 cups Dashi

For the Filling * 1 cup Chicken Teriyaki Cooked and Chopped

* 1/3 cup chopped carrot

* 1/2 cup chopped white cabbage

To cook and serve the Takoyaki * Cooking Oil * Bonito Flakes * Teriyaki Sauce reduced until thickened

* Japanese Mayo mixed with Sriracha * finely sliced Scallions

Instructions

* Make the batter by mixing all the ingredients together.

* Heat the Takoyaki pan on the stove over medium-low to medium heat. Brush or spray the holes generously with oil.

* When the oil starts to smoke, pour batter into the holes to fill them halfway through.

* Sprinkle the chopped chicken teriyaki, carrot and cabbage on top of the batter.

* Pour in more batter to cover the filling and the holes.

* Cook the Takoyaki for about a minute until the undersides start to set. Using skewers or chopsticks, gather the excess batter around each hole and lightly folding it on top of the ball as you invert. Cook for another minute or so until the batter is cooked through and the surface of the balls are lightly browned.

* Repeat until you have used up all the batter and fillings.

* Arrange the Takoyaki on a plate. Drizzle mayo-Sriracha and thickened teriyaki sauce over them. Garnish with bonito flakes and scallions.

Yasai Nimono

Ingredients

The cooking liquid:

* 400ml (about 1 3/4 U.S. cups) 2nd or 1st Dashi stock or 400ml of combined shiitake mushroom soaking liquid and dashi or 400ml water with 1/2 teaspoon dashi stock granules (In other words, 400ml of liquid with flavor).

The vegetables:

* 1 large or 2 medium carrots, peeled

* 1 large or 2 medium-small boiling type potatoes, peeled

* 1 medium onion, peeled and root end and top removed

* 4 small or 3 medium dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in water until rehydrated or 4 small or 3 medium fresh shiitake mushrooms or 5-6 button mushrooms

* 3-4 snow peas or mange-tout, for garnish (other garnishes you could use: small broccoli florets; green beans. Or for uncooked garnishes, chopped up green onion or mitsuba would work.)

The flavorings:

* 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil, Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil

* 1/2 tablespoon White or Raw Sugar

* 1 tablespoon sake

* 1 tablespoon Mirin

* 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce

* Salt (optional)

How to Prepare

* Use 2nd dashi or niban-dashi to be frugal

* Cut the vegetables according to their nature; shave the edges off the starchy ones

* Sauté the vegetables in a little oil to bring out their flavor and to add more flavor from the oil

* Add the soy sauce last, to retain its flavor. Add the sugar, sake and mirin first.

* Use an otoshibuta (dropped lid) while simmering

* Use some green garnish to make the final dish pop.

* It's worthwhile making Nimono in some quantity, since it tastes better the next day and keeps for several days in the refrigerator. Reheat before eating at home, or reheat then let cool down again if using for bento.

Buta Shogayaki

Ingredients

* 300 g pork sliced thinly to 2-3mm thick

* 2 tsp sake (Japanese rice wine)

* 1 tsp ginger juice (squeeze juice out of grated ginger)

* 1 tbsp. oil

Ginger Sauce

* 2 tbsp. sake (Japanese rice wine)

* 1 tbsp. mirin

* 1 tbsp. soy sauce

* 1 tsp sugar

* 1 tbsp. grated ginger

To serve

* 160 g shredded cabbage

* 4 cherry tomatoes

* 6 broccoli florets

Instructions

* (this step is optional) Using the tip of a sharp knife, cut the connecting tissue (the tissue separating red meat and fat) embedded in the meat. This will prevent the meat from curing when cooked.

* Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of sake and 1 teaspoon of ginger juice over the pork slices, coat well and leave for 10 minutes. This will tenderise the meat and removes meaty smell.

* Mix ginger sauce ingredients in a bowl.

* Heat oil in a non-stick (preferred) frypan over medium high heat.

* Place the meat in the frypan without overlapping (cook in batches if required) and cook for about 1-2 minutes or until the bottom side is golden and the edges start to cook.

* Turn it over and cook further 1-2 minutes. If cooking in batches, transfer the cooked meat onto a plate and cook the remaining meat.

* Reduce the heat to medium. Return all the cooked meat to the frypan and add the ginger sauce to the pan.

* Cook for about 15-30 seconds, turning the pork slices over to ensure the meat is coated with the sauce. When the sauce is reduced to about 1-2 tablespoons (note 3), turn the heat off.

* Place the vegetables on one side of the plate. Place pork slices and pour the sauce in the frypan over the pork.

Green Tea Panna Cotta

Ingredients

* 100 ml full cream milk

* 2 tsp (7 g) powdered gelatin

* 500 ml double cream

* 75 g sugar

* 1½ tbsp. green tea powder

Instructions

* To make the panna cotta – gradually mix the green tea powder with 2 tbsp. of milk in a small bowl until smooth. Pour the remaining milk into a small heatproof bowl and sprinkle over gelatin. Set aside for 5 mins. Then place the bowl over a saucepan of hot water and continuously stir until gelatin dissolves. Remove and leave to cool.

* Mix the cream and sugar in another saucepan and heat over low heat until almost boiling. Remove and pour into a jug. Whisk in the green tea powder and then followed by the cooled gelatin solution. Whisk until they are mixed well. Pour the mixture into dariole mould.

* Transfer them into the refrigerator and refrigerate for 2 hours or more till set. To check if they are set or not, they should wobble like jelly when you move the mould and that the Centre shouldn’t look like there’s still liquid.

* To remove from the moulds, dip the bases briefly for about 5 secs in hot water. Then gently invert onto serving plates and give short sharp shakes to loosen them. Serve with chocolate soil on the side.