THE GOOD FOOD GUIDE
YOU CAN COOK!
There are rules to be followed, flavours to be balanced, textures to be contrasted, in devising the perfect meal. In the first of a series on the fine art of eating well, Gitanjali Prasad lays down the law.
"What is patriotism but a love of the good things we ate in childhood?"- Lin Yutang
Our friend, Yutang speaks true. Don't you agree? For if I am to rely on my childhood memories of people and places, they all seem to be tied up with food. Melt in the mouth Kiev cutlets conjure up memories of my paternal grandmother's home. Dark and indescribably delicious 'mithi puris' remind me of my maternal grandmother's home, while sinfully rich chocolate eclairs and crunchy ginger snaps are inextricably linked with my childhood years in Ranikhet. If anything makes one feel more loved and wanted and generally pampered than a piping hot, lovingly prepared meal, I haven't heard of it!
Time was when the rules with regard to entertaining were clear. They weren't simple. They were supremely complex. But one knew what they were. One served traditional fare at festivals, and since it was open house, quantities had to be generous. 'Ethnic" was always in when it came to meals and their presentation.
Personal entertaining called for fare greater savvy. A guest list had to take into consideration not only how all the group gelled socially, but also how well their tastes in food could be coordinated. A hostess who couldn't remember that guest X couldn't stand consomme, or that guest Y was allergic to prawns, could never aspire to be in the magic charmed circle of those who had that intangible 'class'.
A good meal then, was one that your guest would enjoy. It would have to have a hot dish and at least one item that was difficult. A hot soufflé would qualify to be in this category, because not only was it chancy to begin with, it collapsed embarrassingly if it wasn't served exactly on time. So was a dessert like Baked Alaska, or fruit served in a sugar basket, a lacy confection of sugar cooked to golden perfection and then set in the shape of a small basket, which could be smashed to smithereens if you made one wrong move.
Interestingly, however, even as the one-time small circle of aristocracy declined and disappeared into the great yonder, and as the great chefs vanished, never to reappear, the interest in good food and good eating has grown to such proportions that cookery books and videos are now big business. Ironically, even as people are getting busier than ever before, they're also entertaining and being entertained more. Not unnaturally, in today's competitive, rat-race environment, everyone but every-one, ants to host the perfect meal.
A perfect meal is the one you look forward to with happy anticipation, enjoy every moment of while it's on - and then remember fondly long after it is over. We've all been to a few such memorable meals. But if you want to host a party in that league, how would you go about it?
At the risk of being considered outrageously trivial, I would say that throwing a food party is very similar to writing a good article, or doing anything else really well. You have to care a great deal, you have to think, and finally, you have to organise. The skills you'll pick up along the way, just as you do in any other field!
So step number one is getting together a suitable guest list. Let's face it, if youdon't really know your guests, you'll never manage to get that special amalgam that comes from bringing together people who don't know each other too well, but are compatible enough to enjoy each other's company. Only then will the evening take on that special glow which comes from everyone getting wittier and feeling brighter and more beautiful with every passing minute.
Of course the food has to be right for this special alchemy to come alive. And for this, one needs to organise a meal that is delicious in itself, and suitable for the evening's guests and the occasion.
What should I serve? The answer today is limited not only to good old 'English food' or Mughlai delicacies, but could include a Mexican chilli con corne, or Arabic hummus, or an Italian pizza. The opportunity exists to offer a truly inspired, a finer and more eclectic meal than ever before. The problem is that unless you follow some norms, you open the door to unmitigated disasters of the sort it simply was not possible to commit earlier.
A well-balanced meal has a certain rightness, an intrinsic harmony. One doesn't need to be a culinary expert to get it right. Over the millenia, every civilisation has managed to come up with a cuisine which takes into account the climate, the vegetation, the lifestyle, to evolve a range of preparations and a set of rules which are suitable and satisfying. If you want to play safe, stick to a typical Maharashtrian, Bengali or Punjabi meal, and you can't go far wrong.
This is, of course, lie saying wear a sari or a suit, you'll always be appropriately dressed. Perhaps you will. But you'd certainly miss out on fun at the beach, or on the mountains, if you were never to try on a pair of bermudas, or even a comfy pair of jeans! Much wiser to get acquainted with contemporary norms.
In today's context, the concept of a formal three-course meal is limited to very special or very official functions! Most meals are casual. And while, on one level certainly, anything goes, there are some guidelines which are generally followed. For one, Maneka Gandhi notwithstanding, unless you're dealing with vegetarians, one meat dish is de rigueur, two is standard, and three is lavish. Cheese prices being what they are in this country, a cheese dish is considered a very happy substitute for a meat dish by most guests. Ditto for mushrooms, avocados and other such fancy fare. You can mix and match. But it's best to see that some ground rules are followed, anyway. A good meal generally has one dish 'balancing' another. If you're serving a rich korma or curry, you'd probably like to team it with a cooling raita and boiled rice or chapatis. Similarly, all a continental roast meat dish would require, would be something light like grilled tomatoes or mushrooms. Fried foods would go well with refreshing salads, while pork is generally served with a tangy apple sauce.
Another guideline to keep in mind would be to balance the cereals, main dish and side dish. Who hasn't been to a party where one is bewildered by an array of fluffy light naans, a sweet-sour Chinese chow mein and cheesy pizzas? Surely it should be apparent to the crassest philistine that this combination just cannot work. All the falvours clash. And to even try to make a meal of such an inharmonious collection of incompatible cereals, is an invitation to disaster!
Spanish rice, with its delicate tomato flavour, on the other hand, blends well with a tandoori chicken and a Russian salad.
So, are there any pointers one can follow? All traditional Indian cuisines have, as mentioned earlier, very clear accompaniments which have an intrinsic harmony. However, in deference to today's taste for lighter food, chefs could go easy on the oil or fat and on the spices. Today's guests are also happier with a much simpler meal. The traditional Indian fondness for 'Chappan Prakar', or 56 different dishes, is now definitely passé. A few well chosen and well cooked dishes mark you as a superior hostess. But if your menu is elaborate, you could consider serving a sorbet (or a water-based ice) to clear the palate between courses.
When you're drawing up a menu, you have to look deep into your heart and establish what you motives really are. Do you want to get a few good friends together, listen to music, talk, dance if the mood moves you, let down your hair? Fine. Serve a meatloaf or a pie, a salad, and dessert. This is food that doesn't mind being kept waiting. Or if your friends prefer Hindustani khana, you could serve biryani and raita. It's aromatic and delicious. Simple to prepare and to serve. And its unfussiness lets you get on with having a whale of a time.
But perhaps you want to throw a party for an entirely different reason. To call a few colleagues and establish beyond doubt that you're the host - or the hostess - with the mostest. Yes? Start with a prawn cocktail. It's cool and sophisticated. Tastes nice too. And it's not terribly difficult to manage because it can be made in advance. Follow up with a classy understated soup, like a clear chicken celery soup. Then have a wonderfully delicious main dish, like a succulent grilled or roast lamb or chicken teamed with buttered carrots and beans and a zesty salad. Finish off with an interesting dessert. Flambés are easy to do and always get 'oohs' and 'aahs'; profiteroles are also suitably fancy, but actually even pears poached in red wine served with a dollop of ice-cream, makes for an excellent dessert.
A dessert is, of course, an eminently suitable way of ending meal, but if your finances permit, a liqueur is a very good idea indeed. It's a wonderfully civilised way of unwinding and getting into that particularly cosy state of mind, where your guests dig up bizarre tales of the supernatural, and other such subjects which form a rather deeper bond between party guests than existed before the evening began. And that, surely, is a most admirable conclusion to a wonderful meal.
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Don't do these
Do's for the guests
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Copyright © 2002 Gitanjali Prasad