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Chicken kebab with a vegetarian, haloumi cheese kebab. Picture: Jennifer Bruce

Islamabad: For decades, Pakistan and India have engaged in a dangerous nuclear arms race. Now they’re also competing in a more cheerful forum.

The fractious neighbours are going head-to-head in two reality TV shows that pit chefs and musicians against each other. Producers hope the contests will help bridge the gulf between them. But so far it hasn’t completely worked out that way. The top Pakistani chef on the cooking show, Foodistan, quit the contest early. He accused the judges of bias towards India and is threatening to sue. The producers denied the allegations.

Pakistan and India have fought three major wars.

“Now the world’s greatest rivalry is going to get spicier,” said co-host Ira Dubey during an early episode of Foodistan, which first aired in India last week and will be shown in Pakistan later this month.

Eight chefs from each country were scheduled for individual and team competitions over 26 one-hour episodes, with the winner authoring the first Foodistan cookbook and receiving a trip to three cities of his or her choice anywhere in the world.

There is significant overlap in the cuisines of both countries. Pakistanis and Indians both love curry, kebab and breyani, but they often use different ingredients, and dishes vary from one region to another in the same country.

Pakistani dishes often include beef, which is not eaten by many people in majority Hindu India. India has more vegetarian dishes, and the food is often cooked with coconut milk that is rarely found in Pakistan.

During the first cook-off, filmed in New Delhi, the judges gave four chefs from each side two hours to prepare a breyani, curry, kebab and dessert.

The judges loved the Iranian-inspired fish breyani cooked by the Pakistanis, their chicken kebab stuffed with figs, olives, bread and mango chutney, and their dessert of fried bread soaked in hot milk with spices. The chicken was a tad chewy.

The Indians won by a point with a menu that included chicken tikka with truffle cream, cheese kofta in a tomato and water chestnut curry, lamb breyani and a sweet rice pudding topped with strawberry granita.

The captain of the Pakistani team, Mohammed Naeem, executive chef at the Park Plaza Hotel in Lahore, alleged the judges didn’t have enough knowledge of Pakistani food and were destined to pick an Indian to win.

The judges included a British chef, an Indian food critic and a Bollywood actress of Pakistani and French descent. – Sapa-AP