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Indian Food
'Indian Food' it is
hardly surprising that a nation of such rich complexity and sheer vastness the
definition of a national cuisine is, at best, elusive. Certainly, Indians are
masterful with spices, blending ultimate combinations tailored to each dish.
But beyond that, differences are perhaps more common than similarities.
Northerners prefer wheat based, Southerners rice. The tropical south tends to
be vegetarian; the north meat eaters or non-vegetarian. Even the ubiquitous
Indian curry means different things to different people! The visitor will find
that crossing state lines means crossing culinary lines as well, for India is a
glorious riot of diversity. As in Europe, each state often lays claim to a
unique history, culture, language - and food. One important caveat, however:
the food a visitor comes across in hotels and restaurants may be surprisingly
homogenous. When restaurants first became popular, after Independence,
(traditional sensibilities frowned upon eating out), the vast majority were
Punjabi and Mughal court inspired, and that continues today. The finest Indian
cooking is still the preserve of private homes - needless to say, if you are so
honoured as to receive an invitation to dine in India, do not hesitate.
DELHI Although a city rather than a region, Delhi is included here in part because a millennium's worth of
history and rulers can almost be traced in her local cuisine: the high tea and
cake of the Raj era is still served in tiny drawing rooms throughout the city.
Equally, Delhi stands out as the founding father of Punjabi restaurant fare.
The city's Punjabi community, who came to Delhi at the time of Partition,
brought with clay oven (tandoors), the robust red tandoori chicken has quickly
became a Delhi - and Indian restaurant - staple.
KASHMIR - The breathtaking landscape here,
snowcapped mountains enclosing a lush valley, grows some of the nation's
sweetest rice and finest bakers. When a Kashmiri sits down to dine, likely it
will be on this rice and kohlrabi, cooked with chillies. Lamb is another
favourite - the delectable rogan jhosh, for example - although Hindus and
Muslims will spice them differently, as are aubergines, lotus root, and
cabbage. The distinct flavour of Kashmir comes from ver, a dried spice paste
(the ingredients, which might include chillies, coriander, cumin, cloves,
ginger, turmeric, and cardamom, and differ from family to family) which is
sprinkled on dishes. Kashmiris dry the bounty of summer in preparation for the
winter, hence the abundance of dried fruits and nuts in restaurant dishes like
" Kashmir naan" and Kashmir Pullao".
WEST BENGAL - The state that gave its name to the Bay of Bengal loves fish. At
least one fish dish will be included in each meal, and the favourite way of
cooking hilsa-fish-is to cook elishbhapa. Fish pieces coated in a mix of
mustard seeds, mustard oil, and turmeric are wrapped in banana leaves and
cooked. Indeed, these mustard seeds and mustard oil are classic Bengali spices.
And if no meal is complete without fish, similarly, no meal should end without
a sweet, for Bengalis have a notoriously sweet tooth. Rasgullas, the fresh
cheese-dough balls in syrup, is a favourite throughout India, but the array of
delicious sweetmeats seems endless here.
ANDHRA
PRADESH - The seat of the fabulously wealthy Nizam of Hyderabad whose
Muslim court ruled with all the fabled excesses of a maharajah, Hyderabad's
setting in Hindu South India has produced a splendid cuisine. There are simple
dishes, like rice and lentils - kitchri - accompanied by pappadums, mango
pickle and kheema curry. There are more complex dishes, like the deep fried
pastry dough squares, stuffed with minced meat, called lukmi. There is chippe
ka gosht, meat marinated in a heavenly combination of green chillies, coconut,
yogurt, garam masala, garlic and onion; there are delicate fried minced meat
balls, dunked in to a yogurt mixture, called kacche dahi ke koftay. Meals end
with the famous marzipan baadaam ki jaali, layered with edible silver
tissue.
MAHARASHTRA - With bustling
Mumbai as its capital, foodies call
Maharashtra state the dividing line between the wheat-eating north and the
rice-eating south (the Kashmiri northbeing the exception that proves the rule).
Denizens of Maharashtra enjoy both. This is the region that produces the famed
Alphoso mangoes, a gourmet delicacy in mango-loving circles, The fishermen of
the coastline bring in seafood that is prepared in pastes of chilli, coconut,
cinnamon, cloves, turmeric; rubbed with coconut paste and flavoured with
chillies. In Mumbai, everyone gathers around the bhel-puri man's cart, sampling
the puffy bread along with sweet-sour chutneys, hot and spicy sauces, crunchy
wheat flour bits.
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