Turkey rules roost on festive menus

Come Christmas,and menus in most restaurants here boast of a new star ingredient turkey.

Come Christmas,and menus in most restaurants here boast of a new star ingredient turkey. The big hotels have made it a ritual of introducing special dishes for the festive season,typically roast turkey and other dishes.

Over the past few years,Pune has warmed up to turkey meat,though the demand for it is the highest during Christmas. The demand is high during Thanksgiving and Christmas. In the past couple of years the market has only improved, said Navtej Sawhney of Arthurs Theme,which most turkey meat aficionados frequent. Weve even had people demand for the whole bird when there is a group of 10-or-so coming in, he added.

Capella Farms near Saswad experiences feverish demand from across the country for turkeys before and during Christmas. We have supplied close 2,500 turkeys for this season,and we are expecting orders for 500 more, said Amrit Benjamin,farm manager.

Jayant Patil,owner of The Patio patisserie in Aundh,said,Turkey goes out of stock soon in this season as it is block-booked almost six months in advance. We usually stock turkey slices,but with turkey out-of-stock for this season,we have customised grilled chicken with turkey-like filling.

Turkey meat is also gaining acceptance for health benefits,as it is leaner and more protein-rich than chicken. Terttulia in Koregaon Park is another popular eatery that has taken to the turkey this year. We also have a lot of demand for our turkey take-aways. We have marinated turkey stock,which people can take home and cook. This way,they neednt buy the whole bird, said Imrun Sethi of Terttulia. A full bird could weigh up to five kg and takes longer to cook. Turkey salami,sausages,cold cuts and slices are more popular among households.

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