Shivajinagar: Varsha Dobhada emerged as the winner of the ‘Daawat Punyachi Sugaran’ competition organised by Saptahik Sakal and Tanishka magazines published by the Sakal Media Group on Wednesday. She was awarded the prize by the celebrity chef, Sanjeev Kapoor. Also present on the occasion were Mrinal Mathur and Ritu Oza from Lt Foods and chief manager of Sakal Magazine, Hari Yadav.

Dobhada was selected for her recipe, ‘Poushtik Baked Daawat Basmati Roll with Raita’. Seema Nalawade and Priya Vaidya were awarded the second and third prize respectively.

Kapoor tasted the basmati rice dishes cooked by all the contestants present at Hotel Pride for the final round of the competition on Wednesday.
Giving tips to the contestants, Kapoor said, “Whenever something is cooked for a competition, the judges tend to look at it before they taste it. Hence, presentation of the recipe is very important.”

Kapoor encouraged contestants to always innovate with their recipes but never to compromise on the taste. “Taste is paramount for which the fineness of cooking is important. For this, food must be evenly cooked and should have the required aroma and seasoning,” he added.
Kapoor stressed that he believes food cooked with positive energy tastes good and hence everyone must cook food with joy.

“When I am not judging food professionally, I never tend to criticise any food item. I always find something good in each recipe. I feel that in day-to-day life people tend to focus more on the negativity. Instead, it’s important that people see the positive side in everything,” said Kapoor.