New Delhi, June 14, 2013: From which geographical location comes the ginger or the garlic or the tomato you use in your kitchen makes whole lot of a difference to the flavor and color of the dish you make. Just like ginger from the hills of Karbi Anglong district of Assam has been found to deliver the best of aroma and flavor to Indian food due to its organic properties, it’s the tomatoes from Bangalore that gives richer color to the dish. – such and many more interesting facets of modern day Indian kitchen and the growing trend of “Convenience Cooking” were revealed in an interactive session titled “Changing Face of Indian Kitchen” organized by Dabur India Ltd. at Hotel Park in New Delhi on June 14, 2013.
Dr B L Satyaranyan – Food and Dairy Technologist and Pune Chapter Vice President of Association of Food Scientists and Technologists, Bocuse d’Or Award winning Chef Pankaj Sharma – Executive Sous Chef of Hotel Lodhi Aman, New Delhi, Mr T Vijay Bhaskar Reddy – Head of Foods R&D, Dabur India Ltd and Mr Praveen Jaipuriar, Category Head – Foods, Dabur India Ltd. participated in the interaction. The session also saw a live kitchen demo by Chef Pankaj Sharma on “Convenience Cooking” – the trend of cooking healthy and tasty food at home in a very short time, which has been picking up in urban Indian kitchens. Chef Sharma showcased as to how in just 20 mins one can cook three delicious dishes using modern techniques of cooking and ready to cook pastes and purees. He made one starter – Hommade Watermelon Fiesta, one main course – Hommade Chicken Razzmatazz and one dessert – Hommade Tropical Paradise.
Speaking on the occasion Mr Praveen Jaipuriar said, “We launched the Dabur Hommade range of ready to cook pastes and purees way back in 1997 and that marked the beginning of the change – the change in how we cook at home. Being the pioneer in ready to cook pastes and purees, it took us all these years to actually bring in the change in Indian kitchen and make ‘Convenience Cooking’ the new trend. Today with modern techniques of cooking and more and more people using ready to cook packaged ingredients like ginger garlic pastes, tomato purees, coconut milk, tamarind pastes etc offered by Dabur Hommade, there is a big change in the way food is made in urban Indian kitchens. With time constraint being a major issue due to changing lifestyle, more and more people are adopting ‘convenience cooking’. All these products are made from the choicest, fresh ingredients that helps make tasty food conveniently without compromising on one’s individual touch. We source the best ingredients from across the globe to ensure that they are not just as fresh as home-made ingredients but also add to the taste of every cuisine”
Talking about the ingredients, Mr. Jaipurirar said the Ginger that’s used in Hommade cooking pastes are sourced from North East, Garlic is sourced from Gujarat and Tamarind from South India. The coconuts used for preparing Hommade Coconut Milk are sourced from Thailand, while the lemons used for Hommade Lemoneez come from Brazil. Sourcing of ingredients is the key to deliver the best of taste and color to a dish, special in case of Indian food, and hence there is special focus on getting the best of the ingredients from the best of the places. So every time a consumer uses a Hommade culinary paste or puree, she is actually using ingredients from best known exotic sources of such ingredients. “It’s not just about sourcing the best raw material from the best source around the globe. Dabur also undertakes high quality processing, which ensures that the cooking pastes and purées always have the right blend, quality and flavor. Also, we use a hot-filled technology which ensures that the product is insulated from atmosphere, keeping it fresh. The pouches used in Hommade pastes are one of the thickest in the industry to protect the freshness,” said Mr. T Vijayabhaskar Reddy. He further went on to break common myths around ready to cook pastes and purees through a detailed presentation
Replying to a query from audience on whether such use of ready to cook pastes and purees makes one compromise on the taste and flavor of the dish, Chef Sharma said, “It does not, as the sourcing of the ingredients are the best and technological advancement has made it possible to retain the flavor and nutritional contents of the ingredient. In fact most of the top line five stars are using these in their kitchens now days. And adding onto it, the changing techniques of low heat cooking by using all the modern equipments in place of the direct heating practices, the retention of the flavor and aroma has become even more prominent now a days”. Adding to this, Mr Jaipuriar said, “Hommade range of pastes, purees, cocnut milk and Lemoneez are regularly used by top groups like ITC, Oberoi, Taj, Café Coffee Day etc.”
People today view cooking pastes and purees as a convenience format and it is increasingly finding acceptance in their daily cooking needs. Increased receptivity of the consumer to packaged foods combined with a growing need for convenience foods on account of time constraints have led to a growth in demand for cooking pastes. Also, with consumes now experimenting with newer cuisines, the demand for such pastes and purees is on the rise. “While speciality cooking may still be a weekend phenomenon, we are seeing many an Indian household shift to usage of cooking pastes and purees in their daily cooking too. Culinary pastes and purees offer convenience to your daily cooking and give the woman in the household the independence and opportunity to add her special flavor to the cooking and retain that ‘maa ke haath ka swad’,” Mr. Jaipuriar added.
Convenience is also the biggest value. For instance, with Hommade Coconut Milk, consumers get 2 creamy coconuts for just Rs 48. In Lemoneez, they get 25 lemons’ juice for just Rs 48. With Hommade Tomato Puree and cooking pastes, they get consistent quality and same price throughout the year, regardless of the movement of raw material prices.
