Okay I don't have a lot this week, but here's an assortment of mini trivias.
Rosogolla is a Oriya sweet?
Bengalis have been, and will be I'm sure, the butt of numerous jokes with Rosgulla as the weapon of choice. Not fair! Very few people know that Rasgulla was created in the temple town of Puri in the eastern state of Orissa, where it has been eaten since medieval times. The best rasgollas in Orissa are from the town of Salepur, near Cuttack. Another variety made at Pahala near Bhubaneswar is also equally famous.
The fine art of making rasagollas was eventually transferred to Kolkata by Nobin Chandra Das. He started his shop in Baghbazar and introduced the delightful taste of sponge rosogollas to the people of Calcutta. People there used to say, 'Baghbazarer Nobin Das rossogollar Colombus' (Baghbazar's Nobin Das is Rosogolla's Colombus).
So next time anyone cracks a rasgulla joke on you (if you're a bengali) find an Oriya guy and remind him that the attacker is actually insulting the Oriya people and culture.
By the way, does anyone know the proper spelling of rosogolla. I've probably used 7 different spellings in just 2 paragraphs! Well doesn't really matter, cuz it makes this page easier to find in google, no matter how you spell it!!
How come my mom never cooked Chicken Tikka Masala?
Most probably because it's not an Indian dish. Most probably your mom didn't even hear about it till only recently. There is no such Indian dish as "Chicken Tikka Masala". Got it? Good. It is something that was concocted at some restuarant in UK for the British who complained that his Chicken Tikka was too dry. The chef added some gravy (the kind all Indian restuarants abroad, make in bucket loads and pour on every dish!) and called it "Chicken Tikka Masala". It was a hit! Today it is one of the most popular dish in UK. When Will Smith came to India, he said he wanted to eat authentic "Chicken Tikka Masala". Poor fellow no one told him that he took the wrong flight. Indians being the resourceful fellows we are, started offering this dish in India as well. Money makes everything authentic.
Four course meal is fine; how about a 36 course meal?
Seriously, I'm not joking - 36!. Wazwan is a Kashmiri tradition and is a special occaission meal (obviously!). Its an elaborate mean and requires considerable knowledge of food and spices and cooking. It traditionally includes 36 courses. Guys, don't try this at home. It requires days of planning and hours of cooking. It is blasphemous to eat this meal with anything but your fingers - no spoons or forks allowed. Four guests are served together in each plate. No eating separately. Every Kashmiri, wishes to arrange one Wazwan in their lifetime.
What is common to Cucumber, Eggplant, Cowpeas and Indian Mustard?
They are all vegetables that originated in India. I know I should write a separate article on India's influence on the food of the rest of the world, but that would be a project for another day. For example a popular dish in Egypt called Khusra, is actually an import from India - from Khichdi. Anyway, the real excuse is that I don't know much about it!
How to spot a good indian restuarant in US
Many people will tell you a lot ways like if it is cheap, it is bad, or the menu sounds too exotic it is just to fool white folk. All that is mumbo jumbo. The real secret is simple. There are two rules you must follow. Learn them by heart.
Don't go to an Indian restuarant in the US. Finding a good one is like winning a lottery.
If you must, look for smiling elderly indian woman patrons. No self-respecting elderly indian lady will visit an indian restuarant with bad food, at least not of her own free will and definitely not happily.
Sushi is not Raw fish?
Did you think Sushi is raw fish?. Sushi means the rice served with other dishes which may or may not include fish, which may or may not be raw. The rice itself is called shari. Raw fish served by itself is called sashimi.
Now you might ask, what has sushi got anything to do with Indian Muslim cusine. Well, nothing actually. I just had an argument once with a friend about what is Sushi, and didn't find anyone supporting me. I'm just trying to get more people on my side of the argument. That's all! Hey its my site, I can write whatever I want :)