DUSHANBE, 10.11.2018 /NIAT «Khovar»/. The festival-contest Oshi Palav (a traditional meal in Tajikistan) takes place today, November 10 in the Park of culture and recreation named after Abulqosimi Firdavsi of Dushanbe city at 10:00.

According to the Executive body of state authority of Dushanbe, the aims of the Festival are to familiarize with hospitality of Tajiks, to promote culinary art, protect national values and respect for the cultural heritage of the Tajik people in the framework of the Year of Tourism and Folk Crafts Development in Tajikistan.

It should be noted that Oshi Palav, a traditional meal in Tajikistan, has been inscribed in 2016 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Otherwise known as the ‘King of meals’, it is based on a recipe using vegetables, rice, meat and spices but up to 200 varieties of the dish exist. Considered an inclusive practice that aims to bring people of different backgrounds together, oshi palav is prepared to be enjoyed at regular mealtimes, as well as social gatherings, celebrations and rituals.

The importance of the dish to communities in Tajikistan is indicative in sayings such as “No Osh, no acquaintance” or “If you have eaten Osh from somebody, you must respect them for 40 years”.

Groups of men or women prepare the dish either in their homes or at teahouses while socializing or playing music and singing. Knowledge and skills associated with the practice is transmitted on an intergenerational basis in families, in addition to cooking schools from master to apprentice.

Once an apprentice masters oshi palav, the apprentice hosts a dinner for the trainer and guests during which the trainer receives a skull-cap and traditional dress while the apprentice receives a skimmer (a tool for cooking oshi palav) symbolizing the apprentice’s independence.