News: Sunil Puthran & Puttaraju
Dammam, Dec 9: Under the dwindling summer sunshine at the farm house in Dammam 91 area, in the warmth of a spacious villa courtyard, MASA Food Festival aptly titled ‘Oggarane’ 2019 kicked off with the ribbon cutting by MASA president Naveen Bhandary along with ExCom and advisory committee members at the deck.
Naveen Bhandary welcomed the large crowd of members and guests. Ravi Karkera and Mohammed Nooman introduced all the stall owners along with their stall names and their delicious dishes before the President inaugurated the event. General secretary and advisory committee members while addressing the gathering wished all guests and members to enjoy the Food Festival thoroughly. Apart from the eight Food Stalls, Pan Stall, Juke box and popular Rings Corner were the added attraction.
Creatively decorated stalls in a myriad of seasonal colors created the right note for an afternoon family brunch. People who arrived in large numbers from various parts of India smelt the pungent spicy aroma of traditional Mangalurean food, wafting in recognizable familiar smell of wholesome food.
Following attractive stalls were at service:
1. Tammana
2. Royal Darbar
3. Mumbai Chat House
4. Mumbai Food Court
5. Chavadi
6. Namma Kudla
7. Costal Bite
8. Grillzz & Kababzz
9. Sheethal Pan Stall
10. Rings Corner (for games)
11. MASA Juke Box (for entertainment)
Name it and you had it, a variety of specialties and delicacies from the South Coast Mangalurean city, Tandoori, Mughlai, Arabic dishes, mouthwatering homemade food were at disposal. The better-known Mangalurean gastronomy dishes were served, variety of Sukka items like Kori Sukka, Jenji Sukka, Squid/Bandas Sukka, Marvayi Sukka, Prawns Sukka, Kadle Manoli, Mensinkai, etc.
Rice items like Idli, Kottige, Jeera Rice Pulao, Veg Tali, Biriyani, Seme, Pundi, Gatti, Neer Dose, Gundadde, Pundi Marvai, different types of Fish Fry, Fish Curry, Puli Munchi, Chicken Curry, were at display. Variety of Dosas, Highway & Junglee Kababs, Mutton Chops, Grilled Prawns, Chicken Sticks, various Tikkas and to sweeten the waggling tongues lovely deserts like Payasa, Custard, Fruit Salad, Sweets were also added attractions.
Delightful Snacks such as Bhel Puri, Pav Bhaji, Pani Puri, Dahi Batata Sev Uuri, Paneer Bonda, Biscuit Roti, Buns, Gatti, Browneies, Toast Sandwich, Egg Omlet, Holige and various soft drinks like Jal Jeeras, Faloodas, fresh Water Melon Juice squeezed from the blenders Special Soda Drinks, Ice Cola, Kala Katta, Thunder Malai drink with some cool toppings were eye catching and soothing to the thirsty throats, along with Hot Chocolate. Tea and coffee were also available in different stalls to enlighten the evening mood.
Large holiday crowd cordoned the area with buzz and fanfare grabbing opportunity to scramble over the scrumptious delicacies spread over the colorful stalls backed with lightening music and games to evolve the place with a festive atmosphere of carnival. The decorative stalls and colorful cordon of chefs in adorable costumes was a treat to watch. The scenes at the stalls were boisterous with the aroma of galaxy foods from every corner bringing the crowd at their feet to flock the stalls soon after the inauguration.
The stall owners attracted customers towards their stalls by screaming on top of their voice with or without mic. Buoyed by the sumptuous offers from every stall the mood aggravated the spirits of people and suddenly you could see a bee hive at every corner which further engulfed the atmosphere.
People of all ages you could actually count and watch the young and old queuing up to either consume instantly or asking the stall owners to parcel the food for them. Each and every one enjoyed the moment to the fullest extent.
People also thoroughly enjoyed watching traditional ‘Taraida Katta’ led by specialists like Narendra Shetty, Gopal Shetty, amateur player Kumar Bist and others which attracted huge crowds from all age groups.
The Rings Corner led by Ravi Karkera and team attracted by kids, teens and adults, spotting the target by throwing the ring on the desired pick was a huge success as everyone in the cordon tried their luck. People enjoyed a lot and generously contributed as the collections are deemed for a noble cause.
As the evening progressed traditional tea break brought in organized games with some stalls offering discount sale.
A colorful hitting the pot (Mosaru Kudike) play to entertain the crowd in the evening was organized by Kudla Adventures Dammam Group. Nagaraj and Aditya Jitesh Kottara were the winners awarded with prizes sponsored by Gopal Shetty.
Young volunteers encouraged members and guests in buying MASA raffle tickets under the supervision of Puttaraju. Three winners claimed attractive prizes.
The sponsors for the event were:
Artland Transport Services, Ravi Karkera, Madhav Amin, Dayanand Shriyan, Naveen Bhandary, Sunil Puthran, Najib Al Hajri, Tammana Group, Grillzz & Kababzz (Ameer Hussain), Coastal Bites, Niranjan Karkera
Winners: Masa Food Festival ‘Oggarane 2019’
Best Hygienic Stall:
First Place : Mumbai Chat House and Mumbai Food Court
Second Place : Namma Kudla
Third Place : Chavadi and Tammana
Beverage:
First Place : Grillzz & Kababzz
Second Place : Chavadi
Third Place : Tammana
Snack Item:
First Place : Mumbai Chat House
Second Place : Chavadi and Grilzz & Kababzz
Third Place : Coastal Bites
Best Food (Chicken Sukka):
First Place : Tammana
Second Place : Namma Kudla
Third Place : Mumbai Food Court and Chavadi,
Judges:
Main Course & Beverage: Jaya Verma, Ronald Fernandes, Vincent Saldana, and Abdul Azeez
Snack Item: Umarabba, Rameshchandra Naik, and Ravi Karkera
Hygienic: Usman Hosangadi, Puttaraju, and Rajesh Anchan
Judging was carried out under the supervision of advisory committee members, Madhav Amin and Ravi Karkera.
Deputy entertainment committee head, Mohammed Nooman presented the vote of thanks. During the concluding ceremony, Ravi Karkera thanked and saluted MASA volunteers for their utmost dedication and strenuous work continuously from previous night in installing and decorating the stalls at the venue. Heartfelt thanks to Gopal Shetty, Naveen Bhandary, Ravi Karkera, Satish Bajal, Usman Hosangadi, Ganesh Karkera, Niranjan Karkera, Praveen Peter Aranha, Suresh M J, Sohan Shetty, Naveen Vijay, Roopesh Suvarna, Ashwath Rai, Rajesh Anchan, Harish Poojary, Balakrishna Shetty, Pradeep Kodikal and Anirudh Sudarshan Sanil for their animated service. He also thanked all the stall owners for their efforts and sponsors for their generous contributions.
President Naveen Bhandary and general secretary Gopal Shetty also thanked and appreciated the efforts of MASA Members, sponsors, stall owners and volunteers for gracing and supporting the event. The spectacular MASA Food Festival ‘Oggarane 2019’ ended with the singing of national anthem. Members and guests will meet once again at the upcoming MASA event, Annual Day on December 20 at Crystal Hall Dammam.