- Title: WEST BANK: Palestinian villagers celebrate traditional dish at annual festival
- Date: 15th October 2013
- Summary: BIRZEIT, WEST BANK (OCTOBER 11, 2013) (REUTERS) ALLEYWAY AT THE OLD CITY OF BIRZEIT LEADING TO OUTDOOR AREA WERE MAIN EVENT IS TO BE HELD ORGANIZER SPEAKING WITH VISITORS AT MAKESHIFT MARKET HANDMADE LANTERN (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RAED SAADEH, CHAIRPERSON AT ROZANA ASSOCIATION WHICH IS HOSTING MAFTOUL FESTIVAL, SAYING: "We live in Palestine under a dangerous policy of displacement, so we decided that there should be a number of activities that bring together the people of Palestine. We at Rozana work with the villages mainly, and we care for the villages. We decided to bring together 20 villages at the village of Birzeit." VARIOUS OF WOMEN FROM VILLAGES PREPARING THEIR MAFTOUL DISH CLOSE VIEW OF MAFTOUL IN A POT DIRECTOR OF HEAD OF BIRZEIT WOMEN ORGANIZATION CHECKING ON COMPETITORS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MARY AYED, DIRECTOR OF BIRZEIT WOMEN CHARITABLE SOCIETY, SAYING: "We celebrate and welcome the Maftoul dish, especially since it is a traditional meal. We feel that we should show this dish off and specialise in making it. What is nice about this festival is that we got some 18 women from different Palestinian villages taking part." PAN SHOWING POTS OF MAFTOUL BEING PREPARED (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MARY AYED, DIRECTOR OF BIRZEIT WOMEN CHARITABLE SOCIETY, SAYING: "We assign the women numbers for their plates which they decorate. The Chefs association use these numbers and judge the plate for good taste and nice presentation, as well as creativity which the women focus on when cooking their meal." WOMAN DECORATING HER MAFTOUL DISH, ADDING CHICKEN TWO ROWS OF WOMEN PARTICIPANTS POURING FOOD INTO THEIR CONTAINERS CHEF AND FORMER WOMEN - JUDGES AT MAFTOUL FESTIVAL WOMAN ADDING TOMATO SAUCE ON TOP OF HER MAFTOUL CONTAINER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LAYLA ABDALLAH, WINNER OF LAST YEAR'S COMPETITION AND A JUDGE THIS YEAR, SAYING: "The good taste comes from the chicken stock, and it must have spices, which make it taste like rice and even softer. The colour should be golden from the spices, vegetables and roasted chicken." WOMAN MAKING MAFTOUL VARIOUS OF MAFTOUL-MAKING PROCESS WIDE OF CHAIRPERSON ROZANA ON STAGE VARIOUS OF WOMEN BRINGING THEIR MAFTOUL DISHES FOR THE CHEFS TO BE JUDGED CHEF PLACING MAFTOUL CONTAINERS OVER HOT WATER TRAYS VIEW OF MAFTOUL CONTAINERS WITH NUMBERS VARIOUS OF CHEFS AND WOMAN JUDGE SCORING DIFFERENT DISHES CROWDS ON TABLES CHEERING AND SINGING ALONG - PAN TO SHOW SINGER ON STAGE TWO CHEFS ON STAGE PRESENTING WINNER PEOPLE LISTENING AND LOOKING AT SCREEN SHOWING THE SCORE SCORES BEING PLUGGED IN ON LAPTOP, DISPLAYED ON SCREEN PARTICIPANTS RECEIVING GIFTS WINNER RECEIVING FIRST PLACE AWARD ENVELOPE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) NAWAL ZIYADEH, WINNER OF MAFTOUL COMPETITION FROM BIRZEIT, SAYING: "I'm happy because I went up one step. I hope I will receive funds to go abroad, like the others are getting, and to participate." WINNER WALKING AWAY VILLAGERS LEAVING OLD CITY F BIRZEIT AFTER END OF FESTIVAL
- Embargoed: 30th October 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: West bank
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Arts
- Reuters ID: LVA63MHRI4HJOYIQ3ZTESX587R8X
- Story Text: : It's twilight at the village of Birzeit on the outskirts of Ramallah, and Sixth Annual Maftoul Festival kicks off.
The festival brings together different villagers scattered in northern West Bank villages and towns, giving participants a chance to showcase and sell their products.
Villagers set up booths selling a range of merchandise from ornaments to organic food. Music, dance and the local circus performers livened up the festival, that drew a crowd of over 400.
"We live in Palestine under a dangerous policy of displacement, so we decided that there should be a number of activities that bring together the people of Palestine," said Raed Saadeh, Chairperson at Rozana Association, which holds the annual festival.
The highlight of the festival was a cooking competition in which women from their local towns and villages will compete for the best-tasting Maftoul.
Maftoul is a traditional Palestinian dish similar to couscous. The grains are larger and rounder, made from bulgur wheat, water and wheat flour, hand rolled for a fuller texture.
It is considered a winter meal and prepared with chicken and vegetables, and regarded as a thrifty meal for families.
"We celebrate and welcome the Maftoul dish, especially since it is a traditional meal. We feel that we should show this dish off and specialise in making it," Mary Ayed, Director of Birzeit Women Charitable Society, said.
Inside a hall that served as a kitchen, women from 17 different villages heated up their home-made Maftoul, and plating the dishes on identical containers that were identified only with a number, to remove biases among chef judges.
"We assign the women numbers for their plates which they decorate. The Chefs association use these numbers and judge the plate for good taste and nice presentation, as well as creativity which the women focus on when cooking their meal," Ayed said.
The winner from last year, Layla Abdallah from Birzeit, has joined the panel of judges from the Palestinian Chefs Association.
"The good taste comes from the chicken stock, and it must have spices, which make it taste like rice and even softer. The colour should be golden from the spices, vegetables and roasted chicken," Layla Abdallah said.
The dishes are judged on four categories -- preparation, presentation, creativity and taste.
The judges tasted morsels from the 17 dishes, noting scores on the various criteria, as a local singer performed on stage.
The villagers cheered and sang along as they are presented with own plates of Maftoul, prepared by locals from Birzeit.
After an hour of tasting, the judges announced the winner, an elderly woman from Birzeit, Nawal Ziyadeh who had finished second some years ago.
The winner of last year's competition represented Palestine in the International Maftoul Festival held in Italy.
Ziyadeh, who makes pastries from home for a living, hopes to get a chance to travel to Italy.
"I'm happy because I went up one step. I hope I will receive funds to go abroad, like the others are getting, and to participate," Ziyadeh said, after she received the first place award of 1,000 shekels (270 US dollars).
Feeling warm and with stomachs full, the villagers headed home, as chatter and laughter echoed through the alleyways of Birzeit's old town. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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