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A whiff of Karachi

Le Meridien blends Pakistani food with the country's folk art to present an interesting mix, says RAHUL VERMA

FRAGRANCE FROM NEIGHBOURHOOD `Khyber se Karachi Tak' the Karachi food festival at Le Meridien is a gourmet's delight

I was, coincidentally, engaged in some research on Pakistani food - which, thankfully, meant more practical than theory - when I got a call. It was to ask me if I wished to cover a Pakistani Food Festival at Le Meridien. The more the merrier, I told myself, and toodled off to the hotel on Windsor Road one evening this past week. Le Meridien has been around for many years — it came up during the Delhi Asian Games more than 20 years ago — but, strangely enough, I had never gone there. I am, anyway, not greatly into luxury hotels, but the Pakistan Food Festival-cum-art display at Pakwan seemed interesting. And it had a nice name: Khyber se Karachi Tak.

Anjum Rana's show

First, let me tell you about the nicest part of the festival. And that, undoubtedly, was a truck art display. Organised by Anjum Rana, who runs a philanthropic organisation called Tribal Truck Art, it showcased a vibrant folk art form of Pakistan. There were brightly painted objects for sale, along with a panel of paintings that trucks are bedecked with: watering cans, fans, mugs, lanterns, kettles and so on. It was quite a fascinating exhibition.

But I am afraid the food festival left me a little disappointed. For one, I was looking forward to interacting with the two culinary masters who had come from Pakistan - Chef Hidayatur Rehman and Chef Mohammed Sadiq. Unfortunately, they spoke neither Hindi nor English and I knew no Pashtu. So any question that I had on the intricacies of the cuisine of the North West Frontier Region or Swat went unanswered. And that, truly, was a pity. The menu itself was mouth-watering. On the list were such delights as Chapli Kababs, Baluchi Sajji Chicken and Lahori Tawa Macchi. It included Lahori Sarson Ka Saag, Lahori Chikkar Chholey, Behtereen Chicken Korma and Pindi ki Bhindi. The names were exotic and drummed up a picture of a people who love their food. I had the saag, the chholey and the korma. I enjoyed the chholey, but thought that I had had better korma in Old Delhi. There was a Lahsuni Murg Tikka - garlic-flavoured grilled chicken - that I quite enjoyed. The chicken was soft and moist, as it should be, but the Tandoori Jhinga Nisha - lemon-infused grilled prawns - didn't excite me much. I thought the prawns had been over-cooked, because of which they were dry and rubbery. For dessert, I opted for the Burns Road Ki Lachhedar Rabri, which was a real delight. The rabri was thick and creamy, and actually melted in the mouth.

But the problem with the festival was the way it had been organised. For a while we didn't know where to go, food took a long time coming, we got double orders - and worse, there was nobody around to address some of these issues. But, still, since chaos is a part of the subcontinent, we took all this in our stride. Food, in this case, needed the flavour of a busy highway, after all. This must-visit food festival is on till November 5.

RAHUL VERMA

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