Ruh-e-Persia Food Festival Begins At Holiday Inn Cochin
Ruh-e-Persia food festival at Holiday Inn Cochin brings authentic Persian cuisine and cultural flavours to Kyra restaurant in Kochi.
nishathapa 
KOCHI, May 22, 2026: Holiday Inn Cochin is running Ruh-e-Persia, a Persian and Middle Eastern food festival at Kyra, its in-house dining venue, from May 15 to 24, 2026. The festival is curated by Chef Azi Karami, a specialist in Persian and Middle Eastern cuisine, and brings together charcoal-grilled preparations, traditional rice dishes, mezze spreads and desserts drawn directly from the culinary traditions of Iran and the wider region.
Food festivals at hotel dining venues live or die on two things: the authenticity of the cooking and the credentials of the person doing it. On both counts, Ruh-e-Persia is on solid ground. Chef Karami grew up in Iran, and the menu she has put together at Kyra is not a surface-level interpretation of a cuisine she read about, it is the food she actually grew up eating, cooked the way it is supposed to be cooked.
Ruh-e-Persia Food Festival Brings Authentic Persian and Middle Eastern Cuisine
The festival menu covers the full range of what makes Persian and Middle Eastern dining distinctive. On the mezze end, Hummus with Beef and Muhammara set the table alongside other cold and warm starters that reward taking time over the first course rather than rushing toward the main event.
The kebab section is where the charcoal grill earns its place. Persian Koobideh Kebab, minced lamb seasoned and skewered in the traditional style, and Turkish Adana Kebab, its spicier counterpart from southeastern Turkey, are both present. Turkish Dolma Lamb, vine leaves wrapped around a seasoned filling, rounds out the meat-led offerings alongside Turkish Pide, the boat-shaped flatbread that is one of the most adaptable and satisfying things to come out of the Levantine baking tradition.
Chef Azi Karami on What Ruh-e-Persia Means to Her Personally
Chef Karami was direct about the personal dimension of what she is cooking at Kyra this week.
"Ruh-e-Persia is very special to me because it allows me to share the flavours, traditions, and memories I grew up with in Iran. Through every dish, I want guests to experience the warmth and richness of Persian hospitality and cuisine."
— Chef Azi Karami, Guest Chef, Ruh-e-Persia at Kyra, Holiday Inn Cochin
That personal connection shows up most clearly in the rice dishes. Zereshk Polo, saffron-scented rice cooked with barberries and served with Stuffed Chicken, is one of Iran's most celebrated preparations, a dish that appears at celebrations and family gatherings across the country and carries real emotional weight for anyone who grew up with it on the table. Sabzi Polo, the herb rice traditionally paired with fish and served at Nowruz, the Persian New Year, appears here alongside Flamed Fish, a combination that would be immediately recognisable to any Iranian guest who walks through the door.
The Dessert Spread Closes With Kunafa and Baklava
The sweet end of the menu brings Kunafa and Baklava, two of the most widely recognised desserts across the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean, each with its own regional interpretation and its own devoted following. Kunafa, with its shredded pastry shell and warm cheese filling, and Baklava, with its layers of filo and nut filling soaked in syrup, are not complicated concepts to understand. What separates a good version from a mediocre one is almost entirely in the execution, the quality of the syrup, the freshness of the pastry, the balance of sweetness. Both are well within Chef Karami's range.
A Limited Run That Kochi Diners Should Not Miss
The Ruh-e-Persia festival runs only until May 24, which at the time of publication leaves very little time for anyone in Kochi who wants to experience it. The window is tight, but that is also part of what makes limited-period culinary festivals at hotel dining venues worth acting on, the same menu will not be there next week.
Holiday Inn Cochin's Kyra has been building a reputation for curated culinary experiences through guest chef collaborations and themed festival menus, and Ruh-e-Persia is among the more focused and personally driven of those efforts. For diners in Kochi who want Persian and Middle Eastern food cooked by someone for whom it is genuinely home cuisine, not a hotel kitchen interpretation of a distant tradition, this is the right address for the next two days.
