KARACHI: The red banners with a green star in the centre, the waiters wearing red tarboosh, or caps, with black tassels, a poster of the movie Casablanca, a big model of an oud and traditional music, and the aroma and fine taste of shorba, or soup, roasted lamb, saffron rice, couscous, raisins and qahwa spoke volumes of the culture of the country and the quality of Moroccan cuisine. Brahim Ait Belaid, the chef who prepared it all, could not explain it in English.

There he stood carving the stuffed whole lamb at the Moroccan Food Festival at Pearl Continental Karachi’s Marco Polo restaurant on Wednesday with two words on his lips — “No English”. The more you tried conversing with him, the more portions of lamb he’d cut and place on your plate.

“He only speaks Arabic and French and we speak neither so most of the work in the kitchen was done by explaining through gestures and sign language,” said Lakshman Chand, the sous chef at the hotel.

Most of the menu prepared for the occasion by the hotel comprised lamb though there was chicken and fish as well. Dishes such as Kabab Maghrabi, Shish Touk and Faz Kastalata Reyash cooked in Morrocan spices were all lamb dishes. “Of course, we here aren’t serving the food the way it is done in Morocco. There some four or five people sit together to eat from one tajine, or big platter, more like our thaal. And they eat with their hands. There are no spoons, forks or knives,” said Ghulam Mohammad, the PC’s executive chef.

“We wanted to familiarise the people of Pakistan with Moroccan culture, hence the festival,” said Ishtiaq Baig, honorary consul general of Morocco.

The evening was made more interesting with live performance by Hayat Alaoui, a Moroccan singer, who sang traditional songs from her country in her beautiful voice. “Though I spend most of my time in Morocco and Dubai, I have visited Pakistan, especially Karachi, many times as I am married to a Pakistani. But it is the first time for me to be representing my country and promoting its culture here, something for which I am so happy and feel so proud,” said Hayat.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2015

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