Monsoon Pizza Festival @ The Trident, Cochin

THE PLACE FOR GOURMET PIZZAS - PIZZERIA @ THE PATIO

@ Travancore, Trident Hotel, Willingdon Island, Kochi

By Lt Col (Retd) D Purushothaman Pillay

The most popular, baked Italian gift to our planet, is the ubiquitous 'Pizza'. Which was born as a humble Neapolitan round, oven-baked, flatbread customarily topped, with a pureed coulis of tomato, a generous sprinkle of cheeses and a crowning garnish of an infinite choice of toppings. No wonder, it has a permanent place, in the top 5 most popular foods in the world.

Popular legend reckons that in 1889, Neapolitan pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito created the first Pizza Margherita, when the Royal Palace of Capodimonte commissioned him to create a pizza in honor of the visiting Queen Margherita. Now, 124 years later, The Trident Cochin, is hosting a 'Monsoon Special Gourmet Pizza Festival' at its Travancore Restaurant christened the "pizzeria' @ the patio" in honor of this universal gastronomical super hit. 

A study of the menu, offers one an interesting, very different and an eminently creative selection of choices. Representing different geographies, each one is a gustatory treat, for the discerning palate. There is the classic mozzarella cheese Italian, feta cheese Greek, blue cheese Danish, caper berries rich Mediterranean, Cajun spiced, corn rich American, Schezwan flavored Oriental and even an Indian mint chutney Nawabi option.

Since I love pizzas and like writing about them, I shall indulge in a bit of shop talk. The key to a nice pizza is its crust, which should ideally have a crumbly brittle crunch, yet if required, be softly foldable in half.  A ‘Thin Crust’ to my mind, does not permit a carb overload, therefore allows one to relish the subtle nuances of the toppings, the best.  This festival is served on thin crust and one has three base options, the regular dough, multigrain dough and another base infused with mashed potatoes. There are eleven pizza choices on the menu, divided into five vegetarian and six non-vegetarian options. They are as follows:-

Vegetarian Pizzas

1. CLASSIC MARGHERITA with tomato, basil and Italian mozzarella.

2. GREEK CONNECTION with toasted pimentos, basil, tomatoes, air dried aubergine, feta cheese on a multigrain base.

3. NOT JUST ORIENTAL Schezwan chili paneer, peppers and chili flakes.

4. PIZZA BIANCO with spiced roasted potato, bell peppers, olives, buffalo mozzarella and olive oil.

5. CLASSIC BLUE CHEESE with ranch Parmesan sauce, wild mushroom, spinach, home dried tomatoes, black olives and blue cheese.

Non-Vegetarian Pizzas

1. FRUTTI DI MARRE with shrimps, calamari, tuna, fresh basil and garlic confit.

2. AMERICAN CAJUN with cajun spiced chicken, American corns, bell peppers, gherkins and scallions.

3. NAWABI TRAITS with lamb keema, mint chutney, laacha onions and tomatoes.

4. CLASSIC PEPPERONI with Italian pork pepperoni seasoned with black pepper.

5. SALUMI with classic pepperoni, ham, sausages, streaky bacon, mushroom and pounded meat.

6. SMOKE HOUSE STEAK CAPRICCIOSA with rosemary crusted tenderloin, red wine glazed onions, cream cheese, BBQ sauce and egg sunny side up.

There is always something warm, welcoming and intimate about the ambience of Travancore. Must be its impeccable setting, warm illumination, choice of cuisine for food festivals, all of which is always accompanied with that legendary 'Oberoi' service. Every visit ends with the promise, of a return to savor this faultless excellence, yet again.

This time, another reason, our experience was enhanced was due to the genial presence of the recently arrived, tall, knowledgeable, soft-spoken and scholarly Chef Mohit Bagaitkar. He played the perfect host, by greeting the guests on arrival, once seated, as one peruses the menu, he explains the theme and palate this festival is exploring, and offers helpful suggestions to make a prudent choice. He thoughtfully tries to appreciate what each one would desire, in order to ensure, he does the best he can, to make the experience as memorable as possible. He is indeed a welcome addition that will enrich the culinary scene of Kochi. Something tells me that he has 'the hand that feeds from the heart' therefore he is a legend in the making. I hope to enjoy many an inventive meal created by this new 'promising craftsman of comestibles', in the future.

All of us, thoroughly enjoyed the mix we were served, hot from the oven. My elder son enjoyed the meat feast carousel called Salumi, personally I loved the Blue Cheese Pizza, my wife indulged in the feta rich Greek Pizza with that crispy aubergine sitting on top, my little son loved his Margherita with that green drizzle of basil and mint.

This six week pizza extravaganza had started on the 5th of July and continues until the 10th of August 2013, from 11 in the morning to 11 at night. These delicious pizzas are priced at a steal, between Rs 395 and Rs 575 and comes with a complimentary pint of Budweiser beer. For all those pizza lovers, who want to indulge their taste buds in some genuine Italian flatbread luxury, this is one experience, at their doorstep, they just cannot afford to miss. So all those who haven’t been to the festival yet, there are just another 10 days that are remaining, so hurry up!

Trident Hotel, Cochin

F & B Manager V K Karthi: Mob +91 99460 00755

Executive Chef Mohit Bagaitkar: Mob +91 95391 82900
Phone: 0484-3081000
Email: reservations.ttcoh@tridenthotels.com
Website: www.tridenthotels.com

14 Feb 2013 - One Billion Rising - Kochi Event

A Day Kochi Rose in Unison for Its Women!

By - Lt Col (Retd) D Purushothaman Pillay

One Billion Rising!( OBR ) is a global one day campaign by women, for women, on Thursday, 14 Feb 2013, commemorating the 15th anniversary of the 1998-born V-Day Organisation, a women's movement initiated by the 59 year old American feminist, performer, artivist, playwright of "The Vagina Monologues" and world renowned activist - Eve Ensler, herself a sad victim of paternal abuse. This movement calls for an end to violence and for justice and gender equality for women all around the world.

This world-wide rally is being held in around 197 countries, aided and supported by more than 13000 organizations, it is believed that supporters would take time from their busy lives, jobs, homes and businesses to congregate in a central piazza, in their respective cities, and dance in a symbolic show of solidarity, and avow their refusal to accept violence against women anymore, anywhere. The 'One Billion' in the slogan refers to the number of women world over, who have already suffered outrage and are courageous survivors of various types of abuse. According to the data analyzed by the V-Day Organization, there is a strong likelihood that one in three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in her lifetime, and therefore, they have given a clarion call to rise up, and demand an end to all manner of violence against women. They say one billion women violated is indeed a shameful atrocity, but then having one billion women, all around the globe, on this day, dancing, will be a start of a glorious new revolution!

The evening started with singer Usha Uthup riding a float flagged off by Bishop Sebastian Edayantharath and M Lakshmi, from the Rajendra Maidan to the Durbar Hall stage, accompanied by an enthusiastic procession of people from all walks of life. There was a fair sprinkling of representatives from a variety of fields like politics, law, cinema, performing arts, journalism, writing, TV, NGOs, religious organizations, academic institutions and the obvious women organizations, who came in large numbers to actively participate in this pioneering movement - OBR.

The event is proud to have an art installation by Contemporary Visual Artist Sajitha Shankar, which symbolized the inner 'Shakthi' of the Indian woman rising to end the violence. The proceedings on the grounds, started with lighting of lamps around this art installation along with a communal prayer, thereafter, Justice Usha Sukumaran administered an oath to the assembly of people, appropriate to the occasion. Justice V R Krishna Iyer spoke with passion and inspired the multitude in attendance to support women and shun any kind of violence against them. It was also very heartening to see another leading citizen of Kochi, the enterprising Industrialist Mr Jose Thomas, the visionary Head of the Choice Group, voluntarily take some precious time out from his busy schedule, to not only speak a few words, but also shake a leg with Usha Uthup and other dancers on the stage, in support of this crusade. In the context of a spurt in the spate of incidents of violence against women, some very old cases and many new ones have been grabbing the headlines lately; it is such wonderful heartfelt gestures of advocacy, solidarity and encouragement, from the leading citizens in any city, that will ensure socially-relevant and meaningful campaigns like this one, get widely noticed and will ultimately succeed in acheiving their noble aims.

After the aforementioned eloquent oration; there was a new energy that was unleashed on the assembled throng, with the effervescence created by 'Didi'- Usha Uthup's soulful rendition of her compilation, in her mellifluous voice. Ranjini Haridas added her share of vivaciousness with her enthusiastic spontaneity and infectious zeal. The various songs regaled the audience, it must be said that the selection was apt and well thought-out, befitting the spirit that was required to be created for the occasion. I would like to make a special mention of two of Didi's melodies - one devoted to the patriotic malayalee "Ente Keralam Ehtre Sundaram" and the other an exotic medley of hindi film hits "Bindiya Chamkegi" - they were crowd-rousing, instant hits with the masses, all were seen wildly enjoying these foot-tapping numbers. The event also had other artistes performing a variety of acts, for the entertainment of the assembled crowd. It was indeed a most memorable evening, gleefully celebrated with exuberance, high energy and gay abandon.

Let us hope this great show of solidarity by the local citizenry, would go a long way in ensuring, that our wonderful Kochi, fulfils the primary V-Day Organisation vision, of providing in this city -"a world where all women can live fearlessly,  safely and freely".