No it is not a title of an epic journey in far away land but rather the story of my taste buds. Literally or 'tangy'bly in a manner of speaking.
Hailing from the Indian subcontinent and exposed in later life to culinary creations of other cultures in metros around North America I have truly found myself lucky to have the experience.
I believe in the maxim - one must live to eat and not the other way around. If not for good food and equal measure of good laughter life as I know it is not worth its weight in salt (while we are on the prandial vein).
My memories of good food in India range from the Taco Bell of yester year - the famous and timeless 'Vada Pav/w'; a mashed, curried and fried potato immersed in gram flour batter inserted in a lusciously warm pillow that is the bread accompanied by a dazzling red garlique concoction called chutney - to the exquisitely crafted 'Quail Curry' with butter naan (leavened bread prepared in a earth kiln) at an upscale food serving establishment to the mouth tingling PAAN (a devious yet delicious after dinner production uniquely Indian).
Vada Pav could be had any time of day and each metro in India to this day has various versions of this product. Our palates tend to appreciate strong flavors I am told by a sommelier I met once when touring the Napa region in Northern CA due to the fact that we live in very warm climate. Suffice to say his attempts to woo me to train my palate to understand the nuance of the cabernets and pinots were misguided and we settled on my enjoying the late harvest products and the fortified wines that fell under the dessert drink category.
The same scenario helps the Indian taste buds go wild with enjoying the creations produced in the Schezuan province of China. Kung Pow is one such preparation that is widely available from the major metros like New York to the most remote corners of the continent including the Indian Reservations in the US.
I consider myself a gourmand or a foodie (working my way to be a gourmet) and can partake of any thing that has been labeled as food by some culture or people. Not exactly the Zimmern variety of guts and glory (or testicles and gory) but understand that what is one person's food may be another's allergy.
It is fascinating to see how various migrant cultures through the history of time have taken their recipes and blended or amalgamated them with the local palate considerations and created a new product.
Hailing from the Indian subcontinent and exposed in later life to culinary creations of other cultures in metros around North America I have truly found myself lucky to have the experience.
I believe in the maxim - one must live to eat and not the other way around. If not for good food and equal measure of good laughter life as I know it is not worth its weight in salt (while we are on the prandial vein).
My memories of good food in India range from the Taco Bell of yester year - the famous and timeless 'Vada Pav/w'; a mashed, curried and fried potato immersed in gram flour batter inserted in a lusciously warm pillow that is the bread accompanied by a dazzling red garlique concoction called chutney - to the exquisitely crafted 'Quail Curry' with butter naan (leavened bread prepared in a earth kiln) at an upscale food serving establishment to the mouth tingling PAAN (a devious yet delicious after dinner production uniquely Indian).
Vada Pav could be had any time of day and each metro in India to this day has various versions of this product. Our palates tend to appreciate strong flavors I am told by a sommelier I met once when touring the Napa region in Northern CA due to the fact that we live in very warm climate. Suffice to say his attempts to woo me to train my palate to understand the nuance of the cabernets and pinots were misguided and we settled on my enjoying the late harvest products and the fortified wines that fell under the dessert drink category.
The same scenario helps the Indian taste buds go wild with enjoying the creations produced in the Schezuan province of China. Kung Pow is one such preparation that is widely available from the major metros like New York to the most remote corners of the continent including the Indian Reservations in the US.
I consider myself a gourmand or a foodie (working my way to be a gourmet) and can partake of any thing that has been labeled as food by some culture or people. Not exactly the Zimmern variety of guts and glory (or testicles and gory) but understand that what is one person's food may be another's allergy.
It is fascinating to see how various migrant cultures through the history of time have taken their recipes and blended or amalgamated them with the local palate considerations and created a new product.
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