A ‘Khat’ta above the rest

The writer has travelled through the length and breath of India in search of sour foods.

Indian cuisine would be bereft of a soul, if not for the numerous souring agents that add body and depth to most dishes. We scour the kitchens of India in a quest to uncover some of these magic morsels that shape the foodscape of our country.

SOUR SEEKERS

I’m standing in a lush forest, so dense that the vegetation forms a blanket masking out the intense rays of sunlight.

Faced with an unusual task on hand — I’m hunting for a peculiar looking plant called the Thekera flower, indigenous to Assam.

Traipsing across the length and breath of India, my mission is to uncover the secret souring agents, that form the backbone of Indian cuisine, but have hitherto been over shadowed by the 'masala dabba', which is conventionally the star of the Indian larder.

“Unlike a spice mix that generates heat and fire, souring agents add complex flavours to curries, vegetables and meats. They are as integral an ingredient as any masala or herb,” suggests culinary expert, Karen Anand.

Sourness is one of the primary tastes on the palate and is caused by acidity. It can provide lightness and interest to food that would otherwise be heavy or bland. We can experience the subtle difference a drop of lemon juice makes to a soup or a piece of fried fish.

Just as different masalas are used in different parts of the country — souring agents are regional in their usage.

Goans have a proclivity to kokum whilst in a Punjabi household amchur powder dominates.

A REGIONAL ROULETTE

First stop Guwahati—The gateway to the North East in all its resplendence. Food habits are dramatically different from the rest of the country with pork, pigeon, fish, rice and seasonal greens cooked in a light broth or fermented to perfection.

“Souring agents form a chunk of the Assamese cooking traditions. Assam being an extremely warm states these souring agents either in curry form or as traditional drinks helps to soothe the body during summer months. Assamese cuisine is characterised by very little use of spices but strong flavours mainly due to the use of endemic exotic herbs, fruits and vegetables and one of the most popular dishes from Assam, the Tenga, is an indispensable part of a proper meal,” suggests Chef Anirban Dasgupta, Executive Chef —Vivanta By Taj — Guwahati, Assam.

At Seven —-the all day diner at this property that specialises in showcasing North Eastern food with a twist, we sample the signature Assamese fish of Masor Tenga or sweet and sour fish.

The famous Thekera flower that we procured earlier is used to prepare this tangy dish —its flavour similar to kokum.

Several ingredients bring out the sourness quotient in the tenga and many more dishes in Assam. Bilahi (tomato), bogori (Zizyphus jujuba), thekera (Garcinia pedunculata), outenga (elephant apple), kordoi (starfruit) are the most important souring agents used in Assamese food both in fresh and dry forms.

Elephant apples are hugely popular and found primarily in this region as well.

The trek from the North East to the ‘Spice Coast’ of Kerala is an arduous journey but well worth the effort.

The markets here are an inspiration for any chef brimming with cardamoms, nutmeg, peppers and assorted spices.

But my quest for cambodge or kodampulli — a souring agent specific to Malayali fish dishes leads me to a corner of the spice market.

Before reaching the market the fruit is cut open, its pulpy contents expulsed and discarded and the outer skin or petals are sun-dried to an even black colour. Cambodge is stored in airtight containers away from sunlight and soaked in water before use.

Although very similar to kokum in taste, cambodge (Garcinia gummigutta) adds a unique sourness to dishes such as nadan chemmeen kari (country-style prawn curry).

In Kochi at the famous Chinese fishing nets, we are advised to drop in to Jude Allen Steven’s stall Little Maxims.

This former Taj chef runs a seafood stall that literally cooks the freshly caught fish a few meters away on a grill in any style of your choice. Here we sample the sterling sourness of the cambodge exquisitely laced on a portion of fried pearl fish — a tangy repartee of flavours complementing the freshness of the seafood.

In Coorg, the same Garcinia gummigutta or cambodge adopts a new persona when it is strained and the juice extracted to create a lustrous purple puree called Kachampuli vinegar - drawing its name from the boiling process the fruit undergoes.

Most of the classic Coorg dishes from pandi curry to chicken fry use this vinegar.

This dense, tart vinegar, which has been made in the region for generations, is indispensable in many preparations. Infact every Coorg kitchen has a couple of vinegar bottles, on its shelf.

Award-winning chef Manu Chandra takes us on a culinary journey of his favourites at the quirky, non-conformist gastro-pub, Monkey Bar — his latest venture.

Inspired by souring agents he says, “I like complexity, I like layering-adding Bengali panch phoron or the Kodava kachampuli or even fresh ajwain leaves to an unexpected dish.”

Meanwhile on the west coast, I chat with Sous Chef, Edridge Vaz of Park Hyatt, Goa’s specialty restaurant Casa Sarita.

Growing up on a diet of Goa fish curry that familiar taste of kokum (part of the mangosteen family) assails the senses but I learn that other souring agents such as tamarind, toddy vinegar, fresh raw mango, dried raw mango, lime and bimbli (tree sorrel) are equally popular. Kokum and tamarind are seasonal and hence dried and preserved for year round use.

As the waves lap the beach and I dig into a platter of fresh seafood, soured to perfection, I realise on the final leg of my journey, that north or south for Indians its the importance of big taste and flavour above all consideration. Without these mighty sour tastemakers, our amazing cuisine would be bereft of its earthy and tart taste much like our landscape it self!

From the famous tenga in Assam to Andhra’s Mango rice soured with raw mango and Kerala’s fish curry try these finger-licking recipes to experience a variety of souring agents in all their glory.

MASOR BELAHI TENGA

Assamese soured fish Serves 4

1kg bekti 1kg tomato 200 gms potato 50 ml mustard oil 50 gms salt 10 gms panchphoran 20 gms turmeric powder 20 gms chilli powder 10 gms jeera powder 10 gms coriander leaf 10 gms onion 10 gms hurum 5 gms kasundi (mustard) 2 gms manimuni leaf

Clean and marinate the fish with salt, lemon and turmeric powder and deep fry in mustard oil. Boil and mash the potato and keep it aside. Put the panchphoran the red chillies in hot oil. Add the sliced onion, sauté till just golden, add sliced tomatoes add salt, turmeric powder, cook till tomato melts.

Puree the tomato gravy and bring back to the pan, simmer the fried fish in the same

Prepare allo pitika separately with sliced onion, slit green chillies and mustard oil adding to the mashed potato, season well

Prepare the hurum crust with chopped and dried onion, tomato and coriander.

Apply kasundi mustard on the pan-fried fish and then add the crust. Arrange mashed potato in a plate then place fish on top of it. Then pour seasoned tomato (tenga) gravy to the plate. Garnish with fresh manimuni leaf.

MAMIDIKAYA PULIHORA

Andhra style mango rice Serves 4 to 6

A basic South Indian style tangy mango rice made with raw mango used in pickles. Similar to lemon rice it has a sour aftertaste because the mango is cooked in oil.

1 raw mango —washed, peeled and grated or mashed 2 cups rice cooked and cooled 2 tbsp peanuts remove shells 1.5 tbsp oil 1 tbsp each chana and urad dal 1 tsp. mustard seeds Few broken red chillies Few curry leaves 1 tsp. chopped ginger Pinch of hing and turmeric

Heat about 1.5 tbsp oil in a pan. Fry peanuts until half done. Add chana dal and urad dal. When they turn lightly golden, add mustard seeds. Allow them to splutter. Add thinly sliced ginger (optional), broken red chilies and curry leaves. For more heat, you can add the chopped green chilies along with peanuts. Sauté everything until the curry leaves turn crisp. Add hing. Transfer to a plate. To the same pan add raw mango, turmeric and salt. Lower the flame completely and cook covered. Stir in between. Mango must be cooked completely and must turn soft. It must also begin to leave the sides of the pan. If your mango is very dry with no moisture to cook, you may sprinkle a tbsp of water. Stir and cook covered. Return the seasoning to the pan and mix thoroughly. Keep covered for 2 mins. Add this little by little to the cooled rice. You may need to add more oil and salt. Do not use less oil; the rice will turn out very dry. Mix gently and serve with papad and curd.

NADAN CHEMEEN KARI Country-style Kerala Prawn Curry Serves 8

500 gms medium-sized prawns 3 tsp. red chilli powder 1 tsp. coriander powder 3 green chillies split 8 shallots, chopped 3 petals cambodge (kodampulli), torn into pieces 3-cm ginger, chopped 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder 1/4 medium-sized fresh coconut, grated 1 tsp. salt 1 stalk curry leaves 11/s tbsp oil

Wash, devein and shell prawns Place all ingredients except curry leaves and oil in a pan with 3/4-cup water and cook over low heat till prawns are cooked and gravy thickens. Mix in curry leaves and oil and remove from heat.

KAIRIWALA BHINDI

Chef Ashish Bhasin, executive chef, Trident BKC shares his secret recipe for this tangy treat Serves 2

200 gms okra (small pieces) 30 gms strips of semi ripe mangoes 20 ml mustard Oil 10 gms cumin seeds 4 tsp. lemon juice 10 gms roasted cumin powder 5 gms red chili powder 10 gms chaat masala 10 gms raw mango powder Salt to taste 5 gms ginger juliennes 10 gms chopped green chillies 50 gms onion sliced

Slit the okra and stuff it with a mixture of chaat masala, salt, red chili powder, roasted cumin powder, raw mango powder and mustard oil Heat the remaining oil and add cumin to it till it crackles and add the chopped ginger, and green chillies and add the sliced onions Sauté the above mix for 2 minutes, add the stuffed okra and cook it on high heat for a minute Then add all the remaining powdered spices, mix well and cover the pan with a lid and cook on slow flame with occasional stirring Finally, add the mango and ginger juliennes and stir-fry on a high flame. Garnish with lemon juice, little sugar and the mango strip.