Indian Food - The Misconceptions And Truths

By Rajeev Sinha

There are many myths and misconceptions about Indian food.
Lets just take a quick look at a few of them. This could be
interesting.

All Indian food is spicy: Though Indian cooking is hot and
spicier when compared with European or Western cooking,
there are lots of regions in India where the food is bland,
even sweet. In case you want to try something less-hot, go
taste some Gujarati dishes.

Gujarati cuisine has a touch of sweetness in almost all of
its dishes. Traditional South Indian cooking (except Andhra
Pradesh) is generally less-spicier than other regions in
India. Kashmiri cuisine also incorporates sweet tasting
dishes in its menu. So when someone tells you Indian cooking
is spicy, don't entirely believe them.

Most of Indian recipes are Vegetarian: Well, not entirely
true. While many sections of India are strictly vegetarian,
the array of non vegetarian food available in this part of
the world is immense.

Many of the Hindus while vegetarian have traversed to the
other side and there's a great population of non vegetarians
in India. Muslims and Christians in India also consume meat,
while Hindus do not eat them as they considered it sacred.

There is no variety in Indian cooking: Many, especially
foreigners and first time visitors to India, are of the
opinion that Indian food doesn't have so much of choices.
Indian cuisine is probably one of the most varied
food-culture on the planet!

This is actually a misconception around the world and even
in India. Chicken Tikka did not originate in India. It was
brought into India by the Mughals and has its origins in
Persia.

Indian food is all about Curry: Curry is something that was
again made popular by British-South Asian ethnic groups.
While Curry abroad may refer to a thick and spicy gravy
dish, India takes a different meaning altogether. In South
India, Curry may refer to a vegetable side-dish that is
often served with rice.

You will also find that in certain Indian regions, food is
served on a banana leaf or an areca nut leaf. These
traditions have been passed on to families since many
generations and many modern Indian continue to follow then
regardless of caste differences.

For further information and video recipes please visit the
buzzing food community at ifood. If you are an Indian food
lover you can also take a look at
(http://www.ifood.tv/r/indian/recipes) Indian Recipes and
(http://www.ifood.tv/network/south_indian/recipes) South
Indian Recipes.

Chicken Stew - From Then Till Now

If you are thinking about a warming, hearty dinner, chicken
stew is one of those recipes that always spring to mind. You
can make lots of different versions of chicken stew and this
dish has a very interesting history spanning thousands of
years.

A stew is two or more different foods simmered together in a
liquid. Hungarian goulash, beef stroganoff, coq au vin, and
beef bourguignon are all stews.

The "Apicius de re Coquinaria" is the oldest cookbook ever
discovered. It contains fish and lamb stew recipes, although
chicken had been domesticated by then too. There were three
Romans with that name living between 1 BC and 2 AD and the
book is believed to have been compiled by one of them.

You can actually go back even further because primitive
tribes used to boil foods together, which is what a stew
essentially is. Amazonian tribes used turtle shells as pans
and would boil the turtle entrails with some other
ingredients. Other cultures used large shells, such as
clam shells, instead of pans. Archeological evidence points
to this type of cookery going back seven or eight thousand
years. The invention of pottery, about ten thousand years
ago, made cooking stews easier.

Domestic fowl has been around for thousands of years and
chicken stew has been popular for a long time, with
different cultures having their own versions of this dish.
Examples include the spicy chicken stew found in Morocco or
the peanut butter chicken stew favored in parts of Africa.

Different Types of Chicken Stew

One very tasty chicken stew is called chicken booyah. This
is a cross between a soup and a stew and is popular in
northeast Wisconsin. In 1853, the first Belgian immigrants
arrived in Wisconsin and they spoke a language called
Walloon. It is believed that the word booyah comes from the
word bouillon and the non-French speaking Belgian just wrote
down how the word bouillon sounded to him phonetically.

Southern Chicken Stew

Perhaps you have tried southern chicken stew. It is a very
popular recipe in North Carolina. Southern chicken stew is
made with a whole chicken parboiled in a milk or cream based
sauce. Butter, salt, pepper, and other ingredients are used
in this recipe. The color of southern chicken stew varies
from white to yellow, depending how much margarine or butter
is used. It can be thin or thick in consistency and saltine
crackers are often served with southern chicken stew.

This dish is often served in the coldest months and "chicken
stew" can refer to a get together or gathering where this
food is served, rather than the food itself.
(http://www.chickennoodlesoups.com/Soup-Recipes/index.php#chicken-stew)
Chicken stew recipes are often thought of as comfort food
because they are comforting to eat and simple to prepare.
Chicken stew is commonly served at social get togethers,
such as church fellowships, community fundraisers, and
family reunions.

The chicken stew at these events will often be made in a big
cast iron or stainless steel cooking pot, maybe outdoors
over an open fire. You might get coleslaw, a grilled cheese
sandwich or rice served with the chicken stew.

The Strawberry - King Of The Berries

Don't you just love a fresh, juicy strawberry? There really
is nothing else quite like it. With fast shipping these
days, you can get strawberries almost any time now, but it
just is not the same as picking that perfectly ripe berry
right out of your garden.

Strawberries do not need a lot of skill to grow, and the
fresh taste makes it more than worth having a few pots on
your patio or a plot in your garden. Fresh strawberries are
delicious on their own with a little cream and sugar, or
added to other recipes.

Today's strawberries originate from a plant native to
America. The large berries we see now are a hybrid of a
South American strawberry that was crossed with a North
American strawberry. This allowed the southern plant to
survive the cooler climates in the north. Strawberries have
long been a symbol of health and luxury in Europe.

On the other hand, in Argentina, in South America, they were
considered poisonous until the middle of the 1800s. These
plants varied a great deal in size, shape, and flavor, they
usually bear the distinctive red color and nearly
heart-shaped fruit that have made them so popular.

While most people think of eating strawberries raw, there
are other recipes you can make with them that are
exquisitely delicious. A really easy recipe is to cut the
berries into small pieces, then place them in a bowl. Cover
the cut up berries with water and sprinkle white granulated
sugar over the top generously. Add some ice, and let the
whole mixture soak in the refrigerator for several hours.
When you are ready to eat it, you will find a lovely cold
summer dessert.

Many people love the firm texture of strawberries, but they
might not be altogether fond of the sweetness, or perhaps
they prefer their flavors a little more complex. If this
describes you, think about putting out a bowl of good
balsamic vinegar and powdered confectioner sugar, and then
dipping the fruit into first one, then the other. The
sweetness will be enhanced by the sharp taste of the vinegar
and you will find that this makes an excellent end to a good
meal.

Strawberries are not just for dessert. Add some sliced
strawberries to a spinach salad to add color and sweetness.
A dressing made of honey, mustard, balsamic vinegar and rice
vinegar makes a nice accompaniment to the spinach, berries,
red onion slices, and caraway seeds. Eat this for a light
lunch or serve it as a side salad at a dinner for instant
compliments.

Another great spinach and strawberry combination takes
tender baby spinach leaves and strawberries sliced on the
diagonal and adds them to a little Gorgonzola cheese and
tasty homemade croûtons. Top it off with a little dollop of
ranch dressing and a grind of fresh black pepper. This
creates an incredible combination of crunch, sweetness, and
tartness that delights the palate.

Do not relegate strawberries only to shortcake. They have a
lot more to offer than the traditional dessert. Strawberries
are nutritious and flavorful, and are the ideal berry to
serve. There is a reason the strawberry is everyone's
favorite.

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