Shagorana Taal

I was invited to a wedding on Christmas day and one of the requests from the bride's side was that i create a platter for the Groom, which we in Bengali call 'shagorana taal'. This is a platter of rice, roast chicken, kebabs, boiled eggs and vegetable garnishes.

In traditional Bangladeshi weddings, the Groom is invited to partake in the eating of this platter with his new bride's brothers, sisters, cousins etc before eating his main meal. It is all a bit of fun where his new brother in laws might try to stuff an entire egg in his mouth, or not let him swallow before feeding him something else.

It was the first time i was asked to do something of this magnitude, and i say this magnitude because it was very grand (if i say so myself!) Again, traditionally, the night before the wedding all the elder ladies of the family get together and make this platter, but it was little ol' me on my lonesome, but i think it worked out better this way.

As i needed to complete this for a 7pm wedding, i started the evening before prepping all the cold garnishes i needed, such as the radishes, peppers and mooli tail feathers. I also marinated the king of the platter, the humble roast chicken, in a paste which was made from a blend of onions, oil, garlic, ginger, salt, turmeric, chilli powder, curry powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala, methi and coriander leaves. I also made my mix for the kebabs the night before too, to allow me more time on the wedding day.

The day after, i cooked the rice dish first which was a very simple cumin rice with peas. Then i slowly started to make more garnishes such as leek ribbons, cucumber flowers, and coloured eggs. I put the chicken in the oven 2 hours before i needed it to allow it to cook properly. I cooked the kebabs about 30 minutes before i needed it, and i made the mashed potato 10 minutes before i needed it.

Then it was time to assemble the platter. I started by laying the cumin rice all over the taal, edging the rice with lemon and cucumber slices. Then i got the chilen and put it into the centre and started covering it in mashed potato. I put cold water on my hands to smooth the mashed potato, and then i used a mooli as the chicken head, using the mashed potato to anchor it in place. Then i slowly started placing all the kebabs, and garnished around the chicken to fill it's garden if you will. The final garnish were the mooli feathers which were gently placed in the back of the chicken. After using a red pepper slice as the turban for the Groom, the taal was complete.

It was a huge undertaking in my opinion, but i was so happy when i saw the end result. I felt really proud to say that i had done it. And i would gladly do it all over again! I hope you enjoy looking at the pictures as much as i do!

Yaz ❤