Gastronomical journey towards the Middle East

CHENNAI: It’s not only the Pyramids in Egypt, Petra in Jordan, and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai that pull tourists in the Middle East. Their tantalising culinary history is even more inviting and has a lot to offer. People in Chennai have a fair idea about Middle Eastern dishes like shawarma, mezze platter and mandi biryani. But are they aware of a few authentic flavours from the cuisine that are quite similar to Indian cuisine?

Taking influences from the Mediterranean, Persian and Levantine, the Middle Eastern cuisine stands out with its vibrant flavours, textures and aromatic spices. To introduce the original tastes of Arabic cuisine, the Sunset Grill at Westin Chennai is organising a food festival, specially curated by chef Ahmed Bounaji from Morocco.

“Slow-cooking method to make the meat tender and soft is one of the traditional cooking styles of Arabic cuisine. Dates and pistachios are also key ingredients in the dishes. Other foods that are special to the cuisine are kebabs, mezze and many more,” says chef Ahmed Bounaji. Talking about the similarity between Indian cuisine with that of the Middle East, the chef adds, “We have increased the spice level a bit to match the Indian taste buds. However, a lot of spices used are common between both cuisines. Another common element is that the dishes are always colourful and never bland.”

The Moroccan chef is visiting Chennai for the first time and his favourites are south Indian breakfast options. “I very much like dosa, vada, rasam and all kinds of chutneys here,” he smiles.

We started the culinary extravaganza with the cold mezze. It consisted of muhammara, hummus, sundried tomato and feta dip, beetroot moutabel, grilled artichokes and stuffed vine leaves cooked with tomato, parsley and rice, with pita pieces of bread and kuboos. Though all the dips had a fresh flavour to them, the stuffed vine leaves were our least favourite. Among the salads, the fattoush was good with garden salad and the fried bread was an added touch to it.

The hot mezza comprised crispy falafel popcorn, that had a combination of savoury and sweet. The zinger haloumi sticks are basically cheese sticks, which was a bit bland. However, the sundried tomato, date balsamic syrup added a taste to it. The chicken majboush balls were good, but the mini Moroccan seafood briouat with crispy covering and soft seafood filling was top-notch.

The mix grill had a combination of chicken, lamb kofta and succulent lamb sheekh kebab. The meat in the lamb kofta was tough. The slow-cooked lamb in ouzi style with bukhari rice was great, however, the meat in this had a raw flavour to it. But it was soft and tender.

Among the desserts, the kunafa mille-feuille, rose saffron cream custard with ice cream are a delight to have. The Egyptian classic bread pudding, Um Ali, is also for the sweet tooth.

Immerse in the culinary delights of Arabic cuisine at the Sunset Grill in Westin Chennai Velachery till April 29.