A recipe and a dish
Master chef is very popular show these days. Every country has its own show where famous chefs judge dishes prepared by the contestants. Some chefs are friendly, some encouraging and some are very hard to please. The contestants prepare , sometimes traditional dishes with a twist or create dishes of their own.
Then there are chefs who have come out with cook books. I have browsed through at least a hundred cookbooks. I have also tried recipes from them.
To me a dish is not just a mixture of spices, meats, vegetables and herbs. A dish, specifically a traditional dish tells us a story. It conveys the climate of the place it was created in, its agriculture, its social structure and its cultural heritage.
Our food is largely influenced by the crops we grow, how hot or cold the climate is, how busy people are. That determines the food choices. As a result we have more vegetables based dishes in countries with hot summers and not so hard winters. In countries like India, culturally, people eat less meat.
Countries with long winters have developed varieties of preserving meat, I.e., sausages, salami etc.
To me, a dish is a symphony to tantalize our senses, to create that bouquet of aromas, to stroke our hunger. A chef is a conductor of the orchestra where each ingredient works in perfect harmony with the other and satisfy not just our physical hunger but our soul. It doesn’t have to be a very complicated dish. A simple daal, made carefully with balancing the ingredients can be as tasty as any dish requiring different meats or vegetables with tons of herbs.
What is your favourite dish to make and eat? Do tell me. You can also share it.
Happy cooking and be safe
So be it !!!
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