Captain Cook: Punjab CM Amarinder Singh rustles up delicacies for Olympians

Amarinder hosts dinner for Tokyo medal winners at his Siswan farmhouse in Mohali. The Olympians feasted on mutton khara pishori, laung elachi chicken, aaloo korma, dal masri, murg korma, dugani biryani, zarda rice (sweet dish) and other royal delicacies prepared and served by Captain himself

Keeping his promise, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh hosted a lavish dinner for Punjab’s Olympic medal winners and gold medallist Neeraj Chopra at his Siswan farmhouse near Chandigarh on Wednesday.

Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh serves mouth-watering delicacies to Olympian and gold medal winner Neeraj Chopra at a special dinner hosted by him at his farmhouse in Mohali on Wednesday. (PTI)

The chief minister, who prepared the mouth-watering delicacies himself, personally served food to his special guests. “The food always tastes better if served directly from the cooking vessel,” said the chief minister.

On the platter were: Mutton khara pishori, laung elachi chicken, aaloo korma, dal masri, murg korma, dugani biryani and zarda rice (sweet dish).

“I started at 11 in the morning, and most of it was done by around 5 pm. Then it was time for some final touches. I loved every minute of it,” said the chief minister. “They (sportspersons) have worked so hard to win us glory, what I have done for them is nothing in comparison to it,” Amarinder remarked.

Hockey Captain Manpreet Singh said he had heard about the Maharaja’s cooking but what he savoured exceeded his expectations. “It was rich and excellent food,” said Tokyo sensation Neeraj Chopra.

The other special guests for the evening included Harmanpreet Singh (Hockey vice-captain) and his teammates Mandeep Singh, Hardik Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Shamsher Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Varun Kumar and Simranjit Singh.

Women hockey semi-finalist Gurjit Kaur and Reena Khokhar, reserve hockey player Krishan Bahadur Pathak and Olympics finalist discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur, were also among the guests.

Olympics race-walker Gurpreet Singh and shooter Angadveer Singh Bajwa also attended the dinner.

Amarinder had promised such a meal to the Punjab players who had participated and also won medals at the Tokyo Olympics during a felicitation function last month. It was Kamalpreet Kaur who initiated this request to him during the felicitation function.

“The Punjab CM has a big heart. I requested him for such a get-together, and he was kind enough to agree to it. It feels wonderful when a person of his stature values athletes. I will never forget this gesture,” said Kamalpreet, who hails from Kabar Wala, Malout, a village in Muktsar district. She had finished sixth in the discus throw event at Tokyo.

Amarinder had said during the function that he was not a foodie but loved cooking for his guests.

Pargat doesn’t show up

Punjab Congress general secretary and Jalandhar Cantt MLA Pargat Singh, a former India hockey captain, was also invited for the dinner, but he did not show up. “He was to coordinate with the medal winners along with Sodhi for the event,” said sources. However, Pargat, who has been critical of the chief minister, said he did not receive any invite.