Food is a major conversation breaker. When you take a trip around the country, there are dishes which are must-haves and that you recommend. However, it becomes a gastronomical journey of discovery when a chef recommends it. Like celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, who gets nostalgic about food he had at wayside inns and innocuous streets across the length and breadth of the country.
If you are a fish eater, chances are that Amritsari machi is not an unheard of name. Chef Kapoor says the best place to have it in is Amritsar, of course. ?I don?t know what it is that makes the fish fried here so tasty. For the masala used is the same ? besan and ajwain. But I think it is the water that the fish swims in perhaps, that makes it so tasty when it is fried or cooked. The best place to relish it is Lawrence Road market and there is one place here called, Kesar da dhabba, which serves lovely food.?
When one eats Amritsari fish, what about eating it with kulcha? Hmm, says the chef. ?The tandoori aloo kulcha at Ranjeet Avenue is the best one. Here again, I think it is the dough that makes the difference, for the kulcha turns out nice and crisp. It is cooked on charcoal and wood fire at very low heat. Served with dollops of butter, these kulchas are the best,? he reiterates.
Fish and Goa go together. The best dish is Goan fish curry, for most of us. Kapoor feels, though this is the most popular dish in Goa, it is the sweets that score. ?Dodol and bibinca are the best and can be bought anywhere in Goa.? The Goan fish curry? ?Some restaurants in Calangute do excellent grilled fish on the beach. I had the best Goan fish curry in an obscure guest-house in north Goa. It was a nice, bright orange colour, well spiced, with a little bit of sourness and smoothness. The best thing about the curry is that it retains the freshness of the coconut, which is a tricky job.?
Bhel puri is known to almost everyone. But Kapoor says if one has eaten jhaal muri in Bengal, the bhel puri will remain a far cry. ?To give a non-descript ingredient like murmura a spicy, tangy taste and an edge with a hint of mustard oil, is a marvelous job. If one is in Bengal, do also check out the mango-filled kulfis, which is a mark of master craftsmanship that I have seen only here.?
Did you know there is a rice that does not need to be cooked and still can be eaten? ?Assam is famous for its komal rice. It needs no cooking. Just add water at room temperature to the rice and strain it. When I had it, it was an eye opener. Shillong boasts of some of the best stews in the country. The mixed meat and vegetables, or the chicken/beef stew with lots of veggies thrown in and eaten at roadside stalls in a big bowl, is delicious.?
From the east, let?s move to the north-west. You thought it was the blue pottery and the palaces that beckoned visitors to Jodhpur? ?There are also mirchiwadas and pyaaz ki kachori which are sold on Janata street. Also, there is this village outside Jaisalmer which has sand dunes and there is no water there. Locals make rotlas with jowar, red chillies, beans and add oil to it. No gourmet restaurant can match it for its taste.?
For the best chaat in the country, Indore is the place. ?Go to Sarasa Bazaar and eat the chaat there, bhutte ki kees, which is crushed corn that is saut?ed and cooked. You wont get this anywhere in the country.?
Now for some mouth-watering mutton. ?The chutney mutton at Nizam?s Club in Hyderabad has a spicy paste that is a melt-in-the-mouth variety. Have it with rotis. Bangalore has a green chilli chicken cooked with very hot chillies. I am sure at least 100 chillies are added to it. One washes it down with tears!?
Then there are some mutton gravies to die for. ?Like the pandhra rasa and tambda rasa, two distinct mutton gravies in Kolhapur made with dry coconut which gives it its flavour. The mutton saoji in Nagpur, which is virtually black in colour is very spicy. After eating that, it is time to indulge in the santre ki barfi ? which is a must. After all this is orange country.?
The most simple dish to make is mashed potatoes. But Kapoor bets on, the Bihari version. It is called chokha and is served with chopped onions, red and green chillies and served cold or at room temperature with a dash of mustard oil. Food from Bihar is not given much prominence, partly because the people here don?t take pride in it, he says.
When one thinks of costly saris, chances are that the name of Benares will come up. However, Benares also boasts of thandai. ?It is Mishrambu?s thandai which is famous. It has the normal thandai paste of almonds, khus-khus and all flavours in it, but it is the pepper that provides it the killer taste. Even the sweet lassi and kheer kadam here are awesome.?
Milk chocolates are the best from Belgium, right? No, says Kapoor. There is a region in India which can beat it. ?Gangtok has the best milk chocolates. I had it here long ago, but the taste still lingers.?
Each state in India has much to offer to tickle your taste buds. Kapoor could go on, but this is where he broke off?.for a while.