Indian Embassy in Turkish capital puts on a festival of flavors

By Dilara Hamit

It was a veritable festival of flavors at the Indian Embassy in Türkiye’s capital Ankara, where guests were treated to some of the finest Indian cuisine specially prepared by local chefs.​​​​​​​

“The Indian community in Ankara may be small, but I’m very happy that they are quite excited and enthusiastic about presenting Indian cuisine to our Turkish friends,” Indian Ambassador Virander Paul told Anadolu.

“The feedback has been, in one word, tremendous. And the reason for that is, you know, the Indian culture is richly diverse … So, this diversity of Indian culture and its richness, it enjoys huge resonance in Türkiye.”

Racheline Paul, the ambassador’s wife, explained that most of the delectable dishes on offer have their origins in the northern parts of India.

The event included live cooking demonstrations from the talented chefs, who shared their expertise with an enthralled crowd that included members of the Indian diaspora, the diplomatic community and food enthusiasts.

The menu had some all-time favorites such as chicken biryani, butter chicken and ‘matar paneer,’ a dish with peas and cottage cheese in a tomato-based gravy.

For the sweet side, they went for ‘gajar ka halwa,’ a classic carrot-based dessert.

“In India, you will find this dessert in almost every house in the winter,” explained Deependra Garain, owner of the Namaste India restaurants.

“It is made with carrots, which are seasonal in India. So, it’s carrots, milk and cardamom cooked together for almost three hours, very slowly cooked.”