Tag Archives: McLeod Ganj

A Guide To The Regional Foods of India

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photo by Jason Taylor

photo by Jason Taylor

I still recall vividly driving the winding roads away from the Himalayan village of McLeod Ganj, headquarters of the Dalai Lama and catching a glimpse of a familiar spring vegetable being sold along the roadside. Wanting to make sure I wasn’t suffering from altitude sickness, I asked my wife for reassurance that I had just seen a bunch of fiddleheads. Soon I was chatting with the vendor trying to explain in broken Hindi that we had the same seasonal delicacy in Canada.

This brief experience, seeing the familiar in a foreign context, provided both comfort and intrigue. It forced me to shift my thinking of what “local”, “seasonal”, and “regional” are. As I travelled around India I soon found myself searching for more local and regional Indian dishes. Whether I was in Amritsar to check out one of the oldest dhabas or visit the kitchen of the Golden Temple that feeds up to 100,000 people a day or cooking some of the tastiest food I have eaten in India at Philipkutty’s Farm I was, and continue to be, amazed by the vast variety of local ingredients and regional dishes that are found in India.

Four years ago, while touring tea plantations in Darjeeling I noticed a small comment in the food section of a newspaper that an Australian, Charmaine O’Brien, was researching a book on regional Indian food. I kept my eye out for it in the bookstores and online but did not come across it until my most recent visit to India, which coincidentally overlapped with the launch of her efforts titled The Penguin Food Guide to India.

I have read through the book once, and wrote a review posted on Zester Daily, and know that I will be diving in there a lot for years to come as there is such great information provided. At the end of the review is a delicious recipe for a regional Konkan dish called tambdi bhaji, or greens sautéed with fresh coconut introduced to me a few years while I was travelling with photographer Jason Taylor, who shot the above photo. It is a very versatile dish as it can easily be adapted for all sorts of greens, like beet, amaranth, spinach, swiss chard and even kale.

Fiddleheads: Himalayan Style

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Fiddleheads cooked with Indian spices

For my first recipe post I want to offer a seasonal recipe using fiddleheads, a vegetable which has been instrumental in shaping what I view as local and seasonal food.  Ten years ago I participated in a Canadian Food promotion in Tokyo. While visiting the famous Tsukiji fish market I explored the nearby vegetable stalls and much to my surprise saw in-season fiddleheads.  The host Japanese chefs were shocked to learn that this, a Japanese vegetable to them, was also Canadian.  We incorporated them into an asparagus, fiddlehead, morel and wild rice pilaf.

Six years later while driving the winding roads away from the Himalayan village of McLeod Ganj, headquarters of the Dalai Lama, I again caught a glimpse of this familiar spring vegetable being sold along the roadside. Wanting to make sure I wasn’t suffering from altitude sickness, I recall asking my wife for reassurance that I had just seen a bunch of fiddleheads. Soon I was chatting with the vendor trying to explain in broken Hindi that we had the same seasonal delicacy in Canada.

These experiences, seeing the familiar in a foreign context, provided me with both comfort and intrigue. My definition of “local” and “seasonal” food began to shift and now I constantly find myself searching for more ‘local’ food as I travel.

In rural communitites, where vegetable cultivation is scarcely practiced, villagers often rely on nutritious wild vegetables. Such as fiddleheads which are high in omega-3, omega-6 essential fatty acids and rich in iron, potassium andother minerals and vitamins. From Shimla to Sikkim fiddlehead ferns, known as lingra, lingri or ningro, can be found in the remote forests of the Himalayas.  During the Monsoon, women often harvest the tightly coiled fronds, for personal consumption, or to sell along the roadside. Often, the fiddleheads are simply boiled and eaten on their own.  In Himachal pickled fiddleheads, lingri achaar, are a local delicacy while in Sikkim, they may be sautéed with chhurpi, a local cheese.  I have added some new potatoes to a recipe shared with me by the roadside vendor along the route to McLeod Ganj. The fiddleheads pictured below are sourced from the nearby Gatineau hills.

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Sauteed Fiddlehead Ferns with New Potatoes
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 3 cups or ½ lb fiddlehead ferns* (or substitute asparagus, okra or green beans)
  • 8 to 10 new potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons mustard or vegetable oil
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ½ teaspoon coriander seeds, lightly crushed
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 dried red chiles, cut in half (or good pinch of cayenne powder)
  • salt, to taste
  • fresh coriander for garnish
Instructions
  1. Trim cut end of fiddleheads. Place fiddleheads in a large bowl with a lot of water and gently shake to remove any dirt or grit. Drain and repeat again. Drain the fiddleheads and set aside.
  2. Place new potatoes in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are just cooked. Use a slotted spoon to remove potatoes to a plate to let cool. Cut into halves or quarters depending on size of potato.
  3. Bring the water back to the boil and add the fiddleheads and cook until just tender, about two to three minutes. Use the slotted spoon to transfer the fiddleheads to a bowl of iced water for 5 minutes. Drain and keep aside.
  4. Heat the oil in a karhai, wok or large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the cumin, coriander seeds and dried red chilies and cook for 30 seconds. Toss in potatoes, remaining spices and some salt. Reduce heat to medium and saute for 3-4 minutes until the potatoes are warm. Add fiddleheads and cook for another minute or so. Adjust seasoning and serve immediately garnished with some fresh coriander.
Notes
Fiddlehead ferns are like wild mushrooms in that some species are ok for human consumption while others are not. So, it's best to purchase them from a well known vendor. Fiddleheads should be boiled first in boiling water before proceeding with any recipe.