Spice theatre
Strong, pungent, nutty, earthy, sweet, lemony.... words to describe smells and flavours. I realise that the aroma of food is the first key to open the door to the exciting world of delicious array of items. The flavours and aroma waft towards the nose and the olfactory nerve cells would wake up the taste buds to salivate. Then, we follow the nose to the food. Here would come the visual presentation to add to the sensory delight.
The moment the oil is heating up in the pan and we add the first of the taste enhancers, the flavour has to burst forth and spread out from the kitchen to every corner of the house. Listen, Folks who cook and feed the members of the family! (Should I say, sniff around?!!) Know your spices for they are going to be your personal army /aides in making the mundane, exciting; routine, interesting!
The kitchen with its cooking fire is considered sacred in the tradition of this land. Rightly so, as it addresses hunger and satisfies the basic need of food. Food is considered as 'gift of god' and it should be treated with respect.
"ओ3म् अन्नपतेSन्नस्य नो देह्यनमीवस्य शुष्मिणः/
प्र प्रदातारं तारिष ऊर्ज्जं नो धेहि द्विपदे चतुष्पदे //
ओ3म् शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ! - यजुर्वेद ११.८३"
It roughly translates as
" O Lord Provider of food grains, & all edibles
Thanks
for giving us food today.
May
this food be decease-free and nourishing,
And
be it good for my body, mind & soul, I pray !
O
Benefactor of the donors & providers of food,
May
all living receive their sustenance every day !
However, let's get back to the smelling exercise! As one who grew up savouring the distinct aroma of spices being tempered in ghee and gingelly oil, certain spices have become so close to me like those true and silent friends who always are there for you! And the person behind the magic was my patti (grand mother) whose culinary touch would lend a distinct aroma to the cooking. We call it "கை மணம்" ( kai manam) in Tamizh. The associations to the distinct flavours are strong - a zone of comfort and security, a space of joy)
My close friends are Jeera and pepper. They are the inseparable twins, the earthy jeera complemented by the hot pepper! They had been with me adding a flavour to dull moments, spicing up the low mood or simply wafting around me in their spice dance!
I can sense, the other friends from the spice box giving a dirty look - "You human! You easily forget how my presence in sambhar or rasam bursts out as mellow, yet complex aroma, moving through windows and passage ways to tickle the tips of olfactory nerve cells of any one crossing that smell zone!" said Dhania.
"Aha! Can you think of your 'Kadi' or 'Morkuzhambu' (மோர்க்குழம்பு, a buttermilk blend) for mixing in the steamed rice or even sambhar without me?" crackled and spluttered the methi seeds in the hot pan. (Miss Methi missed her role in the pickles) Think of roasted methi powder combined with the right amount of asafoetida in hot oil poured over pickles. "High BP, cholesterol? What are they?"
You know, they all call out to me as I begin my cooking - my well laid-out plans just go in a smoke when my spice friends look up with bated breath! What are friends for if I can't respond to their call! They just edge their way into my thoughts through my nose. Yes, the distinct flavour , whirls around me as soft breath sometimes; at others, assail my nose in a gust. These trigger a particular image of the food and associated memories. I enter into this set up, touch and feel the spices and begin mixing them up to get the particular flavour and texture that I saw in the image.
(Some days I get the result and the flavour just bursts on the taste buds, hmm... it is a moment of bliss! Then there are times when, the desired result remains elusive - perhaps I have missed the right blend and the right amount of roasting!)
Most of the time, they reach out and blend with one another to give out that subtle yet tangible aroma. I never cease to be amazed by the way how 2 or more spices relate to each other, complement one another yet retain their unique flavour. But then, we need to know, which spice will go with which other spice and believe me! there are some who keep fighting with each other and let out an unwelcome odour! They have egos too. So you have to add and mix them with love, you should know which leads the way into the pan!
I do not know about great chefs and those grand moms with ""கை மணம்"! This is my Kitchen dynamics or should I say kitchen theatre?
Why am I thinking about my spice friends now? The story goes like this: I got organic egg plant - long variety two days ago. (This vegetable gets its turn after months in my house and it has to be cooked only in a particular way!)
But from the moment I got it, I was getting some images of vegetables dotted with the black nigella (Kalonji) seeds and the roasted jeera. So the flavour followed - that of panch phoran! It is a magical amalgam of five spices - a whole spice-blend rather than ground powder. It is thought to have originated in Eastern India. It is popular in northern parts of the country yet it is synonymous with Bengali recipes and cooking.
Five spices are added to the oil or ghee in the frying pan to let them crackle. This is what we call tempering and this is known as 'phoron' in Bengali, Baghaar' in Oriya and 'Chaunk' in Hindi. The crackling brings out the aroma and then we add other ingredients like Turmeric powder/dhania powder. The five spices are kalonji seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and "Radhuni' or 'ajmod. This last mentioned spice is typical in Bengal and surrounding areas. In rest of India, black mustard seeds is used instead of radhuni. They are dried fruits of a plant like ajwain (carom seeds).
The five spices together, (even with mustard as replacement spice) when they pop up in the pan, the individual flavours move in sync with each other like ballerina/ballerino pirouetting and flowing to tantalise the nose!
So did I cook the baingan with panch phoron or what? Two days the image and the smells followed me demanding my attention and so I made it. Ah... ! the sense of harmony when what I cooked matched exactly with my sensory image! You need to experience it to understand the deep gratitude and harmony I had with my environment! I suppose I had spooned in a dose of care and love for the food as well as the people for whom I made it! That's how cooking a routine subji spiced up to be an intense drama!
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