Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Capital Czech-mated and how!
|
The recent four-day Czech food festival was a big hit with gourmets who could taste authentic Czech food
|
Franz Kafka and the cobbled streets of Prague are now part of the average Indian’s imagination. This past week, it was not only food for thought but also for the stomach from the Czech Republic for the Indian gourmets. The Embassy of the Czech
Republic in India, in association with The Metropolitan Hotel, New Delhi, organised a four-day Czech food festival to mark the 60th anniversary of Indo-Czech diplomatic ties where a wide variety of Czech food and beverages were showcased.
One also got to taste Czech beers such as Pilsner Urquell and Krusovice, sparkling wines and the favourite Czech liqueur Becherovka from Karlsbad Spa. Apart from these, the guests had an opportunity to try Czech specialities such as “Svíèková”, slices of meat on sour cream with Czech dumplings or “Moravian” sparrow, potato pancakes topped with cottage cheese and jam, prepared by Czech chefs flown in from Prague for the occasion. To create an authentic ambience a traditional live band, Fleret provided the entertainment.
The Czech Ambassador, Hynek Kmonicek said, “Through this event we would like the Delhi public and the potential business community to get to know more about the Czechs and hope to attract opportunities to encourage cooperation and business between the Czech Republic and India, not only in its culture but also in the business arena.” The Czech cooking habits were also summed up by the ambassador, who is himself a practicing cook, “Czech men usually don’t cook on everyday basis; their role is to come up with some interesting, creative dish for special occasions!”
Less spicy
The Czech cuisine is marked by its blandness for the spicy palate of the Indians. The chefs from The Savoy, Prague remarked, “In the last five days since we came to Delhi, we had the occasion to taste Indian food of all levels – five-star hotel food as well as menus of smaller restaurants. We did not dare to taste street food, to be honest!” added one of them. “Indian food is rich and colourful, also it is very spicy. The Czech special dish is meat with potato dumplings, which usually goes with steamed red or white cabbage. It’s a real delicacy! Most of the dishes are non-vegetarian.”
There was also the popular folk singer from the Czech Republic to enthuse the food lovers with soulful music and the bohemian air pervaded the capital air. “This festival was a huge success in Mumbai. For the Indians, this is a rare opportunity to savour authentic Czech dishes. It is an important part of Indo-Czech cultural relations,” summed up Jan Kreuter, Political and Press Secretary in the Czech Embassy.
Perhaps, as with literature and arts, Czech cuisine too enthrals the soul, tickling our taste buds, and enriching our palate.
SANJAY KUMAR
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
|
