I am sitting 35000Ft in the air traveling back to Mumbai, bored out of my mind and typing this out. I never imagined traveling for extended periods of time, but as fate dictates these 21 hour flying instances are quite consistent since the past couple of years for me. These travels actually work out for the better as not only do i get to experience a variety of cooking escapades but new people, new flavors, new kitchens and best of all new ingredients. So it is worth the angst of all those torturous hours.
It is such a delight to see the diets and habits of people around the world, especially the West.
I remember my first visit to USA was more than a decade ago. I was just about getting into the food space and experiencing cuisines and closely observing the way people ate. I found it odd that the concept of sharing in restaurants did not exist. It was always mind numbing to order your own courses which were humungous for reasons best known to the industry and you’d land up tucking in only about a quarter of the meal. The rest – well, was discarded.
Coming from the conservative eating culture of India, It was alarming that fellow diners in the west would order their own portions and not share. Apart from the wastage angle I found this to be very selfish and self absorbed culturally.
It is a known fact that food is what brings people together and is a communal inclusion apart from being a survival necessity. Eating that one meal a day with the family, meeting friends at restaurants, going on dates, professional meetings happening over food, all in all sum up a universal language, that with food being the sole connection.
The sharing culture exists in the Asian space more so. If you look at our food (or Thai, Malay, etc.) the meals are designed to be shared. Rice, Bread, Curry, Condiments, Sides are all ‘family style’. In the west is where all these elements are somehow disconnected and the meals planned accordingly (the usual salad/appetizer, main and dessert combination)
Over the past few years I noticed the trend of sharing trickling its way into the western culture. I popped into a restaurant in USA about 3 years ago and I ordered a dish for myself while my fellow diner just wanted a drink. I was asked if the meal would be split and if she could bring an extra plate. Quite taken aback it was a noticeable and exciting step towards how the west ate their meals. I brushed off my excitement as a one off case, considering in the past, my request for an extra plate or suggesting to split the meal would be looked down upon in disdain. I soon scoped other restaurants from high-end to casual joints and was met with the same experience – sharing was finally OK.
I believe this is a great step towards conserving our resources and maximizing foods utility value. As children we were taught not to waste food and were even reprimanded if a grain of rice was left in our plates. We were controlled by our elders and parents, the same way I would have expected the reigns to be pulled by restaurateurs and chefs alike. This movement is slowly and surely happening as I see it and it is a great one indeed.
Having said this, back home in India there is another disturbing trend which is taken its stance. I discovered how restaurateurs think when I consulted and worked on projects here in the recent years. Make everything “tapas” size. Now I agree that conceptually if a lounge or bar would do tapas style for ease of serviceability and the fact that a drinking space is meant to be for ‘drinking’, but what is with every restaurant down sizing its portion size. It’s almost like we are moving backwards or embracing the ways of the west, only difference being the portion size does not match the non-sharing outlook.
A fine dine establishment or a casual space with an experimental menu who’s strength lies in a coursed meal or individual tasting portions is legit alright to dole out small plates on the menu, but I have come across way too many spaces these days, which, in the name of small plates, are minimizing the portion sizes. I understand the intricacies of costing where in you give less food because one does not want to have too many high-priced items on the menu, but correlatively the concept eventually feels bordering on cheating you out of ordering more and not being satiated enough. Theres no bang for your buck.
I fear this trend is going to permeate into the way we dine and explode into a definition which beats all odds of traditional Indian dining habits in the coming years and with the way the government is controlling taxation structures I see more reasons than a few for restaurants to build in on this trend.
If you were to pay close attention, small plates are defined by ingredients which are either valuable or sourced from unreachable areas. It may contain an outstanding ingredient which needs to be highlighted or a combination of flavors which are meant to shine through and not to be had in copious amounts. But today it is not surprising to see a main dish as simple as gnocchi being converted into a small plate offering or something as common as Naan with Kebabs being made into ‘flatbreads’. I believe a naan and kebab combination should be left at just that – a regular sized naan, probably cut into half served with a couple skewers of juicy kebabs. Matter of time before our humble pav bhaji is trundled along in a toy bullock cart filled with a few spoons of bhaji and 3 mini-pavs as haystacks!
For the recipe I love and itching to share since a long time now (especially since I make it ever so often). I go back to our family style traditions of Asian culture. The satay makes for a satisfying appetizer and is a go-to in comfort dishes. While this may be a stand alone appetizer, most Asian meal orders will include this dish in the many family style meals they land up ordering. This can be made quite quickly and forms the perfect starter to any asian meal you think of putting together for your next dinner party or family meal.
The marinade makes use of peanut butter which gives it that extra smooth and chunky texture and a creamy taste.
Chicken Satay
Ingredients
- 500 gms Chicken breast (cut into 1” cubes)
- 2 Green Capsicum (cut into 1” squares) or Mixed Peppers (Red, Yellow, Green)
- 1 Red Onion (cut into 1” separated squares)
For the Peanut Marinade
- 1 cup Peanut Butter (chunky style)
- 1/4 cup water mixed with 1 Veg/Chicken seasoning cube or tsp powder
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tsp dark soy sauce
- 2 Tsp Toasted sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp Brown sugar, to taste
- 2 to 2.5 Tbsp Fish sauce
for vegetarians: substitute 2.5 to 3 Tbsp. regular soy sauce (Kikkoman) - 1/2 tsp Tamarind Paste
- 1 Tsp Red Chili Paste (make it 2 if you like yours hotter)
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
Method
For the peanut marinade
- Blend all the ingredients together in a blender till its smooth except the coconut milk (and you have a few bits of peanuts sticking out). Set aside.
For the Chicken Satay
- Pre heat oven to 190C, soak bamboo skewers in water till ready to use.
- Place the chicken and vegetables in a large mixing bowl or ziplock bag.
- Pour half the marinade onto the chicken and veggies, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- In the other half, pour the coconut milk and mix well, refrigerate – this is your Thai dipping sauce.
- Skewer intermittently and place in the preheated oven over a wire rack, cook till the chicken is cooked through (takes about 11 – 14 minutes). Turning them around till browned on each side.
- Serve hot on skewers with the dipping sauce.
Nonchalant Variation
You can replace the chicken with cubes of Paneer / Cottage Cheese and other veggies for a vegetarian version. Follow the same marinating and cooking instructions.
It is time we bring in some ground control on the way we dine and a note to the restaurateurs of today not to skimp on portions sizes an retain our culture and dignity. Whatever happened to correct portion sizing – neither too less, nor too much?
You could also grill these on an open fire or BBQ pit for an extra smoky burst.
Indulge in your experiments, but in the name of trends don’t just dole out regular fare in trending dining ways.
