Journalism of Courage
Chef Ali Al Haj Hassan from Dubai and Chef Oren Ron from Israel share interesting details of their respective cuisines
Chef Ali Al Haj Hassan
Chef Hassan,who hails from Syria,is in the city for the Arabic festival at the Hyatt Regency Pune. Currently working with the Hyatt Dubai,his favourite dish is Ouzi. “It is lamb roasted with rice,ghee and marinated in yoghurt. I have happy memories of eating it when I was a little boy. It was also one of the first dishes I learnt to make, he says.
Typical food from Arabia and North Africa is dry and of thick consistency. “It has more to do with the geological and climatic conditions. Water is very scarce and is a precious commodity in these areas. And that is a reason why most of the dishes are not watery and thin. This is also why dips like hummus and motabell are very common, he says.
The primary ingredients of meals in these countries include lamb,stew,salad and olive oil. In fact,cuisinewise,both Jordan and Lebanon share marked similarities. Some of the common dishes there include the Fatoush salad,the Dulma which is meat cooked with eggplant and rice,and the Mahashi.
Chef Hassan loves Indian cusine too. Biryani here is one of the most phenomenal dishes I have ever eaten. That,along with the meats cooked in the typical coconut-based Kerala style,are very good. My personal favourite ingredient is coriander. It imparts a distinct flavour to food, he says.
Chef Oren Ron
On Thursday,Israeli Chef Oren Ron conducted a small session on different cooking styles of Israeli food for the students of Ravish Arora’s Redcarpet Hotel management & Culinary Academy. It was a treat for the students as he took them through a cooking demonstration of various Israeli dishes like ‘Makh Majun’ ,a kind of pizza,’Magadra’ ,a dish common in the northern part of Israel,and a dessert called ‘Khalva’. He also elaborated upon the Israeli method of cooking fish . “There is no specific Israeli cuisine. It’s a mixture of French,Palestinian,Arabian and European cuisines,” he says. “We use a lot of olive oil while cooking and our diet comprises cheese,fresh vegetables and beef,” Chef Ron adds.
He started his own business in Israel after mastering the culinary arts from the Crowne Plaza hotel in Tel-Aviv. He then worked at various hotels namely Solomon’s Bistro,Meir’s Cafe,Arthichoke and Chimichanga restaurant in Israel. “Israelis usually have a heavy breakfast and lunch as compared to dinner. We love to eat street food amongst which ‘Phalaphina’ and ‘Shaksha’ are the most common. Our signature dish is clear chicken soup,” he says. And on New Year’s day,most Israeli families have a traditional dinner known as ‘Rosh Hashava’,he adds .
Chef Ron is quite familiar with Indian food. The Indian restaurants in Israel serve Punjabi food and thalis. I always try different curries. But my favourites are the various types of Indian bread,like parathas,rotis,naans,and so on,” he says.
