Nordic flavours for Punjabi taste buds

Neha Saini

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 13

Not exactly known for its gourmet food, the Icelandic cuisine has rather earned a reputation for its limited food options and weird food practices. Primarily being a fish-abundant nation, the country, around a century ago, with a total population of about 50,000 was known to consume food that was preserved or fermented.

“But that was before 1900s. Today, Iceland’s cuisine offers as much variety as any other western cuisine,” said Icelandic Ambassader HE Gudmundur Arni Stefánsson, who represented his country’s food culture at the ongoing World Heritage Cuisine Summit. Accompanied by his wife Jona Dora Karlsdottir, Stefansson talked about the country’s food heritage. “We are known for our fish, given that we are surrounded by ocean. We have Nordic influences in our cuisine and till date traditional methods of cooking are still adopted by people. But we are also becoming self sufficient as are growing vegetables. The consumption of grains and plant-based food is also increasing,” he said.

Excited over the fact that the Indian food market is gradually opening up to new cuisines, he said that in his capacity, he was trying to build a market for Iceland’s food resources in India. “We are just beginning to market our cuisine internationally and soon, Iceland’s official airlines will launch direct flights between New Delhi and Reykjavik so that import-export of food products can be easily done. It’s a great opportunity for food exchange between the two cultures.”

Meanwhile, Gssur Gudmundsson, chef from the Nordic country known for its whale meat, displayed a traditional holiday recipe using lamb meat at the international masterclass. “Iceland’s food has a long history. Before the 19th century, given the harsh climate and scarcity of any vegetation, the staple food primarily consisted of meat, dairy and fish. Mostly, the food was preserved through pickling or fermentation to last longer. But the modern Iceland cuisine incorporates all sorts of vegetables,” he said. The lamb, he said, used for the preparation is a ‘free lamb’, found in mountains and, “Since we never had any candies in Iceland, we sue to add some sweetness in our traditional recipes so as to please the kids.”

As far as the Indian cuisine is concerned, Gudmundsson, who is coming to India for the first time, “It’s incredible. I have traveled quite a lot during my visit here and the food here changes its flavors and technique every few kilometers here. It will take a lifetime for me to try out all the amazing things on the Indian platter,” he said.