Oil, Spice & Everything Nice
Around every corner, between each alleyway, and alongside almost every main thoroughfare, edible India waits. Waiting for you to take a bite, nibble, gobble, or slurp from its never-ending array of dishes proudly concocted for your taste buds enjoyment. So what are you waiting for? Let’s dig in...with your right hand of course (left hands are used for other activities).
Indian cuisine is not just complex, it is calculated. Just as a home is built from the bottom up, so too, is every Indian dish. Construction of nearly ever dish begins with the same foundation, Oil - And a lot of it!! Sizzling spices to life, unifying bold flavors, and used as the frying agent for most crispy street snacks, oil is the oleaginous glue that supports and holds Indian cuisine together. From this reliable foundation, dry spices, such as Masala, Turmeric, Cumin and Cardamon, along with copious amounts of Ghee (clarified butter) assemble the dishes structural support, while fresh ingrediants, such as garlic, onion,
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tomato, coriander, and green chili's furnish the meals interior design. The final additions of raw vegetables and meats complete the dishes exterior components, the red shudders or white picket fence if you will, that differentiate this dish, from the next.
So you see, the basic make-up of Indian cookery does in deed follow a similar blueprint, but the end result falls under no covenant. From the mild thali’s of India’s South to the fiery curries of the North, a few minor ingredient changes are all it takes to catapult you from one exciting gastronomic escapade to the next!
Just be sure to remember two things when partaking in any repast. One, spice is inevitable, but “spicy” is optional. A dish could contain 24 different spices and still appeal to the most sensitive of palates. All it takes is the addition of one dry or fresh chili to throw off the balance and switch “spice” to “spicy”. If you don’t like heat, specify no chili’s...do not stipulate, “no spice” because, well, that would be committing blasphemy for any Indian cook. |
And the second piece of advice, falls in line with another Indian saying, “No Hurry, No Worry, No Chicken Curry,” which simply implies, Relax. Don’t stress about what you could or could not be eating. Don’t over think each bite, don’t analyze every vendor your ordering from and don’t avoid certain establishments because of their outward appearance. C’mon, this is India. Aesthetic appearances mean nothing, it’s what’s inside that counts!
The first dish that wafts to mind is, you guessed it, Curry! I’m sure everyone can recall a curry or two lighting up their palate, and stomach for that matter. Chicken Masala, Mutton Korma, Butter Chicken, and Paneer Tikka are just a few of the more relatable curries to foreigners but the best curries are those you can’t relate to. The curries ordered just for the sake of trying something new - well, that or you can’t understand the Hindu menu in the first place. Either way, so long as you enjoy the base flavors of Indian cuisine (as listed above) the only main changes in curry dishes are the additions. Different meats, vegetables, and of course, spiciness levels. Oh, and if the flavor still proves a bit too overpowering, no fear, Roti’s, Naan’s and Chapati’s are here! These pancake sized, flat breads not only serve as palate neutralizers, but double as spoons for scooping the piquant goodness into anxious mouths.
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Next on the menu, Pau Bhaji. Traveling all the way to the southern most tip of India’s Gujurat state, the tiny island of Dui yielded not only legal and cheap booze (the only non-prohibited alcohol town in the entire state)it revealed the best edible compliment. That’s right, before pizza, french fries, or even those addicting bar nuts, Dui unveiled beers best partner...Pau Bhaji.
A coalescence of 3 types of oil, garlic, onion, green chili and a mixture of pureed vegetables (lentils, potatoes, pea’s, tomatoes, and cauliflower) simmered together on a gigantic hot plate and finally mashed into a consistency that can only be described as canned baby food. A hearty, harlequin mess, slopped onto a tin plate and served, as with all curries, a neutralizer. But instead of flat breads, a soft hot dog style bun appears alongside to soak up every last bit of soupy sauce. Oh, and another optional neutralizer, beer. Pau Bhaji can be extremely spicy so be sure to have a cold one on side!
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Now, if you’re not in the mood for a huge feed, look no further then the end of the street. Chances are at least three or four street snack vendors are posted up, battling for business! I mentioned oil before, but I can’t reiterate it’s presence enough when covering street food. Anything that can be thrown in a hot wok, fried, and served with an easy sauce, is on the menu. Samosa’s, being my personal favorite! Fried triangles of crispy dough, filled with a potato/vegetable mixture and spiced to perfection. Served either crushed up in a fiery lentil curry sauce or whole, accompanied by a sweet mango chutney or mint-coriander dipping sauce. Found all over India, 4 Rupees (10 cents USD) per piece won’t break the bank, so might as well go for two or three.
India’s lip-smacking flavor fusions do not end in the savory category however, sweets are a balanced part of every Indian’s diet. Gulab Jamun, for instance, has stole my heart, along with my waist line. These bright orange orbs of goodness, similar to half-baked doughnut hole’s, are spiced with cardamon and ginger, before being soaked all the way through in a piping hot, sugary syrup. Traditionally served in a bath of its own syrup, Gulab Jamun hardly requires any additions, that is, unless you so choose to take this heavenly dessert, one cloud higher. Dollop a scoop, or two, of vanilla ice cream over top the steaming spheres, allowing the sugary syrup to melt together with the cool, richness of the vanilla, for a flavor that not even Ben and Jerry’s can compete with. |
And to wash everything down, we cannot forget India’s national beverage, Chai Tea. A strong black tea flavored with cardamon, ginger, garam masala and cinnamon, brewed in a frothy hot milk bath and completed with more then enough sugar to get anyone through the day (possibly week).
In conclusion, if you don’t leave India heavier then when you arrived, you weren’t eating enough. So go ahead, eat your heart out. Your arteries might not thank you, but your taste buds sure will!©
In conclusion, if you don’t leave India heavier then when you arrived, you weren’t eating enough. So go ahead, eat your heart out. Your arteries might not thank you, but your taste buds sure will!©