Indian Food

  On my most recent visit to Jaipur I ate at Handi, one of the best-known restaurants for Lal Maas, and was intrigued by the way it had been presented. It had nearly no sauce and was quite hot! It was the dryness of the dish that surprised me because it contrasted with other renditions I had come across before. That made me wonder if there was more than one kind and if not, which was the right one. And so my research began. LAL MAAS is an iconic dish from the desert state of Rajasthan in India. The name literally translates into “red meat”. Exactly when the dish came into existence is not clear but its origins can be traced to both the dynasties of Jodhpur and Udaipur that have ruled since the 7 th and 8 th Centuries. It is quite likely that this was a more refined version of the famed “Jungli Maas” or wild meat which was a dish that was developed by the cooks of the Maharajahs when they were out on a hunt. The meat was cooked with copious quantities of chillies and ghee to disg...

Madeira to Goa When the Portuguese arrived in the early 1500s or 500 years ago they brought new fruit crops like pineapple, cashew nuts tobacco and of course the chilli pepper. They also brought with them new ways of preparing foods such as marinating meat in vinegar. The Portuguese ruled Goa right until 1961, and the Estado da Índia Portuguesa had a deep influence on the food and culture of its people and eventually the rest of the country. Vindaloo derives from the Portuguese dish known as Carne de Vinhas d’alhos – or meat preserved in wine and garlic. To this day it is made in Madeira where it is a much paler dish in comparison to its Goan offshoot. In both places it is served at Christmas and other occasions. Carne de Vinhas d’alhos has been called the dish that took the world by storm as it travelled as far as the Carribbean where it is known as garlic pork to this day. According to old Portuguese Goan sources, Vindaloo has an almost pickle or confit like quality as meat is c...