Smell the sandwich, taste the rose at Delhi flower food fest

NDMC to host flower food festival at PSOI, showcasing flower-based cuisine from across India. Entry free, open noon-9pm. Various floral-inspired dishes and drinks on offer.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will hold a flower food festival on Saturday and Sunday to showcase flower-based cuisine and dishes from across the country at Palika Services Officers Institute (PSOI), Chanakyapuri, near the Nehru Park, NDMC said on Friday.

Participants present their dishes at a preview of the flower food festival on Friday. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

The festival will be inaugurated by NDMC chairman Amit Yadav at noon on Saturday. Entry to the festival will remain open between noon and 9pm. “Several hotels, eateries, NGOs, and hospitality industry outlets will showcase their culinary expertise using flowers and offer floral-inspired delicacies to visitors,” the official said.

The festival will have a section on traditional flower-based dishes as well as modern adaptations. “The dishes will range from elderflower-infused cold coffee, sunflower sandwiches, heron flower (Bak Pholl) fritters, Sahjan ke phool ki bhaji. From the North-east, we will have dishes such as Alu Shoibum Kanghou made with bamboo flowers and shingju made with banana flowers and from West Bengal we will have Mocha Ghonta, Mochar Chop, and Kumro Phuler Bora,” the official added.

Under the flower-derived drinks section, the festival will have a range of teas (saffron tea, rooibos tea and chamomile tea) and squash made with rose and rhododendron (Buransh). “The outlets will also sell traditional flower preserves such as Gulkand and Buransh chutneys,” the official added.

Lippika Roy, 48, a food blogger and chef who is participating in the festival, said that she will focus on the floral inspirations in Bengali cuisine. “We will present sweet dishes with flower petals and drumstick flowers for savoury treats. My husband works in the external affairs ministry so moving from one country to another we became familiar with the influence of such ingredients in different cuisines such as in Brazil and China. I began food blogging in 2010 taking inspirations from all these influences.”

The nearest Metro station to the venue is Lok Kalyan Marg Metro station. Entry to the festival will be free, NDMC said.

NDMC has hosted several festivals to mark spring such as Tulip Festival, Music in the Park, Rose Festival, and Flower Festival.