The secrets of currying favour
FOOD has the power to bring people together, my grandmother often used to say. And to substantiate her claim, she would fondly tell us the tale of the three Muslim girls in her neighbourhood who happened to fancy the same man in the village.
As the girls had to practise pardha and were not allowed to speak to strangers, getting close to the man was out of the question. So they invented the next best way - every evening they would prepare the most exotic curries, and as the man passed by their house on his way home after work, they would take the lid off the pots.
'You see, a wise man can smell a good woman a mile off,' my granny would say with a chuckle.
If your dream man happens to be a curry buff, then Camellia Panjabi's 50 Great Curries of India ($169 Kyle Cathie Ltd) and a dash of commonsense is all you need to spice up your romantic life.
India's culinary practices are a tremendous mix. Geography, caste and religion still play a role in creating the food of India's people. But what makes this book stand out is that while it takes you on an exotic culinary journey through the different tastes and smells of India - from Kashmir to Kerala and Gujarat to Bengal - it also offers you an insight into the origins of different dishes, the unifying philosophy and the system of beliefs that Indian cuisine is based on.
Ayurveda, the ancient body of knowledge on health, forms the base, notes Panjabi. As Indians believe there has to be a cure in the cooking pot, all foods are characterised on the basis of their tastes or the potency of their action on the body. Sour-tasting ingredients (such as lime and tamarind) are believed to assist digestion and are good for the heart; sweet-tasting products (such as ghee and even rice) give strength to tissue elements; salty foods deplete reproductive secretions; and pungency in onions, pepper and garlic improves metabolism.
And spices? 'They are like musical notes,' writes Panjabi and 'all melodies [or curries] are composed of the same musical notes [spices]'. Indians, in general, have a genius for mixing and matching spices. Most recipes have no written code and have been passed on through generations - thus offering cooks the flexibility to improvise and alter. The book categorises all important spices and herbs by their taste, colour and aroma and offers handy tips on how they should be used to greatest effect. And for those who like it hot, there is also a section on chilli.