1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (221 page)

Milk shakes are delicious, but beyond providing pleasure, the sweet treats can’t be said to accomplish much.
Lassis
, on the other hand, are distinctive both for their flavors and for their important purpose in India’s spicy food culture—that of refreshing a diner’s palate and adding protein to the meal. Although particularly associated with the Punjab region, in northwest India, lassis are a popular street food throughout the Indian subcontinent and a mainstay at Indian restaurants around the world.

The base of a lassi is yogurt, the higher in quality and richer in fat the better, and its essence lies in that yogurt’s sweet-tart flavor. Diluted with very cold water and flavored with various combinations of fruit, herbs, spices, and floral essences, the resulting drink is blended with plenty of ice and served alongside hot-spiced dishes.

The most familiar version, the sweet and creamy mango lassi, doesn’t represent the lassi’s full spectrum—for lassis may be either salty or sweet.
Namkeen lassi
is the name for the salty version, a drink that generally contains roasted cumin seeds, freshly ground black pepper, and garlic.
Metha lassi
, the sweet kind, is often made with flavorings like ginger, mint, or cardamom, and rosewater. Or indeed, with mango.

Like milk shakes, lassis are beloved by kids of all ages—which means that wise parents who wish to expand their offsprings’ palates might introduce them to Indian cuisine by way of the cool, soothing shake. (Preferably the sweet kind.)

Where:
In Delhi
, Karim’s Hotel, tel 91/11-2326-9880,
karimhoteldelhi.com
;
in Chicago
, Udupi Palace, tel 773-338-2152,
udupipalacechicago.net
;
in Los Angeles
, Mayura, tel 310-559-9644,
mayura-indian-restaurant.com
;
in Toronto
, Udupi Palace, tel 416-405-8189,
udupipalace.ca
.
Further information and recipes:
Indian Cooking Unfolded
by Raghavan Iyer (2013);
Madhur Jaffrey’s World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking
by Madhur Jaffrey (1981);
cookstr.com
(search sweet lassi; mango lassi);
indianfoodforever.com
(search jeera lassi; mango lassi).
Tip:
For the most satisfying results, use unflavored whole Greek-style yogurt as a base. Also, sweet lassi can be overly filling when served before or during a meal; salty or spicy versions seem more suited to food, with the others sipped afterward as desserts.

A British-Indian hybrid, the simple yet beguilingly delicious soup called mulligatawny takes its name from the Tamil words
millagu-tanni
, meaning pepper water. Originating in southern India in the eighteenth century, during the
period of the British Raj, it was a dish Indian servants devised for their English masters. At first, the soup resembled a
rasam
, a curryspiced broth with lentils, but over time it bulked up to include carrots, onions, or leeks, and sometimes either tomato or cubes of peeled apple (for tartness), its stock enriched with lamb or chicken bones and sometimes a little meat. Gradually its colonial origins were forgotten.

Some modern cooks may add a final step to the mulligatawny tradition by stirring in a little coconut milk or cream, for a result that’s more delicate than the bold, peppery curry-spiked blend. Either way, it’s a deeply fragrant soup, wonderful for a cold or flu, soothing on a snowy day, and always marvelously restorative. In India, mulligatawny is often served with rice on the side, but elsewhere in the world, it is simply served up by the bowlful—just as it was on the famous
Seinfeld
episode in which Kramer tries to convince Elaine to brave New York’s famed “Soup Nazi” for a bowlful. Al Yeganeh, the cook with the Hell’s Kitchen soup stand who inspired the soup episode, still simmers mulligatawny in his various Original SoupMan franchises.

Where:
In New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Texas
, Original Soupman restaurants,
originalsoupman.com
;
in New York
, Tamarind, tel 212-775-9000,
tamarind22.com
;
in Boston
, Maharaja, tel 617-547-2757,
maharajaboston.com
;
in Chicago
, Udupi Palace, tel 773-338-2152,
udupipalacechicago.net
.
Further information and recipes:
100 Weeknight Curries
by Madhur Jaffrey (2011);
Ango-Indian Cuisine
by Bridget White (2013);
saveur.com
(search mulligatawny);
epicurious.com
(search mulligatawny)
indianfoodforever.com
(search mulligatawny).

India’s version of fried food.

Although the U.S. has a reputation as the land of fried food, such preparations have worldwide appeal—the draw has to do with the crunchy coatings and strong flavors heightened by quick heat. When accomplished quickly and with fresh, light vegetable oils, frying need not be as hazardous as the health food army has claimed.

Thus it is that we can easily enjoy two delights of the Indian kitchen:
pakoras
and
bhajias.
The lustier of the two is the delectably hot and sizzling pakora, a puffy fritter made with a variety of vegetables or sometimes with shrimp. Its savory magic is highly dependent upon a quality batter, with golden chickpea flour and sometimes rice flour assuring a crackling crisp finish, and a small sprinkle of baking soda that provides its airy lightness. Powdered turmeric, mustard, cumin, crushed hot red pepper flakes, and ground black peppercorns lift that golden coating with a tantalizing spiciness that highlights the cuts of fresh raw vegetables it coats. The most seductive are the thinly sliced onion rings that make
piaz pakoras
, with other appealing possibilities including eggplant rounds, chopped chile-enhanced potatoes, florets of cauliflower, and the white cheese that is
paneer.
When tiny shrimp—garlic-, ginger-, and chile-zapped—make up the fritters, the pakoras are known as
jheenga pakoras.

After the ingredients of choice are dipped into the velvety batter and quickly deep-fried in light vegetable oil (canola being a preferred choice for modern-day cookery), the pakoras are drained and eaten while still hot and crisp. Served with flavorful yogurt sauces or herbaceous chutneys, they are much loved as appetizers or simply as snacks to complement drinks or tea.

The sesame-oil-fried bhajia is a far more delicate sort of fritter, made of a creamy batter of chickpea flour, salt, and water and the thinly sliced vegetables it features. Especially delicate when made with the firm, dark green leaves of New Zealand–type spinach, they are also a delicious treatment for paper-thin slices of potato, onion, zucchini, eggplant, and even whole tiny okra. Pakoras and bhajias are often ordered together for variety in textures and flavors.

Where:
In New York
, Dawat, tel 212-355-7555,
dawatnewyork.com
;
in Chicago
, Indian Garden, tel 312-280-4910,
indiangardenchicago.com
;
in Houston
, Kiran’s, tel 713-960-8472,
kiranshouston.com
;
in Artesia, CA
, Woodlands, tel 562-860-4000,
woodlandsartesia.net
;
in Toronto
, Udupi Palace, tel 416-405-8189,
udupipalace.ca
.
Retail and mail order:
In New York
, for chickpea and rice flours, Kalustyan’s, tel 800-352-2451,
kalustyans.com
.
Further information and recipes:
100 Weeknight Curries
by Madhur Jaffrey (2011);
The Indian Cookbook
by Blake Roman (2014);
indianfoodforever.com
(search vegetable pako ra; bhajias);
cookstr.com
(search batter dipped vegetable fritters).

Steamed fish with coriander served in a banana leaf.

It is not possible to claim thorough knowledge of the many diverse cuisines represented within India if one is not at least a little familiar with the colorfully supple, warmly savory specialties of the Parsis. The fire-worshipping Parsi sect, dedicated to the prophet Zoroaster and the god Ahura Mazda (creator of all things light and good), originated in ancient Persia. But more than twelve centuries ago, persecution forced the Parsis to flee. Some settled in Afghanistan. Most went to the Indian state of Gujarat and also to the city of Bombay, the present-day Mumbai. (Parsi legend is said to have inspired Mozart’s
The Magic Flute.
) Thus, an intriguing Indian-Persian cuisine was born, replete with the subtle perfumes and colors of rose petals and rosewater, jade-green pistachios, ivory almonds, ruby-red pomegranates, bright cilantro and mint, and snowy coconut—and with needling-hot Indian spices such as fresh ginger, red and green chiles, cumin, cardamom, mustard, turmeric, and more.

Lovers of rice, poultry and goat, and other meats, the Parsis have a particular passion for eggs. Mostly scrambled, a preparation known as
ekuri
, eggs appear in Parsi cooking in a mind-boggling slew of variations, scrambled with or cooked over any number of ingredients, including bananas, eggplant, dried fruits and nuts,
cubes of bread, and even brains.
Tamatar per eeda
is a combination that echoes the spicy egg-and-tomato dish of Italy (
uove en purgatorio
), North Africa’s chakchouka (see
listing
), and the Basque
piperade.
For the fragrant Parsi interpretation, a satiny sauce of stewed tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chiles, onions, and cilantro is poured into a skillet or individual baking dish. Raw eggs are poured into depressions in the sauce, and the dish is either oven-baked or covered and cooked on the stove. When perfectly cooked, the yolks are still runny enough to mingle with the sauce.

Another defining Parsi meal is
patra ni machi
, based on pomfret, a silvery, flounderlike fish from waters around India’s west coast. Filleted and spread with an aromatic coconut chutney, the fish is wrapped in shiny green banana leaves and steamed (preferably) or sometimes baked. Opened at the table, the packet sends forth perfumes of ginger, mint, cilantro, garlic, and fresh lime, all enhancing the fish’s delicately moist white flesh.

And then there’s the famous Bombay duck, which is neither made from duck nor invented in that regional capital. Actually, it’s a rather odoriferous dried fish used primarily as a seasoning and based on the local
boomla
, a member of the bony lamprey family that is also eaten fresh. But dried, as
sookha boomla
, and flaked or cut into pieces and fried, it lends a teasingly salty, crisp accent as a garnish in many dishes, including curries. (How sookha boomla became “Bombay duck” is a mystery lost to time—it’s connected either to a train called the Bombay Daak or to a miscommunication with an Englishman.) Because it is dried in the open air, the food has been banned for import by the European Union, but is available in Canada and some Indian restaurants in the U.S.

Dhansak
, a complex and intricately prepared stew of meats and vegetables, has many variations but is best when it includes young lamb and tripe, long-simmered with several kinds of beans and vegetables such as pumpkin, tomatoes, onions, and eggplant. Seasoned with ginger, cloves, pepper, cinnamon, cumin, and mint, the results are crowned with a layer of crisp, golden onion slivers.

Similar to risotto (see
listing
), but with a more exotic flavor, is the dish known as
vagharela chawal ne murghi:
chicken and spices simmered to velvety richness with sweet-scented basmati rice. Spices are prodigiously represented throughout Parsi cooking, appearing in the rainbow of
sambals
(chile sauces) that complement breads and main courses. Persian-inspired sorbets or baked rice custards delicately seasoned with rosewater provide the gently sweet finale.