food
Festivals are an interesting way to celebrate glorious heritage, culture, traditions and most importantly food. Did you know that food festivals can be traced back to thousands of years? In the past food festivals were means of uniting communities through celebrations of harvests and giving thanks for a plentiful growing season. The arrival of harvest time, the autumnal equinox, and the honouring of Earth Gods were celebrated with much fun and fervour.
Nowadays, food festivals are celebrated in style, keeping the traditions in mind, in different regions. In our country the credit goes to the hospitality industry for bringing exotic cuisines from around the world to us. As soon as you hear that a food festival is being held in your city, the thought of freshly prepared food and its aroma instantly starts tingling our taste buds. Why are we talking about food, you ask? Well, recently, two food festivals were held in Karachi. You will have to read on to find out about the yummilicious treats that were offered at both the festivals...
Turkish delicacies are largely the continuation of Ottoman cuisine. Since the days of the powerful Ottoman empire, Turkey has also been at the centre of trade, especially in spice. Because Turkey is nestled between Asia and Europe, hence the food is a unique fusion with influences from many countries. They use a lot of vegetables, herbs and fish. And other commonly used ingredients for their dishes include lamb, beef, chicken, eggplants, nuts, garlic and lentils.
A few days back we got the chance to enjoy Turkish cuisine at Avari Towers, Karachi. And what a treat it was. The soft music playing in the background and the entire place adorned with Turkish flags gave a perfect setting for food enthusiasts to enjoy authentic dishes of Turkey. The best thing about the food was the balance of flavours, in terms of spices and seasoning. There were plenty of meat dishes along with the right amount of lentils, yoghurt and veggies (especially eggplants).
Moving on to the dishes! Any meal is incomplete without soup and ‘Tomato, Capsicum and Rice Soup with Goats Curd and Coriander’ was just amazing. Not to forget the salads and starters that were quite tempting to look at and tasted as good as it looked. Some of the yummy salads and dips included ‘Hummus’, ‘Mutable’, ‘Baba Ganouch’, ‘Smokey Eggplant’, ‘Beetroot and Yoghurt Dips’, ‘Chicken and Walnut Salad’, ‘Squids with Potatoes, Olives and Orange-Paprika Vinaigrette’, ‘Stuffed Eggplant with Tomato Chilli Oil’, ‘Lentil, Mint and Feta Salad with Pomegranate Dressing’ etc.
The main course had a lot of rice and meat options along with a variety of seafood like ‘Fatteh Bil Lahme with Lettuce, Chickpeas and Minted Yoghurt’, ‘Pistachio Kebabs with Tomato Chilli Sauce’, ‘Turkish Mix Grill Kebab’, ‘Eggplant-Wrapped Chicken Drumsticks with Roast Capsicum and Almonds’, ‘Fish Pilaki with Celeriac’, ‘Cabbage, Chicken and Rice Dolmas’ and many more. Another mouth-watering delight was ‘Lahmacun’ - just like pizza but without cheese. It is basically a flat bread dish with minced meat, onions, herbs and tomato paste.
The desserts offered at festival were divine too and included ‘The Celebrated Baklava of Gaziantep’, ‘Pistachio-Semolina Cake’, ‘Coffee Custards with Halva Pastries’, ‘Cherry Bread Pudding with Almond Cream’, ‘Rose and Pistachio Sweetmeats’ and the list goes on.
At the occasion, Executive Chef Imran said, “Turkish Cuisine is always a pleasant surprise for the food lovers.” And surely it was!
Recently, Pearl Continental Hotel, Karachi, in collaboration with the Moroccan Consulate held ‘Moroccan Food Festival 2017’, at the Marco Polo Restaurant, which was a 2 day festival. Mr. Rehan Faiz Pirzada - GM Pearl Continental Hotel Karachi received the esteemed Chief Guest - the Ambassador of Morocco to Pakistan H.E. Mr. Mohamed Karmoune and the Honorary Consul General of Morocco to Pakistan Mr. Ishtiaq Baig, and Guests of honour for the event Mr. Zubair Tufail President FPCCI. The event started off with an official ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by some Moroccan instrumental musical performance, and of course dinner. The highlight of the event was Chef Issam Bouzidi who had especially flown in for the festival. For the 2-day festival spices and key Moroccan food ingredients were all imported from Morocco. The entire place was decked up with Moroccan flags and the authentic food made the experience way more delightful.