Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: The Taste of India

When the Foodbuzz call came in Feb, I was in the middle of researching tasting menus, in terms of the timing, layout and selection of courses. So that’s what I proposed, a kind of tasting menu, composed entirely of Indian food. Indian food doesn’t traditionally have the concept of courses, so a tasting menu is entirely alien to the culture, but it was worth trying out nonetheless.

I did feel a bit nervous submitting the proposal and plagued with all sorts of doubts, since I’ve never done a tasting menu before, but then a cook’s gotta do what a cook’s gotta do. For some reason, I’ve always sat a bit too far out on the branch, and this was no exception – 14 courses? I must have been crazy!

The interesting thing about Indian food is that it keeps, what with all those spices and stuff, it actually tastes better the next day! So… if I wanted to cheat, all I’d have to do would be to serve frozen leftovers from the previous two weeks! (Note to Foodbuzz: I’m joking. Everything was cooked/procured fresh!)

So… what would our menu consist of? The concept as presented was a Pan Indian menu that would cover all four corners of India. To be fair, even that doesn’t begin to do justice to the many, many flavors found in India, but then my marriage is important too. So 14 courses it would be. We organized the menu into four not-so-creative sections – snacks, starter, main courses and dessert. These came from Gujarat (West India), Punjab (North India), Uttar Pradesh (North India), Kashmir (Upper North India), West Bengal (East India) Assam (East India), Nagaland (East India) and Tamil Nadu (South India). The final list, slightly different from the one in my proposal was:

• Snacks (#1 thru #4)
• Starters (#5)
• Main Courses (#6 thru #14)
• Desserts (#15 and #16)

1. Khandvi from Gujarat
2. Dhokla from Gujarat
3. Seekh Kebabs from Uttar Pradesh
4. Pyaaj ki Kachori from Rajasthan
5. Rice Idlis in Sambar with Coconut Chutney from Tamil Nadu
6. Pork in Naga Mircha from Nagaland
7. Chickpea curry from Punjab
8. Gustaba from Kashmir
9. Rista from Kashmir
10. Masar Tenga from Assam
11. Tandoori Chicken from Punjab
12. Palak Paneer from Punjab
13. Galauti Kebabs with Rumali Parathas from Uttar Pradesh
14. Hyderabadi Lamb Biryani from Andhra Pradesh
15. Raita (Typically North Indian, but usually found everywhere)
16. Rossogolla from Bengal
17. Rasmalai from Bengal

As you can see, we ended up with 17 different types of dishes, excluding some more snacks, which we felt weren’t substantial enough to be counted as individual dishes. These were

1. Spiced, dry Chick peas (North)
2. Fried Banana Chips (South)
3. Mathi Chakli (West)
4. Masala Chakli (West)
5. Fried, Spicy Potato Chips (North)
6. Fried potato balls (commercial, McCains!)

We chose our cuisine origins based on the number of states in India, which we felt had a distinctive food culture. For example, we thought states like Uttarakhand, Uttaranchal and Jharkhand, which are politically rather than culturally separated, could be adquately represented by their neighbouring states. Since our project had become a little ambitious, we decided to go search and buy our food rather than make it. Also, as the places we intended to buy from would have ethnic cooks, we did feel the flavors would be better if were to outsource.

Our guest list comprised Jayashree & Raghuram (Academic Liason at Large, Audiophile/Autophile/Technophile), Sheila & Mohan (Educator/Foodie, Troubleshooter at Large), Bindu (Educator/Foodie) and Bhawna & Rahul (Homemaker, Ad Sales).

On to the food now. Unfortunately, the photos for the Galauti Kebabs and the Masar Tenga didn’t come out well and so are not included in this post.

1. Khandvi: A typical Gujarati snack, Khandi is made by thickening yogurt and seasoned chick pea flour, spreading into thin sheets and allowing the batter to cool. When cool, the now solid sheets are cut into 2 inch strips and rolled. On these a mixture of sauteed mustard seeds, green chilli, saute oil, chopped fresh coriander leaves and grated coconut are added for the garnish. It is one of my all time favorite snacks and while delicious when hot, is usually eat cool.
2. Dhokla: Another Gujarati favorite, where seasoned chick pea batter is fermented, than steamed after adding a little baking powder. This too is garnished with a mixture of sauteed mustard seeds, green chilli, saute oil, chopped fresh coriander leaves and grated coconut.
3. Seekh Kebabs: While these are available all over India, they arguably originate from Muslim cooking in Lucknow. A mixture of spices, lentils and ground meat is wrapped around long metal skewers (seekhs) and roasted over hot coals or in a clay oven (tandoor). When cooked, it is served very hot, with coriander and mint chutney, onions and lemon.
4. Pyaaj ki Kachori: A Rajasthani speciality, the kachori is traditionally a piece of dough, stuffed with a spicy mixture and deep fried. This kachori is stuffed with a very distinctive onion-spice mixture and usually served with a mint-coriander chutney and a sweet chilli sauce and yogurt.
5. Rice Idlis in Sambar with Coconut Chutney: The Idli is said to have originated around 920 AD and is made of a mixture of lentils and rice, ground to a paste and then fermented. After fermenting, the mixture is divided into portions in a special utensil and steamed in the form of little cakes. These are then eaten with sambar (a spicy vegetable stew), coconut chutney, tomato chutney or just with ground spices mixed with a little oil.
6. Pork in Naga Mircha from Nagaland: The Naga Mircha is officially certified as the hottest chilli in the world, clocking well over a million Scoville Heat Units. One bite is deemed enough to satisfy the more incorrigible chilli addict and is guaranteed to make the average person literally cry! It is found fresh only in Nagaland and in the North East regions of India. This pork curry, made the normal way with ginger, garlic, turmeric and salt, is seasoned with Naga Mircha. I have *never*, *ever* eaten anything so hot.
7. Chickpea curry: A typical Punjabi dish, chickpeas or cholley, are soaked overnight in water and then cooked in a tomato gravy using powdered coriander, toasted cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon, dried mango powder, powdered dried pomogranate seeds and aniseed among other possible spices. The traditional recipe is usually differs from house to house.
8. Gustaba: A very well known Kashmiri speciality from Wazwan cuisine, Gustaba and Rista are similar in the sense that both use seasoned (fennel seeds, ginger, garam masala) lamb meat and lamb fat is ground to a fine paste, shaped into balls and slowly simmered in a gravy (garam masala, sugar, khoya, yogurt, milk) until cooked.
9. Rista: Another well known Kashmiri dish, the preparation of Rista is quite similar to Gustaba. The differences lie in the season for the mutton balls (cardamom powder, salt, ginger powder) and that for the gravy (Saffron, Red chili powder, Fennel powder, Bay leaves, Cloves, Cinnamon, Asafoetida liquid).
10. Masar Tenga: Literally translated to ‘Sour Fish Curry’, Masar Tenga is an Assamese staple and quite a well known dish. Slices of fish are first frid to a light brown color and removed. In the same pan, paanch-phuran and green chillies are fried, crumbled boiled potatoes added along with some turmeric powder and some water. When the consistency thickens, the fish is added and cooked for a few minutes more. Coriander leaves, mint leaves and lemon juice are added a few minutes before serving.
11. Tandoori Chicken: One of the most cliched Punjabi dishes doing the rounds for ages, Tandoori chicken is a mass favorite and available all over the country. Pieces of chicken on the bone are marinated in a ginger, garlic, chilli, red food color and yogurt mixture for a few hours. The pieces are then skewered and roasted in a clay oven. Sometimes, this treatment is given to entire birds and cut into pieces later. Traditionally eaten with onion, mint-coriander chutney and tandoori roti or naan.
12. Palak Paneer: A popular Punjabi vegetarian dish, palak paneer is essentially cottage cheese cooked in a spiced mixture blanched and pureed winter greens or only spinach leaves. The spice mixture includes garlic, ginger, dried coriander seeds, chilli, onion, cumin seed and tomatoes.
13. Galauti Kebabs with Rumali Parathas: As the story goes, a Nawab (minor royalty) from Lucknow desired kebabs, but couldn’t eat them because his teeth were history. The Galauti kebab was invented for him, due to it’s melt in the mouth, yet meaty flavour. The Galouti kebab is a mixture of finely minced meat, butter, ginger, garlic, papaya paste, salt, chilli powder, mace powder and gram flour. This mixture, after a brief period of chilling is shaped into patties and pan fried, before being served with lemon, onion rings and rotis/naan.
14. Hyderabadi Lamb Biryani from Andhra Pradesh: There’s biryani and then there’s authentic Hyderabadi Biryani. Hyderabadi biryani is cooked with raw meat in a sealed container, that gives it it’s distinctive flavor. Meat, salt, ginger paste, garlic paste, chilli powder, green chilli paste, sautéed onions, cardamom powder, cinnamon powder, cumin seeds, whole cloves, mace powder, mint leaves and lemon juice are added to a container. To this is added curd, ghee, half cooked basmati rice, saffron, water and oil and the whole lot mixed. The container is covered and sealed with wholemeal flour dough and very slowly cooked until ready.
15. Boondi Raita: Whenever yogurt is whipped and things added to it, it is given the generic name – ‘Raita’. The ‘things’ added can include grated cucumber, grated gourd, diced pineapple, diced onions and tomatoes and boondi (tiny balls of fried batter). Raita is usually garnished with patterns of chilli powder, garam masala and/or dried powdered coriander seeds (dhania).
16. Rossogolla from Bengal: These are essentially chhena and semolina balls cooked in sugar syrup. Spongy and delicious, Rasgullas originally came from Orissa, from where they made their way to Bengal and became a Bengali dish for most purposes.
17. Rasmalai from Bengal: Another rightly famous and delicious dessert, Rasmalai is made from kneaded and shaped, cottage cheese, first gently cooked in sugar syrup and then soaked in thickened sweet milk flavored with saffron and served chilled.

We had a good time with the food, though the Naga Mircha did wreak havoc to my insides for a while to come!

- Sid