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Melilla, mediterranean food from the east and west
A great variety of people and cultures live in the Autonomous City of Melilla - Spaniards, Arabs, Jews and Indians - and so Christian festivities (Epiphany, Easter, Pilar, Christmas) and Muslim festivities (Ramadan, the Sacrifice Festivity, the birth of the Prophet Mohammed), Jewish festivities (Purim, Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot) and Indian festivities (Lala-Loi, Holi – a celebration of colours which takes place on the 15th April- Rama Navami, Raksha Bandhan, Krisha Janmashtami, the birth of Gandhy and Deepwali) all take place in this city.
Varied cooking
The presence of these different cultures have left their mark on the cuisine, which is very varied and shows its maximum splendour at the many festivals.
Spanish and Mediterranean dishes include: fish stew, which is prepared with anglerfish, coot, and prawns, crushed garlic, hot "ñora" peppers and parsley and a pepper and tomato salad; Rusadir-style anglerfish casserole, which recalls long-past eras; fisherman's pie made with various types of fish, but which must always include anglerfish, garfish, prawns and crayfish. These ingredients are chopped up very small, cooked in a bain-marie, moulded to form a pie with breadcrumbs, oloroso from Jerez, freshly-ground pepper, cream and eggs and which is finally decorated with mayonnaise and a few whole prawns or crayfish; and cuttlefish with chickpeas, a light fish stew.
Berber cuisine offers the traveller small lamb kebabs seasoned with saffron, cumin, pepper, paprika, parsley and coriander; the tasty and very typical "couscous", which is mixed with chopped lamb and vegetables and spices; Corinth noodles, an interesting dish prepared with chicken, onions, oil, spices, cinnamon, parsley, garlic, Corinthian raisons, dried plums, sugar and cinnamon.
Indian "samosas" are small, delicious, crunchy and triangular pastries which are stuffed with potatoes, peas, onion, fresh and dried coriander, cumin and lemon juice.
"Cocho" of Hebrew origin, is a delectable dish prepared with meaty fish (grouper, anglerfish, corvina) which are cut into small pieces, seasoned with salt, paprika, garlic and coriander and cooked in a little oil with tomatoes and peppers until the liquid has evaporated. Another Hebrew dish is the so-called coloured omelette, with its yellow egg, green peas, orange carrot and white mashed potato
Cultural mix
An exquisite stew is made from Hebrew biscuits, Moroccan peppers and carrots, Indian spices and tongue, called the "Four Communities", which in addition to being delectable is also an emblem of the coexistence of these cultures.
One of the best puddings is the orange pie. A marmalade is made using orange pulp and cloves which is then stuffed into the empty orange peel, and topped with custard and decorated with meringue, made from whipped egg whites and sugar, and then sprinkled with ground almonds. They are cooled in the fridge and a little ground cinnamon is added when serving.
The traveller can try typical dishes from Melilla in the restaurant Los Salzones. Los Salazones has a very good fish and seafood menu and has been classified as "economical" by the CAMPSA Guide.
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