India is a diverse land with a huge variety of
cuisines. The range is mind-boggling,
although only a handful of them have earned reputations across the world.
It is also the land that lends credence to the word
“pure vegetarian”, in the sense that if you order “pure vegetarian” food, you
will get “pure vegetarian” food… whatever that means, because I am yet to
fathom what “impure vegetarian” food means.
And the range is mind-boggling… If one were to
divide India into four regions – North, East, West & South, one could
easily allocate fifty-odd dishes, unique to each region, at initial count !!
But I am sure that list is much longer….
That is unlike many countries where they cannot
think of such stuff. They would perhaps serve you “pure vegetarian” fried kang
kong (water spinach) initially boiled in beef broth. Or only vegetables
stir-fried in pork oil. They say it “adds to the taste”. Then there are places where if you order
vegetarian food you will get sea food – say, vegetables and lobster in a tasty
concoction served in lobster shell…. The logic is simple…. Anything from the
sea is “vegetarian” !!
Spicy food in any part of the world is MILD compared
to the fare available in this country. Mexican food is hot in parts – but that
is due to red chillies. One of my European friends, who came to India for the
first time, spent two months here, tried the local cuisine, has promised never
to tell anyone that he is OK with spicy food; the tastes here, as per him, are
just too strong.
The only exception perhaps, is Thailand… I remember
ordering a spicy soup in Bangkok once that made me cry and hit the roof, and
thereafter never made the mistake of ordering the “hot” stuff there.
Indian vegetarian food, refined and evolved over
centuries, is all about vegetables and spices, so much so that all you get to
taste is spices in different combinations with vegetables struggling to make
their presence felt. Sometimes they float in oil, like those poor creatures did
after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill…. This is fairly uniform across the country’s
restaurants. All those invasions of India down the centuries only served to add
more spices to our cuisines. Some of them fit for military arsenals.
And then there are the non-vegetarian dishes with
almost similar spice combinations. Kolkata, my
home town, permanently set amidst the ruins of development that resemble
a war zone, has its own range of spices for meats and fish, and a vast array of
sweets that explains why so many of us are diabetic. But then, here we use mostly
green chillies and mustard…they sting, but do not render you speechless. Party
fares here too, resemble the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, while the “float-eratti”
could be anything from vegetables to meat and fish.
As you wander south, the spices and chillies get
stronger – I think it has to do with the proximity with the equator. Two
specific cuisines, those of Telegana and Chettinad deserve special mention…
their spices and chillies are weapons-grade… (If you want to experience solar
flares on earth, then that comes close). Restaurants that serve those cuisines
should be located beside rivers, lakes and fire brigade stations. But they are
not, and you are not forewarned, so beware !!
If you are visiting India and have escaped the
wrath of the spices somehow, here is a word of caution; while travelling in
India, learn to use water like the Indians, instead of toilet paper …..
Toilet papers are not made to withstand Indian chillies
and spices… they could catch fire.
