KOCHI: He comes from the land wrought in war for years, but ‘Farrouj Meshwi’ and ‘Chicken Shawarma’ that he concocts on charcoal grills are filled with warmth. Chef Abdulkhader Zeitoun brings forth the rich legacy of West Asia to the Kochiites through the ten-day ‘Arabian Food festival’ that started at ‘Mosaic’ Restaurant of Crowne Plaza Kochi on Friday. The Syrian chef with a rich expertise of over 15 years at Lebanese and West Asian cuisine introduces a potpourri of authentic Arabian mezze (salads), grills, vegetarian delicacies and mouth-watering desserts that he has carefully chosen from West Asian and Mediterranean platter.
Since delicacies like shawarmas, kebabs and fried rices are the absolute hot picks of the people of Kerala, the festival is an opportunity to taste the authentic varieties of these dishes from the land from where they are originally from.
Starting from Mezzes and piping hot soups, there is a unique taste to every dish that we savour. “The food dip, ‘Hummus’, made of mashed chickpeas blended with lemon juice, salt, garlic and decored with pomegranate seeds is a fine way to start the fest,” informs the chef who is from Crowne Plaza, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi . The fest offers different varieties of hummus like ‘Hummus Beiruty’, ‘Hummus Istanbuly’. Mutabal, a cold mezze from Lebanon that is made of eggplant, is another appetising dish. Beetroot Mutabal is also available in the cyclic menu. “’Fattoush’ made of mixed vegetables, ‘Eggplant moussaka’ prepared with eggplant and cheese casserole and ‘Tabbouleh’ prepared using tomatoes, parsley, mint, onion, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and salt are much popular dishes in Middle East,” says the chef. The platter also offers other mezzes like ‘Labneh W Zattar’, Mudardara’, ‘Baba Ganouj’. Soups include lentil, mushroom, chicken and meatball soups.
The appetizers are aromatic and one-pot wonders. ‘Chicken Wings Provencal’ is a mouth-watering starter that is rich with chicken, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. ‘Batata Harra’ or ‘potato harra’ is a vegetarian delicacy prepared with potatoes, red peppers, coriander, chilli, and garlic. “Among the Lebanese people, this is a much sought-after dish,” says the chef. He says that the tastes and food habits are much varied from place to place in West Asia. “While the people of Damascus prefer mildly spiced dishes, the case is different with the inhabitants of Turkey,” he says. The chef adds, “Most of the dishes are meat based. Lamb, especially Australian lamb is mainly used to prepare dishes.” ‘Chicken Wings Mutaffah, ‘Spinach Fattayar’, ‘Falafel W Taratour’ are some of the hot Arabic appetisers.
Grilled non-vegetarian varieties are the signature Arabic delicacies, says the chef. From the vast platter, he has chosen the classic Lebanese ‘Fish Sayadieh’, prepared with fish, butter, onion and cumin seeds. The fish is topped with brown tinted rice that got the colour from burnt onions. ‘Lamb with green peas’, ‘Kebab Kashkash’, ‘Oriental rice w lamb’ are some of the other non vegetarian dishes. For the vegans, there are ‘Eggplant Moussaka’, ‘Spinach stuffed vegetables’, ‘Makaly Mix’ and many other enticing dishes. For the shawarma lovers here, there are chicken and meat shawarma that are more appetising than the variety that we get here.
To end the festival in fashion, one can go for ‘Um Ali’, a sweet dessert made of buttery croissant, sugar, cinnamon, pistachio and raisins. “We usually use left over croissant to make the sweet,” says the chef. ‘Muhalbaya’, prepared with milk, sugar, rosewater and coconut powder is also equally delectable. The festival also offers regular international cuisine. The dinner buffet is priced at `950 including taxes. Festival timing is from 7 to 11 pm.