Feature
Moroccan Food comes back to India which is considered as healthiest cuisine in world
New Delhi: India’s love affair with Morocco is nearly 700 years old, from much before the country’s cuisine gained international repute, if one considers that a North African nobleman named Ibn Batuta’s account of life in the Delhi Sultanate is a primary source of information for studying the culture and customs of that period. This Moroccan scholar and judge came to Delhi to join the Sultan’s service and lived in India from 1334 to 1341.
Located on the southern rim of the Mediterranean, Morocco was on the Spice Route from Kerala to the Middle East and Europe and, therefore, acquired a number of spices, while there is a lot of Indian influence in Moroccan food, Ambassador to India Mohammed Maliki said at a preview lunch for the Moroccan Food Festival that got underway here on Friday.
The Mediterranean diet is considered among the healthiest in the world and Moroccan cuisine has a “wide variety of food for every kind of palette”, the Ambassador said, unveiling choice dishes in the ambience of Ottimo at West View, the Western restaurant at the ITC Maurya.
Spices, therefore, are used extensively in Moroccan cooking and there is a centuries-old art to their careful mixing. Common spices include saffron, mint, olives oranges, lemons, cinnamon, ginger, paprika and coriander. Ras el hanout is a commonly used dried spice mix that can combine anywhere from a dozen to 100 spices.
The buffet consisted of traditional Moroccan salads and of spiced meat and vegetable dishes slow cooked in a distinctive earthenware dish with a tall, conical lid called a tajine.
The chicken tajine is a classic Moroccan recipe using preserved lemons, olives and onions. It can be cooked in an authentic tajine or roasted in the oven. The secret of its exquisite taste lies in marinating the chicken for five-six hours with lemon, onion, garlic, cilantro, parsley, ginger, pepper, turmeric, salt and the Ras el Hanout spice mix. Moroccan food has become globally famous for its use of spices.
Among the various salads on offer was the Zaalouk made of cooked tomatoes, aubergine and eggplant, which is a popular vegetable used in Middle Eastern cooking. The salad is enhanced with garlic, olive oil and spices and is a common side dish to Middle Eastern meals.
The assortment of salads included the Taktouka, made of green bell-peppers, tomatoes, garlic and olive oil, which is another dip commonly used for eating with various types of Moroccan bread.
Moroccan Food considered as healthiest diet in world comes back to India after long time:
The lamb dish on offer was the classic sweet and sour tajine with prunes that combined dried prunes and lamb meat with the ginger, saffron, cinnamon, and pepper. It’s popular as a traditional offering at holiday gatherings, weddings, and other special occasions.
Another very tasty main dish laid was the nutrient-rich Rfissa made of chicken and lentils – again slow cooked with spices.
The unique Moroccan flaky bread called Msemmen forms the base for the dish with the lentil stew acting as a sauce for the pancakes.
There followed a range of Morroccan desserts like the Briouat pastries filled with fresh almond paste flavored with orange flower water and cinnamon. Once fried, the pastries are then given a short soaking in hot honey for flavor and sweetness.
The Chebakia is a sesame cookie made by folding dough into a flower shape, frying it and then dipping it in hot honey flavoured with orange flower water.
Sellouf is an unbaked sweet also served at special occasions like Eid and weddings and is made from toasted unhulled sesame seeds, fried almonds and flour that has been browned in the oven.
Hospitality is a very important part of Moroccan culture, the Ambassador explained. On entering a Moroccan home, guests are typically offered food and tea within seconds, and the meal here ended with the refreshing green tea with mint. The Moroccan tea ceremony is sacred and pouring of the tea is considered something of an art form. The food festival is on till March 30.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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