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For garnishing food one should use one’s imagination and Ingenuity. A bland dish is made more distinctive and appetizing by a touch of artistic decoration. Food and drinks will have more visual appeal as well as aesthetic effect if garnished well.

For a main dish of rice, say pulao or Biriyani , fried onion rings, Potato straws or kismis and nuts are excellent. Potato straws can be made by slicing raw potatoes into julienne. Fry them crisp. Colouring with cochineal will make it more attractive. For vegetable pulao, sprinkle raw grated carrot or pineapple. Plain boiled rice will look attractive if topped with grated coconut, dyed in different colours.

Flowers can be carved out of baby tomatoes. Slit the top into 4 or 6 and pull back the segments leaving the seeds in the centre. Grated cheese too is a good item for garnishing.

A dish of stuffed or sliced fried fish may be lined with slices of lime, capsicum or cucumber. Potato finger chips are a good accompaniment with roast chops. Even baby potatoes and onions will add to the presentation. In a dish of stuffed chicken, two or three boiled eggs kept at the proper place will look attractive. Coriander and mint leaves may be added to cutlets or kababs.

Modeling with mashed potato is really an art. You can shape it into a fish or a bird as the case may be. Use onion slices for fins, pepper for eyes lettuce for wings, etc…

There are endless varieties of garnishing for puddings, chopped nuts, chocolates, dry fruits, to name a few candied peels in different colours, or fresh orange peel give good flavour. Glaced cherries or Cadbury’s gems will look very attractive too. Try and press them on to the top of the pudding to form design. Plain ice cream may be crowned with caramel, chocolate sauce, or crushed pistachios, fruit puree, etc…

Soft drinks may be garnished with mint leaves, diced apple, cherries or grapes. Top cold lime juice with lime rind, and orange juice with orange peel, and a pineapple juice with any aromatic herb.

Kerala Recipes