Judging Ekal Vidyalaya Contest

I have been running late on my posts with so much to tell my readers and so little time.
I told you a few weeks ago that I would be judging a unique contest for the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation.

Ekal Vidyalaya is a charitable trust that initiates, supports, and runs non-formal one-teacher schools (popularly known as Ekal Vidyalayas) in remote tribal areas all over India. It promotes literacy and education to those who otherwise would not have the opportunity.

Almost all the food was Indian food and since we had to judge on creativity, I had the assistance of Ava, the lady who put together this whole event. She explained what the dishes were supposed to taste like (since I wasn't familiar with every single Indian food) and then I had to give it a mark on creativity, taste, health factors,
and appearance. It was such a fun thing to do.
The other judges were Jay from Gastrolust and Sunita Shastri, creator and distributor of Meghana foods.

Dessert was my favorite choice, the winner was Vijayalakshmi Ramaswami, with Tomato Coconut Halwa. In the appetizer category, the first prize winner was Vaishali Jadal with Watermelon Soup.

Later they had an auction and the prize that I contributed was a foodie tour in and around the Pike Place Market with me. Last Saturday I met up with the winners (my new friends) and we trekked around the market to all the specialty stores, discussing our favorite foods and spices.


For a peak at my favorite places in the market, click here for part 1
Click here for part 2
Click here for part 3

Thanks Ava for putting together this event. Does anyone have any Indian recipes that I should try. Please send to kerenlovestocook@gmail.com