THE CULINARY DELIGHTS OF NORTHERN INDIA

 

Certain food items are specific to certain places and they simply cannot be replicated elsewhere. You cannot turn them into McDonalds or Pizza Hut items and have them anywhere you please. The polou or biriyani in Lucknow, the shorsher elish, kosha mangsho and mishit doi of Kolkata, the haleem of Hydrabad, the make di roti, sarson ka saag and kulchas of Amritsar, the roghan gosht and muji gaad of Srinagar, are such culinary delights that are famous all over the world and I can order in just about any of these dishes I want right here in Lucknow, but their full flavours in both experience and taste just aren't the same as I have experienced in their native places.

 

The food experiences vary based on the landscape and climate, not to mention historic immigration patterns, spices, trade links, rulers and religions. In northern destinations, you might find flatbreads and tandoor-grilled kebabs, while southern Indians dine on sweet coconut fish curries and rice. In northern India the climate results in an abundance of ingredients, such as wheat, rice, maize, dairy, mustard seed, dried fruits, pistachios, almonds, saffron, turmeric and cumin. The cuisine in this part of India tends to be rustic, with an emphasis on the seasons. Even though the presentation is simple, it's a celebratory style of food, they are celebrating the flavors, the seasons, the bounties of nature and spirituality. The diverse food culture reflects many waves of migration from Mongolia, Persia, Turkey, Africa and many other regions and all these influences make the delicacies of Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and a large part of northern Pakistan very distinctive with subtle changes from place to place. Head 100 miles in any direction in India and the religion, language and culinary customs will be completely different.

Roghan Ghosht

Kashmir has a predominantly Muslim influence and a notable dish here, called roghan ghosht (rogan josh), is a slow-cooked lamb stew using fennel, ginger and rattan jyot (made from tree bark). The mountain communities of Uttarakhand and Himanchal are full of really kind, humble people -- these are soul enriching places and their food has a pronounced Tibetan and Nepali influence featuring more dumplings, noodles and stews. The region is criss-crossed by rivers and streams and so the people here are fish eaters.

 

Another place with a profound Mughal influence in Oudh, which is today’s Lucknow and its surrounding areas. Galouti kebabs are a must-try here. This is almost like a meat pâté. Legend has it that they were invented by a cook in the Mughal Darbar [king's court] for a toothless king who couldn't chew meat, so he made this melt-in-your-mouth kebab. Tundey’s kebabs are world famous and named after a departed grandfather who had an amputated forearm. Today his grandchildren have several outlets in the city and there are many spurious grandchildren as well!

Galouti Kebab

Dastarkhan is another Lucknow food chain which sells authentic Mughlai and their chicken kalimirch, bhuna gosht and handi chicken are simply iconic. Polou is a more sophisticated cousin of Biryani in which you experience the taste and aroma of the various spices which enrich this mutton dish but never bite into them and this in a Lucknow speciality.

 

Biriyani

Delhi is the melting pot of all of India's regions and ethnicities, providing a round-the-country tour of culinary traditions. The variety of available culinary extravaganza, particularly in Chandni Chaok in Old Delhi is simply mind boggling. Alongside world-famous butter chicken, stuffed parathas, chaat and kebabs, Delhi's dining scene also plays host to a variety of international influences. The noisy labyrinthine lanes of Chawri Bazar and Chandni Chowk have an extremely rich culinary culture to offer to tourists and residents alike. You can enjoy bedmi puri (puffed bread with lentils), chole kulche (a popular breakfast of spiced chickpeas in a curry), nagori halwa(a sweet treat of puffed bread with a semolina- and ghee-based paste) or paaya (trotters). At Jama Masjid mosque and Turkman Gate, you can relish nihari (a slow-cooked meat stew) at Kallu, biryani at Taufeeq ki Biryani, or enjoy Hussain's fried chicken. Close to the Yamuna river is Majnu-ka-Tilla where you can have Tibetan delicacies like momos, meaty stews, chickenthukpa (a Himalayan noodle soup) and spicy fried pork with steamed rice. South Delhi has an Afghan refugee settlement and they usually offer freshly baked roht (Afghan sweet bread), mantu (lamb and onion dumplings) and juicy mutton kebabs topped with sour sumac (a citrus-like spice).

 

Amritsari Kulcha

Tandoori Chicken

 

Punjabi cuisine is known for its rich, buttery flavours along with the extensive vegetarian and meat dishes. Main dishes include sarhon dā saâg (a stew whose main ingredient is mustard greens) and makki di roti (flatbreads made with cornmeal). Starters like tandoori chicken and shami kebab and main courses like butter chicken and rogan josh and snacks like chole bhature all drained down with a cold glass of lassi and perhaps a sweet pinni completes their meal.

 

Central India has some amazing local staples, such as sev (a savory crispy fried noodle snack), dahi vada (lentil dumplings covered in yogurt and chutney), chole tikki(boiled chickpeas in a spice stew), coconut crush (coconut water smoothie) and Kachori samosas (deep-fried pastry puffs filled with vegetables). If you are in Indore then Chappan Dukan and Sarafa should be your target to enjoy these gastronomic delights.

Shorsher mach

Nolen Gurer Shondesh

 

Set against the Bay of Bengal, eastern states like West Bengal and Odisha have a largely humid climate with epic rainfalls. There are plenty rivers and lakes and so there's no shortage of green vegetables, fruit and rice. In addition, fish and cooling yogurts make appearances at almost every meal, as do nourishing mustard seeds and hearty ghee. In northern Bengal there's heavy influence from Mongolian and Chinese food traditions with momos and mutton on every street corner in Darjeeling. Mustard is a very important part of Bengali food, and Bengalis invariably cook in mustard oil. They leave no stone unturned when it comes to greens and Bengalis are known for using every part of the vegetable. Various bhaja or fried snacks like begun bhaja, aaloo bhaja (fried brinjal and potato slices) as well as chana dal (thick chickpea dal) cooked in lots of spices along with a light, fluffy luchi, a deep-fried flatbread made from maida (white flour) remain a favourite snack of Bengal.  

 

Patishapta

Begun bhaja

Their popular mouth-watering puchkas (a flaky shell full of sour tamarind water, chaat masala, potatoes, chili and chutney) are an absolute delight for the palate, along with ghugni (a curry-like street snack made with yellow and white peas) and jhalmuri (puffed rice with a mélange of vegetables, nuts and spices). Fresh singhara ( samosa - a crispy fried snack filled with potatoes, peas and other vegetables), mughlai parathas (fried bread stuffed with minced meat and onions), or kathi rolls (super spicy skewer-roasted kebab rolled in paratha bread) are available everywhere in Kolkata. Bengalis love their sweets and rosogolla, sandesh, nolon gurer sonsesh, kheer-kodom and cham-cham along with poyodhi (sweet yogurt) or payesh  which is rice pudding sweetened with jaggery (cane sugar and date palm sap) will blow your mind away!

 

Chhena poda

 

Malai chingri

 

Odisha’s food is delicious but has not gained the popularity it deserves. The regional staples include dalma (hearty lentil stews),machher jhol (a tomato-based fish curry), pakhala (a fermented rice dish seasoned with spices, curd and lemon), badi chura (dried lentil cakes), aloo dum dahi vada (potato curry with lentil dumplings and yogurt), red chili chutney and delicious chhena poda (roasted cottage cheese with cashews and raisins).

 

Daal bati choorma

In Western India, states such as Rajasthan and Gujarat lie in largely dry stretches of desert where fresh vegetables and fruits are not always available. Historically food was influenced by both the war-like lifestyles of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in this arid region. So food that could last for several days and could be eaten without heating was preferred. Scarcity of water and fresh green vegetables effect their cooking. Snacks like bikaneri bhujia (crispy moth beans and spices), mirchi vada (fresh green chillies stuffed with spicy potato filling) and pyaaj kachori (a fried pastry filled with a spicy onion filling) and dishes like bajre ki roti (a millet-based flatbread), lasun ki chutney (hot garlic paste) and mawa kachori (puffed pastries full of creamy mawa cheese) are commonly eaten here. Rajasthan has a large vegetarian population and Marwari Bhojnalaya, or purely vegetarian restaurants, are found in many parts of Rajasthan. However Rajputs, who are avid hunters and so their diet consisted of game meat and dishes like laal maas (mutton curry), safed maas(mutton with cream, yogurt and dry fruits) and khad khargosh (curried rabbit). Dishes like dal-bati-choorma, kachori, mirchi vadas are used as snacks and firni, ghevar, gulab sakri are the popular sweet dishes in Rajasthan. 

 

Gujarati Thali

The state of Gujarat shares similar food traditions as Rajasthan, though they tend to cook with more sugar, perhaps influenced by the immigrants who reached their ports from distant places. They also have a large vegetarian population but seafood, chutneys, pickled vegetables and fruits are also consumed here. Among the must-try experiences is the Gujarati thali, a platter of various dals, kadhi (a sour yogurt curry with vegetable fritters), sabzi (a mixed vegetarian dish), steamed basmati rice and roti bread, which is often served on a glimmering silver platter. The broad range of spices from turmeric to cumin, cardamom, coriander, tamarind, saffron, mint, cloves, ginger, cayenne, curry leaves, chili and more make the masala mixes here particularly notable. Snacks like dhokla, fafda, chakri, puran poli are very popular even outside Gujarat.

 

Southern and Western part of India – Maharashtra, Andhra, Telengana, Karnataka, Goa, Tamilnadu and Kerala are very different from North. Surrounded by the sea and influenced by the French, the Dutch and the Portuguese who ruled in different times and different places they left an indelible impression in the culinary scene of this region and I will dedicate a separate blog on culinary delicacies of these places at a later date.