Cuisines from 40 nations tickle residents’ taste buds

Neha Saini

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 12

In 2013, Mediterranean diet, which involves not just ingredients found in the region but also the food habits, rituals, culture and traditions related to cooking, was enlisted in UNESCO’s intangible heritage list. Taking a slice out of the famed Mediterranean cuisine, chefs from Croatia, a belt that is equally famous for its food than the rest of its Mediterranean neighbours, did a masterclass at the World Heritage Cuisine Summit and Food Festival that was inaugurated by Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu at Qila Gobindgarh. The fest witnessed chefs from 40 countries, bring the delicacies popular in their places.

The opening day of the international gourmet food festival saw a series of masterclasses and live demonstrations from countries, whose cuisine is lesser known yet significant. Croatia was one of them. The small coastal region, known for its peasant style cooking traditions and lavish spread of seafood and vegetation, had representatives Ivana Grudenic and Erich Glavica preparing a staple food, Mlinci.

“Mlinci is a flatbread that is quite similar to the Indian roti, only it is made by using fat or egg. It is a traditional recipe from the 15th century and one of the most interesting stories behind it,” said Ivana. Just like all great discoveries, Mlinci too happened by accident. “The custom of eating roasted Mlinci with stuffed turkey or duck started in Zagorje, a Croatian northeast region in the 15th century. At that time the food was simple. During the peasant revolt, the wife of their leader Ambroz Matiza Gubece, who was an inexperienced cook, used the uncooked pieces of bread as a side dish, mixed into a gravy. To people, it tasted delicious and the recipe stuck,” said Ivana.

Making duck with Mlinci, Ivana said that original recipe of Mlinci is kept in a treasury of Zagreb Cathedral.

Drink of champions

Another such interesting food story comes from Kenya, a land known for producing world’s best athletes. The team of chefs Avraj Marwa and Joseph Machasia displayed the recipe for Mursik, which is known as champion’s drink. “It is what fuels the Kenyan jets,” says Avraj. “It’s a yogurt-based drink that is fermented for 15 days underground, mixed with ask of Octane tree bark, unique to Kenyan landscape. This is a drink known for its energy value and nutrition,” he says.

Another recipe from the land of lesser known food culture was Kuane Bil, a dish similar to Polenta. Avraj, who has Indian roots, says that the Kenyan cuisine is quite unique due to its ingredients. “We have 47 tribes in Kenya, all having specific food rituals and culture. Our coastal belt is more inspired by Arabic cuisine while the central Kenyan region has food that is basic and simple, rich in specific ingredient.”

Chefs from other countries too shared details of their cuisines and what made these special, besides sharing the origin of the same.

A good rush was witnessed at the fest, particularly in the morning and evening hours. Most of the people had come with their families to taste as many cuisines they could.

Meanwhile, Thomas Gugler, chairman of the World Chef Association, hailed the Indian food, adding that it held a place of pride among the world cuisines. The organisers thanked the state government for its support.