When the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic reached its peak in India, Flavel Monteiro knew he had to help in some way. So the cookbook author, who lives in Dubai, did what he does best. He collaborated with as many chefs as possible – this time those with Indian roots, but living and cooking everywhere from North America to New Zealand – and collated a series of delectable recipes.
The resultant e-book, Come Together For India, will be released on the country’s 75th Independence Day on August 15, with proceeds from its humble $5 price tag going towards Dubai Cares and Vibha.org to help Covid-19 relief efforts in India. Monteiro curated Come Together in partnership with hotelier Naim Maadad of Gates Hospitality.
The chefs
Whether or not you keep up with culinary news and cooking shows, several of the 58 names that came together for this book will jump out at you.
Celebrity chef Vineet Bhatia – of Indigo, Indya and Kama fame – leads the pack with his recipes for almond-crusted vegetable tikkis and Peshawari samosas.
Garima Arora, who became the first Indian female chef to earn a Michelin star for her Bangkok restaurant Gaa, shares a recipe for the simple but delicious moong daal chilla.
Manish Mehrotra, who oversees Indian Accent in New Delhi and New York, showcases his mustard-oil-fried sausage and Bengali rice kitsch-ree dish, while Hari Nayak, who collaborated with actress Priyanka Chopra for New York restaurant Sona, dishes out a Kerala-style chicken stew.
Elsewhere, chefs range from Arkadeb Banik of Basalt in Auckland, to Sujan Sarkar of Rooh in San Francisco.
Given the concentration of Indian restaurants in the UAE, more than a dozen local chefs are part of the book too, including those who run the kitchen at Address Dubai Marina, Armani/Amal, Armani Hotel, Cafe Society, Carnival by Tresind Sofitel, Dusit Thani, Fairmont The Palm, Indego by Vineet Bhatia, Kinara by Vikas Khanna, Masti, Mint Leaf of London, Purani Dilli, Reform Social & Grill, Tresind Studio and Zoya by Maui in Dubai. Chefs from Abu Dhabi's Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort, Punjab Grill and Stars N Bars also feature.
The backers
In addition to stellar chefs, Come Together For India benefits from a number of high-profile supporters, most notably Pavan Kapoor, the Ambassador of India in the UAE, who has penned a foreword for the e-book.
“It is the spirit of this project that makes it special,” Kapoor writes. “Like a thali, which brings a mix of dishes on one plate, the book not only aims to bring an array of cooking ideas to its audience, but also aims to put food on the table for those who have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in India.”
Other supporters include Dr Tariq Al Gurg, chief executive and vice-chairman of Dubai Cares; food critic and author Rashmi Uday Singh; Edouard Cointreau, founder and president of Gourmand World Cookbook Awards; Indian restaurateur Radhika Khandelwal; and celebrity chef Vikas Khanna.
The recipes
Khanna has mentored at least two of the contributing chefs. Ashish Kumar, who works at Kinara by Vikas Khanna, shares his recipe for paneer carrot kofta, while Aarthi Sampath, who works at Chinese Tuxedo in New York, proffers her recipe for pan-fried pomfret and crispy plantain with curry leaf coconut chutney.
The recipes are a curated mix of vegetarian dishes, seafood and meat options. Desserts also feature a soft carrot cake by chef Vanshika Bhatia, of Together At 12th at Le Meridien Gurgaon.
Vegetarians can give the potato chaat by Gymkhana London’s chef Jitin Joshi a go, while carnivores have a range of options: from lamb chops (by Adda Singapore’s chef Manjunath Mural) and chicken pahadi tikka (by MasterChef India judge Ranveer Brar), to tandoori Alaskan king crab (by Hong Kong restaurant Chaat's chef Manav Tuli).
Come Together for India will release on Sunday, August 15, and can be bought for $5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Straightforward ways to reduce sugar in your family's diet
- Ban fruit juice and sodas
- Eat a hearty breakfast that contains fats and wholegrains, such as peanut butter on multigrain toast or full-fat plain yoghurt with whole fruit and nuts, to avoid the need for a 10am snack
- Give young children plain yoghurt with whole fruits mashed into it
- Reduce the number of cakes, biscuits and sweets. Reserve them for a treat
- Don’t eat dessert every day
- Make your own smoothies. Always use the whole fruit to maintain the benefit of its fibre content and don’t add any sweeteners
- Always go for natural whole foods over processed, packaged foods. Ask yourself would your grandmother have eaten it?
- Read food labels if you really do feel the need to buy processed food
- Eat everything in moderation
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
MATCH INFO
Jersey 147 (20 overs)
UAE 112 (19.2 overs)
Jersey win by 35 runs
Griselda
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Andr%C3%A9s%20Baiz%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3ESof%C3%ADa%20Vergara%2C%20Alberto%20Guerra%2C%20Juliana%20Aiden%20Martinez%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
German plea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German parliament that. Russia had erected a new wall across Europe.
"It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.
Mr Zelenskyy was applauded by MPs in the Bundestag as he addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly.
"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall," he said, evoking US President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 3 (Kroos 4', Ramos 30', Marcelo 37')
Eibar 1 (Bigas 60')
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
FINAL LEADERBOARD
1. Jordan Spieth (USA) 65 69 65 69 - 12-under-par
2. Matt Kuchar (USA) 65 71 66 69 - 9-under
3. Li Haotong (CHN) 69 73 69 63 - 6-under
T4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71 68 69 67 - 5-under
T4. Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 67 73 67 68 - 5-under
T6. Marc Leishman (AUS) 69 76 66 65 - 4-under
T6. Matthew Southgate (ENG) 72 72 67 65 - 4-under
T6. Brooks Koepka (USA) 65 72 68 71 - 4-under
T6. Branden Grace (RSA) 70 74 62 70 - 4-under
T6. Alexander Noren (SWE) 68 72 69 67 - 4-under
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Copa del Rey
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
RESULT
Leeds United 1 Manchester City 1
Leeds: Rodrigo (59')
Man City: Sterling (17')
Man of the Match: Rodrigo Moreno (Leeds)
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
