|
|
|
You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cuisines have more similarities than differences
|
|
Saturday, 16 November, 2013, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
|
|
Manish Malhotra and Vaibhav Verma
|
|
fiogf49gjkf0d Cuisine is nuanced by location – it’s true that each area in Europe has its own speciality, but that is equally true of Indian food. One can have the great pleasure of spending the evening with various delicacies of Indian cuisine from north to south, to suit our palettes let it be rogan josh, chicken tikka masala, tandoori chicken, Fish Amritsari, Shami kebab, chicken Chettinad or paper-thin dosa.
The same is true in France. In every store, even the smallest corner-shop or magasin, there is a section called produits régionaux, which collects the best of the local region. Mostly this would be wine, juices, sausages or cheese. Whatever it is, it is likely to be fresh, taste excellent and be a great source of pride – just like Indian cuisine.
Unafraid to use butter
In India, ghee, or clarified butter, is a staple of many dishes. Similarly, it would be a culinary crime for the French to replace their beloved la buerre with margarine. Both uses of butter may have to be curbed, given the growing rates of obesity in each country. But they prize butter in some form and that is an illustration of how both Indian and French cooking are, or at least are likely to be, wonderfully indulgent and hard on the arteries.
Public dedication and love of great food are things both Indians and the French – who love their food stalls – seem to share. If there is an event, both will assemble a flat table and make something delicious then and there and serve food on it.
In India, this might be a rack of spiced kebabs or an enormous cauldron of dal makhni, and in France, this might mean crushing part of the apple harvest to make cider or slavering tomme de chevre on thick slices of crusty fresh baguette, topped with tomato chutney.
It’s this kind of public ritual which shows the love of food in both nations. It is a public badge of the centrality of great fresh food, and long may it continue.
There is always a lot of talk about which kind of cuisine is the best and where. There is nothing to divide Indian and French food in terms of quality – one cannot be put above the other.
A part of the reason for this is that they are so different; but mainly it is for some of the reasons above – one cannot separate the love and passion that both countries devote to their culinary culture, and this is to the benefit of people who like to enjoy and talk about food with others who love to do the same.
For all the food fanatics out there, travelling is essential if you want to taste everything the world has to offer.
That is why we have rounded up the most resounding symphonies of flavour, the most colourful dishes and the tastiest bites.
Here is your guide to the fascinating, international cuisines.
Lebanese cuisine
Lebanon features a diverse cuisine, which has incorporated many cooking concepts from other countries The cuisine of Lebanon is based on fruit, vegetables, starches, seafood and fish, while meat is consumed in moderation.
People prefer to use poultry, rather than red meat. The type of red meat that predominates is lamb. Garlic and olive oil are widely used and they represent quintessential ingredients to most of the Lebanese foods.
Cream and butter are usually contained in desserts. Sauces do not have an important role and people tend to put a stronger accent on spices, herbs and fresh ingredients, in order to create unique dishes.
Lebanon features a diverse cuisine. Although this cuisine dates back to ancient times, it has only become famous all around the world recently. This tiny country went on to influence many other nations, after its cuisine gained popularity.
As evidence, Middle-Eastern cuisine features many cooking concepts that originate in Lebanon. Kibbeh is probably the best known Lebanese food. It is a paste made from lamb meat and bulgur wheat.
At first, its preparation involved hammering lamb meat using mortar and a pestle. After this, spices and bulgur were added. As this technique could have been considered scary for the foreigners, the electric grinder and the food processors eased the preparation.
This food knows many variations, among which kibbeh nayee is the best known. Kibbeh bil-saneeya and kibbeh rass are two other varieties, which contain cooked meat and pine nuts. Yoghurt sauce is added to these dishes, when they are served.
Bread is quintessential in Lebanese cuisine. Most of the dishes are served with it. Olive oil and zahtar are used to enhance the flavour of the bread that is served at breakfast.
This food is used along with the dishes or as a significant ingredient of snacks
Spanish cuisine
For a lighter approach on food, we turn to Spanish cuisine, which contains a variety of meat and fish, as well as vegetables.
It is also influenced by the seafood available from the surrounding waters. Spanish cuisine uses the most oil among all Western and Central European cuisines.
For the most part, Spanish dishes are known for their Mediterranean roots. What this means is that there is a good chance you would be getting dishes which are filled with seafood for ingredients.
One fine example of this is Paella. Most people often mistake Spanish cuisine for Mexican. However, both of them could be further away from each other.
One example of this is the fact that you would be expecting bread to be served with your dishes. If you order tortillas, you would be treated with an omelette instead.
Generally speaking, Spanish cuisine mainly consists of tapas. The food prepared is usually for large groups of people, unlike other countries that serve for one person.
Spanish food offers a lot of variations, especially from region to region. The northern regions of Spain often incorporate meat and chicken in their dishes, while the southern parts are all about shellfish and other types of seafood.
One of the most popular drinks in Spain, that goes perfectly with its national dishes, is sangria, a drink made of wine and fruit.
English cuisine
English food traditions are many and varied. These include afternoon tea, the full English breakfast, Sunday lunch and the tradition of the British pub.
English cuisine is the result of centuries of agriculture, trade, wars, hard times and a delight in using seasonal, regional produce.
The English are very good at combining cheap, simple ingredients to maximise flavors and make a little go a long way, but sophisticated flavours are also very much a part of English food.
With Roman influences and England’s own vast empires; the English used herbs and spices from all over the world. Rosemary, thyme, nutmeg, pepper and mustard seed are favourites.
Meat and three veg originated in the United Kingdom, with dishes like classic roast beef, beef Wellington, steak and kidney pie, jugged hare and many more.
Many quintessential English dishes often make good use of secondary cuts of meat, such as brawn, shanks and pig's ears or trotters.
Dishes made with leftover meat are adored. Bubble and squeak and Shepherd’s pie are just a couple of examples.
Nursery food or comfort food is much loved by the English, and puddings are a highlight. The term pudding includes a vast range of dishes and products that have little or nothing in common.
The oldest type of pudding, coming from the French word boudin is pudding in skins, most famously black pudding – England’s blood sausage that's a component of the hearty English breakfast.
Puddings boiled in cloth proved easier to boiling in skin, such as Christmas pudding, which still adorns many festive tables.
The tradition of dripping pan pudding is kept alive by the Yorkshire pudding, although modern Yorkshire pudding is baked in the oven rather than with the batter sitting in a toss-pan under the spit of roasting meat.
In England, no meal is complete without dessert. Often a bread and butter pudding is key. It is a delicious winter warmer with the added virtue of being cheap to make, and in this waste-not-want-not culture, it is a handy use of stale bread.
Chilled berry puddings like the vibrant summer pudding are a variation on a similar theme – again relying on stale bread to soak up the tart and sweet flavors of the fresh berry juices and coulis.
Italian cuisine
Perhaps one of the oldest in the world, the Italian cuisine can be traced back to the fourth century BC.
It became what is today along with the discovery of the New World, that brought potatoes, tomatoes pepper or maize on the list of ingredients.
An Italian meal is structured into several sections.
Antipasto (hot and cold appetisers)
The antipasto is usually made up of cold cuts like salami, prosciutto, or pancetta (similar to bacon); assorted cheeses (mozzarella, Parmesan-Reggiano, Pecorino, Asiago, etc.); spreads like bagna cauda (a mixture of warm extra-virgin olive oil, butter, anchovies, and garlic), simple bruschetta (bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with oil, and sometimes tomato), and cold seafood salads.
Breads are also presented at the beginning of a meal; Italy is known for its particularly delicious breads.
Primo (first course)
Il primo, the starch-based course, is made up of soups and pasta dishes. Pasta is delivered in smaller doses, usually no more than a cup to a cup-and-a-half.
The idea is to whet the palate in preparation for the next courses. The pasta itself (penne, spaghetti, etc.), and sauces will vary greatly from region to region, but most famous are classics like pasta with Aglio e Olio (plenty of garlic, olive oil, and red pepper), Pomadoro (fresh tomato sauce), Puttanesca (whore's spaghetti – a spicy combination of olive oil, garlic, dried hot peppers, tomato, capers, black olives, and anchovy), Bolognese (beefy meat sauce), and American favorite Alfredo (cream sauce).
Risotto (a rich rice dish made by first sauteing rice in olive oil or butter with seasonings, then cooking in meat or vegetable stock), and soups like minestrone (hearty vegetable) or Pasta Fagioli (pasta and beans) are also enjoyed
Secondo (main course)
The main course is traditionally meat or seafood, and again is subject to countless regional preferences. Chicken or veal cutlets and beef are generally the base of meat dishes, and are most often breaded and baked/fried, sauteed, braised or cooked in sauce
Coutorno (side dishes)
Vegetables and fruit are prepared to compliment the flavours and textures of the main course.
Regional offerings like eggplant, asparagus, artichokes, peppers, spinach, beans and escarole (a leafy green) are most commonly used
Dolce (dessert)
The Italian influence on dessert has been felt worldwide. Their gelato (ice cream) and sorbetti are often considered the best in the world, and sparked a devotion to frozen spoon desserts that continues today.
Other traditional desserts like tiramisu and canoli, are equally prized by lovers of after-dinner treats.
And we would be remiss, of course, to leave out pizza. Pizza in Italy can fall underneath the category of bread (and sometimes antipasto), but is also enjoyed as a quick lunch, light supper, or snack; authentic presentations are quite simple.
Widely considered the national dish, the perfect pizza Margherita (a combination of buffalo or cow's milk mozzarella, olive oil, tomatoes and a few leaves of fresh basil, named in 1889 for the visiting queen of Italy) is a culinary representation of the Italian flag.
French cuisine
Starting with the Middle Ages that brought rich banquets to the French Revolution, where refined techniques were used, French Cuisine can be called in the 21st-century haute cuisine.
It is as popular as the poetry or French arts, a meal at a restaurant comparing to a sort of theatre you can eat at.
Pastries are a large part of French cooking. Cheese and wine are also a major part of the cuisine, being perhaps the most famous of all.
Traditional French food has a global reputation for being both extremely palatable and highly distinctive.
The French have always been known for their attention to detail and the care taken over even relatively basic recipes. The very words French and cuisine seem to be paired up as beautifully as duck and confit.
Indeed, even the word gourmet is French for wine taster, and if there is one thing the French do superbly besides creating a good meal it is to create a fine wine to go with it.
France has many culinary regions, and each one has a specific characteristic of its own food and area. Generally, French food requires the use of many different types of sauces and gravies.
The north-western region of France produce recipes for cuisine that tends to require ingredients like apples, milk, butter and cream, and the meals tend to be extremely rich and sometimes rather heavy.
Reminiscent of the German style of food, the south-eastern area of France, the French cuisine is heavy in lard, and meat products such as sauerkraut and pork sausage.
The more widely-accepted type of French food is southern French cuisine, and this style of food is generally served in traditional French restaurants.
The cooking is a lot lighter in fat and substance in the south-eastern area of France. In the south-east area of France, chefs and their culinary creations tend to lean more toward the side of a light olive oil more than any other types of oil, and they rely heavily on herbs and tomatoes as well as tomato-based products.
Food practices are often the last habits to change. Every culture has its special foods.
Cultural or ethnic cuisines are differentiated by basic ingredients themselves. But more often, the distinction arise from cooking methods – particularly the way spices, herbs and condiments are used or combined to give distinctive ethnic flavours.
(The authors are asst professors at Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute oF Hotel Management & Catering Technology)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|