Two Mediterranean Food Festivals

Both me and Snigdha have been planning to head off to the Mediterranean pretty much soon so when we got a whiff of two Mediterranean food festivals taking place in Delhi at almost the same time, we decided to head off there. The first one was the Tunisian Food Festival at the Taj Palace and the second one was the Cypriot Food Festival at the neighbouring ITC Maurya.

Tunisia, located in the Northern part of Africa is one of the underrated travel destinations within the Mediterranean. A sneak peek into their food tells us about how the dominant influences of French and Mediterranean cuisines have had in shaping what we know as Tunisian food today. One of the staples is Cous Cous which is served with a variety of meats and vegetables including Fish, Dried meat and even Calamari. Another Tunisian staple are the Tajines. A savory dish with a consistency between that of pudding and a cake and stuffed with all kinds of flavours. We found a Tajine Keftaji made up of Meatballs and a thick Tomato paste and a Tajine Djej which combines Chicken with Lemon and Olives.

We fell in love with the Salad, the Poulpo Salad which has Octopus along with Onions, Peppers and Olives along with a spicy, tangy dressing. Let’s get onto the curries now. One of the first ones that I tried out was the Grouper in Kabkabou sauce, pretty similar to the Machcher Jhal Deya with the thin tomato based gravy used to lift the flavour of the fish. The Mermez, on the other hand is a Lamb Curry with Chickpea in it. But the meal couldn’t have ended without the desserts from Tunisia. The Kaak Ouarka is a Tunisian pastry made with flour and almonds while the Kaak Amber are Almond paste donuts that totally satiate us.

Let’s talk about Cyprus now. Located on the Eastern side of Mediterranean, the Asian and Arabic influences increase a bit more as we taste out their offering at Ottimo. In the anti-pasti, the Grilled Mushrooms and Potatoes with Onions & Olives which tastes quite like the Aloo Bhaate I love trying out at home. But it’s the non-vegetarian Anti Pasti that makes us fall in love with Cypriot food. The Scampi with Yogurt Sauce, Meatballs, Chicken stuffed with Anaris and Fava with Caramelised Octopus. There are also some Sausages that are served with Peppers and Mushrooms in the Anti-pasti and with Wine in the starters.

Let’s get to the mains now where the European flavours get to the fore. Not only there is some Cuttlefish served in wine, there’s also some Chicken Souvlaki and Ravioli with Halloumi and Mint. Let’s get on to the desserts now including a Daktyla, Honey Balls, Baklava, Kalo Prama and Pisies.