Of culinary blunders and evolvement

A major chunk of my single life saw me feeding on my home-made instant noodles, pasta in white sauce, pizzas, ham sandwiches or an occassional whole meal when I felt that craving for rice (which all rice-eaters from north-east do, once in a while). I knew how to cook whole meals, but the effort to cook for a single person was just not worth it. So, I had never had the need to practically cook proper meals all the time...except for those occassional times when we friends would get together for those special lunches and dinners.
Whenever I used to visit home, ma used to pamper me with all my favourite things to eat. I never had to cook while at home 'cause dad is an even better cook than ma. Back in Delhi, my workplace used to provide both lunch and dinner, so eventually over all these years, I always took cooking for granted, though I love eating.
When I quit my job 2 months before my marriage, the prime aim was to go home and learn some cooking from my mother. My husband-to-be was quite picky about food, I discovered, and he had a great taste in the things that he chose to eat. The brilliant cooks at the army officers' mess had literally spoilt them with an overdose of 5-star rated food. But then, things never work out exactly like we plan... well, not always. The time just before one gets married is usually a time when everyone is busy pampering the bride-to-be. So, not to mention my ma not letting me enter the kitchen (lest I should burn my hands or cut my fingers just before the d-day), also practically each day there was an invitation from our neighbours, friends or relatives, right upto a week before the wedding day. So, my plan to learn cooking from my mother went kaput. After our wedding, the in-law's kitchen was actually not a good place to experiment my culinary skills. My husband hails from the south and their taste of food is quite different from ours. So, just like a good daughter-in-law should, I decided to stand there, assisting my ma-in-law with chopping of vegetables or making tea or helping her open a certain jar for condiments...in short just watched and learnt some new dishes which were easy to make and suited both mine and hubby's taste-buds.

After we reached Jammu (where my husband and I are based right now), both of us started eating at the officers' mess until our kitchen was set. As a part of the welcoming ceremony, I was asked to make the first meal for 10 odd officers and their families...'assamese dishes'. I made my husband very proud by cooking a delicious 3-course assamese meal for all. Everybody was quite impressed. I was quite happy myself at how things had turned out to be. But suddenly everthing changed when I first started cooking at our own kitchen... the meal I cooked turned out to be horrible. The rice was overcooked, the dal was still hard and settled at the bottom while water gathering on the top with very less salt and too much of turmeric, the vegetable dish had lots of salt and got slightly burnt...the only saviour was the naga-style zero-oil chicken (learnt from my naga friend). I just didn't know what had gone wrong... if it was the result of trying so hard to cook a very good meal for my husband or the fact that everything was so new and unfamiliar in the new kitchen. But the fact remained that when I lay that horrible food on the dining table that fateful noon for lunch, tears rolled down my cheeks. I felt so sorry that the first meal I had cooked for my husband at home had to turn out this way. Nonetheless, hubby ate the food without a word...just enough to satisfy his hunger. I knew the food was bad... even I couldn't eat it. But he just wouldn't utter a word of complaint. The next meal was no better either. Hubby still didn't complain....just ate lesser and lesser. He would just make an excuse that he wasn't so fond of that vegetable or that particular dal just didn't suit his stomach. After two days and four meals, I started getting a hang of things. I began concentrating more on what I was cooking and how I was cooking them. The permutations, combinations, a few last-minute tips from ma & ma-in-law and my natural feminine instincts too, made the taste of things improve. I started introducing assamese dishes to my husband's palate and noticed him going in for second helpings. He started enjoying the meals at home and looked forward to eating at home more than eating outside. An occassional "Can you make that sour fish curry today?" or "assamese brinjal mash"(bengena pura) or "that zero-oil chicken" were so relieving to hear. I knew I was on the right track. There was no looking back after then. I started reading and following recipes from magazines (thank you FEMINA and GOOD HOUSEKEEPING) and from the internet.

Today after 2 months of tried and tested experiments, I can proudly claim that I can cook nice whole meals and entertain atleast 20 people at a time with ease, besides rustling up hubby's favourites in a jiffy. And then ofcourse, I can always pick up the phone and ask my ma & ma-in-law for those special tips which comes with their years of experience. Those two numbers are now on my speed-dial list.

My new-found Passion

I am a hard-core foodie. I confess I like eating everything edible, except for 'kardhi-chawal' and a few oil-and-spice-laced Indian dishes on a regular basis. But given no alternatives, I can manage to eat that too. My strongest guess says its a genetic trait passed on from my dad. Anyone who sees me eating unashamedly is usually shocked and amused by the quantity I can consume at a go and the amount of satisfaction that reflects on my face and eyes after I relish a meal. But to everyone's surprise and mine, my appetite and consumption capacity does not reflect on my physical frame at all... thank God! So I was saying, being fond of eating, I obviously like cooking and experimenting with various recipes. But there would be conditions attached... like I need a sparkling clean kitchen with enough moving space, fully equipped with all the right utensils and ingredients.. sharp knives, et al... a nicely stocked refrigerator and a never-ending supply of water. Oh, did I mention my (culinary) mood and the comfort-level of whose kitchen I'm using?!
So, the first place which qualifies my basic requirements, is my friend-Jeena's kitchen. Of-course my mom's kitchen would have been my first preferance (only if she was not always in a hurry to rustle up meals for the family and the ever-welcomed guests), but that's almost like a far-from-real fantasy, I have realised over the years. And my own kitchen? Well, if you really have to know, it is only equipped with the basic requirements of making fast-food... like the baking and grilling kinds and full-course meals only once in a blue moon. Excepting the occassional cooking at Jeena's, naga-cuisines at Naro's (my friend from Nagaland) and home-made food from my colleagues at the work-place, I more-or-less survive on zero-oil, zero-caloried grills, bakes, steams and boils on all the other moons. So, over these years of my stay in Delhi I used to consider 'cooking' as the last or second-last priority in the to-do list of things during my weekends. Takeaways, pastas, pizzas, sandwiches, fruits & salads, steamed vegetables and boiled/poached eggs, though dull, are re-assuringly time-efficient staples of my daily diet. So, the only times I really relish eating my-kind-of homemade food, are the times I visit home and feast on my ma's (mostly dad's) cooking. Oh by the way, my dad is a better cook than my ma and all he needs to take over the kitchen and prepare yummy meals to fill up the dining table, is just a little mention of how much I miss his chicken-curry or duck-roast or any of the sticky-rice dishes that he specialises in.
Anyway, being bored of what I was eating here all this while and being recommended by the doctor to eat proper home-made meals after I fell ill sometime back, I resolved to do some real-time cooking on a daily basis in my very own kitchen. I learnt some easy-to-make recipes from my ma's collection, some naga-delicacies from Naro and a few yummylicious recipes from Manju Malhi's show-Cooking Isn't Rocket Science shown on NDTV Goodtimes. My belief about cooking full meals being a waste of valuable time, was disillusioned as I started to enjoy the process. Rather than being the dull utilitarian practice I imagined, cooking I realise, is the most creative of all art forms. And there is something deeply satisfying about taking separate ingredients and creating something new and unique, which pleases the tastebuds and hence instantly devoured.
The great appeal of cooking lies in the touch-feel-smell therapy. The sensation of chopping, slicing & stirring... the smell of crushed garlic and green chillies as it simmers with the olive oil, finely diced onions and chopped tomatoes... the varied natural colours of different vegetables combining into a multi-coloured dish one main colour of turmeric overpowering them all... and the final touch of fresh coriander leaves garnishing a dish... are all so glorious and demands one to be engaged in that 'cooking moment'.
Fortunately for me, cooking is now a choice rather than a chore or responsibility. And guess who is the happiest with my making this one sensible choice in what seemed to be a lifetime? No prizes for guessing... you are right. Its my ma. She has spent the best part of her life feeding my perfectionist-foodie of a father, the never-ending list of guests and relatives, and ofcourse her three notorious daughters with completely different tastes from each other. So I suspect she would be less persuaded to believe that cooking is as relaxing or liberating as I claim. Nonetheless, cooking is not only creative, it also encourages social interaction. Now that I cook, I sometimes carry meals to the office and share the food with my colleagues who had fed me with their home-made meals at some point of time. So I get a chance to return the favour. I also feel like inviting friends for lunches or dinners. Though its another story whether or not they like the taste of what I cook. But the satisfaction derived from others liking and appreciating your preparations is almost at par with the satisfaction derived from someone appreciating any other work of art created by you. When so much of modern life gets onto you, cooking at home demands an active engagement with your inner self and reminds us that life is there to be savoured. And the last tip from my end... always cook with fondness and lots of love. It really comes out in the food.

A TASTE OF LIFE FROM THE NORTH-EAST

“Catch a dog, kill it, roast it and eat it, and what you have is a north-east delicacy” , a colleague from North India once remarked jovially. While I was shocked and offended at her ignorance about north-eastern delicacies, I was also made to understand in my tenure of seven-years in Delhi, that just like their topographical beauty, the gastronomic fare of the seven sister-states remain by and large hidden from the rest of the country. Of course, food from the north-east is much more than just dog’s meat---it boasts exotic delicacies that are not a part of the mainstream Indian Fare. The rest of India knows very little about the people and cuisine of North-east India: Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh. (Though Sikkim is considered a part of the North-east, it is not yet officially declared a member state by the govt. of India). This segregation has more to do with lack of marketing than inadequacies in the cuisine itself. Also you need an acquired taste to enjoy this cuisine. So, these delicacies continue to be prepared and appreciated only within the confines of the North-east.

The dishes of the North-east are not laced with oil and spices, yet they are delicious, and the use of the locally grown aromatic herbs, make them nutritious as well as exotic. They are light, healthy and easy to prepare. In fact, simplicity is the hallmark of north-eastern cuisine. The basic components of a north-eastern meal are steamed/boiled rice, accompanied by a gravy-based fish or meat/chicken dish, a green-herb chutney washed down with a soup of boiled vegetables. The best way to relish a northeastern meal is to eat it with your hand, (though the new generation uses spoons and forks) . Unlike the oily rich food in some other parts of India, which cannot be had again, you keep coming back to the simple fare of the north-east.

There are differences in the items consumed and in the preparation of the food, based on religion and culture among the people of the north east . The tribes that are not influenced by Hinduism, relish red-meat & pork while the hindu communities like ‘Axomiyas’ of Assam eat fish, chicken, ducks and mutton, and the ‘Meities’ of Manipur eat fish at the very most. The people of the predominantly Christian states such as Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and about forty percent of the Manipuris, do not have any religious restrictions in their diet . Tribes like the ‘bodos’ of Assam consider a meal incomplete without pork and the tribes of Tripura must have fermented fish to complete their meal. The style of cooking also differs from one state to another in the North-east. Each of the sixteen naga-tribes, for instance, boasts of a distinct delicacy. The ‘angamis’ cook a chunky meat-dish with raja mircha (jungle chillies) and a paste of ginger and garlic. While the ‘ao tribe’ uses little small green round chillies smaller than peas when they make their chutneys. This ensures that the meal will be good. The ‘Tangkhul’ nagas of Manipur are so fond of pork that they have a special earthen pot called ‘hampi’to cook it, which imparts a unique flavour. Some tribes like the ‘himar’of Manipur and ‘garo’of Meghalaya are known for their love for chillies and tangal (indegenous soda). The ‘axomiyas’ of Assam relish fish curry in a tangy flavour, which is cooked with gourd and tomatoes, garnished with coriander and lime juice. They also use unripe papaya and 'khar'(an alkaline liquid made by burning the dried trunk of a banana tree) to enhance the flavour of duck-meat. Potato is used as a thickening ingredient in chicken and mutton curries. Except for the ‘meiteis’ of Manipur, who rustle up a delicious fish curry using oil and spices, the non-vegetarian dishes are rarely cooked with too much oil or spices. Pork or chicken cooked with bamboo-shoot and akhuni (fermented soyabean) is very popular amongst most of the north-eastern tribes. Chilli powder, ginger, garlic and garden-fresh turmeric, mint-leaves and holy-basil are widely used ingredients as flavouring agents, along with fermented fish, soya-beans and bamboo-shoots (known in different regions by different names). Green leafy vegetables are seldom cut with a knife in the native villages. They are torn or shredded by hand, as it is believed that a knife spoils the taste. Also, when boiling vegetables, they do not cover the pan, in order to retain the natural colours. Sometimes these greens and vegetables are cooked ‘al dente’(semi raw), which adds to the flavour and nutrient value.

A typical north-eastern kitchen is very spacious. In olden days, people entertained their guests in the kitchens. Most of the hill tribes are great meat eaters. Chicken, pigs, cows, goats, ducks and fishes are reared at most village homes for consumption. To make sure they never run out of meat, almost every kitchen in the north-east, especially in the hilly states, stocks dry meat. Wedding ceremonies and religious functions are the best occasions to sample traditional dishes. At the weddings among most of the tribes, it is almost customary to serve as many non-vegetarian dishes as possible.

A north-eastern meal is quick to cook and does not involve elaborate preparations. It is served with all dishes placed on the table at the time of dining, rather than in courses. The dessert, of course, comes at the end of the meal, but it is not served daily, and only during special feasts. Though milk-rice-kheer(paayox), coconut laddoos(naarikol-laaru), rice pancakes stuffed with sweetened coconut gratings (pitha), sesame-jaggery stuffed pancakes and sesame-jaggery laddoos (til-pitha and tilor-laaru) are some of the festive sweet dishes in Assam, when it comes to sweets, the people of north-east cannot match their counterparts from the rest of India. They do not necessarily round off their meals with sweets. While they enjoy sweets, they'd rather prefer the natural flavor of fruits. Almost every home owns a banana, a guava, or a mango tree, so they are seldom bought from the market. Seasonal fruits such as papaya, pineapple, guava, mango, jackfruit, peach, lychee, jamun and pomegranate, usually complete the meals.

With rice taking the centrestage of the meal, and the abundant use of fresh vegetables, leafy greens, herbs and fruits, supplemented by meat or fish, north-east cooking is high on nutritional value, less on calories, and is actually a high-fibre diet. Experts correlate this diet with low rate of cancer in the people of this region. The north-eastern women are also known for their exotic ageless looks with clear baby-soft skins and lustrous tresses. A north-eastern meal is always balanced and for every spicy dish there is a bland one. Among the hill tribes, no meal is complete without plain boiled vegetables, to go with the more spicy dishes. It is the soup of these boiled vegetables that gives the tribes men the strength to climb the lofty mountains and walk the miles to their fields.

In this age of health freaks and diet watchers, the answer to most problems is a low-calorie high-fiber diet which is what north-east cuisine is all about.

Often, we find the Tibetan momos and 'indianised' greasy-spicy chowmein being consumed by some North-Indians, associating them with northeastern or chinese food. But in reality, there are some local vendors who are just cashing in on these borrowed items in the name of northeastern or chinese food, while experimenting with the traditional dishes adding oils and spices to their own whimps and fancies.

But I believe, it wont be very long before the northeastern flavors start getting popular. Northeastern cuisine is just waiting to be discovered and this article (most detailing of which has been taken from the preface of a book I once read, about some north-eastern recipes...i don't remember the writer's name) is just an attempt to introduce the flavors of my native place to the readers of this blog.