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Recipes from Indian neighbors such as Srilanka, Bangaladesh, from South asian countries such as China, Thailand and others from around the world are featured here

Mamak Rojak is a popular Malay snack which has Indian flavors. Rojak is basically a salad either made of fruit or vegetables; it is popular among South-East Asian Countries. Wikipedia states that Rojak is a Malaysian term for “mixture” to show the ethnic mixture in Malaysia and neighboring countries.

Mamak Rojak, also known as the Indian Rojak, is made by Indian Muslims locally in Malaysia. (Mamak is derived from Mama which means Uncle in Tamil). It is a spicy hot salad with piping hot chillies and vegetable gravy. Usually a vegetarian food, it is also served with seafood.

Try this recipe below and create your own variations of Mamak Rojak by mixing the vegetables.

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In the last post, you learnt what is a Tortilla and tried four tantalizing recipes. Now here’s an explanatory and well laid video on making Spanish Tortilla from VideoJug. Some of these ingredients may not be avialable with your local shopkeeper and may need a bit of hunting in your supermarket (especially in India). Nevertheless, try this over the weekend or on a evening.

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What is a Tortilla?

Tortillas are flat breads which are very similar to Indian Roti and Chapati. For any Indian visiting the US or spanish speaking countries, Tortillas may actually make you feel at home. It is highly popular in Mexico and Spain.

Usually consisting of egg as the main ingredient, there are flour and corn tortillas which are alike to the Indian flat bread.

The two types of Tortillas

Mexican and Spanish Tortillas are not to be confused as they are two very different dishes. Likewise this Spanish omelete is only a distant cousin to the French omelette as it is not folded but is quite thick and flat and normally contains potato and sometimes bits of meat or other vegetables.

Traditionally the Spanish tortilla was taken by the peasants into the fields where it was eaten cold between two slices of homemade bread covered in olive oil.It is often served in slices, again cold, in tapas bars. However it can equally well be enjoyed hot with a side salad and some crispy bread and as such is an important part of the health giving Mediterranean diet.

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Not restricting ourselves to Indian cooking, i stumbled upon this article about Andalusia, a quaint and beautiful town in Spain. The author talks about the beauty of Andalusia and its culinary traditions.

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Andalusia is the largest region of Spain, situated in the south of the country it stretches along the coast from Almeria through Granada, Malaga and as far as Gibraltar. Inland Andalusia reaches as far as Cordoba and Jaen.

Andalusia represents the most famous images of Spain; the romance and passion that stems from gypsies, flamenco and bull fights, flowered patios and ancient Moorish palaces.

The region is so vast that a journey throughout Andalusia will take you to golden beaches, white washed hillside villages, beautiful coastlines and rugged mountainous landscapes.

Andalusia is a land of extremes, bitterly cold, dry winters high up in the hills, to hot sultry summers close to the coast.From this diverse landscape, comes a variety of cultural experiences affecting every aspect of life and especially the food. You can experience everything from freshly caught sardines cooked on the beach, to the famous Serrano or mountain ham, traditionally cured in caves high above sea level.

Not only is the food here so special, but in Andalusia offers a unique way of eating. Andalusia is the birthplace of the tapa and the region of Granada is the only place in Spain where tapas are still served free with your drink. In most other places you will generally be asked if you want a tapa with your drink and if you do, then you will be charged a little extra. “Ir de tapas” means bar hopping but it is totally different from what the British call “a pub crawl!”

The Andalusians eat later than people of other Spanish regions and it is not unusual to have lunch at 4 o’clock or dinner at midnight. Because of this the tapas are an important way of life for the people of Andalusia, they are very social people and they can indulge their love of mixing with friends over a drink without getting drunk! Having small portions of food throughout the day also keeps them going until the main meal at home.

This culture of eating a variety of different small dishes extends into the home as well. Since being in Andalusia, I have gradually started to adapt to this way of eating and instead of a plate piled high with meat and two veg, separate little dishes are brought out which is the tradition in Spanish homes. This gastronomic culture means the conversation flows during eating as everyone is not tucking in to a huge plate of food at the same time. Of course this also means that meal times last longer; another feature of Andalusian eating habits.

Andalusia is made up of 8 different regions and each region brings to the table its own speciality that makes Andalusian cuisine so far reaching and diverse.

Almeria, famous as the location for many spaghetti westerns is a region dominated by dry, barren, rocky and almost lunar landscapes. However, littering the area are pockets of paradise, lush oasis providing year round fruits and vegetables. Being on the coast means Almeria has an abundance of fresh seafood which is brought in to more inland regions.

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For the sauce:

1 cup tomato puree
1 cup tomato-grated
1 cup onion-grated
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
2 tbsp Basil or Tulsi leaves
2 tbsp Oil

What exactly is chinese food? Eriani Doyel of Foodax.com offers some basic introductions.

Do you love Chinese food? If you do, you are not alone-it is one of the most popular ethnic cuisine choices out there. But, while fortune cookies are delicious and fun, they are not real Chinese food. What is traditional Chinese cuisine? It is as varied as the country is big.

Every region has its own specialty dishes that make it unique and different from the others. However, there are some basic “rules” for what makes Chinese food traditional.

Starch is the main dish in a traditional Chinese food meal-unlike in the United States and many other Western countries where meat is the main dish. Although many Chinese in southern China eat rice as part of their daily diet, in the northern parts of the country this is not the case.

It is not uncommon for Chinese food to have wheat flour noodles or a steamed bun as the main component of the meal. Side dishes can be meat (beef, pork, or chicken), fish, cooked vegetables or soup. Sometimes soup or rice is reserved to the end of the meal as kind of filler.

When you sit down to a meal of traditional Chinese food, you would be given chopsticks and an individual bowl of noodles or rice. The rest of the food dishes would be placed in the center of the table and shared. You would not serve yourself a portion and put it on your own plate-you just eat right off the plate with your chopsticks.

This is one reason that many times, the food is served in small pieces-so it is easy to pick up off of the plate with the chopsticks.

Tea is offered with the meal as well-cold drinks are not traditional.Dessert is usually a very simple affair-it could be plain fresh fruit, or fruit with a sugared glaze. Sometimes they also serve a simple rice pudding-but none of the traditional desserts are rich or extravagant like the ones we find in some other types of cuisine.

Dishes from the Sichuan (Szechwan) region are usually spicy and Mandarin are more common. Take a culinary trip to China.

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