Aloo Jeera, Dahi ka raita served up Russian style!

Aloo Jeera, Dahi ka Raita and Aloo ke Paranthe might be common dishes in India but when served in a small town of Tatarstan, a state under the Russian Federation, it can leave anyone surprised.
That is exactly what happened to a group of Indian journalists who visited Elabuga and were served these dishes by their tourism centre hosts at a lunch inside a museum.
Tatarstan's cuisine involves a three-course meal in which first salad is served, then soup and finally the main course which involves meat with bread. And of course if you happen to be a 'vegetarian' you will be given fish.

In a surprise, the Russian hosts in Elabuga laid out a lunch table which included dishes like Aloo Jeera, Dahi ka Raita and Aloo ke Parathe.
On being asked how they had managed to prepare such a menu, Svetlana Andarzyanova, a Ministry of Culture official, said "the cooks downloaded the recipes from the internet which were in English, then they translated it to Russian and perfected the dishes to make the guests happy."
"Russian hospitality might not be fabled but certainly it is a cut above the rest as unlike their media image of being stiff they are a set of warm and friendly people," an official said.

The journalists were also left surprised, when they were taken to a popular 'Indian' restaurant "Malabar" in Kazan which served everything but 'Indian' food.

Probably, the 'Indianess' of the restaurant was limited to the dressing of the waiters and waitresses, who were wearing Kurta Pyjamas and Salwar Suits respectively. Also, foot-tapping Bollywood numbers were playing aloud.
Though Tatarstan in entirety is a tourist's delight, but Elabuga, with its warm hospitality and rich cultural heritage is a special place to visit.
"We just want to make our hosts smile, and we are satisfied if we manage to do that," Tanzilya Agishina, the Deputy Director General for Development, Tatarstan, said.

Elabuga, often referred to as 'a city of museums', is located over 200 kilometres to the east of Tatarstan's capital Kazan. It lies at the confluence of the Toina and Kama rivers.
Elabuga's museums, including the well-preserved house of first Russian female soldier Nadezhda Durova and Russian landscape artist Ivan Shishkin's House museum, leave a lasting impression on the mind of the visitor.