Kurma

My Clare Valley Degustation luncheon was a resounding success. Enjoy this little photo essay.

This is where I stayed, in a lovely guest cottage adjoining the house.

My mis-en-place started the day before.

I started off folding hundreds of Jiao Zi Dumplings. Alright, I lie. They were all folded by local chef and assistant Kim Bleeker, from Hillsview Estate. I just posed for this picture after Kim spent 3 hours doing the folding. That's show biz!

Here's the ingredients for the Malaysian Hot and Sour Laksa.

The event started at noon on Sunday. Our entree was Crispy Flat-Rice, Dried Fruit and Nuts Appetizer (Gujarati Chidwa), served cocktail-party style on the verandah overlooking the 50 acres of grape plantations.

I had spent hours the day before making this famous appetizer, and it tasted as good as it looked.

Everyone was seated, and the event began.

The first seated course was my famous Soft, Cashew-studded South-Indian Steamed Semolina Breads (Rawa Idli), accompanied by Tamarind-infused Hot-and-Sour Toor Dal (Sambar) and Fresh Coconut Chutney.

The Gingered Shitake, Tofu and fresh Coriander Jiao Zi Dumplings Chili Lime Dipping Sauce were soft and moist with a crispy pan-fried base.

Here's our waitress Lisa, about to head off with the Laksa course, and my other assistant who never stood still, Graham Richards. Hence the blur.

The Laksa course was spectacular.

This was our most popular course -

Karnataka Chili & Tomato Rice
Cream-infused Delhi-style Panir Croquettes (Malai Kofta)
Fresh Mango Chutney
Cucumber Raita
Flame-toasted Pappadams

Hours later the guests were jolly and full, licking up the saffron syrup from their wonderful dessert.

Mission accomplished! My thanks to Bert and Jeni Surmon for a great weekend!