I Don't Want Nirvana! I Want Great Food, Always! -- Part III -- Building Gastronomical Bridges

A couple of months back, Neeti visited Pali Village Cafe and came back gushing on the food and the ambience.

Since we were in Bandra last night, Neeti suggested that we go there. And I had to agree. Located in a quintessential East Indian bungalow, the Cafe has a rustic charm to it, with traditional furniture, antique lamps and bare walls! The place gave a Meditteranean "tavern-ous" look.

The fare was artisanal, with rustic breads on display. We ordered our meal and Neeti asked me "Aren't pasta, spaghetti similar to noodles we have in China?"

Indeed that's an exciting question. I replied that perhaps pasta in some form traveled with the legendary Marco Polo from China to medieval Italy.

After devouring our pasta, on the way back, I started Googling the query Neeti had posed.

There is indeed a theory that Ancient Rome did have something like the lasagne that we know of today. However, it were the Arabs, intrepid travelers and traders of the Silk Route that existed ub the Middle Ages who adapted the fresh Oriental noodles, dried them and carried them on their dhows from China to the Middle East and onwards to North Africa and then to South Europe! 

The Arabs used to stop by at Serendip (modern Sri Lanka), the Malaccas and the Malabar coast! Perhaps the noodles that originated in China inspired the Malay noodles and string hoppers (idiyappam) of the Malabar coast and modern Sri Lanka before settling in an alien land far away, in Italy!

Some believe that noodles existed in Asia much before Marco Polo’s trip to China. Archaeologists believe that central Asia is most likely the first area to have produced noodles thousands of years ago. From Asia, it traveled westward, perhaps through nomadic Arabs to Europe.

Once it reached the Mediterranean, the pasta / noodle making process was refined, and durum wheat became the ingredient of choice for pasta flour because of its high gluten content and long shelf life. When durum wheat pasta is dried, it lasts indefinitely, making it a very convenient food to store. Over time, because of pasta’s affordability, shelf life, and versatility, it became firmly rooted in Italian culture. The warm Mediterranean climate of Italy is suited to growing fresh vegetables and herbs, which meant that Italians could get creative with a delicious variety of pasta sauces.

Later, Italy became the centre of culinary innovation - tomatoes came in from the New World of the Americas, spinach and aubergines came in from North Africa. These new ingredients along with local delights like basil, olives, capers, cheeses, cured meats and wines resulted in a delectable cuisine that we call Italian! 

Is it also possible that the perishable, soft Chinese dumplings had been made since 1700 BC spawned off the concept of stuffed pasta. Today the “dumpling” style of pasta is manifested in ravioli, gnocchi and other preparations using regular wheat flour, eggs and water. 

Whether pasta is a part of Marco Polo’s legacy may be questionable, it is indeed true that gastronomical bridges between distant lands and civilisations may have existed for times immemorial, without us, modern people, knowing of them!

And talking of recent gastronomical bridges, I recently read of Sikhs who moved to California to work on farms in the late 1800s and early 1900s, who ended up marrying Mexican women because Californian laws prevented emigration of Sikh women for marriage. These Punjabi men chose Mexican women in marriage for a number of reasons. Physically, Mexican women at the time were thought to resemble Punjabis. They shared a rural way of life. Mexican women were also preferred for one important reason - their tortillas were somewhat like the makki ki roti that the Punjabis so missed in the Californian farmlands! So came about a melange of langars and chicken curry enchiladas!

Gastronomical bridges like these will continue to be built as people travel the world, we have already see that happening over the centuries, but today the pace of inter-cultural intercourse has only accelerated.
That's why one full year after I first wrote two editions of "I Don't Want Nirvana! I Want Great Food, Always!", I still believe in it, even more strongly than I ever did! 

Who Said Pizzas Are Junk Food? Part II

After convincing myself that pizzas aren't junk food, it was time to experiment further!

Yesterday's visit to Godrej Nature's Basket helped - we got pizza bases, pesto sauce, cherry tomatoes, holy basil and mushrooms!

A good measure of spinach was blanched to bright green perfection! Next, the pizza sauce was prepared - we used three tablespoons of pesto sauce and blended it with tomato-garlic sauce that we picked up from FabIndia! This sauce was spread on the pizza base. The blanched spinach was drained and a generous amount was spread on the base. 

Next, vegetables were topped over the spinach..... alongwith a decent amount of cheese....

Once the pizza was half done, fresh holy basil was placed on top..... And it tasted heavenly!!!!!!

Truly today was an Italian Sunday, risotto for lunch and pizza for dinner! Viva Italia!!!!

Fortress Risotto Conquered!

After a long time, our creative juices we in free flow, and yes the digestive juices too!

After having a ham and pumpkin risotto last Saturday, we were having an uncontrollable urge to try our hand at a risotto at home - the risotto so far was an impenetrable fortress for us. 

But it was the D-day today!

We chose our own style..... we cooked up a pack of Maggi's mushroom soup with a cube of chicken stock. As the soup thickened, we added a cup of milk for extra flavour and creaminess.

Separately, some rice soaked for 2 hours and a small broccoli was blanched. A pack of button mushrooms was cleaned and chopped.

Now it was time to put all together. In a wok, onions and garlic were sauteed in olive oil. As the onions turned translucent, we added the blanched broccoli and then after about 5 minutes, in went the mushrooms. The rice which had been soaked for over 2 hours was drained and was added to the wok and was throughly mixed with the vegetables. Then we added a good measure of Chantilli cabernet sauvignon. In the next 5 minutes, the rice absorbed the goodness of the wine. After a good stir, the thickened milky mushroom soup was poured into the wok. We left the wok covered for 20 minutes, leaving the broth to thicken further to sticky consistency.

And then the magic happened. As we uncovered the wok, the heady aromas said a great deal - the impenetrable fortress had been conquered and our flag was fluttering on top of it. 

The risotto was poured onto the plates and was garnished with halved cherry tomatoes and sprigs of holy basil.

And as Neeti took the first bite, I knew our first risotto was a delectable success!

Who Said Pizzas Are Junk Food?

Earlier this week, I went to Churchgate for some work. On my way back, I passed by 210 Degrees, a vegetarian cakeshop, frequented by kids from KC College and HR College close by. The place has some lovely cakes, pastries and cookies on offer, and used to be a usual post-lunch pit stop for dessert for me when my office was in Churchgate.

Now those days of gorging on post-lunch desserts have gone past me. But whenever I get a chance, I do pick up some stuff for home.

This time was no different. Besides cakes and cookies, I picked up a pack of pizza bases with me - the crust was pretty thin and made from whole wheat. At that time, I did not give much thought on how to make something different with them - not the run-of-the-mill pizzas that we usually have at home.

Today after being tossed around like a football by the pressures at work, I needed to unwind. Nothing could have been better than a bit of time in the kitchen. And when I realised that, I forgot the crap of the day and my mind raced at the speed of light.

Eureka! I got an idea for a healthy pizza!

My Mom played sport and blanched a good bunch of leafy green spinach. Onions were chopped, mushrooms were sliced. And a different twist - instead of sausage or pepperoni, how about chicken seekhs?

And how about giving the red pizza sauce a miss? Instead using a blend of lovely green pesto with a few table spoons of red sauce for tanginess?

That's how I "built" the pizza, spoon by spoon, slice by slice and chunk by chunk.

The thin whole-wheat base was oiled with the goodness of olive oil, on top of which a generous 2-3 tablespoons of the pesto-red sauce emulsion were added. On top of that went the blanched spinach, followed by chopped onions, sliced mushrooms, sliced chicken seekhs and black olives! A bit of grated cheese was sprinkled on top and all that goodness went into the oven for a good 8 minutes at 250 degrees!

I waited anxiously, looking at the oven every 5 seconds or so.

Then oven buzzed - the 8 minutes were over. Out came the crispy aromatic pizza.

And it smelt delicious, tasted yum and was quite healthy, all to be demolished bite by bite and morsel by morsel! And who said pizzas were all junk? 

For once, I was pleased with myself and I guess Popeye would be glad with me too!

Una Serata Italiana!

Of all 'alien' food, I enjoy Italian food the most for simplicity in cooking and richness of flavour.

It was time take out the rigatoni from the larder, which was cooked al dente for two dishes - pasta al forno and rigatoni pesto di verdure.

The pasta al forno was adapted from recipe section on David Rocco's website, with the freshest melanzana (aubergine) available downstairs.

The rigatoni pesto di verdure was my creation - onions sauteed with a few chunks of lardon to which pepper slivers were added. Then went in the rigatoni followed two tablespoons of red wine.

What an amazing evening it was - Una Serata Italiana!
Buon appetito!

Be Healthy, Be Earthy - Eat Italian!

Great food need not be complicated at all.

That's what I realised when I saw David Rocco's Dolce Vita on television that other weekend. David Rocco, a Canadian actor and producer of Italian descent, very nicely brings out the treasures that his native Italy has to offer.

On this particular show, David Rocco made an exciting, yet simple pasta - spaghetti al limone, a side dish - zucchine alla scapece and a lemony tiramisu.

That particular show left me inspired enough to rush to Lokhandwala market, the next morning, to immediately buy the ingredients. Barely able to control my excitement and anticipation that had clouded my attention span all that while, the tingle in my tummy grew intense with each passing moment till dinner time.

The spaghetti went in for a boil till done, al dente! 

Garlic cloves were pounded into a thick paste, lime juice was extracted and extra virgin olive oil was mixed in. Then lime zest was mixed in.

While my spaghetti was getting done, I shallow fried up slices of zucchini. That's when I remembered that David had mentioned that scapece can be made with aubergines as well - aubergines is the vegetable that  both Neeti and I equally and absolutely adore. So melanzane zucchine alla scapece it had to be, my variant of David Rocco's! After the zucchini slices were fried, went in the aubergines! 

By then the pasta was done. To stop the intense heat from seering through the spaghetti threads, I put in a generous 20-odd ice cubes into the spaghetti.

By then my lovely aubergines had turned marvelously golden (Man, the aroma was something!) and they too were put into the dish alongwith the fried zucchinis. I mixed in pounded garlic, mint leaves with the fried aubergines and zucchinis, sprinkled a dash of salt and then went in a tablespoon of white vinegar!

Now, the spaghetti was done - the water was drained. The spaghetti was then mixed with the garlic-olive oil-lime juice-lime zest emulsion. A vigorous mixing ensured every single strand was coated with the aromatic emulsion. A good measure of parmigiano or grated parmesan was sprinkled, alongwith freshly chopped parsley leaves.

And we were good to go, the spaghetti al limone was good to eat!

To be honest, Neeti devoured the scapece, but found the spaghetti a bit blandish - perhaps thinly sliced peppers would have given it an exciting crunch! That's a version I have to try next!

But undoubtedly, with the goodness of lime, garlic and olive oil, the spaghetti al limone and scapece made for healthy, earthy Italian dinner!

Exile the SP to North Korea

What a shocker this is - the Samajwadi Party (SP) has announced in it poll manifesto that it wants to ban computers, English, mechanised farming and stock trading among other things. This has been covered prominently on news channels like NDTV as well as in the print media.

How ridiculous, horrifying and pathetic!

Does the SP do what it preaches? There are a lot of inherent contradictions in what these people are saying.

A few pointers:

1. 
   
   The SP has a jazzy website, in English, yes that's right - they are using computers and the net, that too in English.


2. 
   
   Mulayam's supporter, Big B, a net freak who passionately blogs every day, would perhaps have to revert to his father's passion - Hindi poetry. Arrey baba, no English, vinglish!


3. 
   
   Aishwarya, another SP supporter, would have to stop all movies in English, stop her jaunts to Cannes and above all no western clothes - that's a logical consequence of SP's policies, right?


4. 
   
   Anil Ambani, another Mulayam supporter, runs a clutch of companies that invest in the markets. If the SP comes to power, would all these companies go bankrupt?


5. 
   
   The son of a prominent SP candidate from Mumbai would have to shut down his upmarket eatery in Bandra, because it serves Italian khaana peena, corrupting Indian minds. And his wife, a Bollywood starlet, would have to stop wearing western dresses, and no make-up, shake-up!


6. 
   
   Last but the least, the ever grinning Amar Singh, would have to stop all his Page 3 party hopping - that's simply not Indian culture.

If the SP is serious about what it says, shouldn't their prominent supporters do all that I have suggested above?

It is indeed stupid, if I may so, for a national party to say all this. Computers and the net are now being used by farmers to find out new techniques of cultivation. Mobiles come in handy for them to get the best price in the markets. Even rickshaw wallahs and household maids use cellphones to optimise their operations! Every small town has computer and English institutes to coach youngsters, helping them get jobs in BPOs, etc.

And now the SP wants to take us back to the middle ages. Or is it mere vote-bank politics, where politicians are mere demagogues inciting people to get to power? Perhaps they have a vested interest in keeping people backward so that continue to hold positions of prominence in society.

Sometimes I feel that India might do well with a benign dictatorship like the way Turkey had in the early part of the 20th century, when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk imposed a modernisation on the country - equality of women, separation of religion from the state, adoption of English script for the Turkish language, etc. That is something which is debatable.

For now, let's exile the SP leadership to North Korea, where they will feel at home with Kim Il Jong.