SPICES THE STAR IN NORTH INDIAN CUISINE
RICH FLAVOURS, COMPLEX SPICES ARE HALLMARKS OF NORTHERN INDIAN CUISINE
The historic and opulent region of The Golden Triangle of Rajasthan, India offers a wide variety of spice-rich cuisine.
I visited the lush tropical regions of southern India a few years ago. This year, it was the lure of ancient forts and palaces of the maharajas, not to mention the famed intricate cuisines of the Mughal Empire, that brought me to visit this north- ern Indian region last month.
Southern Indian cuisine usually has a larger variety of vegetarian dishes and certainly spicier dishes than in the North. Curries from the state of Tamil Nadu tend to use whole spices in their recipes, which give the sauces intense flavours and add heat to the palate.
Northern regions such as Rajasthan tend to use complex blends of spices that are dry roasted, fried and ground before being mixed into a paste.
And while the tropical southern regions often add coconut milk to curries, the sauces from the North tend to use the beloved ghee (clarified butter) for richness, as well as slowly caramelized onions for texture and flavour.
As much of the nation respects cows as sacred, beef is taboo, as is pork within the Muslim community, so you’ll see plenty of lamb, chicken, seafood and creative vegetarian dishes.
Walk into any fast-food burger chain and you’ll see mainly chicken and veggie patties!
Walking through the various markets, I was enthralled by the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Many of them were familiar, but I also noticed a variety of lesser-known vegetables, some of which are beginning to appear in our local Indian markets.
These include long green pods, somewhat like a long okra, used in South Indian sambar soups or lentil-based dals, to an assortment of gourds, squashes and eggplants.
Many people have sampled samosas, deep-fried pastries filled with spiced potatoes and vegetables served with a variety of chutneys.
But few people are familiar with other popular Indian snack foods such as the North Indian bhoonja — a snack mix of roasted puffed rice, peanuts and spiced pulses — or Bikaneri bhujia, the favourite crispy snack of Rajasthan, made of gram flour dough, fried and tossed into various spice mixtures. It’s oh, so good and addictive.
Here are some Indian specialties from some of the great restaurants and chefs I met last month from Chennai, to the great forts and palaces of the maharajas, from Agra and Jaipur to Jodhpur and Udaipur, and finally the centre of Bollywood, Mumbai.
Namaste!