tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30124586803808488422024-03-05T01:21:55.551-08:00GRUBHOGS MUMBAISNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573222505817695210noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012458680380848842.post-6258021904459879562008-07-27T17:00:00.001-07:002008-07-27T22:16:18.769-07:00Cuisine worth fighting for....<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">-By Parvathy Nair<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Yesterday, on my way to drop my son to school, my eyes fe</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ll on a hoarding. It showed the popular Afghan sport, <i style="">Buzkashi. </i>Adjacent to the picture was t</span><span style="font-size:100%;">h</span><span style="font-size:100%;">e</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> line, ‘A cuisine worth fighting for…Baluchi cuisine. Baluch? <st1:place st="on">Baluchistan</st1:place>? <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>? Obviou</span><span style="font-size:100%;">sly, it had to be <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s share of Baluch, as </span><span style="font-size:100%;">the sport shown on the hoarding w</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvgU1_2pi4uHFEx2v7ojlQukZQyrEh_fvoiF3UTQfOQ6Z9rZM4syhwmUloQGLkq4g8g7aXmueV4B-1x6wgMKaZCKQ-TdNn6bjEvNm79UGsXi2iefN0aiHiabbEV14bTA9d75nfwBjWgk/s1600-h/IMG_2296.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvgU1_2pi4uHFEx2v7ojlQukZQyrEh_fvoiF3UTQfOQ6Z9rZM4syhwmUloQGLkq4g8g7aXmueV4B-1x6wgMKaZCKQ-TdNn6bjEvNm79UGsXi2iefN0aiHiabbEV14bTA9d75nfwBjWgk/s320/IMG_2296.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227564985280229362" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">as Afghani. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Sudde</span><span style="font-size:100%;">nly a seri</span><span style="font-size:100%;">es of pictures flashed through my mind</span><span style="font-size:100%;">. Pictures of mass exodus </span><span style="font-size:100%;">of refuges, tumul</span><span style="font-size:100%;">tuous even</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ts, The Ki</span><span style="font-size:100%;">te Runner, veiled women…And I thought to myself “D</span><span style="font-size:100%;">o people there really h</span><span style="font-size:100%;">av</span><span style="font-size:100%;">e a lavish cuisine to brag about?” It was</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> more shocking because it was to </span><span style="font-size:100%;">be </span><span style="font-size:100%;">spread at Inte</span><span style="font-size:100%;">rcontinent</span><span style="font-size:100%;">al, The Grand in Mumbai. Well, that was more than food for thought. I reached hom</span><span style="font-size:100%;">e and started looking for information on Afghani cuisine. <span style=""> </span>And I was in for a culinary surprise.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Afghani food has a great variety because of its multi-ethnicity. And as the country produces high quality fruits like apricots, grapes and pomegranates, they form a major part of Afghani cuisine. Walnuts, plums, berries, pistachios, almonds, pine nuts and <st1:country-region st="on">Malta</st1:country-region> oranges grow in abundance in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region></st1:place>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Now comes the most interesting part. An Afghani cuisine does not begin without the <i style="">destarkhan</i>, the table spread. Irrespective of economic status, the <i style="">destarkhan</i> is very important to every Afghani family, while welcoming guests. Everybody in the family, including young children are taught to spread a good <i style="">destarkhan.</i></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The main spices used for seasoning are mint, coriander, saffron, cardamom, cilantro and black pepper, and the preferred meats are either lamb or chicken. Rice dishes are a favourite with Afghanis. Chalow and Palao are rice dishes. That rhymes, isn’t it? Chalow…Palao. While Chalow is plain fluffy rice, Palao is rice cooked in stocks or with meat. Palaos get their names as per the flavours that go into the making of the Palao. Yakhni, Zamarod, Maash, Qorma, Serkah and Shebet are some of the flavoured Palaos. Afghani cuisine also has a good variety of kebabs.<span style=""> </span>The <i style="">khameerbob </i>or Afghani pasta is also famous for its different versions. And for all those who yearn for some sweetness after a spice filled journey of Palaos, there is Sheer Berinj or rice pudding to soothe your taste buds. There is definitely a lot more to Afghani cuisine than what is mentioned here, as Baluch is just one part and ethnicity of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Hard to believe…right? </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There is indeed a colourful picture of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>. A picture that shows little children enjoying a good <i style="">destarkhan</i> with their families, without having to think about violence of any kind…..but the cuisine, I must say, definitely worth fighting for! Maybe, I’ll have to go and fight for my share of Baluchi cuisine at Intercontinental, The Grand. What say?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">-The author Parvathy lives in Mumbai and blogs at </span> <a href="http://paro-kickingboredom.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://paro-kickingboredom.<wbr>blogspot.com/</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>SNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573222505817695210noreply@blogger.com0