FARUKH SHEHZAD

Munaza Kazmi

Joined by China, Afghanistan, Iran and India -- and with a population of more than 200 million people -- it's no surprise that Pakistan is a country of geographical and linguistic diversity. 

However, there's common ground to be found in the cuisine. 

Overall Pakistanis are passionate about their cuisine, which is full of flavor and bursting with color. And they just love eating. Food is among the most significant! Even we have foods for different occasions and from different regions.

Tea

However, a habit of Colonial-Past, Pakistan is a nation of tea lovers, and there are several varieties of tea on offer from Kawa, Karak chai, Masala chai to Gulabi chai. Adding tea leaves into the boiling cup of water.

Tea is a social drink bringing everyone together, often served with savory dishes such as samosa, pakora or paratha.

Pakoras

These easy-to-make crispy, fried fritters are a classic finger food served as a starter or a side dish with the sweet cup of tea. Also, it’s our Pakistan’s sweetheart dish in Ramazan.

Vegetables are thinly sliced before being soaked in a seasoned and spice gram flour batter and then fried for a few minutes. 

Grab them while they are hot. If you prefer a meatier option, chicken pakoras are also on menu. 

Paratha

Abroad bread is eaten cold, here it’s always hot and comes with different flavors. Pakistanis make a range of perfect melt-in-your-mouth flatbreads including roti and naans but the paratha, made with clarified butter or ghee is a particularly delicious indulgence. 

Eaten for breakfast, you can go for the plain option but there are also various fillings to choose from including mincemeat, potato, spinach, and cauliflower paratha etc.

Kebabs

There are many types of kebabs in Pakistani cuisine. Such as the popular seekh kebab, which is ground meat grilled on skewers. The highly favorite chapli kebab, name is taken from the Pashto word “chaprikh” which means “flat”. It comes from the flat shape of minced meat slices, dish of the North – You can taste the flavors of coriander and pomegranate seeds in this tasty recipe.

And the shami kebab, small patties made with minced meat mixed with split chickpeas, finely chopped onion, mint, green chilli and egg to hold it all together. 

Gol Gappa

A popular street food having roots with Bangladesh, was once sold by cart-pushing vendors. However, with the growing trend fast food restaurants you can enjoy it along the ambience.

The round shell is made with semolina and fried. Once it cools and becomes brittle, a hole is created and filled with a mixture of tamarind chutney, chilli, chaat masala, potato, onion and chickpeas. It is served with a bowl of spicy tamarind dip. Try, and you will crave it back home.

Biryani

Created in the royal kitchens of the 16th-19th century Mughal Empire by BeghumMumtaz Mahal, aimed to create a delicious, nutritious and wholesome dish for the soldiers in her husband Emperor Shahjahan's army.

Today it is among the most celebrated dishes in Pakistan and often served on special occasions. 

Made with lamb or beef but chicken biryani is a favorite. However, Karachi city is famous for the bone marrow Biriyani version.

The meat and rice are cooked separately before being layered and cooked together with an assortment of spices. 

Kabuli Pulao

Nevertheless, Kabuli Pulao is a specialty of Afghan cuisine, but it is very common in Pakistan. Kabul’s families made it first with tender meat, raisins, nuts, rice, and caramelized carrots.

Silk Road traders brought it from Afghanistan to western Pakistan, and it gradually spread throughout the country.

Nihari

“Narha” an Arabic word that means “Morning”, perhaps that’s the reason it is a must have breakfast dish. It used to be left to simmer and cook overnight to be served at sunrise. Logically it’s so rich that surely it will fill your stomach.

The food was born in Old Delhi, including lamb shanks, mutton, including the bone marrow as the main complements. It is also usually served with rice or naan.

Haleem

Served mostly in Breakfast and Lunch, but popular in the Holy Muharram, originated from Middle East, Indian Sub-continent and Central Asia. Warm and comforting, this dish may look simple enough, but a combination of lentils, wheat, barley and minced beef are slow-cooked for overnight in gentle spices to get sticky consistency. 

Paya

This warming goat curry, with a soup-like consistency, is often eaten on cold winter mornings.  Again, slow-cooking it will ensure that all the spices have infused into the perfectly tender meat. 

Halwa poori and Channa

An essential part of Punjabi breakfast, the combination of a poori which is light and fluffy, is served with the rich tasting halwa and chickpea curry. 

Charga

For the lovers of chicken Chargha is a fantastic suggestion. This recipe combines chicken, spices, and yogurt to make a distinctive and delicate flavor.

Its name “Chargha” means chicken in Pushto, and it is an invention in Lahore city, Pakistan. You can choose from the Tandoori Chargha version with roasted chicken or the traditional deep-fried chicken version.

Khadda Kebab

It is traditional Balochi dish and my favorite, Pakistani’s eat likes their Emperors. The whole mutton is very slowly cooked into the mud furnace by first stuffing with carrots and raisin rice. The aroma and taste are worth of waiting.

Dumpukht

The mild and delicious recipe found its origins in the Royal Mughal Kitchens, lamb shanks steamed for about 6-7 hours in dough-sealed pot along seasonal vegetables and salt. After cooking Served mostly with white rice. You can have them easily in Peshawar or any Desi restaurant across Pakistan.

Kadhi Pakora

If you are vegetarian, Pakistani Cuisine offers a variety of delicious treats.Kadhi Pakora is one of the choices you should consider. This delicious yogurt curry is a combination of gram flour, fritters, and spices that will add flavor to this food.

Smooth and consistent texture will make your taste buds fall in love with this food. The recipe originates from Rajasthan and is popular in Pakistan and India. People often combine it with rice or roti for dinner.

Smoked Eggplant

Another vegan delight, so tasty, simple and quick to make. 

A masala base is created by frying onions, tomatoes, with spices, and mixing with roasted eggplant in the oven, that gives the dish a smoky flavor.

Daal Tarka

A quite simple dish of lentils served with cumin rice, mostly common in Punjab. When the lentils are thoroughly cooked, the tarka is applied; onions, cumin seeds and crushed garlic cloves are fried until brown in a separate pan and added to the lentils without stirring. It makes a sizzling sound as the tarka mixture hits the lentils.

Gajrela

Gajrela is made using a combination of grated carrots, nuts, milk, sugar, boiled eggs, khoya and clarified butter. 

This flavorful dessert often makes an appearance at weddings.

Matanjan

Dating back to Mughal India. This was a sweetheart of Emperors. An eye-catching multicolor dessert, made with sugar, milk, sweet meat, food coloring and flavored with cardamoms, raisins, pistachios and various dry-fruits.

Sheer Khurma

Another dessert eaten at weddings or on Eid al Fitr, the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. 

Sweet and milky dish is slow-cooked using milk, vermicelli, sugar, infused with cardamom and topped with crushed pistachios.

I am sure you had found another reason to visit Pakistan. Have a nice Holiday.

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Munaza Kazmi holds MPhil in Management Sciences (Bahria University Islamabad, 2020). She’s a travel writer, an author, & co-author of scientific contributions in national & international publications. Her main areas of research include tourism & quality management.

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KARACHI, APR 4: The First Sehri of Ramadan was beaming with joy and gratitude, and the hosts along with the guests enjoyed a fulfilling and grand feast to begin the holy month this year, AAA Associates in collaboration with JDC contributed to the occasion. JDC who have been conducting Seher and Aftar for 11 years, along with many other charitable and philanthropic works with a vision of indiscriminate efforts for maximum provision.

It welcomed the representatives of AAA Associates in Karachi, who have promised to deliver 30 bikes for the month of Ramadan - one daily to be awarded to deserving candidates. Chairman AAA Associates, Mr. Fawad Bashir and Country Head AAA Associates, Mr. Kashif Iqbal, with other honourable members of the community were present at the Ramadan banquet. 

AAA Associates believes in the importance of showing empathy and helping others through various works, it is determined to lift the social community and influence productivity and growth in our society. Aftar and Seher will be conducted for the whole month of Ramadan, 2022, in Rawalpindi by the AAA Associates in association with JDC.

Chairman AAA Associates Mr. Fawad Bashir, expressed his views and promised to ensure adequate and sustainable food provision for the malnourished in our community, through constant and consistent efforts to make our society joyous and fulfilling. He said, we need to indulge in the great act of kindness and compassion by feeding the ones struck with poverty and hunger, and those for whom it is hard to make ends meet. 

Previously, AAA Associates with the collaboration of RCCI had arranged Daily Aftar for 500 people throughout the month of Ramadan to feed the underprivileged population of the twin cities in a dignified manner. 

Last year, AAA Associates partnered with JDC in Islamabad on 19th May 2021 setting up the world’s largest Free Mobile Restaurant outside PIMS Hospital in the Capital City. After the successful launch of Free Mobile Restaurant in Karachi, JDC Collaborated with AAA Associates to extend its free food program initiative to other cities by carrying out a similar activity for an underprivileged population of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Syed Zafar Abbas Jafri, General Secretary, JDC Foundation Pakistan, who recently was honoured with Pride of Pakistan on 23rd Mach 2022, conveyed his gratitude for the efforts of AAA Associates and expressed hope that these endeavours will continue to expand and grow.

JDC Foundation Pakistan is an indiscriminate non-profit charitable organization. JDC works for the welfare of humanity in all parts of the world. AAA Associates proudly collaborates with the welfare non-governmental organization JDC, to serve people in need and improve our society with humanitarian services.

We belong to a compassionate nation, 98 percent of Pakistanis contribute to charitable causes, AAA Associates believes, it is significant to move in a direction to eradicate hunger from our society and make it a welfare and nourishing one.

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ISLAMABAD, MAR 8: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the de-sealing of Islamabad's Monal Restaurant, suspending the January 11 Islamabad High Court order of sealing and taking over possession of the restaurant situated in the picturesque Margalla Hills.

The apex court order was issued by a three-member bench headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan.

The IHC had on Jan 11 ordered capital authorities to seal Monal Restaurant and take control of the Margalla Greens Golf Club built on encroached land. The court had also declared the military’s claim to 8,000 acres of Margalla Hills National Park illegal.

The Monal Group of Companies had subsequently challenged the IHC verdict in the top court, urging it to revoke the high court orders.

At the hearing today, Justice Ahsan questioned whether the IHC had issued a signed order to seal the restaurant.

In response, the counsel of the restaurant, Makhdom Ali Khan, stated that a certified copy of the IHC's brief order was available with him.

He said an intra-court appeal had been fixed, but the case was dismissed before hearing.

The top court questioned how the restaurant could be sealed before issuance of the written orders from the court. "The Islamabad Wild Life Management Board (IWMB), which sealed the restaurant, was not even a party to the case," Justice Ahsan pointed out.

"Principally there is no order of the IHC available for sealing the restaurant, while verbal orders have no legal or constitutional standing," Justice Mazahir Naqvi, another judge on the bench, said.

Justice Ahsan said other restaurants had apparently been served a notice before being sealed. "However, this was not the case with the Monal Restaurant."

The judge asked the IWMB lawyer about the number of restaurants sealed by his board.

"Gloria Jeans Cafe and La Montana have been issued notices so far," the lawyer said.

Justice Naqvi resented the action against Monal Restaurant and asked: "Is it a monarchy that the emperor issued the decree and it was implemented before it was signed?"

The court then issued directions to the authorities to de-seal the restaurant.

In its petition, the restaurant had pleaded before the apex court that the high court, while exercising suo motu powers, had ordered the Capital Development Authority chairman and the IWMB to take over the possession of the restaurant and seal the premises when none of the parties had sought such a direction thus seriously prejudicing the fundamental rights of the petitioner.

The petition had contended that the Monal Group of Companies employed 650 individuals and as a result of the high court order, the employees and their families were suffering.

Earlier on November 9, the IHC had blamed several authorities for being complacent about the destruction of Margalla Hills National Park and the wildlife sanctuary. The court had also ordered a survey to be carried out on the damage and a report to be submitted.

In the same month, the court had also asked the attorney general for Pakistan to explain if Messers Remount, the veterinary and farms directorate of the General Headquarters, could legally own or manage state land within the protected area of the national park.

The question arose when Monal Group of Companies pleaded that before the expiry of its lease agreement with the Capital Development Authority on Aug 31, 2021, the company had entered into a fresh agreement with Remount.

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Courtesy Dawn News

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ISLAMABAD, FEB 9: Samrah Enterprises, the leading distribution company representing many international brands in Pakistan, has lived up to its name and has brought top American brands to Pakistan, in facilitation with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

A simple yet impressive ceremony, held at Greenvalley Diplomatic Enclave Islamabad, was graced by Mr. Christopher Rittgers, USDA Agricultural Counselor, US Embassy Islamabad, Mr. John Coronado, Commercial Counselor U.S. Mission to Pakistan, Mr. Rashid Yaqoob Raja, Agricultural Marketing Specialist, U.S. Embassy Islamabad, along with Mrs SamrahMunsub, Founder Samrah Enterprises, and Munsub Abrar, Director Naheed Supermarket.

The new brands introduced at the ceremony, including the famous food brands Midamar Halal meat, Freshly, and Mission Foods, in The addition to Andalou Naturals in the Health & Beauty segment.

Expressing her joy, Samrah Munsub, the Founder and Director Samrah Enterprises, said “House of Samrah is known for introducing quality products, from all over the world, and today we are here to introduce top brands from the United States of America, which also includes our entry to the beauty segment, in addition to the Food products” Referring to the Andalou Naturals a wide range of organic beauty products. “We are thankful to the USDA for facilitating the whole process and making this launch possible”.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Rashid Yaqoob Raja, representing USDA, U.S. Embassy Islamabad said, “We came together with Samrah Enterprises to bring the top American brands to Pakistan. It will be available through E-commerce, as well as in selected stores throughout the country”.

The America Pakistan Business Development Forum, led by Syed Nasser Wajahat Co-Founder Global Secretary-General AMPAK BDF, and Muhammad AmanPir, President Diplomatic and political affairs AMPAK BDF, also attended the ceremony to extend their support to the launch of American products.

The attendees were presented with mouthwatering Wraps by Mission Foods, quality meat products of Midamar Halal Foods, and Freshly products, loved and praised by all.

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KARACHI, JAN 15: Leading Food brand Fresh Street was one of the top attractions at this years’ Karachi Eat Festival, with its unique offerings of mouth-watering delicacies from all corners of the world. 

The Karachi Eat is being held at the Breach View Park from 14 to 16th January 2022, and is being managed under strict health and safety protocols, and COVID SOPs & regulations. 

The long list of Fresh Street menu items on the offering, in line with the event regulations, is comprised of all the items within the price range of 100 to 200 rupees, and includes the crisps of Fresh Street warps, salads, potato fries, with flavored sauces of choice, and the sweetness of ice cream bites and scoops.

“With Fresh Street, we are presenting the tastes of the world with our imported products from across the globe, and at a very nominal price, for people to enjoy it to the fullest” shared Samrah Munsub, Founder and Director of Samrah Enterprises, the distributor for Fresh Street, Dandy, and Hills&Vales brands. 

“The idea is to share the best chef recipes, so can be used in every household kitchen”

Fresh Street, a brand distributed under the Samrah Enterprises, has a large product-line to offer, starting with the condiments category with a complete range of seasoned sauces, syrups, mayonnaise, and vinegars, to an assorted range of frozen products that includes potato-fries mixed vegetables, strawberries, broccoli etc. 

All these products are of European origin and are being proudly packed in Pakistan, representing a mélange of Western and Eastern cuisine culture.

The festival was inaugurated by Governor Sindh Mr. Imran Ismail, saw the attendance of people from all walks of life to enjoy the festivities while maintaining the health SOPs and regulations with mandatory face-masks, vaccination certificate check, and online ticketing to avoid any gathering. 

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KARACHI, Nov 21: The launch of the VI Edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World will be celebrated in Karachi from 22-28 November 2021, this year it is dedicated to the theme "Tradition and perspectives of Italian Cuisine: awareness and enhancement of food sustainability", which combines the promotion of Italian agri-food products with the enhancement of the Mediterranean Diet, as a model of healthy and sustainable diet and lifestyle.

The Consulate of Italy in Karachi has invited two special guests from Italy; Chef Samuele Crestale hailing from Milan and Antonino Fracchiolla, a cheese expert from the south. The two gentlemen will take you on a gastronomical excursion to Italy.

The Cuisine week will consist of a series of activities aimed at promoting Italian Agri- food products, goods and services by organizing a Ho.Re.Ca Summit featuring live cooking by Chef Samuele Crestale and Display of Cheese by Antonino Fracchiolla together with local vendors.

A seminar will be held to create awareness about food sustainability jointly with CNH Industrial (former FIAT Group) to address the issues in the agri supply chain in Pakistan.

 From 25-28, the Italian Food Festival will be held at Avari Towers where Chef Samuele Crestale will welcome the guests and prepare traditional delectable Italian recipes for the people of Karachi to enjoy.

The food festival will continue for four days with the collaboration of Gerry's Group, Cassinetto, Emirates Airlines, Avari Towers Karachi and HBL.

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ISLAMABAD, NOV 5: After successfully launching several international brands across the country, Samrah Enterprises, a distinguished distribution company, has launched Hunter Food’s Safari Potato Grills in Pakistan.

This product originates from the UAE and is available in the flavor ‘Emirati Chilli’, which is an aromatic blend of spices from the Middle East and Asia. The potato snacks are vegetarian and contain no added preservatives hence catering to the needs of different consumers. Honoring the Emirati culinary tradition, the packaging is dressed with the UAE national colors.

“We always aim to bring unique and innovative brands to Pakistan for our consumers,” said Syed Muhammad Salman, VP, Samrah Enterprises. “The Safari Potato Grills are an extremely popular snack in the UAE which is why after an in depth market analysis, we decided to bring it to Pakistan.”

“The newly rebranded Safari chips have been a part of growing up since the 80s in Dubai. They’re also the go-to snack for children and even most adults,” said Samrah Munsub, Director, Samrah Enterprises. “At Samrah Enterprises our mission is to bring the most innovative brands to Pakistan, giving our consumers more options.”

The Safari Potato Grills are available to purchase at all the leading stores in Pakistan. They are also available online at naheed.pk, samrahenterprises.com and daraz.pk.

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ISLAMABAD, OCT 28: Samrah Enterprises, one of the largest distribution companies of the country, has now introduced the international brand Freshly to Pakistan.

Freshly products include a range of microwave popcorn which are also available in fat-free options to cater to the needs of health-conscious consumers. They come in different flavours including natural, butter, lite butter, fat-free and hot and spicy flavoured popcorn. 

“Our goal is to bring forth unique and quality brands to Pakistan,” said Syed Muhammad Salman, VP, Samrah Enterprises. “After thorough research and tasting, we made a decision to introduce Freshly’s popcorn range. As always, we aim to fulfil the needs of consumers with different dietary preferences, which is why we chose Freshly as it includes a fat-free option.”

“At Samrah Enterprises, our top priority is introducing quality products for our consumers to enjoy. The Freshly pop-corn range is a great in-between meals snack option for consumers of different age groups. 

We would also like to thank United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Pakistan for their constant support and helping us introduce this brand here.” Said Samrah Munsub, Director, Samrah Enterprises.

Freshly pop-corn range is now available to purchase at all the leading stores in Pakistan. It is also available online at naheed.pk, samrahenterprises.com and daraz.pk

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KARACHI, OCT 13: Samrah Enterprises, one of Pakistan’s leading distribution companies, has introduced a range of frozen products by the international brand Fresh St in the Pakistani market.

The new frozen range consists of different products with no added preservatives. There are different types of frozen french fries including crinkle, classic, and shoestring french fries. Other products include frozen mixed vegetables, broccoli, sweet corn, and garden peas.

“Our main goal at Samrah Enterprises is to cater to the ever-changing consumer needs,” said Syed Muhammad Salman, VP Marketing, Samrah Enterprises. “With the new Fresh St frozen range, we aim to provide our consumers with healthy yet easy-to-cook options as they go on with their everyday lives.”

Fresh St aims to offer a diversified range of condiments and other food categories. The international brand has a large customer base in UAE and now aims to do the same in Pakistan. 

The new Fresh St frozen range is available to purchase at all the leading stores in Pakistan. It is also available online at naheed.pk,samrahenterprises.comand www.daraz.pk.

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ANKARA, OCT 1: A Turkish couple’s coffee collection is known to be one of the largest private collections related to Ottoman and Turkish coffee culture in the world, and Nihal and her husband Murat Sungur Bursa now aspire to establish a coffee museum.

Turkish coffee, considered a part of the Turkish cultural heritage, was placed in UNESCO’s ”Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” list in 2013.

Turkish coffee combines steps and stages of serving and brewing techniques with a rich communal tradition, while the tradition itself is a symbol of hospitality, friendship, refinement, and entertainment, the Bursa couple said.

Their collection contains thousands of rare items displaying the refined coffee culture that emerged in the Ottoman geography and spread to other parts of the world.

The couple started their collection with three exquisite porcelain coffee cups around three decades ago.

Their interest in coffee culture has grown into a collection, built piece by piece that they acquired during travels worldwide, auctions, street bazaars, and antique shops over the years.

The wide range of more than 5,000 items in the collection covers traditional equipment and vessels for preparing and serving coffee, roasters, coolers, mortar and pestles, grinders, boxes for storing, special coffee pots, cups, and censers, as well as printed matter and ephemera, the oldest pieces dating back to the 17th century.

All these equipment and vessels show the ceremonial character of Turkish coffee and its decorum.

In 2015, Bursa Family loaned some items of their collection to the exhibition “A Drop of Pleasure: 500 Years of Turkish Coffee” at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Nihal Bursa contributed to the exhibition book by authoring one of the chapters titled A Decorum of Pleasure: Material culture of Turkish coffee from seed to cup. In the same year, the exhibition, Turkish Coffee: Energizing the body+Feeding the soul, was organized in the Turkish Pavilion in Milan EXPO 2015.

MAYER MUSEUM FOR ISLAMIC ART IN JERUSALEM

Recently, some items from the Bursa Collection have been hosted in the exhibition Coffee: East&West organized by the Mayer Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem, comprising one of the three major sections of the exhibition that display the Ottoman and Turkish coffee culture.

In the historical and holy city of Jerusalem, the exhibition opened its doors to visitors in July.

Objects on display represent the rich coffee culture of the Ottoman-Turkish period, the Bedouins, and coffee-making equipment from more than 30 countries.

It is very common to have temporary exhibitions in private and public museums in all parts of the world. One may ask, ”what makes this coffee exhibition so exemplary and different from others?”

Director of the Museum Nadim Sheiban, who closed down the weapons gallery at the entrance soon after his appointment, has approved the preparation of the coffee exhibition. Sheiban said rather than rifles, bows, arrows and swords, Islam is a religion that supports peace just like coffee has historically done.

Historical objects from among the Bursa family coffee collection were selected and moved to Jerusalem with exactly the same idea Murat Sungur and Nihal Bursa had. They were thrilled when they received an invitation from the museum curator Yahel Shafer to contribute to the coffee exhibition.

During the following months, pieces related to Turkish coffee culture had been carefully selected from the private collection of the Bursa family living in Istanbul and made their journey to Jerusalem.

The exhibition was organized at the Jerusalem Islamic Arts Museum.

Murat Bursa said Turkish coffee ceremonies can be organized during receptions held for foreign country representatives, adding: ”The Turkish Republic is only a century old, but we enjoy heritage from thousands of years by pointing out the same tradition at the Ottoman Court had.

”Tea ceremony in Japan is so admirable and exemplary, just as the Turkish Coffee Ceremony in our culture.”

Collecting and contributing to the Turkish coffee culture is a lifetime endeavor for the Bursa couple. Murat Sungur Bursa is a mechanical engineer, a retired senior bureaucrat, manager in the private sector, and once the CEO of an energy company. He is currently the chairman of the Sustainability Academy in Istanbul. Nihal Bursa is an architect with her degree from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, where she also served as a professor. She is currently the head of the Department of Industrial Design at Beykent University in Istanbul.

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COURTESY Anews

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