Women chefs holding the reins of a master kitchen is often a rarity. And, if the masterchef is from the so-called conservative Syria or Lebanon, then she has to be a wonder woman.
Meet Chef Jameela Zakey, born to a Syrian father and Lebanese mother, who has flown down from Bangalore to tickle the palattes of Kochiites with an interesting mix of Lebanese, Syrian and other West Asian cuisine at Crowne Plaza.
“It is the first time I am coming to Kerala and I am already in love with the place and its hospitable people,” says Jameela who explored the world of flavours from her chef husband Zakey Abdul Gani and her in-laws.
“I was born in a conservative family and till my marriage, I was a shy person. But, my in-laws and husband are downright opposite, who asked me to explore my passion and motivated me to take up cooking as a profession. My husband is a restaurateur too,” says Jameela who manages a Mediterranean speciality restaurant along with her husband in Bangalore.
Chef Jameela, who will be spreading out a mix of Lebanese dishes for the Arabian Food Festival here, says: “Usually people have the perception that Lebanese cuisine is blunt but it is not. In the dishes we do use spices, olives, olive oil, yeast, lots of herbs and veggies. The cuisine has lots of salads, dips and grilled food which are more on the healthier side. And another misconception that one has is about the cuisine being mostly non-veg. Like our vast non-veg platter, equally exhaustive is our veg menu.”
The Mediterranean
Platter
The Mosaic Restaurant at Crowne Plaza is decked with the paraphrenalia that recreates the ambience of Arabian Tales. It offers a tantalising buffet spread prepared by Jameela, besides the normal one. Foodies are welcomed with a glass of Arabic coffee ‘Gawah’ with dates to enhance the flavours. The coffee is made with saffron and cardamom.
One can start of by sipping into piping hot soups like ‘Shorba bil adas’ (lentil and chicken soup), Makhloota (bean and grain soup), or the mix veg soup ‘Shorba ma kadravath’, among many.
Moving on to the salad counter, Jameela has in store some of the favourite salads like Al Fattoush (toasted bread salad tossed in olive oil) and Tabbouleh (parsley and tomato salad with bulgur).
After having the juicy salads, take your tastebuds to another authentic treat of Kibbeh Lebaniye. “It is an Arabic dish broken wheat is stuffed with minced mutton or have Kousa mashi where zucchini is stuffed with either cheese of minced mutton,” says the 41-year-old chef who has associated with Taj Group of hotels and Leela group among many.
Kabsa biriyanis and Ouzi are chef Jemeela’s signature dishes from the menu. “For Kabsa biriyanis we use basmati rice and not much spices go in. Ouzi is another traditional dish where whole lamb is roasted in Lebanese spices. It is made when a respected guest visits our home,” explains Jameela. In the maincourse, ‘Dijaj bil basal’ (chicken in rich onion sause), ‘Bamia mi lahme’ (lamb with okra) are some of the must-have’s from the non-veg spread.
Meanwhile for the vegetarians, the platter offers ‘Batinjan bil bechamel’ (baked eggplant in white sauce), Fasoliya (kidney beans stew) or Bazella (green peas tomato curry).
Then from the live grill counter, gorge into Shish taouk (chicken shish kebab), Lahme kufta (ground lamb on skewers), Samak Mishwi (grilled fish), Shish paneer to name a few.
Even for a calorie counter, Arabian desserts rich in nuts, cream, honey and date syrups and milk are hard to resist. From Jameela’s sweet reserve, one should definitely have a plateful of ‘Baqlava’ which is a nut pastry. “I will also be preparing ‘Al maasi’ which is made from thickened milk, coconut and nuts,” says the mother of three. ‘Muhalabieh’, ‘Basbousa’ and ‘Knafeh’ are other treats for the sweettooths.
The month long festival run through August, from 7 pm to 11 pm at Rs 1195 plus taxes.