All About Cooking (Varieties Of Cuisine)
This Is A Work In Progress
Food and Culture are so interrelated, it might be worthwhile to look deeply into India's geographical, historical, and cultural background before attempting to explore the exotic cuisine. India is one of the largest countries in the world with great diversity of land-forms, such as lofty mountains, deep valleys, extensive plains, and a number of islands. A great arc of mountains including the Himalayas define Northern India. Rivers originating in the mountains such as the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Kaveri, run through the plains resulting in a fertile land where the crops are abundant. The ocean in the south is the Indian Ocean; the Bay of Bengal is to the east, and Arabian Sea to the west.
Food habits are also influenced by religious and cultural choices, and traditions. India is an amalgamation of many cultures due to trades, and invasions. The culture has been influenced by a history that is several millennia old, and the cuisine has been influenced by Persians, Mughals, Arabs and Europeans.If we look at the map of India, the four distinct regions are very clear. The Northern region consists of enchanting Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Gujarat and Maharashtra lie in the west. East covers West Bengal and Orissa. And the South includes Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Generally Indian cuisine can be split into five main categories - Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western, and North-eastern. I will introduce you to the Bengali cuisine in particular which falls in the eastern category, but there is nothing wrong in exploring the other regional cooking styles and flavours. Every state is almost a country by itself, and each has its own cuisine!
The main crops of the plains are rice and wheat. Other important crops are maize, sugarcane, cotton and many more. A number of food-grains, pulses, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables grow on the fertile land. Because of the range of diversity in soil type, climate, and occupations, India has a wide variety of regional cuisines. Food habits vary depending on the locally available herbs and spices, vegetables and fruits. Eastern and Southern parts of India depend heavily on rice as their staple, because the climate is perfect for producing rice. But North and West states grow more wheat which becomes their staple food-item. So in Bengal, we are used to eating rice for both lunch and dinner, whereas in Punjab, chapatis made of wheat or maize are all they need for everyday requirements. Interestingly, in South India, they have a crunchy crepe-style pancake which is called " Dosa", and which is made of rice and lentils together.The Northern part which is mountainous land, cuisine is so much different from the South, because South is mostly coastal area, close to the oceans .
The people in the North of India use a lot of tomatoes and onions in their cooking, while the people in the Southern part use plenty of coconut and tamarind. The reason must be the availability of those vegetables due to the natural surroundings. Jammu and Kashmir in the Himalayan region is the ever-mysterious, ever-coveted part of the country which may brag of a totally Mughal cuisine. I had been to Jammu and Kashmir for my honeymoon and stayed in the houseboats on Dal Lake. Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir, is as captivating as Switzerland in Europe. The lake, the valley, the mountains, the Mughal gardens ( planned by the Mughal emperor Shahjehan ) are breathtaking! The food in the region is influenced by the royal cuisine of Mughal emperors. The aromatic meat dishes such as Rogan Josh, Seekh Kabab, Chicken Pulao have their origins in Persia, and some of the vegetable dishes such as Dum Aloo ( Potato) are no less appetizing. Kashmir is famous for growing walnuts; so Walnut Chutney is a favourite condiment.
I grew up in West Bengal, but I lived in Northern India for a while after I got married, and had a family of my own to cook for. I found a difference in ingredients, such as rice and vegetables, when we moved to Delhi, the capital of India. The most popular rice we find in North America is Parboiled Basmati ( meaning " Flavourful" in Hindi), but in Bengal the most common rice is Boiled Rice. Okay, perhaps I am being a bit confused. The most staple food in India is rice, but it has many different varieties. First of all, rice can be boiled or parboiled. I found a lot of people are confused about what that indicates. Parboiled rice is partially boiled in the husk. In this process the raw rice or paddy is dehusked by using steam. The process generally changes the colour of the rice, and it is the most nutritious variety. There is a buzz everywhere, but especially in North America, about the health benefits of eating brown rice. I remember, in our childhood, brown rice used to be considered as poor people's food, because it was rougher and cheaper; we were so disappointed if, for some reason, we had to eat brown rice. I feel so amused now when I find myself looking for brown rice in the supermarket.
Rice is an everyday food in most parts of India, but there are a few methods of cooking rice. As a little girl of six, I had the opportunity of going on a vacation in Kerala, where my uncle worked and lived for forty years. I, my mother, and my little sister stayed in the little town of Aleppe for three months with my uncle's family. My fondest memory is playing with the waves on the sandy beach every evening. Another fond memory is having "Canjee" for breakfast every morning. Canjee is a preparation of rice, or a thick porridge; it is prepared by boiling rice in a large amount of water for a very long time; as a result the grains are almost disintegrated. I loved the breakfast and the fresh home-made butter which was churned every day. Canjee can be eaten on its own, or with meat, fish or vegetables. It is a good meal when someone is sick, most probably because it is easy to digest.
Other than rice, flatbreads such as Chapati, Roti, Paratha. Luchi, Puri, Dosa and Idli are the common items for the main meal. All these flatbreads are eaten with vegetable curry, lentils, or meat dishes. The first three varieties, Chapati, Roti, Paratha are made from wheat flour, while Luchi, which is special in Bengal, is made of refined flour. It is light and fluffy, and irresistible to the palate. A wedding menu will definitely have Luchi on the list. My daughter, who is a picky eater, can't stop eating when once in a while I decide to give them a taste of Bengal! Dosa and Idli are prepared by mixing rice and lentil paste, and largely eaten in South India, although it has become popular in every part of India now, because of its crispiness, and nutritional value of using a minimum amount of oil.
Wow, we already learnt quite a lot about Indian regional varieties! In our next conversation, let's focus on the other crucial ingredients.
Regional variation could also be found in the medium in which the food items are cooked. The Eastern region, which includes Bengal and Assam, prefers to use mustard oil as their cooking medium, and so does the North. But South India extensively uses coconut oil for obvious reasons - the area is full of coconut trees. Groundnut oil is another medium popular in north and western India. There is an exotic medium of cooking exclusive to India, and it is Ghee. India is a tropical country, and mostly hot throughout the year. It is hard to keep butter fresh in that weather. Ghee is actually clarified butter, but the process is unique to India, and this cooking medium adds exquisite flavour to the dishes, almost like the way saffron does! Ghee is usually more expensive than other cooking oils, and considered to be fattier. But a little bit goes a long way! Adding a little bit of ghee, even at the end of cooking, gives a heavenly touch to exotic dishes as well as the most ordinary.
Even the condiments, or locally called Chutney, have a regional touch. In Bengal, mangoes grow in abundance. My grandmother's kitchen had shelves full of all kinds of bottled condiments and preserves, known as"Achar" in Bengal, prepared from mangoes and tamarind. Mangoes can be used when they are green, or when they are ripe. Mango-condiments can be spicy, hot, sour, or really sweet. My grandmother used to actually lock the cupboard to hide the achar-bottles from the children, otherwise, they were so yummy, they would be gone in a few days. She did not use vinegar or any kind of preservatives, but the fruit-pieces were soaked in oil and spices. Once in a while when the weather was hot and sunny, she used to bring the bottles outside and leave them in the sun for hours. That's what did the trick.
The word " achar" literally means " rituals'', perhaps because women used to follow ritual-type behaviour, e.g. taking bath, wearing very clean, fresh clothes, while preparing those condiments.They believed the cleanliness will help those condiments to stay sterile and fresh. The condiments were enjoyed at the end of the meals throughout the year. While reading a book about how to lower blood-sugar, I found that having something sour, or acidic, helps slow the digestion, as a result not getting hungry too quickly. How wise were our ancestors! Even travelling from one region to another in India, we will come across a lot of variations in cooking and preserving. While Bengal uses mainly mangoes and tamarind for their preserves, in North India I have found all kinds of vegetables such as carrots or cauliflowers being pickled and preserved.
One more special characteristic of Indian cooking is adding fresh herbs, different varieties, again, grown in different regions. Bay Leaf is the most common among all the herbs used. Bay Leaves are used to favour very simple dishes, such as Dal ( Lentils) or Sukto ( vegetable soup), but, along with Garam Masala, it brings exotic flavour to the meat dishes. Bay leaves are used for preparing exotic tea or " Chai". I lived in Assam for a few years, and I used freshly roasted bay leaves in my tea ( which I learnt from my neighbour), and it was just being in heaven every morning!
In the North, Coriander ( Cilantro or Parsley) and Mint leaves are very common. North India , generally, is dry and hot. Mint leaves are supposed to bring body temperature down, and cool the body. In the South, almost every house has a leafy tree, and they pick the leaves fresh for everyday cooking; these leaves are called " Curry Leaves". There is a really special leaf used in India for medicinal purposes, called " Neem". In West Bengal some people eat slightly fried Neem-leaves everyday, the first thing for lunch, because these leaves are believed to lower blood-sugar. But those leaves are extremely bitter, I am not really expecting you to relish it, unless you are a health-fanatic!
In our next conversation, we will dig into the possibilities of cooking with some other spices used for a very special authentic menu.
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