Southern Asia

The Indian subcontinent

The origin of the Indian population is
an area of huge controversy among
scholars and scientists.
Researchers found that some
genetic lineages in South Asia are
very ancient.
 Following the female line…
The earliest populations were
hunter-gatherers who arrived from
Africa more than 50,000 years ago.
Further waves of settlement came
from the direction of Iran, after the
last Ice Age ended 10-20.000 years
ago, and with the spread of early
farming.
 Following the male line…
There is a strong signal of immigration
from Central Asia, less than 5,000
years ago
Sign of the arrival of the first Indo-
European speakers, who arose
amongst the Bronze Age peoples of
the grasslands north of the Caucasus,
between the Black and Caspian Seas
(today Iran and Turkey)
 These latest populations grew
rice, wheat, millet, chickpea, lentil,
sesame, mango, lotus roots
+
goats, sheep, water buffalos and
cattle
used for dairy production
+
mustard, fenugreek, cardamom,
tamarind, turmeric, peppercorns,
ginger
 Religions
Hinduism
Reverence for the cow and all the
cow-derived products - Respect for
all animals
Buddhism & Jainism
all living beings were integral parts
of a harmonious world and, as
such, should not be harmed
 Many people on the Indian
subcontinent do eat meat, but a
significant number do not
(estimates range from 20 to 35
percent of the population being
completely vegetarian)
or eat a diet with little meat
This can largely be attributed to the
influences of Buddhism and
Jainism.
 Early in the history of the
subcontinent, the area was an
important trade route
Asia as far east as China
+
the Middle East (especially Persians
and Arabs)
This trade route resulted in the
transfer of ingredients and ideas
from east to west, and vice versa.
Some of the significant culinary
introductions to India from this
trade route included
new types of legumes
spinach, almond, cumin seed,
okra (native of Africa), rosewater
all of which would find their way
into the cuisines found in the
subcontinent
These influences also included religious
aspects
The Islamic religion made its way to the
Indian subcontinent in the eleventh and
twelfth centuries.
With the introduction of Islam came the
dietary customs of this faith, most
notably the acceptance of
eating certain animals, such as chicken,
lamb and goat, and the exclusion of pork.
 European Spice Traders
Portuguese colony at Goa
(1510)
and then to follow
British, French, Dutch, Danish
The most significant culinary influences from this
European incursion into India were not from
Europe at all but rather from the recently
“discovered” Americas!
The Portuguese introduced chili to India and the
rest of Southeast Asia
Chili was quickly adopted as a major seasoning in
the local cuisines.
Other important introductions from the Americas
via the European traders included
potato, cashew, kidney bean, and varieties of
green and red chiles
Main characteristics
large prevalence of
vegetarian food
+
wide use of spices
+
ayurveda
 According to the tenets of Hinduism, certain
foods are sacred, some are purifying, others
are responsible for upsetting the balance of
the mind and body, and still others are simply
harmful.
Beef is the main sacred ingredient together
with honey, sugar, milk, yogurt, and ghee. In
some parts of India, the ingredients also
include basil leaves and dry fruits.
These ingredients are thought to be purifying
like water, ghee, curds, and milk: adding
these items to food is believed to purify it
and, thus, oneself.
 “Pollution” is considered a way to
destroy the purity of food.
Food can be polluted by going bad
(molding, for example), by being
touched by hands during the cooking
process (thus, food is not sampled
during cooking), and by being placed
on an unclean surface.
It is very common in some parts of
India for people to eat their food off of
a leaf, which is pure and can be
discarded once eating is finished.
In addition, much of the population
adheres to a belief in the need for
balance in life, including their food
foods are considered either
“hot” (exciting)
or
“cool” (calming)
and these need to be balanced.
 The strongest influence on Indian food is
from ayurveda.
Ayurvedic medicine is one of the
world's oldest holistic
(“whole-body”) healing systems, developed
more than 3,000 years ago in India.
It’s based on the belief that health and
wellness depend on a delicate balance
between the mind, body, and spirit.
Its main goal is to promote good health,
not fight disease.
 Ayurveda classifies Indian food into the
following six tastes
sweet_gives strength to tissue elements and
harmonizes the mind
salt_stimulates digestion - it clears the
obstructions in the nervous system of the
body, thereby cleansing the body by the
function of sweating
pungent_help improve the metabolism in
our body
bitter_purify the blood and easy to digest
astringent_help heating wounds (green
vegetables, apples, potatoes, etc. are
grouped into this category)
 Sattvic Foods
(promote health and calmness of the mind)
cereal grains, legumes, soft cheeses, nuts, seeds, milk,
ghee, honey, herbal teas, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and
breads
Rajasic Foods
(excite the body and make the mind restless)
spices (particularly heavy use), chiles, coffee, tea, eggs,
chocolate, dried cheeses, sour cream, aged yogurt,
unripe fruit, garlic, and jaggary (raw form of sugar)
Tamasic Foods
(harmful to both the mind and the body and are avoided
by close followers of this faith)
meats, non-scaly fish, alcohol, tobacco, strongly
fermented foods, vinegar, stale or overripe foods, heavy
use of onions or garlic + overeating in general
 Social rules
India has several thousand castes and
tribes, sixteen official languages and
several hundred dialects, six major
world religions, and many ethnic and
linguistic groups.
There is no “Indian” food but rather an
enormous number of local, regional,
caste-based ingredients and methods
of preparation.
 Food in India is an identity marker of
caste, class, family, kinship, tribe
affiliation, lineage, religiosity, ethnicity,
and increasingly, of secular group
identification.
How one eats, what one eats, with
whom, when, and why,
is key to understanding the Indian
social landscape as well as the
relationships, emotions, statuses, and
transactions of people within it.
 Just as an example…..
In most cases a person risks pollution, as well as
is threatened to lowering his own status, if he
accepts beverages or cooked food from the
hands of people of a lower caste status than his
own.
Water served from an earthen pot may be
accepted only from the hands of someone of a
higher or equal caste, but it is surprising that the
same water when served from a brass pot may
be accepted even from someone slightly lower in
the caste hierarchy.
Spice palette
 Cumin Mustard
Turmeric Cinnamon
Chili Fenugreek
Ginger Amchoor
Garlic Asafoetida
Sesame Mace
Star anise Nutmeg
Black peppercorn Black Cumin (Nigella)
Garam Masala
• Garam means “hot” or
“heating” and masala means
“spice blend”. The “hot” is not
necessarily referring to the
kind of heat we nd in hot
chillies but to the fact that the
spices are rst toasted then
ground

• cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg,

and mace are very common.
The addition of other spices
may include cumin, black and/
or green cardamom, bay
leaves, coriander, fennel, and
possibly caraway

• whole garam masala is used

more in north Indian cooking,
especially meat dishes
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 Chaat masala
• Chaat Masala is the
quintessential Indian spice
blend, a tangy condiment that
perks up the avours of
salads, legumes, fruit, grilled
sh and meats, potatoes and
other vegetables. In other
words it is pretty much an all
purpose Indian seasoning

• Chaat Masala can be used

either before or after cooking
or used in place of regular salt

• The recipe may vary

according to each household,
but usually amchoor, ginger,
asafetida, black peppercorn
and cumin are included.
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 Panch Phoran
Bengali “Five”-Spice
• Usually fried in oil or ghee
before adding anything
else to the pot, avoring
the oil and releasing the
aroma of the oils in the
seeds and causing them to
pop in the pan. Other
ingredients are added at
this point, the mixture
adding sweetness and
bringing forward the
avors of vegetables, beef,
sh or lentils

• See recipe below

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Southeast Asia
 Major immigration in Southeast Asia
China from the east (the wok, noodles)
+
India (curries) from the west
+
Indonesia (from the south east)
+
European influences
Perhaps the most profound impact on the
region’s cooking was made in the 16th century,
when the Portuguese brought the chile from the
Americas.
Today this ingredient provides signature heat in a
Southeast Asian meal.
The roots of original cuisine of
the South East is probably the
peasant cuisine of Thailand.
It spread east across the
mountains into Laos, Cambodia
and Vietnam, and south down
the Malayan peninsula and the
island arc of Indonesia starting
from 3000 bce.
 Cuisine characteristics
The cuisines of Southeast
Asia are unique among the
cuisines of the world for their
reliance on highly flavored
aromatic ingredients in
making many of the common
foods to accompany rice.
 Early traditions
Rice
Fermented fish sauce
Fermented shrimps paste
Galangal
Lemongrass
Lime
Lime kaffir
 Chinese influences
Stir-frying
Steaming
Pickling
Rice / wheat noodles
Soy sauce
Star anise
Fermented bean sauce
Bean curd
the wok (Malaysia and Thailand)
chop-sticks (Thailand and Vietnam)
 Indian Influence
tamarind, turmeric, ginger, gourds, onions, and garlic
One of India’s major contributions to the cuisine of
Southeast Asia was the techniques and practice of
making spice blends—in particular, wet spice blends
—that are often referred to as curries by Westerners.
The freshly made spice blends lend much of the
aromatic flavor to the dishes that make them so
distinct.
Although many of the ingredients used to make
these dishes may not come from India, such as
galangal and kaffir lime, the technique for making
and using them does.
 Portuguese influences
corn, beans, peanuts,
cashews, papaya, cassava,
tomatoes, and potatoes
 Curries are a very common across the
region, but less common in Vietnam where
the Chinese and French influence is strong.
The concept probably came from India and
spread east, but the people of the South East
modified the original by substituting coconut
milk for yogurt as the basis for the sauce.
Southeast Asian curries are normally based
on curry pastes which are made from a
variety of fresh and dried ingredients ground
together in a mortar and pestle.
 A curiosity
Curry Leaves VS Curry Powder VS “the dish” Curry
Curry leaves are an herb
cultivated from the curry leaf tree
(Murraya koenigii).
Curry leaves belong to the citrus fruit
family. The leaves are glossy green
and have a very powerful aroma that
combines a citrus quality with both
bitter and sweet taste. They are
often used in a similar fashion to bay
leaves ― though they’re often rst
fried in oil to release their avor.
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Curry powder can be a lot of
di erent things but very simply curry
powder is a combination of a
bunch of spices
The idea of “curry powder” is a
British one. British manufacturers
came up with curry powder in an
attempt to create a ready-made
avor that could recreate the avors
of South India that British colonists
came to love.
Curries, in India, is a word that do
not refer to any ”dish”; just an
english way to call dishes made with
that type of spices mixture.
 Several herbs are
common in the region, in
particular
Thai basil, sweet basil
and mint
Thai basil distinctive flavor is usually
described as a mix of anise, mint, citrus,
licorice, cinnamon
 Lemongrass has a distinct aroma
reminiscent of lemon/citrus that it
lends to soups, stews, and curries
and that cannot be duplicated.
Ginger and galangal are other
intensely fragrant ingredients that are
commonly used in many of the same
types of applications as lemongrass.
All are very woody but will not soften
from cooking
Galangal
Galangal is a ginger-like root that is
widely used in Thai and Indonesian
cuisine as a avoring or a spice,
characterized by its pungent aroma.

Greater galangal, which is lighter in

color and with a more subtle aroma,
used mostly in Thai cooking

Lesser galangal, more pungent,

native to China.

Galangal is hard and woody on the

exterior, with a strong citrus scent on
the inside. It gives a citrus note to
numerous dishes, and it is an
important ingredient in Thai curry
pastes.

Galangal can come in many forms:

as fresh root, dried root, or ground
into a ne powder.
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 Lemongrass
• lemony avor with hints
of ginger

• widely used in savory

dishes and meat, poultry,
seafood and vegetable
curries. It harmonizes well
with coconut milk,
especially with chicken or
seafood

• if using fresh lemongrass,

use only the lower bulbous
portion of the stem

• the stems are also used in

teas or used in pickles and
in avoring marinades
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 Kaffir Lime
• Ka r Lime leaves are a
member of the citrus
family responsible for the
distinctive lime-lemon
aroma and avour that are
an indispensable part of
Thai and, to a lesser
extent, Indonesian cooking

• The leaves and rind have a

perfume unlike any other
citrus, sometimes called
mysterious or haunting

• Used in many Thai dishes,

from soups and salads to
curries and stir-fried
dishes
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Recipes
Garam masala
25 gr whole cardamom seeds

25 gr cassia /cinnamon

25 gr black peppercorns

10 gr black cumin seeds

2 mace blades

10 gr cloves

1/8 nutmeg

Ground and sieve. Set aside.

Asian larb salad with curried chicken and
khao kua (roasted rice powder)
Served with salad leaves

Ingredients 4 shallots, nely sliced

Vegetable oil 2 lemongrass stalks

1 tsp garam masala 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves,

chopped
1/2-2/3 tsp dry chili akes
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves,
700 gr chicken (thigh, leg, breast) chopped

juice of 2 limes 15 each okra/gombo

2 tbsp sh sauce 1 tbsp khao kua

1 tbsp muscovado sugar

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 Season chicken with fennel and Shred the chicken and add to the pan.
caraway seeds, salt and pepper. Cook 1 minute. Set aside.

Precook chicken sous vide legs/ Dress the meat with the dressing,
thighs: 62°C breast: 58°C lemongrass, okra, shallots, mint and
Cool down coriander.

Soak okra in water and vinegar for 30

min then slice and sauté with oil and
chopped garlic Service options

Peel the lemongrass to remove the 1. Serve on top of a green salad

outer woody stalks. Toast the tender
inner stalks in a pan and then chop 2. Serve the lamb salad wrapped in
nely. green lettuce leaves

Finely slice shallots. Sautee quickly.

Dressing: combine sh sauce, lime In both cases: sprinkle with khao

juice, and sugar in a bowl. kua, last minute

Cook garam masala and chili akes

with oil for 1-2 minutes on medium
heat - don’t burn
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 Khao Kua
Roasted sticky rice powder

Lemongrass leaves (external)

Ka r Lime Leaves (break with hands)

Galangal

Glutinous (sticky) rice

Toast the raw rice on low heat with the herbs until evenly GOLDEN

Ground in the mortar

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Pulau with octopus,
chickpea and vegetables
served with mint raita
Raita
Yoghurt sauce
200 gr Plain/Greek yoghurt

50 gr water

90 gr blonde onion, nely minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 nr mint leaves, nely chopped right before the application

Salt the minced onion. Let rest for 1 hour. Combine yoghurt and
onion, water and mint.

Let rest for 1 hour.

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Panch Phoran
Spice mix

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp brown mustard seeds

2 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp nigella seeds

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

(bayleaf, coriander seed)

Just combine and use at the beginning of the cooking with oil or
ghee, or to temper the dish just before serving.
Chickpea and vegetables
curry
750 gr cooked chickpeas, net
10 servings weight without water

2 nr blonde onion, nely 300 gr carrot, chopped

chopped
300 gr swiss chard leaves,
3 garlic cloves, nely chopped thinly sliced

30 gr fresh ginger, grated 100 gr soaked raisins

1 tsp tomato paste 8 nr cardamom seeds (the inner

part)
500 gr canned tomato (only
tomato, no liquid) OR 700 gr water as needed
fresh tomato
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In a pot heat olive oil.

Add onion and garlic and a pinch of salt.

Cook medium heat till onion starts browning.

Add grated ginger and tomato paste. Let caramelize.

Add chopped tomato and carrot. Salt lightly.

Cook 5 minutes.

Add chickpeas and swiss chard. Add ground cardamom seeds and
water, to cover.

Add raisins.

Cook 15 minutes until the cooking liquid thickens and all avors
blend.

Salt to taste.

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Octopus stew

10 servings 200 gr coconut milk

1 Kg boiled octopus 400 ml water/stock

1 tbsp panch phoran mix 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

2 onions, thinly sliced

4 green chilies, sliced

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp yellow mustard seeds,

ground

300 gr canned tomato OR 500

gr fresh tomato
In a casserole heat olive oil.

Add the panch phoran mix and let pop for 1 minute on medium
high heat.

Add onion and chilies and let cook medium heat till soft and golden
(4-5 minutes)

Add chopped tomato and cook 5-6 minutes, till soft. Salt to taste.

Add ground mustard seeds and turmeric. Cook 2 minutes.

Adjust pungency adding chili akes if necessary.

Add coconut milk and water and cook 5 minutes to let avors
blend.

Cut the octopus and add to the sauce.

Cook gently for 10 minutes. Salt to taste.

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Rice

Basmati type rice.

Cook with just enough water, little salt and a knob of butter.

Cook al dente.

Drain and dress with water and sa ron. Let cool.

Service

Combine chickpea and octopus and warm up. Add rice and cook
for 2-3 minutes, mixing gently.

Serve sprinkled with chopped fresh coriander and raita on the side.
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