Ingredients
Eggplant Caviar
2 globe eggplant, roasted and cooled
2 large cloves of garlic, roasted
5 ml finely grated lemon zest
30 ml fresh lemon juice
30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbs finely chopped fresh mint or parsley
Pistachio Crust
28 gm dry bread crumbs
85 gm chopped pistachio nuts roasted
14 gm melted butter
15 ml olive oil
28 gm Parmesan cheese
Butter Confit Omani Shrimps
4 Pcs Omani shrimps U5
500 gm Clarified Butter
2 gm Bay leaves fresh
4 gm Thyme fresh
to taste Salt & pepper
Okra Chips
8 pcs fresh okra
10 ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
METHOD
Put the roasted eggplant on a cutting board and use a spoon to scrape the flesh from the skin. Peel or press the garlic and add it to the eggplant. With a large knife, chop the eggplant and garlic together until they form a rough purée. Add the lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, a generous drizzle of olive oil, 1/2 tea spoon salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Chop and mix together thoroughly, transfer to a small serving bowl and taste. Add more lemon juice, oil or salt if needed. Fold in the mint or parsley. Refrigerate for up to 48 hours and bring to room temperature before serving.
Pistachio Crust
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix, make a dough, and refrigerate for an hour. Use wax paper and sheet it into 4 mm thick.
Butter Confit
Omani Shrimps
Remove the head, and devein the shrimps, keep tail on. Salt-marinade the shrimps for two hours. Then remove and use the moisture by kitchen towel. Heat the clarified butter to 55 C, and place fresh bay leaves and thyme. Add shrimps and leave it for 45 mins at the same temperature. Take out the shrimps from clarified butter and place the pistachio crust.
Okra Chips
Split the okra into two, and cut some into pieces. Spray EVO oil and salt flakes. Place it in a dehydrator or in 650 C for 4 hrs. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and firm. Cool for about 1 hour, then invert onto a plate.
The wild okra crop originated along the Nile in Abyssinia, in the area we recognize today as Ethiopia. Accounts of the vegetable begin to show up in records dating to about the 12th century. Historians believe that the crop was spread to Egypt and other parts of North Africa before travelling into the Mediterranean and India. Spanish Moors advanced the spread of the crop further East in the following centuries.
Growing okra won’t only get you delicious food to eat, but it can also add a burst of energy to any vegetable garden. The flower that emerges from an okra plant bears a striking resemblance to another one of its relatives: hibiscus.
Okra has a lot of health benefits. It is high in Vitamin C, helps strengthen vision, improves skin health, and a great source of fibre. Okra presents a host of benefits to those who enjoy eating it.
It was a train ride back home that has inspired Chef Reddy to dive into the culinary field. Chef Reddy was with his father when they met a professional chef in one of the many train rides they took together when he was young. The young Reddy was drawn into the interesting stories of the chef, of his travels, kitchen stories and how food is created from farm to table. Since then, he was certain what he wanted to do in the future — go into culinary school and just be like the chef he met on the train.
Fast forward 25 years, Chef Reddy is now the Executive Sous Chef of the InterContinental Muscat. He has been honing his skills in different kitchens around the region preparing both the local cuisines he grew up with and fusion dishes inspired by the countries he lived in. He likes to experiment, combine the old techniques with the modern ones without compromising the taste.
Asked on what else he would like to do in the future, he is quick to say that he wanted to open his own restaurant which will carry his name. He wanted each and every cuisine be a signature of his talent and passion for his chosen field. That wherever his guests travelled to, they will be reminded of the dishes they have tried at the restaurant by Chef Reddy.
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