Brainfade Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Does good food have to have a fancy name and a high price tag? I think not. As a blue-collar food-lover, I am baffled by the common implication of the term gourmet food. To me, gourmet food is not expensive, rare or of complex nomenclature. It is a well-executed dish of any origin: anything from a well-made raagi mudde, thengaa sevai, or bisi bele bhaat to a well-made . The three randomly-picked South Indian staples I mentioned are not easy to prepare (if you are going to cook them from scratch) and require good ingredients, skill and experience. When made correctly, they are among the most delicious of foods, but are they ever mentioned in the same breath as say a duck confit or a coq au vin? Consider raagi mudde; it is the staple of poor farmers in Karnataka: you need freshly-powdered raagi flour, the correct ratio and temperature of water, proper timing, and a level of muscular endurance to properly mix it so that it is not overly sticky. I'll bet you that Chef Zefronk would fail miserably. You then have to serve it piping hot, with tuppa and a well-made soppina saaru (not too difficult spinach-based savory sauce) or a bendekaayi gojju (not so easy to make okra in spicy peanut-gravy). I contend that - with the right marketing - one could make this and other household staples a gourmet meal. Throw it on the menu of a fancy restaurant in NYC/LA and give it a fancy name. Feature it as ze soul of the South Indian farmer and highlight how challenging it is to eat it correctly (you have to roll a bite-sized sphere of the raagi mudde in tuppa, then the gojju, pop it into your mouth, savor it for a second or two and swallow it whole). I just saw a feature on CNN about a $2-a-plate dim-sum hole-in-the-wall in Hong Kong that won a Michelin award; this usually goes to high-end $100 - $200 a plate fancy joints. Who knows - Shankarapuram Brahmin's Coffee Bar may be next on the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowboysfan Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 i love raagi mudde and i really miss it.so far i have eaten it just once in the US when my mom came to visit;you are right though about the difficulty in preparing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Well I love Street food/Home food more than the Gourmet stuff, so don't really care if our household staple make it as a Gourmet or not. That said, most Gourmet food lovers seem to prefer food that is less spicy, small portions, well plated, colorful, less greasy and of course still tasting good. If you can make your staple fit that mould and come with a good marketable name and serve it from a "fine" gourmet place, yes people will order it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Online Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 raagi mudde, with tuppa and soppina saaru or a bendekaayi gojju Feck you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brainfade Posted December 28, 2009 Author Share Posted December 28, 2009 Well I love Street food/Home food more than the Gourmet stuff, so don't really care if our household staple make it as a Gourmet or not. That said, most Gourmet food lovers seem to prefer food that is less spicy, small portions, well plated, colorful, less greasy and of course still tasting good. If you can make your staple fit that mould and come with a good marketable name and serve it from a "fine" gourmet place, yes people will order it. And pay an arm and a leg for it. Shouldn't be hard to do - raagi mudde has a pleasing purple-brown color. Drizzle the reddish Bendekaayi gojju with a dash of fresh green curry leaves. Garnish with a few fresh soppu (spinach) leaves. Grease? Ain't no grease here, except for a tiny, fancy batlu (cup) with ghee. Just give them 3 - 4 bite-sized spheres, and make sure you specifically mention that the raagi is organic. You got a winner, baby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamy Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 Haha, I shall go and have some Ragi Mudde now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CricketGirl Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 Where's Mr Wicky on a thread like this! :orderorder: anything that tatses good is goog to me! :woot: had chinese last night yum yum! :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rajiv Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 Never heard those names b4 but true gourmet does require lotta effort. It goes from chopping to timing of the ingredient. Food is typically enjoyed in 3 ways ( taste, smell and presentation ). If you consider French Cuisine, which is cooked in 99% butter ( that itself adds cost to it ) and its robust stock making procedurse which involves a a bit and add to that a restaurant with decor and ambiance, u have a pricey plate You know when the top restaurants buy their raw meat and veggies, there is lot involved and they only pick the top stuff which is what make the difference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bharathh Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Some cuisines require very well trained chefs.. who in turn train for a long time to make the food required. Training takes money, so these trained chefs charge more to work in restaurants. Therefore the restaurants that serve a particular cuisine charge more money. Also going to a good restaurant is usually for more than just the food. People go to certain places for the ambiance, or the feeling of exclusivity (much as some that buy fancy cars do) Anyhoo, one man's food is another man's poison. What some consider to be gourmet food may be cattle food to others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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