Pakistani chefs bridge the divide

Exchanging recipes with their Indian colleagues

By BBC News Online's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi

With Delhi having geared up to receive Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf this weekend, residents of the Indian capital are enjoying some unusual fallout from the faster tempo of diplomacy between the two neighbours.

One enterprising hotel has taken advantage of pre-summit fever by inviting two celebrity chefs from the Pakistani city of Lahore to one of their restaurants.

We have come with memories and flavours

Mehboob Ahmad Khan

Mehboob Ahmad Khan and Mohammad Asghar have been serving up their own dishes at Delhi's Maurya Sheraton for the last few days.

"We have come with memories and flavours," Chef Khan told BBC News Online.

Most of the more than 100 recipes they have brought over reflect the cuisine of the Pakistani province of Punjab, which was separated from Indian Punjab in 1947.

And some of the dishes have come from the streets and alleyways of Lahore's famous Anarkali bazaar, in the city's ancient Mughal quarter.

Lost memories

The aromatic kebabs and fiery curries have gone down very well with Delhi patrons, but have evoked special memories for a particular section of the capital's residents.

Chief Khan serves it up

KK Nagpal was one of several thousand Lahoris who fled the city during partition, and relocated to Delhi.

"This is a bitter sweet moment for me," he said.

"It brings back memories of the city of my youth - but it also reminds me of what we lost," he said.

Mehboob Ahmad Khan says many former Lahoris have been flocking to sample his food hoping to rekindle their memories.

"Our style of cooking is somewhat different from that of north India," he said.

"Although we use similar ingredients and spices, there are variations," he added.

A big challenge for the two Pakistani chefs was to cater to the needs of a large number of vegetarians - a key difference between the dietary habits of the two countries.

"But it was made easier by the fact that you get a lot of exotic and fresh vegetables in India, allowing us to experiment and innovate."

Taking back recipes

The chefs plan to do some sightseeing of their own before they head back home.

The kebabs and curries are a big draw

And apart from the memories they have, they also plan to take back a uniquely Indian recipe.

At breakfast on their very first day they were served dosas - south Indian rice and lentil pancakes and a very popular fast food dish in India.

"We've never had anything like it before. We plan on learning how to make it and recreate it in Lahore," Mohammad Asghar said.