Delicious dishes from China, Thailand and Lebanon you won't find in India

Massaman Beef Curry

Said to have been first heard of in Thailand in the 1700s in Ayutthaya, legend has it that the Persian merchant Sheikh Ahmad Qomi (ancestor of the Thai noble family of Bunnag) brought this dish to Thailand and it is believed that it gets its name from the word Mussallman, meaning Muslim.This explains that though it is also prepared with other meats like chicken, mutton and duck, it is typically not prepared with pork. It's such a delight that vegetarians and vegans have developed their own versions of this curry.

Unlike the other Thai sauces this one has spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cumin, bay leaves, nutmeg and mace that not easily available locally. The massaman paste is sautéed with cream of coconut. Then the beef (or chosen meat/ vegetables) along with onions, potatoes and fish sauce (or salt for the vegetarians) and other Thai essentials like tamarind paste, sugar, coconut milk and peanuts are added to the mix. Other flavours you may notice come from chili peppers, coriander seeds, lemongrass, galangal, white pepper, shrimp paste, shallots, garlic, fish sauce, coconut milk. Some old school versions also throw in pineapple, orange to surprise your taste buds. Usually served as a main course at restaurants or in people's houses, it goes well with the regular white rice or jasmine rice.

It's not available in India because it's traditionally a beef-driven dish. If at all, you may find the chicken variation of it here.

Awarma

An important part of Lebanon's mountain culture, Awarma is lamb cooked in its own fat. Customarily, the meat preserve was prepared for sustenance in winter because during olden days there were no refrigeraters to keep food fresh or stop them from deteriorating. The meat can either be chopped very minutely or ground in a mixer, boiled in good stainless steel pots like a confit to which pepper, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks or any other preferred spices can be added. Once it cooked enough into a gravy like texture, it is stored in jam jars that are usually steralised and refrigerated; it stays good for a year. Traditionally it was stored in earthen pots  that were covered with muslin and then kept in a cool place to be used in winter (Mouneh). While it's still popular among those living in the mountainous regions, people living in cities find it too heavy due to its fat content. Awarma can be reheated and eaten in several ways with hummus, as a topping to manoushe, with kibbeh as a starter, with eggs in an omelette and also to make patties.

It's not available in India because possibly because chefs here are not aware of it because it is not very popular among city dwellers. Even in Lebanon, you won't get it everywhere, you'll have find in some special place...

Dongpo

Eaten traditionally as a main course with steamed Chinese sticky rice and greens, these pork squares have a date-like colour and while the meat is really soft, it won't crumble. The dish gets its shiny coat as well as flavour from the thick-starched sauce that the meat is stir-fried in and that is also poured on top of it before serving. With chinese rice wine, soya sauce, sugar, ginger, spring onion, corn starch, sesame oil, salt and the Chinese give spices (star anise, Sichuan pepper corn, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg), the sauce is a wonderful explosion of flavours. Hence it's not surprising that this dish was created by a poet of the Song Dynasty, Su Dongpo, after whom it is named.

It's not available in India because the Chinese pork used for the dish is very soft and tender and quite different from the Indian pork. Even the same method of making is used, one will not get the desired result from the Indian pork.

Inputs from: Awarma – Zizo, Beef Musamman Curry – Thailand Tourism, Dongo - Liang Xiao, Executive Chinese Chef Pan Asian, ITC Maratha.