The GIG Carnival, a three-day festival which integrates craft, music and food, has commenced here.
The festival, which was inaugurated by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Friday, showcases the rich food of different cities including the authentic food from Kolkata.
Curated by Gourmet Planet, The GIG Carnival is a part of the Incredible India campaign of the Tourism Ministry.
"What you see is purely out of passion. There is no other vested interest. This should happen every year. The idea is to integrate craft, music and food," Sonny Walia, curator of the festival, told IANS.
Among the delicacies, the carnival offers northeast India's black rice, Amritsari tikki and parantha, tunday kabab from Lucknow, Rajasthani kachori and Hyderabadi biryani.
"I am a foodie so, I love this part the most. We have restaurant chains representing themselves here as well. The seven restaurants have come in from different states," Walia said.
The mutton nihari (a Mughlai delicacy) with khamiri roti is a must try as it's perfectly cooked and has a well balanced flavour.
There are interesting add-ons as well. If you want to make your dish more flavoursome, reach out for dressing like mayonnaise or a chipotle southwest dressing or a hint of mint. There are a number of brands including Veeba which are offering sauce free of cost at their kiosk.
The organisers have also taken up the initiative of bringing in artisans who have been in the profession of perfumery, black pottery, rogan art, jamdani work, silver filigree, mask making and leather crafts for long.
The inaugural carnival is presenting over 30 performing acts, gigs covering genres like jazz, blues, Ska, electronic dance music, Hindi rock and Sufi.
To be a part of it, visitors have to spend Rs.200 for tickets.
