‘Festival of India’ to end with event showcasing country’s food traditions

Muscat: To celebrate the love for good food, the Indian Embassy in Muscat is organising an Indian Food Festival at the Grand Hyatt Muscat from March 15 to 19, a senior official from the Indian Embassy in Muscat said.
The purpose of the Indian food Festival will be to delight the people of Muscat with some lesser-known culinary traditions of India, such as Kashmiri, Bengali, Rajasthani and Gujarati cuisine.
The festival is the concluding event of the Festival of India in Oman. “The Food Festival will, therefore, provide Indian food connoisseurs in Muscat an opportunity to enjoy those Indian cuisines which are not readily available in Muscat,” Indra Mani Pandey, ambassador of India in Oman, said.
Special dishes
Two chefs, selected by the India Tourism Development Cooperation, will be visiting Muscat and will be working during the period of Food Festival with chefs of the Grand Hyatt to prepare special Indian dishes.
Chef Vikram Shokeen is presently working as a chef at ‘The Ashok’ and caters at Hyderabad House for events hosted by Ministry of External Affairs and the Prime Minister of India.
Chef Mohd. Imran has been working at Hotel Samrat since 1982 and is a master chef with excellent skills in Indian curries and Tandoori food.
The Indian Food Festival will be inaugurated in a grand ceremony to be held on March 15 at 19.30 pm at the Grand Hyatt.
The first edition of the “Festival of India in Oman” began in November 2016 and will end in March, and was organised by the Embassy of India in Muscat with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
The festival is being organised with a view to present to the people of Oman glimpses of the diverse Indian culture, representing various traditions of Indian cultural heritage.
Cultural events were held in Muscat, Salalah, Sur and Sohar as part of the festival.
Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, minister responsible for foreign affairs of Oman, inaugurated the first ever “Festival of India in Oman” during a ceremony held on November 16, 2016 at the Al-Bustan Palace Amphitheatre.