Around the World in 80 Dishes: Nepal

For many, the mention of Nepal conjures images of Mount Everest. Known locally as Sagarmatha or Qomolangma, Mount Everest boasts of the highest point above sea level. The thought of the mountain also conjures up images of intrepid mountain climbers moving from base camp to base camp, with their sherpas. Indeed, the mountain casts a long shadow, one that often obscures the tens of millions of Nepali who live not just in the mountains and the valleys, but also the plains below. 

I find the stories of the Nepali people far more interesting and compelling than those any person -- such as Sir Edmund Hillary or  George Mallory -- who ascended Mount Everest. Their stories told by the Nepalis are ones of struggle, resilience, and hope. Unlike those of Hillary or Mallory, these stories recount lived experiences that span three hundred and sixty-five days per year, each and every year.  

Many of those stories can be found on a website, Stories of Nepal. The website curates the short stories of everyday Nepalis by subject and by cmmunity. The subjects that got my attention had names such as A Right to Earn a Living, Of Hope and Resilience, Strive Struggle Trive, and The Future I Want. I also browsed the stories by communities, looking at the stories from each of Nepal's three ecological regions: the mountains, the hills and the terai (or plains). 

As I read through these stories, I began to notice the common threads: the poverty at home, the desire to have a better life, the paths that they took to achieve that goal, and the obstacles that they had to overcome. There are two measures of poverty: income poverty and human poverty. The former measures whether a person has enough income to meet basic needs, while the latter has a broader focus on whether a person has access to essential resources and opportunities necessary for a decent life. Significant portions of Nepalis across all regions suffer from both types of poverty: in the mountains, 38% suffer from human poverty and 42 percent suffer from income poverty; in the hills, 24% suffer from human poverty while 29% suffer from income poverty; and, in the terai, 33% suffer from human poverty while only 23% suffer from income poverty.

But, as they say, numbers don't tell the whole story. That is where the Nepalis themselves come in. Their contribution demonstrates the hard work that they endure, but the hope that they have for either themselves or their children. For example, Beyond these Mountains tells the story of one Nepali woman, Bhomo Karto Tamang, in Gatang, which is high up in the mountains. She was born in a relatively well-to-do family whose father herded 18 yaks, 200 sheep, and, in her words, "I did not count the goats." She talked about how strong her mother was and how she helped her mother prepare the barley flour. That flour was payment to her father's shepherds. When she grew up, she got married and her life continued much like her mother. However, unlike her mother, this woman decided with her husband to send their children to school. She wanted her children to experience what lies beyond the mountains, something that she never had.

Then there is the story of Hiralel Rai, who lives in Khotang, which is firmly nestled in the hills of Nepal. Rai loved to sing and dance as a kid. His conduct was frowned upon in school, as it was deemed the type of activity inappropriate for boys. That led to corporal punishment by teachers. Rai persevered and, eventually, became a teacher himself. In his own words: 

I am aware that the choices I make as a teacher, inside the classroom, will have a great impact on the lives of these children. Of what they will do and who they will become. So I am always careful as to what I do and what I say in class. I am not a strict teacher who only disciplines students. We all know we get bored in class so I make things fun. I tell stories. While I teach English, I also dance with them. I also sing with them. And everyone sings and dances with me. Freely, without any fear.

There are many more stories that are illuminating and inspiring about how people overcome their circumstances for the betterment of not just themselves but others. When one can see that in people, they are seeing the innate dignity that lies within all of us and that we all deserve. 

I strongly recommend reading Stories of Nepal, where the above stories and pictures come from. They provide a very good starting point to learn about the people. Now, it is time to learn about their cuisine, which is the focus of my personal culinary challenge, Around the World in 80 Dishes. The main course, Bhuketo Maso, and the side dish, Piro Alu Dum, have their own stories to tell.

MAIN COURSE

My love for eating goat meat has made its appearance in my culinary challenge on more than one occasion, with Goat Curry from Guyana and two dishes -- Chichinga and Jollof Rice with Goat -- from Ghana. In preparing those dishes, I only tangentially touched, at best, or completely missed, at worst, an important subject: the role that goats play to help lift the poor out of poverty. That subject is harder to miss when one looks at Nepal, because quite a few non-governmental organizations have pursued initiatives to introduce goat farming to those who have little, and researchers followed behind to measure the impact. 

Goats are often referred to as the "poor man's cow." Like cows, goats produce milk and meat, but at a cheaper price to purchase and at a lower cost to maintain. One study estimated that a person could maintain four goats at the same cost as one cow. In addition, one can raise goats in areas where, due to lack of substantial vegetation, it would be harder to raise cows or other animals.  

There are many organizations that have worked to provide goats to poor Nepalis, to provide them with a means through which they can earn money through the sale of goat milk, or, over time, goat meat. Those programs were, in turn, monitored through research, including efforts that were funded by the United States Agency of International Development or USAID. One such research effort found that the provision of goats by Heifer International to poor Nepali women, along with training in animal husbandry, had positive outcomes on the living standards of those women. (I had to look for sources other than those of USAID because the current American administration has taken down EVERYTHING that USAID has done to help the poor around the world.)

For my main challenge, I decided to prepare Bhuketo Maso, which is a dry curry. The dish could be prepared with any kind of protein, such as chicken or lamb. However, I decided to use goat as a nod to the importance that this particular protein has in lifting many Nepalis of poverty. 

BHUKETO MASO

Recipe from Nepali Tummy

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound goat meat (clean and cut in 2 inch cubes)
• 1/2 tablespoon of cumin seeds or 1/2 tablespoon cumin powder
• 1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds or 1/2 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1 cinnamon stick or 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon powder
• 3-4 dried red chiles or 1/2 tablespoon red chile powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
• Salt
• 4 tablespoons oil

Directions:

1. Prepare the spice mix. Add the cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and dried red chiles in a spice grinder. (If you are using ground spices, just combine). Grind until the spices are a powder. Remove to a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of water to make a thick paste.

2. Boil the meat. In a deep pan, add the meat, water (to cover) and 2 pinches of salt. Boil the meat until it is cooked, approximately 20 minutes.  Be careful not to overcook. 

3. Finish the dish. Heart the oil in a separate pan. Add the boiled meat and the spice paste, stir over medium heat and cook for 10-12 minutes. 

SIDE DISH

While Bhuketo Maso may be a dry curry, I prepared a side dish that did have a curry-like sauce. Piro alu dum is a potato curry that has a tomato base.  This provided a little contrast to the overall meal. 

Potatoes were actually introduced into Nepal back in the mid-19th century, when a British naturalist, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, during an expedition to that country. While Hooker ultimately left, the tubers remained and became a vital crop across the country. They have an adaptability that works well in a country with differing regions, soils and climates. Nepalis are able to grow potatoes in areas where other crops could not thrive, thereby enabling them to produce a commodity that has taken a featured spot in their cuisine.

PIRO ALU DUM

Recipe from Cookpad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sized potatoes, cut into 4 pieces
• 10 cloves garlic
• 2 whole red chiles
• 1 medium sized tomato paste
• Salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chile powder
• 3 tablespoons mustard oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kalonji
• 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 2 tablespoons cilantro (coriander leaves)

Directions:

1. Boil the potatoes. Peel the potatoes. Heat a pot of water to boiling. Add potatoes and boil until tender. Remove from heat and drain the potatoes. While the potatoes are boiling, mince the garlic cloves and chiles, and then combine the two into a paste. 

2. Prepare the tomato-spice paste. In a bowl, add the garlic-chile paste, tomato paste, salt, turmeric powder and Kashmiri chile powder. Mix well. 

3. Finish the dish. Heat the oil in the pan on medium heat. Add kalonji and fenugreek seeds. Add potatoes and stir, mixing well. Add the tomato-spice paste and mix well. Add hot water and continue to cook, while the sauce thickens. Once the sauce is at the desired consistency, add coriander leaves and serve hot. 

*    *    *

In the end, I am grateful for having the opportunity to prepare this meal. I am much more grateful for taking the time to learn about the roles that the primary ingredients -- goat meat and potatoes -- has had in Nepali life and cuisine. Not everything that I read is reflected in this post. But, I wanted to make sure one thing is prominently set forth here ... the importance of development programs to help the poor lift themselves out of their poverty, and the critical work of those who oversee and implement those programs. Their work takes on moral and ethical obligations, which are gravely under threat. That is best saved for another post. Until then ... 

PEACE.

Ciambotta

I spent a fair amount of time planning the Savage Boleks' Christmas Eve dinner. The centerpiece of the dinner would be an Arista-Style Turkey with Tuscan Chestnut Stuffing. That recipe has become my signature dish; and I was looking for regional Italian dishes that could complement the meal. The focus was more on vegetable dishes, because I needed vegetables to balance the protein and the starch from the main course. 

As I was perusing a wide range of Italian dishes, I got to thinking about ratatouille.  That dish serves as an excellent example of la cuisine pauvre. It emerged during the 18th century, when peasants and poor farmers in Provence would cook what was left of their summer vegetable harvest for hours until they produced a chunky stew. Indeed, the name, ratatouille, comes from the Occitain word, ratatolha, which basically means chunky stew. Over time, the dish became popular among restaurants, first in cities like Nice and then across France and beyond. 

While I could make a ratatouille as a side dish for our meal, I began to wonder if there was an Italian version of the dish. Sure enough, the Italians have ciambotta. The dish parallels ratatouille on many levels. Just as ratatouille emerged as poor person's cuisine in the south of France, ciambotta similarly emerged among the peasants and poor farmers of Italy's southern regions. While its exact origins are unknown (unlike ratatouille, which emerged from area around Nice in Provence), much of the literature traces the dish to the region of Campania, where it goes by many different names, such as ciauliello in the town of Cilento, ciaurella in Sapri, ciamardola in Torre Orsaia, or, once again, ciambotta in places such as Campora, Roscigno, and Bellosguardo.

As one would expect with a dish that goes by many names, there can be many different variations of the dish. Yet, all of the variations are tied together by some fundamental basics. Every dish uses seasonal fruits -- like tomatoes, eggplants and peppers -- as well as the remainder of the summer vegetable harvest, such as squash, potatoes, and more. Basic fruits and vegetables because, regardless of the city in which it is prepared, it is a a subsistence dish. 

I found an excellent recipe for ciambotta from The Forked Spoon. This recipe not only drew its inspiration from southern Italian cooking, but it also incorporated some of the keys to making a good ratatouille. These keys include using equal proportions of bright, colorful vegetables and cooking those vegetables separately. This recipe incorporates a fair amount of the rainbow when it comes to (fruits and) vegetables: bright red tomatoes;  red/orange/yellow bell peppers; yellow squash; green zucchini and dark eggplant. Ciambotta also uses a "pesto" of fresh basil, oregano and garlic, along with some crushed red pepper if you like some heat, to help further brighten the dish. 

CIAMBOTTA

Recipe from The Forked Spoon

Serves 8

Ingredients (for the herb pesto):

• 1/2 cup fresh basil, packed
• 1/3 cup fresh oregano leaves
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Ingredients (for the ciambotta):

• 1 large eggplant, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• Salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2.5 cups water
• 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, with juice (tomatoes roughly chopped)
• 2 large fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 2 large zucchini, seeded and chopped
• 1 yellow squash, seeded and chopped
• 2 bell peppers (yellow, red or orange), stemmed, seeded and diced

Directions:

1. Make the herb pesto. Add the basil, oregano, garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes to a small food processor and blend until finely processed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Set aside. 

2. Prepare the eggplant. Transfer the eggplant pieces to a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1-2 teaspoons of salt and transfer to a large plate lined with paper towels. Microwave, uncovered for 5-8 minutes or until the eggplant is dry to the touch and starting to shrivel. 

3.  Prepare the onions, potatoes and eggplant. Heat a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and onions to the pot, mixing well to combine.  Add the potatoes and eggplant and cook, stirring frequently, for 4-6 minutes, or until the onions are softened and the surface of the potatoes are translucent (they will not be fully cooked. 

4. Add the tomatoes.  Push the potatoes and onions to the side of the pot. Add the tomato paste and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the other side. Cook the tomato paste, whisking continuously, until a brown fond forms on the bottom of the pot. This will take approximately 2 minutes. Still stirring, add the water scaping the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice and the fresh chopped tomatoes. Mix well and bring to a boil. 

5. Simmer. Reduce heat and bring to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender and soft and the eggplant is broken down, approximately 25 minutes. 

6. Prepare the zucchini and pepper. While the stew is simmering, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over high heat. Allow the skillet to get really hot before adding the zucchini, yellow squash and bell pepper. Sprinkle with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until just softening. 

7. Add the herb pesto. Create a well in the middle of the zucchini and bell pepper. Add the herb pesto and cook until fragrant before stirring to combine with the zucchini and bell peppers. Remove from the heat. 

8. Finish the dish. Once the potatoes are soft, add the zucchini and bell pepper mixture to the pot. Remove from the heat and mix well to combine. Cover and allow flavors to combine for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve with freshly toasted bread. 

PEACE.

St. Helena Fish Cakes

If you find yourself in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in the southern hemisphere, you may find yourself very far away and very close at the same time. You will most likely be far away from any significant land mass, as both South American and Africa are separated by thousands of miles of ocean. But, you may be very close to the island of St. Helena (and that is a big maybe).

St. Helena sits in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in the Southern Hemisphere. It is over 1,200 miles from the African coast (where one would be standing in Namibia or Angola) and 2,500 miles from the South American coast (where one would be standing in Brazil). The island is figuratively and literally in the middle of nowhere. 

That isolation proved helpful when it came to banishing a certain Le Petit Caporal (i.e., Napoleon) in 1815 after he escaped his first imprisonment on the island of Elba. But, there have been people living on that ten mile by five mile long island since the late seventeenth century. Recent statistics place the number of people calling the island their home at over 4,400.  

Saints (source: St. Helena Info)

The people of St. Helena -- who refer to themselves as "Saints" -- descended from Europeans, who were mostly planters, government workers and ex-soldiers. Given St. Helena was part of the British empire, there are also people of Chinese ancestry, whose family members came to the island as workers, or of other Asian or African ancestry, whose family members were forcibly brought to the island as slaves. Together, the Saints have developed their own identity, culture and cuisine.

The cornerstone of Saint cuisine is the Fish Cake. Given St. Helena is an island surrounded by thousands of miles of ocean, one could expect that fish would have a prominent role in both the cuisine. The most prevalent fish in the Saint diet may well be yellowfin tuna. Saint cooks take fresh tuna, shred it down with a knife, and then prepare the fish cakes with mashed potatoes, onions, parsley, thyme and bacon. But, there is one ingredient that is just as important to the fish cake as the fish ... the chile. A Saint Fish Cake must have bite (that is, in the Saint vernacular, it must be spicy). Most recipes call for a "chile" or "chilli," but, depending upon the bite you are looking for, I would go with a jalapeno pepper (for less of a bite) or a serrano pepper (for more of a bite). If a serrano is not enough, there is alway the Scotch Bonnet or Habanero pepper.

In the end, the fish cake was very tasty, but I have to work on my preparation skills with this dish. I am used to making crabcakes, whose starch usually involves crackers. The use of mashed potato was part of the binding agent was new for me. I had some difficulty keeping the fish cakes together during the cooking process, but that can be improved when I make this dish again. 

Until then, I can just sit back and think about a short banished emperor sitting at a table on an island in the middle of nowhere. According to historical records, it took a while for Napoleon to get used to his new surroundings. Records published in 1824, which was after Napoleon's death in 1821, recounted that "fresh beef was so precious as to have occasioned restrictions upon its consumption." While fresh beef may have been hard to come by, one could picture Napoleon staring down at a table of full of fish cakes. And, thanks to artificial intelligence, we can now see a relatively close depiction of that fictional moment for ourselves. 

If you are as interested about St. Helena's island as I am, check out St. Helena Island Info at this website. 

ST. HELENA FISH CAKES

Recipe from Aberdeen News

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound Russet potatoes, peeled, quartered
• 1/2 pound fresh tuna
• Mild oil, such as canola
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 small clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 slice bacon, diced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1 fresh serrano chile, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 lemon, zested.

Directions:

1. Boil the potato. Settle potato chunks in a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil; cook until tender (poke one with a skewer, it should be easy work), about 18 minutes. Press potatoes through a ricer into a large bowl or smash with a potato smasher. Let cool. 

2. Prepare the tuna.  Use a sharp, heavy knife to finely chop the tuna (a little coarser than ground beef.). Use a fork to gently mix into the cooled potato. 

3. Saute remaining ingredients (except egg and lemon zest). Pour 1 tablespoon of oil into a large skillet. Heat over medium. Scrape in onion, garlic, bacon, parsley, thyme, chile and spices. Cook, stirring, until everything looks brown and tasty, about 8 minutes. Scrape ono a plate to cool. Wipe out skillet. 

4. Prepare the fish cakes. Scrape the cooled onion mix onto the fish and potatoes. Pour in egg, scatter on zest. Mix gently. Shape 8 pucks about 3/4 inch thick and 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Fry pucks until brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.

PEACE.

Jira Alu

I had a lot of red potatoes; and I really needed a recipe. When I had this realization, I was sitting in front of my laptop. I did a search for global potato recipes. I found a recipe for Jeera Aloo.

The name, Jeera Aloo, provides some insight into the two principal ingredients of this recipe. Jeera is the Hindi word for cumin. Aloo is the Hindi word for potatoes. That's it: cumin potatoes.

The recipe says that it comes from Bangladesh, so it should actually take its Bengali or Bangla title, Jira Alu. (I can't find the appropriate symbols or the Eastern Nagari script on Blogger, so I can't do justice for the name). Yet, this recipe incorporates spices that easily telegraph its origin. Not only the use of cumin, but also mustard, turmeric and ground chiles. Taken together, this dish reminds me of the aromas and flavors of the subcontinent.  Those aromas and flavors are some of the reasons why the cuisines of Southern Asia - from Bangladesh to Pakistan, from India to Sri Lanka - are some of my favorite cuisines to cook and eat. 

Apart from the aromas and flavors, the other key feature of this recipe is that it is really easy to make. There are only a handful of ingredients needed to make the dish. There are a couple of different ways to make it. One way would be to boil the potatoes first and then cook them in a pan. Another way is to just simply cook them in a pan. In the end, I decided that boiling the potatoes first would be best, because that would help to cook them through, especially since I decided to have larger pieces. It would also help when they are roasted in the pan because the outsides could crisp up while the interiors remain softer. 

So, in the end, this recipe does what many cooks do ... improvise with the ingredients (that is, use what is on hand) and the cooking methods. The end result is a very delicious side dish that could be part of of any meal. 

JIRA ALU

Recipe adapted from The Foreign Fork

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 5 small potatoes, large dice
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds (substitute brown mustard seeds)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

1.    Boil the potatoes. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the potatoes. Boil for about 10 minutes until a fork can be inserted into the potatoes but they are not too tender. Drain and leave to dry.

2.    Fry the spices. Heat the oil in the frying pan until it almost reaches its smoking point. Add the cumin. When the cumin seeds begin to pop, remove the pan from the fire and add the mustard seeds until they begin to pop as well. 

3.    Add the potatoes. Add the potatoes to the pan and the remaining seasonings. Cook over low heat until the potatoes are done. 

PEACE.

Rohingyan Beef Curry

We all miss home, but we cannot go back to the same fear. -- Nur Anya 

For decades, the Rohingyans -- a Muslim minority group --  have suffered under dehumanizing discrimination in Myanmar. The government refused to grant citizenship to the Rohingyan people, denying legal status to an entire ethnic group. Yet, the government passed laws that placed significant restrictions upon the Rohingya. For example, in the northern towns of Mungdaw and Buthidaugn, the authorities limited Rohingyan couples to two children. The government also requires Rohingyans to get approval before they can marry, as well as to travel or move outside of their home towns. These conditions are exacerbated by the fact that the area where most Rohingyans call "home," the Rakine State, is the least developed of Myanmar's states and has a poverty rate of 78%, which is more than double the national rate of 37.5% percent. 

The discrimination and repression led to violence in 2017, after a militant group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacked police and army posts. The military cracked down on the Rohingyan people. As the United Nations would later find in an after-the-fact investigation, the Myanmar military showed "genocidal intent" and, in a 2018 report, the UN determined that Myanmar found that the military engaged in "clear patterns of abuse" that included, among other things, the systematic targeting of civilians, promoting discriminatory rhetoric against the Rohingya and establishing a "climate of impunity" for the government's security forces. After approximately one year, it is estimated that the Myanmar military and security forces killed nearly 24,000 Rohingyans.

Fleeing Death and Destruction

The violence and death led to mass displacement of Rohingyans, significant numbers of whom fled as refugees to other countries. I previously touched upon the Rohingyan refugee crisis as part of my culinary challenge involving Myanmar. Approximately 740,000 Rohingyans fled into neighboring Bangladesh. Many more fled to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. It was, at the time, the world's fastest growing humanitarian crisis.

Rohingyan refugees. Source: UNHR Australia

The stories of those who became refugees is heart-wrenching. As Nur Anya recounted from a refugee camp in Bangladesh: 

In Myanmar, we had our lands where we grew flowers, vegetables and many plants. We had a big house where all the family members lived together. The violence and the killing drove us to leave our homes. They brunt houses in my neighbourhood. They shot and killed a lot of people in my village. We were living with fear every day.  When we decided to leave, we had no other option.

It was the most difficult journey of my life. We walked 13 days and nights. To cross the river, my family used a handmade bamboo raft. There were a lot of people with us -- I could not say what the number was, it was so huge. 

As Rohingyans became refugees, many of their villages were abandoned and even more were distroyed. At one point, 176 of 471 Rohingyan villages -- or more than 1/3 of the villages -- had been abandoned.  The Myanmar government cleared entire Rohingyan villages and farms. The government then built homes, infrastructure and military bases in their place. 

Preserving the Rohingyan Culture

The end result, and perhaps the government's objective, was to eliminate the Rohingya people from Myanmar.  The government sought to take the legal status of the people -- that is, no recognition of the Rohingyans -- and make that a factual reality. This creates a clear and present danger to the Rohingyan identity and their culture, including their cuisine. The stories from the refugees include accounts where they had to leave everything behind, including all of their cooking utensils, which makes it harder for them to prepare food for themselves and their families. This leaves the people dependent upon food aid, which has become more difficult to obtain, leading to smaller meals or even skipped meals.

Rohingyan refugees eating a meal. Source: UNHCR

There are efforts to preserve that culture and its cuisine. One example involves the Endangered Material Knowledge Program (EDKM), which provides grants to conduct research on critically endangered knowledge. One project that was under consideration in 2023 was entitled, Rohingya Recipes and Food Practices of stateless Rohingya Community in Camps of Bangladesh. The project description noted the historical difficulty of the Rohingyan people when it came to food: they struggled to maintain the needed nutritional demands, whether it was at their homes in Myanmar or in the refugee camps in Bangladesh. The objective of this project is, among other things, to document recipes and practices of the Rohingyan people. 

This research is sorely needed, as there are few resources and research available on the Internet about the Rohingyan people, their culture and their cuisine. I was able to find a few recipes (which was more than my previous research when I was working on my Around the World challenge). I found a couple of recipes, including one for Rohingyan beef curry.

This recipe is a very interesting one. It calls for beef with bones. When I went to the grocery store, I had to improvise: I purchased some stew meat and some marrow bones. The "masala" for this curry -- turmeric, red chile powder, coriander, cumin, and garam masala -- provided for an aromatic cooking experience and a lot of flavor to build upon the garlic/ginger paste. 

The end result is a delicious beef curry with a slight kick. (I used Kashmiri chiles for the ground red chile powder.) I could not escape the thoughts about how this dish is just a memory for nearly a million Rohingyan refugees who have been forced from their homes and subjected to even greater poverty than what they previously experienced. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to prepare this dish and prepare this post, as my effort to help publicize the Rohingyan culture and cuisine. More of this is needed so that the world does not forget the tragedies that unfolded over six years ago. 

ROHINGYAN BEEF CURRY

Recipe from SBS Food

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 large onions, diced
• 1 kg diced beef, with bones
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 2 potatoes, diced
• 1 tablespoon garlic paste
• 2 tablespoons ginger paste
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon red chile powder
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1/2 tablespoon cumin powder
• 3 teaspoons garam masala powder
• 4 tablespoons cooking oil
• Coriander, as garnish
• Green chiles, as garnish

Directions:

1.    Saute the vegetables and brown the meat. Heat oil on high heat in a large pot. Add onions, garlic paste and ginger paste. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes until brown. Add diced beef and bones and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add turmeric powder, red chile powder, coriander and cumin. Stir-fry for 2 more minutes. Add the garam masala and stir-fry for another 2 minutes. 

2. Add the liquid and tomatoes. Add 1 cup of water and diced tomatoes and cook on high heat for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes in the last half an hour. 

3. Finish the dish. Garnish with coriander (cilantro) and green chiles. Serve with hot steamed rice.

PEACE.

Around the World in 80 Dishes: Portugal

"Portugal was the beginning, where I began to notice the things that were missing from the average American dining experience. The large groups of people who ate together. The family element."

- Anthony Boudain

I have never been to Portugal, although it is definitely on my culinary travel list. The country's relationship with food is a mixed story. On the one hand, Portugal had a key role in terms of the distribution of spices and other ingredients across the globe. At one point in history, the Portuguese had complete control over the African sea route, a long perilous journey around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa to lands such as Kerala (in India), Malacca (in Malaysia) and, ultimately to the Moluccas (in present day Indonesia). On the other hand, the Portuguese were a colonial power, which propagated the inhuman and immoral practice of slavery in the New World and oppressive violence in its colonies.

Yet, the good and bad are inextricably intertwined to form the one history of Portugal as a people. Just as they used to say that the sun never set on the British empire, the saying also applies to a certain extent to the Portuguese. The country had colonies that stretched from South America (Brazil) to Africa (Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome & Principe, Angola, and Mozambique to Asia (Goa, Macao).  The Portuguese are well known for their role in bringing peppers from South America to Europe, Africa and Asia. And, I am a very big fan of that particular pepper -- the peri-peri or piri-piri.

So, I always thought that when I got to the personal culinary challenge to make a main course from Portugal, that it would feature that pepper. However, as it turns out, the challenge ended taking a completely different turn.

The (few) followers of this blog may remember that I have recently grappled with how to prepare a challenge for a country that has regional cuisines, like Spain and Canada. I have taken to using a random address and then building the challenge from there. I thought about doing the same for Portugal, which definitely has regional cuisines as one travels from Porto to Lisbon to Lagos, and then beyond to the Azores or Madeira. That is when I had what I thought was a great thought - as one goes down the coastline of Portugal, the one thing that all of those regions have in common is that very coastline. Seafood comes with coastline. With this thought, I had the building blocks for my culinary challenge.

APPETIZER

I don't know what it is about the Iberian peninsula, but both Spanish and Portuguese cuisines have recipes that combine octopus with potatoes. For an appetizer, I decided to explore the Portuguese version of this dish. While I have always loved the Spanish version, which is available at almost every tapas restaurant that I have eat at, I have to say that I loved the Portuguese version much more. 

I have to admit that I departed slightly from this recipe. First, I did not pour the oil and the garlic from the roasted potatoes over the dish. I think this helped from making the octopus and potatoes seem "drowned" in oil. Second, while I like cilantro, I thought that parsley would work better.  Finally, I left off the olives because of the guests who got to enjoy this dish. They were not olive fans. 

POLVO A LAGAREIRO

Recipe adapted from Photos and Food

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2.65 pounds of octopus, either whole or tentacles
• 1 pound of fingerling or small white potatoes, with peel and washed
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt for boiling the potatoes
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt for roasting the potatoes
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
• 1 dried bay leave
• 1/4 cup cilantro (or flat leaf parsley)
• 1/2 cup black olives (optional)

Directions:

1. Boil the potatoes. Fill a medium to large pot half-way with water, add the 1 tablespoon of salt, and boil the potatoes for about 15 to 20 minutes or until they become tender.  If using cooked octopus, skip to step 3, if using raw octopus, continue with the next step.

2. Prepare the octopus. Using your hands, wash the octopus under cold water, and boil the whole octopus for about 40 minutes or until tender (you should be able to insert a fork into the thickest part of the tentacle). 

3. Prepare the oven and grill. Preheat both the oven for broiling and the BBQ or grill at 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Continue to prepare the potatoes. Once the potatoes are ready, pour out the water and pat them dry with a paper towel. Place the potatoes in a roasting pan. Use the bottom of a glass or a mug to carefully press down on each potato until they slightly crack. Do not completely flatten them. Drizzle olive oil them.  Place the roasting pan with the potatoes in the hot oven on the middle rack and roast for 5 to 10 minutes.

5. Grill the octopus. Place the octopus on the BBQ or grill for about 5 minutes, flip and then let cook for another 5 minutes.

6. Finish the dish. Scoop the potatoes onto a serving dish. Cut the octopus into bite sized pieces. Place the grilled octopus over the potatoes. Drizzle the olive oil and garlic from the roasting pan over the potatoes and octopus. Garnish with olives and cilantro (or parsley).

MAIN COURSE

As I mentioned above, I decided to build the personal culinary challenge around the one thing that may unit all of Portuguese cuisine in one way or another ... seafood. I decided to make a Caldeirada de Peixe, which is the Portuguese version of a fish stew that goes by many other names throughout the Mediterranean. To be sure, there are regional variations of this dish, which vary based upon the available fish and ingredients. The regional variations cannot obscure the fact that this dish represents Portugal, and, provides an ever so slight nod to the country's history from the shores to the seas.

CALDEIRADA DE PEIXE

Recipe from Photos and Food

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white wine
• 3 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 6 pounds of fresh grouper cut into steaks (substitute conger or cod)
• 1 large cooking onion, sliced thin
• 5 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 medium tomatoes sliced into thin wheels
• 1 large bell pepper sliced into thin wheels
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 sprigs of fresh flat leaf parsley with most stem cut off

Directions:

1. Build the stew. In a measuring cup with a spout, whisk together the wine, tomato paste, and paprika until well combined. Pour the olive oil into the bottom of a large dutch oven or heavy pot.  Spread half of the sliced onions and garlic evenly over the oil and bottom of the pot. Place half of the fish steaks over the onions and garlic in one layer. Sprinkler 1/3 of the salt, cumin and cinnamon evenly over the fish.

2. Continue to build the stew. Place the tomato and pepper sliced wheels evenly over the fish.  Spread the remaining half of the sliced onions and garlic evenly over the tomato and pepper slices.  Place the remaining half of the fish steaks over the onions and garlic in one layer. Sprinkler 1/3 of the salt, cumin and cinnamon evenly over the fish.

3. Continue to build the stew. Place the remaining tomato and pepper sliced wheels evenly over the fish.  Sprinkle the remaining salt, cumin and cinnamon over the tomatoes and peppers.  Add the two bay leaves.  Pour the wine mixture over the ingredients in the pot.  

4. Cook the stew. Place the pot on the stove and turn the heat up to medium high.  Once the liquid starts to bubble, cover the pot with the lid and reduce the heat to low.  Let simmer for about 30 minutes or until the fish starts to flake.  Turn off the heat, uncover the pot, and add the springs of fresh parsley over the cooked ingredients.  Serve with steamed/boiled potatoes, rice or a green salad.

*     *     *

Needless to say, I think I can chalk up another successful personal culinary challenge. The guests who got to enjoy both dishes certainly thought that I did a good job. It was just the morale boost that I needed as I contemplate some much more difficult challenges ahead. Until next time, 

ENJOY!

Around the World in 80 Dishes: Ukraine

"For Ukrainians who have never had their own tsar ..., the Motherland, their homeland, has always been more important than a foreign tsar and - which is the worse for Russia - more important than faith."

Andriy Kurkov, Ukraine in Histories and Stories: Essays by Ukrainian Intellectuals.

February 23, 2022 - the foreign tsar -- namely, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin -- authorized an unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine and its people. Putin conjured up multiple, patently false reasons for his war. Reasons so patently absurd that I will not repeat them because I do not want to give them any more airing than what news outlets have already provided. Nevertheless, this is the war of Vladimir Putin and his cronies, like Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. They have pressed hundreds of thousands of Russian troops into a war that, judging by the anti-war protests that took place across the Russian Federation, is not one embraced by the Russian people themselves. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy telling 
the Ukrainian people that he and his advisors are
fighting alongside them in the streets.

In the days that followed the initial invasion, the above quote manifested itself in the resolve of the Ukrainian people. It was found among that small Ukrainian garrison on Zminnyi Island (Snake Island) who told a Russian warship to go fuck itself. It is also present in the sacrifice of Skakun Vitaliy Volodymyrovich, a Ukrainian soldier who remained with the explosives that he used to blow up a bridge because he did not have time to set the charge and escape. It can even be seen in the words of the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who responded to the United States offer of evacuation with the words, "the fight is here, I need more ammo, not a ride."

The Ukrainian woman who told the Russian
soldier to put seeds in his pockets.

Indeed, this resolve is seemingly present in almost every Ukrainian. There is the woman in Henychesk, Kherson region, who stood just feet away from a Russian soldier while telling him to put sunflower seeds in his pockets so when he dies on Ukrainian land, those flowers, which happen to be the national flower of Ukraine, will grow from that spot. There are also countless other examples, including the Ukrainians who take to the streets to block Russian military vehicles with their bodies. 

To be clear, the stakes of the current conflict involves much more than whether Ukraine will continue as an independent country. At its most basic level, the conflict presents a clear and present danger to the very identity of the Ukrainian people. If the Russian Federation is successful in occupying Ukraine, the Russians could effectively destroy the history and heritage of the Ukrainian people. Indeed, that assault is already underway, with attacks on cultural institutions such as opera houses, museums and even the Babyn Yar memorial (which was built to remember the massacre of Jewish Ukrainians during the holocaust). 

In waging this It involves the Ukrainian identity. Ukrainian people are desperately defending not just their homeland, but their own identity and their freedom. No speech by Vladimir Putin and no war by the Russian Federation will deny or erase the history of the Ukrainian people or their homeland.  

"Inside yourself, dig the well which will bring water to both your house and your neighbor's." - Gregory Skorovoda (Ukrainian writer)

The war in Ukraine has underscored the importance of protecting and preserving the Ukrainian culture. Across the world, Ukrainians are reconnecting through shared experiences, many of which revolve around food. In the past, I have used this blog to discuss the persecution of peoples, such as the genocide of the Rohingya, the plight of the Somali, apartheid-like conditions imposed upon the Palestinians, and the systematic imprisonment of the Uyghurs and the destruction of their culture. I realize that posting on a blog is not much, but I try dig deep to contribute in my own small way to helping people understand (to the extent they don't already) the importance of human rights and the need to accept peoples and their cultures for who and what they are.

To this end, I have placed my thumb on the Around the World in 80 Dishes culinary challenge. Rather than wait for the random country generator to assign Ukraine as my next challenge, I have made an exception. It is perhaps one of the most important exceptions that I have made. 

I strongly believe that this particular story needs to be told right now. My hope is that by doing my own digging, I will be able to share what I have learned to help both myself and those who read this blog.

"We have survived two world wars, Holodomor, Holocaust, the Great Purge, occupation in eastern Ukraine. We don't have a lot of land, we don't have nuclear arms, ....  But we have our people and our land - that's what we're fighting for.

- Volodymyr Zelenskyy

The nation state construct known as Ukraine first emerged in the ashes of World War I.  In fact, multiple Ukrainian states emerged, such as Ukrainian People's Republic, the Hetmanate, and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. However, it was the Ukrainian People's Republic that obtained recognition by the international community in 1917. Wars continued in the region, with most of those nascent Ukrainian states finding themselves incorporated into other countries. When relative peace emerged in 1921, the territory of what would become modern day Ukraine was basically split between four countries. The western portions fell within the borders of Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Romania. The rest was squarely within the Soviet Union.  After the Second World War, the Soviet Union, under the iron grasp of Josef Stalin, drew the borders that continue to this day.  

And, while it may have been the Soviet Union that carved the lines that constitute the present-day Ukraine, it is an important thing to keep in mind that the Soviet Union and Russia are two separate states themselves. The Soviet Union was an "international project," a federation of national units, one of which was the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. When the Soviet Union dissolved, those units emerged as independent countries, from Estonia to Moldova, Ukraine to Kazakhstan. (Ironically, the Russian Federation itself is an amalgamation of oblasts, republics, krais, and autonomous okrugs, many of which -- for example, Adygea, Bashkorostan, or Kalmykia -- were founded upon ethnic groups and/or have substantial numbers of ethnic minorities in them today.

In any event, the history of this nation state construct is not the same as the people who lived within it. Indeed, the history of the Ukrainian people predate that nation-state. While most of the people who lived in the areas would have identified themselves as Orthodox (based on their religion), a Ukrainian identity emerged in the early 19th century, with its own language separate and consciousness as a people.  Intellectuals and writers, such as Taras Shevchenko and Mykola Kostomarov, wrote works in Ukrainian exploring what would become Ukrainian national philosophy. Shevchenko wrote about the political repression of the poorer classes and dreamed of their liberation. This perspective is important: it is the poor in the countryside who formed the core of the Ukrainians, and the anti-elitist nature of their philosophy was integral given those who lived in the cities spoke Polish or Russian.  For these reasons, Ukrainian thought thrived at the lowest levels, out of view of the official state.  As the Soviet Union emerged, the emphasis on educating the poorest classes resulted in the spread of the Ukrainian language and literature into the 1930s.

However, the Ukrainian identity -- while officially celebrated as part of the Soviet Union -- was also viewed as a threat, especially by the Soviet leader, Josef Stalin. Aided by inept agricultural practices and poor weather, Stalin set in motion the events that led to the Holodomor, or the Great Famine, in 1932 to 1933. Nearly four million Ukrainians starved to death, while their intellectuals, artists, and writers were arrested. While the Ukrainian identity survived the Great Famine, it would face challenges  over and over again. Approximately 900,000 Ukrainian Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, including the massacres of September 29 and 30, 1941, when 33,731 Jews were massacred by the Nazis. Hundreds of thousands of additional Ukrainians were killed after World War II during Stalin's Great Purge. While peace eventually emerged across what was the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, the battle continued to preserve the Ukrainian identity in a union dominated by Russians. 

This struggle ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union. From the ashes of that empire arose an independent Ukraine. As with all of the post U.S.S.R. countries, Ukraine struggled with establishing a democratic government. While some of those newly established countries fell quickly back into authoritarianism (see my challenge involving a main course from Turkmenistan), the Ukrainian government established a republic and elected its leaders. Ukraine's independence has not always been smooth, with revolutions in 2004 and, most recently, the Revolution of Dignity in 2014. That second one led to the ouster of  pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, and a new, more pro-western government. Elections in 2019 led to a new President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who continued to push for greater ties with the European Union and with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Dear God, calamity again! 

It was so peaceful, so serene;

We had just begun to break the chains

That bind our folk in slavery

When halt! Once again the people's blood

is streaming.

"Calamity Again," Taras Shevchenko

This poem hauntingly captures what it means to be Ukrainian. With the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, Ukraine and its people finally liberated themselves from the direct shackles of its past (whether it be as a direct subject of the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union) and the indirect bondage of the present (through forced economic and political ties with the Russian Federation). They had finally the freedom to chart their own course; and, whether it took them west toward the European Union or continued east toward the Commonwealth of Independent States, it would be their own choice. 

All of that came to an end on February 23, 2022. Without provocation or justification, Russia commenced a war that is characterized by the inhumane assault upon the Ukrainian people. Those people are now fighting not only for their freedom, but for their identity. This fight has led many Ukrainians around the world to think about protecting their heritage. They have taken to social media to tell their stories, many of which surround the food that they eat. Whether it is the Ukrainian Borscht (which, as with the Ukrainian people, is different than Russian Borscht) or their paska (Easter Bread), these recipes define who they are as much as their history or any nation state. 

There are several key components to Ukrainian cuisine. First, flour and cereals -- such as rye and wheat -- play a significant role in many dishes, including breads, dumplings and pies. Second, ingredients like onions, garlic, horseradish, dill, parsley, and thyme are used to provide flavor to dishes.  Over time, the trade in spices also brought black pepper, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon to the Ukrainian kitchen. Third, Ukrainian cuisine emphasizes a wide use of pork and fat, along with sour cream, sunflower oil and eggs. Finally, Ukrainian cuisine is noteworthy for the two-step process in preparing many dishes, with the ingredients being boiled or fried first, followed by a second technique, such as stewing or baking, to complete the dish.

Telling the stories and sharing the recipes is important. It is as much a part of the Ukrainian resistance to the Russian war as taking arms or throwing Molotov cocktails. Russia has launched this war on the premise of nullifying the Ukrainian identity by subsuming it into a larger Russian one. Efforts to preserve what it means to be Ukrainian, even if through words, contributes to the defense. And, in the end, even the smallest contributions matter.

APPETIZER

Turning to the challenge, I wanted to find a couple of recipes that are either distinctively Ukrainians or upon which Ukrainians have put their own mark. I chose two receipes, one that is a side dish and another that is a main course. 

The side dish, which could also double as a main course itself, is known as deruny, which are relatively simple potato pancakes. The cultivation of potatoes became widespread throughout Ukraine in the 19th century. Potatoes eventually emerged as the "second bread" on family tables, displacing vegetables like parnisps and turnips. Traditionally, families prepare deruny on Sundays as a meal in and of themselves. It seemed only appropriate that I made this dish on a Sunday as well.

This recipe comes from the northern region of Ukraine. If one travelled about two hours west from Kiev, they would arrive in the city of Zhytomyr. The city is some to a very particular piece of artwork by Volodymyr Kosyrenko. It is a stone monument to the deruny, featuring a basket of the potato pancakes sitting on a pedestal of red and gray granite. One could travel another hour and half north to the city of Korosten for the deruny festival.  The festival showcased not just the Ukrainian pancakes, but similar ones from Belarus, England, France, Norway and Poland.

Unfortunately, both Zhytomyr and Korosten have been targets of Russia's unprovoked war, where Russian forces have murdered Ukrainians in attacks across that region.

DERUNY

Recipe from Ukraine Food

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of potatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Prepare the potatoes. Peel and wash the potatoes. Grate using a medium grater. Combine the potatoes with the egg, salt, pepper and flour. Stir until completely combined.

2. Fry the potato cakes. Heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat. Spoon the potatoes into disc shapes in the oil. Fry each side until golden crisp.

3. Finish the dish. Once fried, remove from the oil. Serve with sour cream or browned onions. 

MAIN COURSE

The main course for this challenge involves something that I have not done for years: make dumplings. I have to go back to my special challenge involving Tibet, when I made sha momos, or my challenge to prepare veprova pecene, a main course from the Czech Republic, during which I also made houskove knedlicky, or bread dumplings. In the Ukraine, the particular dish that I made is halushki. 

While one can find halushki dishes across central and eastern Europe, the Ukrainian version involves the preparation of small flour dumplings, as opposed to either potato dumplings or noodles. At least what I can find, Ukrainian halushki is more often served with onions and mushrooms, along with some bacon (as noted above, pork can be found in many Ukrainian dishes). This particular combination of ingredients works well together, with the puffy dumplings contrasted with crunchy bacon and sautéed mushrooms.

To be sure, my dumpling making skills need a lot of refinement. The dumplings came out rather rustic and, despite my best efforts to standardize the size and shape, it just did not work out well.  Still, in the end, the combination of those dumplings with the butter, bacon, mushrooms and onions made this a very delicious dish. 

HALUSHKI

Recipe from Mom's Dish

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 5 cups flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 150 grams of butter, plus 3 tablespoons of butter
• 1 pound of fresh mushrooms
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup bacon pieces
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Prepare the dough. Place the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a little well in the middle. Place whisked eggs, water and melted butter into it. Using a fork, work the ingredients together to form a dough. Finish up combining the ingredients by hand until you get a smooth even texture. 

2. Prepare the dumplings. Divide the dough into eight even pieces. On a floured surface, roll each piece into a long string. Dice each string into small pieces.

3. Cook the dumplings. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Toss in the raw dumplings and boil them until they float to the top.

4. Prepare the toppings. Dice the mushrooms and sauté them in a buttered skillet for about 5 minutes. Dice the onions and add them to the skillet, cooking them until softened. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the bacon and sauté for about 5 minutes. Place the dumplings in a non-stick skillet and add the sautéed mixture and butter. Cook until they turn golden brown.

*    *    *

This challenge was done in short order. While I am not Ukrainian, I still wanted to contribute to the discussion of the Ukrainian culture, cuisine and heritage, all of which are under attack. One cannot stand silent watching Russia's unprovoked assault on Ukraine, its murder of Ukrainians and its attempt to subjugate Ukrainians under some false notion that they are anything other than Ukrainian. In this moment, we are all Ukrainians. Until the next time, 

SLAVA UKRAINI!