Cooking along with Rita Shinde & Maggi Kitchen Journeys

Maggi Kitchen Journeys is a program that celebrates women who had made their dreams come true via the culinary route. A bunch of us were at Goa to celebrate the launch and the story of Rita Shinde, an ex-custom officer turned culinary trainer. Read the post to know more about it!

Maggi Kitchen Journeys premiered on ZeeTV two weeks ago and is a show that celebrates the journey of ordinary women who made their mark in the world of food. Women, possibly homemakers, who didn’t have any official culinary training. Armed only with a passion for food and hard work these women made their dreams come true.

I think in India, there is a plethora of food knowledge which resides grandmoms. Which has been passed over generations orally. And the only people preserving this knowledge are the homemakers who are passionate about cooking and culture. When these women try and take their knowledge and share it with the larger world, it needs to be encouraged. And this is what Maggi India is aiming with the show “Maggi Kitchen Journeys”.

12 handpicked women from across the country will be telling their stories on National TV. I for one cannot wait to watch the show and know more about these brilliant women.

Meeting Rita Shinde – Maggi Kitchen Journeys

One of the 12 women in the show is Rita Shinde, an ex-custom officer turned culinary trainer. Rita runs a company called Rita’s Gourmet Goa which focuses on cooking classes and local experiences for tourists. She has truly turned her passion into something which gets her money and satisfaction. She says she loves spreading the joy of cooking and it was so evident in the day we spent with doing the same.

Maggi flew a bunch of us to Goa to celebrate the launch of the show and understanding Rita’s story a little more. We spent an enjoyable morning with her, where she showed how to cook some authentic Goan dishes. Rissois de Camarao (Goan Prawn Puffs), Chicken Xacutti, Fish Recheado, Amaranth Fugath were made by her with lots of tips and tricks shared along.

She also used a lot of Maggi products and said some have found their way into their kitchen because she teaches people who want convenience. People who lead busy lives and don’t have too much time to spend in the kitchen. “Maggi bhuna masala and coconut milk make for good replacements of time-consuming ingredients in the kitchen without compromising on the flavours” she said.

Interestingly, the Maggi cube has been a part of Goan cooking for a long time according to her. She told us a very interesting story of how her mother always used to a cube in one of apron’s pocket without fail. It was something she turned to add that flavour and umami to the dish.

 

Cookout in teams

After the demo, we teamed up in teams with one blogger, one Maggi Home economist and 2 guests and made a quick Goan Fish curry using red snapper fillets. The recipe she shared was quick and delicious and served with Goan rice. None of us could have enough of it honestly.

 

All in all, it was a lovely event and I am looking forward to watching the series. Make sure you do too.

Disclaimer – This post has been done in collaboration with Nestle. They paid for my tickets and stay but all the views, words, pictures and thoughts are mine.