KARACHI, Dec 5: “We have brought here the most common dishes of Indonesia to familiarise you with the kind of food we eat,” chef Lambok Tambunan of Indonesia explained at the opening of the Indonesian Food Festival at the Pearl Continental Hotel here on Thursday.

Removing the lid from one of the dishes labelled Rendong Sapi, the chef explained, “This is dry braised beef that is also found in Singapore and Malaysia, but it is Indonesian originally.”

Next to it was Nasi Goreng Cabe Hijau that can be translated into green chillies with rice. “Normally we also add small pieces of fish to this but it will be too much for Pakistani taste buds so we left out the fish this time,” Chef Tambunan added.

Pepes Ikan in the dish next to it was grilled fish wrapped in banana leaf. “It can be any fish, fresh water or salt water fish and we serve it after opening up the banana leaves,” he said.

In another corner was Sate Kambing (boneless mutton cubes on skewers) and Sate Ayan (boneless chicken cubes on skewers).

At the salad bar, there was Gado Gado. “Gado Gado simply means ‘mixing’ in English,” he said pointing to all the different fruits and vegetables on offer there along with thick brown peanut sauce. “The peanut sauce is the base for the salad and then you can add whatever fruit or vegetable you want to add to it and mix it all up,” the chef explained.

“It’s like our kachumber,” offered Pearl Continental’s executive sous chef Ali Zaman, who was standing nearby. He was glad to have offered the Indonesian chief chef and his assistant chef, Faisal Mohammad, his kitchen. “And I’m glad to report that they leave no mess behind when preparing the dishes,” he added.

What meal is complete without dessert, and Indonesians have a variety to offer in that department, too. There was green-coloured pancake with stuffed grated coconut and all kinds of other patties stuffed with coconut also with different sweet sauces.

About the ingredients for all the dishes, the Indonesian chef said that he had a little problem getting everything in Pakistan. “We use simple vegetable oil and the food is all halal of course. Still we had to import some of the stuff,” he said.

Meanwhile, Consul General of Indonesia in Karachi Rossalis R. Adnan hoped that after tasting the flavours of his country the people of Pakistan would also want to visit Indonesia.

The ambassador of Indonesia in Pakistan, Burhan Mohammad, said the festival might have Indonesian food but since Pakistani chefs also assisted in its making and most of the ingredients came from here, it was more of a fusion of the Indonesia and Pakistan in a dish.

The evening also included traditional Indonesian dances and song and music.

The food festival will continue till Dec 8.