Last Wednesday's 'Raja, Rasoi Aur Anya Kahaniya' episode - perhaps the last one - talked about food in Western India.
First to be featured was a dish made from rabbit - called 'खट खरगोश' - in royal kitchens of Rajasthan. They used to stuff the rabbit with spices and put it in a ditch to cook over some leaves. Then there was mention of the famous laal maas. The characteristic red color is imparted to the dish because of Mathiyani chilli which some king in some Rajasthani village had specially got for his farmers.
Then it was the turn of Goa and the famous dishes like Sorpotel and Vindaloo. Much of the credit for these dishes goes to the Portuguese. The Sorpotel uses vinegar. It keeps the meat fresh for longer duration and must have come handy during long see voyages. Some of the Portuguese married local women and settled down. The local women of course disliked the bland taste of the original Portuguese food and added their own spices to enhance the taste.
When it came to Maharashtra, the vegetarian Peshewa food was mentioned. Kolhapur's famous Tambda and Pandhara rassa was talked about. It seems the original pandhara rassa has lot of cashewnuts in it but the version served in restaurants makes ample use of corn flour to impart the white color as the restaurants cannot afford to use so much of cashew.
Mumbai's legendrary Wada Pao and the Pao Bhaji were the next dishes to be featured. There are many stories about how the Pao Bhaji came into existence. Some say it was prepared for the mill workers to keep them sustained for longer hours. Some say the traders at the BSE - working later hours while performing trades with foreign countries - needed something to eat during the night so the nearby restaurants started the practice of putting together leftovers of the day's vegetables gravies along with spices and Pao Bhaji was born. The word 'Pao' has interesting origins. Some say it was sold in a quartet hence the name Pao as in quarter. Another legend goes that the dough for making this bread was kneaded by feet hence the word Pao :-)
The episode ended with the mention of Gujarati Thali.
First to be featured was a dish made from rabbit - called 'खट खरगोश' - in royal kitchens of Rajasthan. They used to stuff the rabbit with spices and put it in a ditch to cook over some leaves. Then there was mention of the famous laal maas. The characteristic red color is imparted to the dish because of Mathiyani chilli which some king in some Rajasthani village had specially got for his farmers.
Then it was the turn of Goa and the famous dishes like Sorpotel and Vindaloo. Much of the credit for these dishes goes to the Portuguese. The Sorpotel uses vinegar. It keeps the meat fresh for longer duration and must have come handy during long see voyages. Some of the Portuguese married local women and settled down. The local women of course disliked the bland taste of the original Portuguese food and added their own spices to enhance the taste.
When it came to Maharashtra, the vegetarian Peshewa food was mentioned. Kolhapur's famous Tambda and Pandhara rassa was talked about. It seems the original pandhara rassa has lot of cashewnuts in it but the version served in restaurants makes ample use of corn flour to impart the white color as the restaurants cannot afford to use so much of cashew.
Mumbai's legendrary Wada Pao and the Pao Bhaji were the next dishes to be featured. There are many stories about how the Pao Bhaji came into existence. Some say it was prepared for the mill workers to keep them sustained for longer hours. Some say the traders at the BSE - working later hours while performing trades with foreign countries - needed something to eat during the night so the nearby restaurants started the practice of putting together leftovers of the day's vegetables gravies along with spices and Pao Bhaji was born. The word 'Pao' has interesting origins. Some say it was sold in a quartet hence the name Pao as in quarter. Another legend goes that the dough for making this bread was kneaded by feet hence the word Pao :-)
The episode ended with the mention of Gujarati Thali.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment