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| Edited By: Yogesh Pawar |Source: DNA |Updated: Mar 04, 2018, 08:44 AM IST
From Kargil to Kanyakumari. From Kutch to Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh. No kitchen in India can be imagined without spices and condiments. And holding them together are masala dabbas, of which bronze, wooden and earthen variations have been unearthed from archaeological sites dating back to 1556AD and before. Today, they are seen in stainless steel, plastic and even ceramic avatars. All of which goes to show that masalas and their permutations-combinations may vary, but the concept of keeping them all in an easy-to-access container is a pan-Indian practice...one that India won't give up soon. Here are some regional specials they carry:
Mumbai-based Anee Hazarika explains how the Assamese cuisine blends in the best of Tai and Tibeto-Burmese influences along with those from the mainland. The predominant spices used are ginger, garlic, onion, cumin, black cumin, black pepper, chilli, turmeric, coriander seed, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, fenugreek seed, white mustard seed, aniseed and Malabar leaf. Herbs peculiar to Assam such as maan dhania, moran ada, madhuhulong, bhedai lota, manimuni and masundari, give their dishes a distinct flavour. No Assamese meal is complete without green chillies, several varieties of which (including the world's hottest, bhoot jolokia) are found in the state. The panch phoron is a bit like the one in Bengal.
Anyone who has sampled the lip-smacking goodness of Maharashtra's coastal belt will swear by this cuisine says Dapoli native Santosh Taakale, a corp com manager settled in Mumbai who loves eat as well as cook. The masala dabba, he says, includes chilli powder, cumin, turmeric, two kinds of red masalas (one with nutmeg, cloves, khus-khus and Sankeshwari mirchi, and the other with Sankeshwaris, coriander, cumin and dried kokum) and coriander powder. While people know of its seafood, this region is known for its use of sprouts and vegetables too. Each of which requires a different combination of masalas to bring out the flavours.
Kolkatan teacher and homemaker Anjana Dasgupta says without black cumin, the panch phoron (cumin, brown mustard, fenugreek, nigella and fennel) and radhuni (a pungent spice called ajmod in Hindi) Bengali cuisine would just not be the same. Like everywhere else on the subcontinent, you can't get too far without garam masalas and chilli powder, but Dasgupta insists that no self-respecting Bengali rannaghar (kitchen)is complete without shukno lonka (dried red chillies).
The cuisine has its roots in a 5,000-year-old history, says Jammu- resident Neeta Dhar. She points out how the masala box has turmeric, Kashmiri chillies, fennel powder, dried ginger powder, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ver (a special blend of spicy cake that enhances flavour and aroma of Kashmiri dishes like haakh, monji and fish) and Himalayan rock salt in it.
Homemaker Neelu Joshi from Dehradun says that the distinctive taste of pahadi cuisine comes from jambu (a cumin-like flavouring herb of Tibetan origin), Gandhrouli (asafoetida-like spice), jakhiya (small black seeds used in tempering that grow wild), black cumin, turmeric, rock salt and garam masala. Though people in the higher reaches of the mountains also use generic spices and herbs found in most Indian homes, also popular are indigenous ingredients like pahadi chillies (spicy enough to get one's ears smoking) and bhaang (opium) pods that grow in the wild.
Situated amidst dense forests, the spices from this part of Karnataka are known world-over. No surprises that the cuisine (both vegetarian and non-vegetarian) uses them to create tantalising magic. Homemaker and shopkeeper Nagaratna Mirajkar who lives in Sagara, Shimoga, says she enjoys nothing more than cooking. While the world uses dry cinnamon, this region also uses the wet variety. Green peppercorns and a variety of wild fennel are also vital to their cuisine. Fine cumin, three different kinds of chilli powders (Byaadgi, Sankeshwari and Kashmiri) along with coriander powder, star anise and white pepper powder are found in most of their masala dabbas in the region.
Though people homogenise to simplify, there's nothing like the Gujarati cuisine, says Mumbai-based interior designer and Kathak teacher Piyush Raj, who's also a cooking aficionado. Depending on the region you'll have tamarind, kokum or other souring agents as a foil to which the spices change. He points out, "What doesn't change is the liberal use of jaggery in all our cooking." His masala dabba includes chilli powder, fenugreek seeds, cumin and coriander powder, turmeric, mustard, cumin and urad dal. Cloves, cardamon and black pepper too are used, particularly in kadhis, a staple of the cuisine.
