Rajasthani food festival showcases royal cuisine

     Jaipur: A ten-day long "Rajasthani Food Festival" begins in Jaipur, showcasing the best of Rajasthani cuisine As part of the ongoing Rajasthan Day celebrations, a ten-day long "Rajasthani Food Festival" showcasing the best of Rajasthani cusine is being organised here. The festival is a sheer delight for food lovers with more than 100 specialities of Rajasthani cuisine, served in around 60 different stalls. This is the first opportunity of its kind for food lovers in Jaipur, who are enjoying a range of mouth watering Rajasthani delicacies like Besan ka Gatta, Ker Sangri, Jodhpur ki rabari, dal bati Curma, Mawa or Pyaj Ki Kachauri and Chakke ki sabji "This is churma, a speciality of Rajathan. We have come to enjoy the food in this food carnival as all the delicacies of Rajasthan, which we have only sometimes heard of, are available here," Khushi,a food lover said. Tantalizing the taste buds, the mouth watering Morwari, Mewari, Hadoti, Dundhari and Brij delicacies are being offered at region specific pavilions in the food festival. "It is a mutton dish and is called Rajasthani style, Rajputs in the olden times used to prefer lots of chilli in their food. We cook it only in pure ghee, in an earthenware container and use only whole spice," Pratap Singh, a stall owner said.

    On March 30, 1949, Rajasthan was created as a state of the Union of India through the unification of the erstwhile princely states of Rajputana and this day (30th March) is celebrated as Rajasthan Diwas every year. The state, a land of festivals, colours and vibrancy, where people rejoice everyday in sparkling ways of their culture, is celebrating the "Rajashthan Day Festival" from 21st March to 30th March with a promise to "experience a lifetime of enjoyment in just 10 days". "It is important to make everyone realise the pride of Rajasthan. That's why we'll be displaying things that represent the rich cultural heritage of Rajasthan in the celebrations to commemorate the formation of the state of Rajasthan on March 30. While we try to project the state, outside the country through this festival, we hope everyone will be enjoying these ten days," said chief minister of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje, after the inauguration. The festival organised by Rajasthan's Tourism Department has been designed to give a push to tourism in the state by portraying the states cultural heritage, traditional sports, regional cuisines, folk art, craft, dance and music. These celebrations are witnessing a large range of participation across the state as sports and cultural competitions are being organised at levels of districts and divisions culminating to state-level finals in the state capital. Craft-Bazaar, Food Festival, Night Bazaar, Sports competitions, spectacular fire- works, Mega Cultural Concerts, and competitions for school students are but a few events planned by the state government for the master celebration. Apart from organising the Craft Bazaar, awareness-seminars and design workshops would also be organised to benefit the talented craftsmen. Puppet shows and folk performances by Kalbelia, Manganiyars, Garasias, Sahariya, Bheels and other tribes every evening in Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur have been planned as added attraction for the visitors to Craft Bazaar.

     One of the most unique features of these celebrations is the Night Bazaar. This bazaar is open till midnight and showcases shoppers' items ranging from handicrafts, clothes, potteries, carpets, internationally renowned quilts, blankets & jewellery to day-today household commodities. Colourful fireworks to spark the sky of the pink-city are also on the agenda. Grand cultural shows and live concerts every evening in the ambience of majestic Albert Hall, Amer Fort and other equally eye-arresting venues have been planned to entertain people throughout the celebrations. A variety of programmes ranging from Classical Music & dance performances, Ghazal Evening, Bollywood Celebrity Evening to Nritya Natika, Natya Sandhya etc. would also be held during the celebrations. The grand finale of the celebrations would see a royal procession comprising of caparisoned elephants, decorated camels & horses, arresting tableaux of 32 districts, winners of various sports & cultural competitions, time tested vintage cars, sprightly performances of Millitary Band, Police-Band, BSF Camel mounted Band and NCC Bands, troupes of Kalbelia, Gair, Kutchi-Ghori, and other folk dance performers who would appease the eyes of people and display culture, heritage, custom, and resources of Rajasthan at its best. Rajasthan, with its rich culture and heritage, continues to be one of the most preferred tourism destinations in the world, witnessing a growth of more than fifty per cent in foreign tourists in-flow in the past ten years.
-March 28, 2005

Malabari parathas go global

    Kochi: The famed Malabari 'paratha' of Kerala, a many-layered fried bread made from unleavened dough, is going global. The paratha of Kerala has got its name from the region of its origin. It is basically an ethnic food of the Muslims of the northern Malabar region of the state, which is now popular across the state and outside amongst people of Kerala origin. Historically, it was the spices that brought earliest foreign visitors to Kerala, who mainly came as traders. For the increasing number of visitors to the state today, the local cuisine plays an important part in the cultural and economical experience of the state. Over the last decade, the South Asian population in America has exploded and there are countless ethnic grocery stores, restaurants and fast food places in New York and in other European countries. Earlier there were only one or two companies engaged in making this parantha and curry for exports but now there are around 15 small and big companies engaged in manufacturing this item for export purpose. The ready-to-serve curries with parathas include vegetarian and non- vegetarian. These companies have also specialized in making typical snacks of Kerala for the overseas market, like Masala Dosa, Vadas, Puttu-Kadala,Idiyappam and Kerala's own tapioca with fish-curry. These have a shelf life of around 2 years in deep freezers as these are well-packed and are made frozen in high frozen chambers.
-March 14, 2005