World on a Plate : 40 Cuisines, 100 Recipes, and the Stories Behind Them (9780698194069) by Holland Mina

Author:Holland, Mina
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin USA
Published: 2015-05-11T16:00:00+00:00

NORTH INDIA

Dinners were fairly generous affairs . . . venison kebabs laden with cardamom, tiny quail with hints of cinnamon, chickpea shoots stir-fried with green chillies and ginger, and small new potatoes browned with flecks of cumin and mango powder.

• MADHUR JAFFREY, Climbing the Mango Trees •

NORTHERN INDIA OFFICIALLY spans eleven Indian states,* but I’m using the term loosely to encompass the eastern region of West Bengal, too. It is a land of hot summers, cold winters and monsoon rains, of the dramatically purple-lit Himalayas leading down into the verdant green North Indian River Plain—a zone of fertile, well-drained land spreading out from the Ganges and Indus Rivers. Traces of man’s activity pepper the landscape: skinny roads weaving tightly around mountain terrain, dustings of settlements, the odd temple, the tinkling bells fastened around goats’ necks. But nature looms large here.

The Grand Trunk Road* is an old trading route that stretches across fifteen hundred miles of what used to be the British Raj: Bangladesh, India and Pakistan (and farther up into Afghanistan). Named by the British colonizers for the amount of cargo that was carried up and down its length, the Grand Trunk Road spans an enormous stretch of northern India and, as you might expect, cultures and cuisines shift as you journey along it; dishes echo the geographical, historical and religious nuances of the changing landscape. Here we will explore a handful of culinary “hot spots” as an introduction to the scale and fascinating diversity of northern Indian cuisines.

The trail stretches from Kashmir through to Punjab, Delhi, Lucknow and West Bengal, and ranges from the freshwater-fish curries of West Bengal to the Mughal-infused Awadhi cuisine of Lucknow, and from the tandoori of Delhi and Punjab to the delectable grilled meats of Kashmir. As well as differences there are similarities, the common flavors touched on by Madhur Jaffrey in the introduction to her autobiography, Climbing the Mango Trees. A profusion of greenes, ginger and cumin awaits you.

Kashmir crowns northern India, bordering Pakistan to the north and facing south down the snow-carpeted Himalayas onto lush green valleys, lakes and subtropical pine forests. Food needs to be versatile here, able to grow in wildly diverging temperatures and maintain those who eat in a climate of extremes.

Ingredients are fewer than in other Indian cuisines—there is a smaller array of spices and more meat, particularly lamb. Freezing winters are a time for feasting on the summer’s dried produce and simple, tasty curries like rogan josh, a hot lamb curry for which I’ve included a recipe (see page 210). Meaning “hot oil” in Farsi, this is the classic, most exported Kashmiri dish and, as the language of its name suggests, has Persian roots. Lamb is cooked in oil, fennel seeds, ginger, paprika and Kashmiri chilies for a smoky, hearty defense from the cold.

Kashmiri chilies (see Hot Stuff, page 268) are internationally famous for their deep red color and mild heat. They add a lot of flavor but not too much spice, which, along with the large amounts of dried ginger used in Kashmir, makes for feel-good dishes to be eaten with lots of rice.

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