Festival Review
‘ ‘The Culture of Taste’
By
Premola Ghose
As the lights dimmed in the Fountain Lawns and the last notes died away, the Rose Garden awoke to fairy lights and candles. Here for seven nights the IIC presented food from the different rivers of the world.
The opening night served the hearty cuisine of ‘the land of the five rivers’, Punjab, presented by ITC Consultant, Ms Salma Husain. Arabian and Eastern Meditteranean flavours were brought to us by Mrs Magda Singh in an Egyptian dinner. In addition to the variety of mezes, delectable dolmas and shish kebabs, there was Koushari, a popular dish of brown lentils, rice, macaroni and chickpeas and the wonderful desserts, Om Aly, pastry doused with milk, cream and nuts and Balah el Sham, choux pastry in a syrup, a relative of our gulab jamun.
From the Brahmputra river, the Assamese Women’s Association gave us a sampling of their delicate cuisine of fish, rice and a variety of lightly flavoured vegetables especially a green papaya dish called Khar which is eaten at the start of the meal to cleanse the system.
Jazz and New Orleans and we are on the Mississippi! Cajun food represents the hybrid culture of the region, of the Canadians who settled in Louisiana and Creole, with its African roots grew up in New Orleans. The IIC’s Chef, Vijay Thukral, presented this dinner and there were some wonderful dishes like the Blackened Chicken Breast, Roast Pork with Cajun Stuffing, Green Herb Vegetable Gumbo, baked sweet potatoes and Bread Pudding with Cranberry Sauce. The Thai dinner prepared by Chef Vijay and his staff, recreated the flavours of the Mekong river, aromatic with lime leaves, lemon grass, galangal and tempered with coconut milk–the red and green curries, fish with tamarind and chilli sauce, or tofu with chilli basil sauce or the wonderful range of greens in a yellow bean sauce which brought an endless variety of tastes to the diner. Also prepared entirely by the Centre’s staff was ‘Dining along the Kaveri’ from Kodagu to Thanjavur. There were mutton and chicken dishes from Coorg, Mysore bondas and rasam, the large variety of vegetarian dishes, such as avial, stuffed brinjals, porrial, assorted rice platters and appam from Mysore and Tamil Nadu, and a Tamilian peasant fish curry.
As part of the Narmada Parikrama exhibition and dance recital, the food from Bundelkhand and Malwa formed the third element. Prepared by Chef A. K. Sen of M. P. Tourism, this dinner presented some of the finest vegetarian food. Influenced by the neighbouring states of Rajasthan and UP as well as the resident Maharashtrian population, some of the interesting dishes included Malwa Masala Papad, Indrahaar and Ghuian ki Subji and in the non-vegetarian section were Chicken Rezala andBhopali Mutton Biryani, a legacy of the Nawabs.
The festival ended with Birju Maharaj and his disciples in a splendid Kathak recital enriched by the Urdu recitations of Saeed Naqvi. The closing dinner was the sumptuous Nawabi food of Rampur presented by Chef Munna. The highlights were: Chapli kabab and Nargisi Seekh Kabab, Kali Mirch ka Chicken and Tar Gosht; dal cha, made of urad dal served with a variety of garnishes; a variety of chutneys; and desserts such as gulatti, shahi tukra, and sevaiyan. It was indeed a fitting finale to the IIC Experience.
A big ‘thank you’ to the Kitchen for presenting this varied and delicious fare!
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