Sharjah 24: Priyanka Naik, a renowned vegan chef and author, shared her culinary skills with a captivated audience during the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival. Naik, a first-generation Indian-American chef with a significant online following, showcased her expertise in preparing spinach-stuffed eggplant rolls with a walnut crunch.

With ease and precision, Priyanka Naik demonstrated how to prepare eggplant, first by laying the slices on a large sheet pan for ten minutes after salting it, which "helps in releasing the bitterness." She then proceeded to grind a variety of spices, including cumin and coriander seeds, red chilli powder, and nutmeg, using a mortar and pestle to create a coarse mixture.

Priyanka's recipe required cooking the eggplant for three to five minutes on each side, flipping with tongs until tender and browned. The crowd watched as Priyanka moved on to create the all-important filling, adding fragrant spices, onion, garlic, and spinach, and testing it with a taste.

The final step of the chef's recipe involved rolling the eggplant and serving it with a mint-parsley sauce, scallions, and toasted walnuts. "These travel really well, so don’t be afraid to pack them up in your tiffin and hit the road," she quipped.

Rahaf Messaudi, an Algerian attendee, appreciated the "burst of flavours" that Priyanka's dish provided. The 13-year-old remarked that the taste grew on her, starting with an unassuming first bite. Meanwhile, Albatoul Charifa Ammour, her friend, found the dish a little too spicy for her palate, but she still found it enjoyable and unique.

Priyanka Naik, the author of ‘The Modern Tiffin’, has also contributed as a columnist for The Washington Post and appeared on popular TV programmes like ‘The Today Show’ and ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’. Her sustainable and vegan recipes have garnered her a large following online, with hundreds of thousands of people eager to learn her techniques and try her innovative dishes.