In the beautiful
and rich valley of Kashmir, all dishes
are built around the main course of rice.
A thick-leafed green leafy vegetable called
‘hak’ grows in abundance here
and is used to make the delicious ‘saag’.
The boat-dwelling people use the lotus
roots as a substitute for meat. Morel
mushrooms called ‘gahchi’
are harvested and consumed around summer
time. The tea drunk in Kashmir is not
orange pekoe or Twinning, but a spice-scented
green tea called ‘kahava’,
which is poured from a large metal kettle,
called ‘samovar’. Fresh fish
found in the many lakes and streams here
are also consumed with relish. Lamb and
poultry are cooked in the Mughlai style.
The Kashmiri equivalent of the thali is
a 36-course meal called the ‘waazwaan’.
Bengalis eat
a lot of fish and one of the delicacies
called the ‘hilsa’ is spiced
and wrapped in pumpkin leaf and cooked.
Another unusual ingredient used in Bengali
cooking is the bamboo shoot. Milk sweets
from this region like the Roshgolla, Sandesh,
Cham-cham are world famous. In the south
of India, rice is eaten for breakfast,
lunch and dinner. Raw rice, parboiled
rice, Basmathi rice are some of the different
types of rice eaten here. Parboiled rice
is raw rice treated through a process
wherein the ingredients and aroma of the
husk are forced into the rice. Steamed
rice dumplings or idlis, roasted rice
pancakes or dosais are eaten along with
coconut chutneys for breakfast. A dosai
stuffed with spiced potatoes, vegetables
or even minced lamb constitutes the famous
‘masala dosai’. Coconut, either
in a shredded, grated or blended form
is a must in most dishes here. Tender
coconut water is drunk for it’s
cooling effect(now available in most supermarkets
in cartons) on the system. The Chettinad
dishes from Tamil Nadu consist of a lot
of meat and poultry cooked in tamarind
and roasted spices.
Most Andhra
food tends to be quite hot and spicy.
Eating a banana or yogurt after such a
meal can quench the fires raging within
the system. Hyderabad, the capital city,
is the home of the Muslim Nawabs(rulers)
and is famous for it’s superb biriyani,
simply delicious grilled kababs, kurmas
and rich deserts(made with apricots).
In Bombay,
the food is a happy combination of north
and south. Both rice and wheat are included
in their diets. A lot of fish is available
along the long coastline and the Bombay
Prawn and Pomfret preparations are delicious.
Further down south along the coast, in
Goa, a Portuguese influence is evident
in dishes like the sweet and sour Vindaloo,
duck baffad, sorpotel and egg molie.
In Kerala,
lamb stew and appams, Malabar fried prawns
and idlis, fish molie and dosai, rice
puttu and sweetened coconut milk are the
many combinations eaten at breakfast.
Puttu is glutinous rice powder steamed
like a pudding in a bamboo shoot.
Sweets are
very popular all over India and are usually
cooked in a lot of fat. ‘Jalebis’,
luscious pretzel shaped loops fried to
a golden crisp and soaked in saffron syrup
can be had from any street vendor in North
India. ‘Kheer’ or ‘payasam’
are equivalents of the rice pudding and
‘Kulfi’ is an Indian ice cream
made in conical moulds and frozen.
Tea is drunk
as a beverage in India. Tea from the hills
of Darjeeling and Kalimpong are boiled
in milk and water and served with a liberal
dose of sugar. Filtered coffee is a favorite
among South Indians and is a very sweet,
milky version of coffee.
Many varieties
of foreign whiskies, rum, even Tequila
is available in India now. Indian beers
like ‘Kingfisher’ and ‘Kalyani’
are mild in comparison to the Australian
ones. Indian wines have begun making a
foray into the market now. ‘Grover
vineyards’ have a good red and a
decent pink. One doesn’t need an
alcohol permit to consume liquor here,
but permits are issued on request. The
‘All India Liquor Permit’
is an interesting document that states
the ‘requirement for a person to
drink for medical reasons’. Prohibition
has been imposed in some states like Gujarat,
Andhra Pradesh and Haryana. Among the
local spirits available here is the famous
‘Feni’ from Goa concocted
from cashew and coconuts (an ideal beach
drink). ‘Toddy’ is tapped
from coconut palms and is best drunk in
the early hours of the morning. ‘Tharra’
is a deadly drink made from cane, orange
or pineapple. This can make you stink
to glory and is famous for it’s
killing capabilities.
Most of the
spices used in Indian food have been used
for their medicinal properties in addition
to the flavor and taste they impart. Ginger
is believed to have originated in India
and was introduced to China over 3000
years ago. In India, a knob of fresh ginger
added to tea is believed to relieve sore
throats and head colds, not to mention
it’s aphrodisiacal properties! Turmeric
is splendid against skin diseases and
neem leaves are used to guard against
small pox.
It is these
complexities of regional food in India
that make it a so very fascinating try! |