Category: Cultural & Heritage Recipes

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Traditional dolma is made with meat, rice, and a mixture of herbs rolled into grape leaves. There is also a variety of dolma made with a filling of nuts. Its name comes from the verb ‘doldurmaq’, meaning ‘to stuff’ in Azerbaijani. The ingredients vary from region to region and depending on the time of year. For example, in summertime, stuffed aubergines or tomatoes are also considered dolma dishes.

Grape Leaves Dolma – Recipe

Adapted by Orxan MUXTAROV

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground lamb or beef (or a combination)
• 1 medium onion, passed through a meat grinder or grated
• ½ cup medium-grain white rice, thoroughly rinsed (do not use long grain rice, such as Basmati!)
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh dill
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh mint
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• About 100 small-size or 50 medium-size fresh grape leaves (or frozen grape leaves, or canned leaves (about ¾ of a 16-ounce can)
• 3 tablespoons clarified butter (ghee) or unsalted butter (add more if meat is lean), or olive oil
• Plain Yogurt or Garlicky yogurt sauce, to serve (recipe follows)

Instructions

1. First, prepare the stuffing. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ingredients for the stuffing (add less salt if using briny canned leaves). Mix with your hand until well combined.
2. If using fresh grape leaves, boil slightly salted water in a medium saucepan and blanch the leaves in small batches (about 10 at a time) in the boiling water for about a minute (less if the leaves are very tender). This will soften the leaves and make them easier to roll and faster to cook. Remove the leaves from the pan using a slotted spoon and drain in a colander. Cut off the stems.
3. If using canned leaves, put batches of them in a colander, rinse well under cold water to remove the salt, and drain. If the canned leaves feel too thick, blanch them in boiling water for about a minute, then drain. Otherwise, do not blanch. Cut off the stems.
4. Have a medium saucepan ready. If using medium-size mature leaves, cut them in half. Small, young leaves can remain whole.
5. If there are any torn or damaged leaves, do not discard—use them to patch holes in other leaves as needed. Also, arrange some of the damaged leaves flat on the bottom of the saucepan. If you don’t have damaged leaves, line the bottom of the saucepan with unused whole leaves to cover.
6. Now stuff the grape leaves. Hold a leaf (or half, if cut) shiny side down on the palm of your hand. Place about 1 heaping teaspoon of the filling at the stem end of the leaf. Fold the top down, then the sides over the filling and roll up tightly to shape it into a 1-inch round bundle. Arrange the stuffed leaves, seam side down, on the bottom of the pan. Continue until all the leaves and filling are used, arranging the stuffed bundles snugly together in the pan, making several layers.
7. Dot the top with butter and pour in water to cover the dolma halfway. Place a small lid or a small ovenproof plate on top of the stuffed leaves to keep them tight and to prevent them from opening. Cover and bring to a boil.
8. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the leaves are tender, the filling is cooked, and there is little liquid left (if the liquid is completely absorbed at some point during cooking, add more water and continue to simmer).
9. Serve immediately with bread and plain yogurt or garlicky yogurt sauce to spoon onto the dolma to taste.
10. Garlicky Yogurt Sauce: To make garlicky yogurt sauce, in a bowl, combine 1 cup or more plain yogurt with 2-4 cloves garlic, crushed with a garlic press.

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The History of Baked Alaska

On March 30, 1867, for a mere $7.2 million — about two cents per acre — the U.S. bought land from Russia that would eventually make Alaska its 49^th state, gaining a delicious fringe benefit in the process: Baked Alaska.

No, this igloo-shaped dessert — cake and ice cream shrouded in toasted meringue — didn’t come from the icy north, but its name was inspired by the land deal. In fact, the treat’s true roots date back to the turn of the 18th century, when American-born scientist Sir Benjamin Thompson (aka Count Rumford, a title he gained for his loyalty to the crown during the American Revolution) — whose inventions included a kitchen range and a double boiler — made a discovery about egg whites.

Rumford realized that the air bubbles inside whipped egg whites made meringue a great insulator. “That’s really why the Baked Alaska works,” says Libby “O’Connell, the History Channel’s chief historian and author of The American Plate.”The meringue insulates the ice cream from heat.”

By the 1830s, this culinary revelation had inspired French chefs to create a dessert called the “Omelette Norwegge.” This predecessor of Baked Alaska consisted of layers of cake and ice cream covered in meringue, then broiled. The French named this elaborate treat in reference to its own frigid territory to the north — Norway.

So how did the “Omelette Norwegge” become embroiled with the Alaska purchase?

Charles Ranhofer, an expat Parisian pastry chef at the legendary Delmonico’s restaurant in New York City, was renowned for dishes doubling as cultural commentary — Peach Pudding à la [President Grover] Cleveland or Sarah Potatoes after actress Sarah Bernhardt, for example. In 1867, Ranhofer made a quip through his pastry that the world would never forget.

Secretary of State William’s Seward’s acquisition of a faraway tundra drew no shortage of criticism and ridicule. Ranhofer, who likely encountered the “Omelette Norwegge” in his French training, jumped on the bandwagon with a dessert he dubbed “Alaska, Florida” — a reference to the temperature contrast between ice cream and toasted meringue.

The original version consisted of banana ice cream, walnut spice cake and meringue torched to a golden brown. While making Baked Alaska today is much easier because of modern conveniences such as electric mixers and blowtorches, it was once an incredibly opulent dish, requiring a full kitchen staff and a significant amount of time. And it was also alluring, because it contained expensive bananas from Central America.

O’Connell says, “It’s one of the best exemplars of the Gilded Age in American history.” The price tag reflected its grandeur — the cost of the dessert then would equal about $40 today. And Delmonico’s, established in 1837 and still in business today, was a who’s who of the dining scene, drawing personalities like the Rockefellers and Charles Dickens.

According to Billy Oliva, Delmonico’s current executive chef, the dessert’s name was coined in the 1880s when English journalist George Sala visited the restaurant and remarked: “The ‘Alaska’ is a baked ice … the nucleus or core of the entremets is an ice cream … surrounded by an envelope of carefully whipped cream, which, just before the dainty dish is served, is popped into the oven or brought under the scorching influence of a red hot salamander.”

Michael Krondl, an associate editor of the Oxford Companion to Sugarand Sweets, tells a slightly different tale. He says the French “Omelette Norwegge” didn’t appear until the 1890s, and evidence for Ranhofer’s debut of the “Alaska, Florida” is too slim to credit him with its creation.

According to Krondl, the journalist who visited Delmonico’s was Charles Augustus Sala — though records account for just one English journalist in this era with the surname Sala: George Augustus Henry Sala which is in line with Delmonico’s story. “Charles Augustus Sala described eating an ‘Alaska’ at Delmonico’s with more enthusiasm than accuracy,” states the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, “He mistook the meringue for whipped cream.”

Conflicting accounts aside, Ranhofer definitely featured the dessert under the name “Alaska, Florida” in his 1894 cookbook, The Epicurean. And today, Delmonico’s continues to serve it at a much more reasonable price — $13 — and in more or less the same fashion as the original: walnut sponge cake layered with apricot compote and banana gelato, covered with torched meringue.

Baked Alaska – Recipe

Adapted by John Coletta

Yields 12 servings

Ingredients

• nonstick cooking spray
• 80g sugar, granulated
• 3 large egg yolks
• 5 ml vanilla, pure extract
• 84 g chocolate, bittersweet, melted, tempered
• 3 large egg whites, room temp
• 3 g salt, sea, fine grind pinch
• 2750 ml ice cream, chocolate
• 1750 ml ice cream, vanilla
• 600 ml ice cream, strawberry
• swiss meringue
• kitchen blowtorch

Instructions

1. Line a 22 centimeter round cake pan with parchment paper, and spray with cooking spray.
2. Combine 40g sugar and the egg yolks in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; whisk on medium speed until pale yellow and thick, about 15 minutes. Add vanilla, and fold in melted chocolate just to combine.
3. Combine egg white and a pinch of salt in bowl of electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; whip on medium speed until frothy. Add remaining 40g sugar; beat until stiff. Fold egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
4. Carefully pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake until cake is set and top is dull, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
5. Spray a 3-liter bowl with a 22 centimeter diameter with cooking spray; line with plastic wrap. Pack base of bowl and up the sides with chocolate ice cream; cover with plastic and press with your hands to make an even, smooth layer. Transfer to freezer and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.
6. Remove plastic wrap and form a layer of vanilla ice cream on top of the chocolate; cover with plastic wrap and press with your hands to make an even, smooth layer. Transfer to freezer and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.
7. Remove plastic wrap and form a layer of strawberry ice cream on top of vanilla, leaving a small well in the center of the coffee layer. Transfer to freezer and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
8. Place cake on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Remove ice cream from freezer and remove plastic wrap; invert bowl over cake. Keep ice cream covered with plastic wrap, and return ice cream cake to freezer.
9. Fill a pastry bag, fitted with a large star tip, with meringue; pipe onto ice cream in a decorative fashion, or spoon meringue over ice cream and swirl with a rubber spatula. If ice cream starts to soften, return cake to freezer for 15 minutes.
10. Using a kitchen torch, heat meringue until it just starts to brown, transfer to an appropriate serving platter, and serve immediately

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Ox Eye Cookies

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This delicious cookie recipe has been passed down in our family for over 100 years. It reflects our heritage of Molve village located in the heart of the Podravina region in Croatia, where the original cookies were made using a round glass, and the center hole was made with a thimble – hence the name “Volovo oko” (“Ox Eye”). We warmly recommend it to you – enjoy making them. They are easy to prepare and their flavor will win you over with the very first bite!

At the 10th “Virovska Prkačijada”, The First European Festival of Small Traditional Cakes, these cookies proudly won the prestigious 1st place award for best traditional cookie in 2025.

Volove Oke – Recipe

Adapted by Eric Glavica

Instructions

1. Mix the flour with sugar, baking powder, vanilla sugar, mashed hard-boiled egg yolk and room-temperature butter. Add the grated lemon zest and juice and knead into a smooth dough.
2. Roll the dough out to a medium thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut out stars or any desired shape.
3. Place the cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake at 180°C for 15 minutes, so they remain light in color.
4. Let them cool, spread with jam and sandwich two cookies together. Optionally, dust with powdered sugar.

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History of Bananas Foster

Bananas Foster is one of those namesake foods. Bananas drenched in rum and banana liqueur then flambéed tableside and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It’s a dramatic presentation for a swoon-worthy dessert, but who is Foster? And why did anyone think setting bananas on fire would be a good idea? It all began at a New Orleans, Louisiana restaurant named Vieux Carre (informally known as the first Brennan’s), that had easy access to boatloads of bananas. Literally. 

Bananas were not introduced to North America until sometime after the Civil War (after 1865). In the mid-20th century, the port of New Orleans was a major point of entry for bananas shipped from Central and South America. In 1951, Owen Brennan, a well-heeled New Orleans restaurateur, challenged his chef, Paul Blangé, to create a dessert to honor then-New Orleans Crime Commission chairman Richard Foster. With a bounty of bananas, Blangé came up with — you guessed it — Bananas Foster. At least that’s one story. Other versions suggest Blangé had an accomplice.

By some accounts, including Brennan’s, Owen Brennan also asked his sister, Ella, to create a dessert to honor Richard Foster. In 2016, Ella’s daughter, Ti Adelaide Martin, told NPR her mother was working at her brother’s first New Orleans restaurant, Vieux Carré, when Owen surprised her with the unexpected request. “While fussing and carrying on, she just grabs the bananas,” Martin said. “They were probably just sitting right there, readily available.” 

Inspired by a memory of childhood breakfasts of sautéed bananas, combined with a nod to the flaming Baked Alaska on the menu at another venerable New Orleans dining institution, Antoine’s, Ella partnered with Chef Paul Blangé to create the dessert that has reigned supreme at Brennan’s (both the original Vieux Carré on Bourbon Street and the current incarnation on Royal Street) for more than eight decades.

The now-iconic confection wasn’t an immediate hit. It didn’t really catch on until Vieux Carré introduced a breakfast menu featuring what is now the restaurant’s signature dessert, ultimately spawning the longstanding tradition of Breakfast at Brennan’s. (Fear not: It’s still a mainstay on the dinner menu.) To match demand, Brennan’s flambés about 35,000 pounds of bananas every year. And even decades after its debut, Ella (who died in 2018) and her daughter Ti Adelaide, wondered how it had become so famous, musing to NPR, “Why in the world do people make such a big deal out of that simple dessert?”

Bananas Foster – Recipe

Adapted by John coletta

This dramatic, flambéed result is now the most-ordered menu offering at Brennans’. It is not unusual for guests who have dined elsewhere to arrive just for a dessert of Bananas Foster.

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients

• 50g. Butter; Unsalted; Room Temperature
• 110g. Sugar; Light Brown
• 1.50g. Cinnamon; Ground
• 50 ml. Banana Liqueur
• 2 each Bananas; Fresh; Peeled and cut lengthwise into half and cut in half vertically.
• 50 ml. Rum; Dark
• 2 each Bananas; Fresh; Peeled and cut lengthwise into half and cut in half vertically.
• 4-80g. Vanilla Ice Cream; Scoops

Instructions

1. Place a flambé pan onto a medium heat. Add the butter, sugar, cinnamon and combine into a unified mixture is achieved.
2. Add the Banana liqueur stirring to ensure a unified mixture. Add the bananas to the flambé pan and simmer slowly for 30-seconds to 1-minute.
3. Expose the flambé pan to the flame and add the dark rum, ensuring that the rum is ignited. Stir the sauce with the bananas, while ensuring that the alcohol is cooked away. Once the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of spoon, remove the flambé pan from the heat.
4. Arrange the bananas onto an appropriate serving vessel. Place a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream onto the bananas and spoon the pan sauce onto the vanilla ice cream.

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The Maize and Radish Dodda is from North India, specifically the Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal regions. A traditional Indian recipe, it is best accompanied with butter, yogurt and pickle.

Maize and Radish Dodda – Recipe

Adapted by Nimish Bhatia

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients

For Dodda Bread:

• Maize flour 100g
• Wheat flour 40g
• Grated winter radish 120 g
• Chopped coriander leaves 10g
• Chopped onion 10g
• Chopped green chilli 5g
• Chopped ginger 5g
• Ajwain (Carrom Seeds) 5g
• Salt 5g

• Butter 20 g
• Pickled shallots (4)
• Thick yogurt 150 g
• Cumin 8g
• Coriander Sprig (6)
• Mango Pickle 10g (optional)

Instructions

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

1. Take a mixing bowl and mix all the ingredients listed for dodda and then make crumbly dough with it, adding water in very little quantity, just to moisten the maize flour.
2. Once mixed divide the dough into small 40g dumplings and press flat with your fingers. Seer them on a flat griddle until golden color on both sides and glaze with butter.
3. Put the yoghurt in a mesh strainer and keep for ten minutes so extra whey drains out. On a pan dry toast cumin seeds until brown, grind it and strain it.
4. On each cooked dodda bread spoon a dollop of yogurt, sliced picked shallot, sprinkle roasted cumin powder, green coriander sprig, also optionally some mango pickle.

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Kababs are popular all over the world. Pakistanis have some authentic types of kababs and it is a part of our main course. Chapli kabab is a specialty of the city Peshawar. Minced meat is mixed with spices and fried on a pan. The unique element of this kabab is chunks of tomatoes. Tomatoes are not added to any kabab other than Chapli Kabab. Sometimes a tomato slice is placed on top of the kabab and then fried. As it is so famous in Peshawar, that the people of Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore have learned the recipe too to enjoy this dish in their own city. Chapli Kabab is also made on Eid ul Adha and enjoyed with chatni and raita.

Chapli Kabab – Recipe

Adapted by Muhammad Raees

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef or lamb
• 1/2 cup tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 2 green chilies, finely chopped
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon ginger paste
• 1 tablespoon garlic paste
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin powder
• 1 tablespoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil, for frying

Instructions

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground meat, chopped tomatoes, onions, cilantro, mint, green chilies, egg, ginger paste, garlic paste, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, salt, and garam masala powder. Mix well to combine all the ingredients.
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours, to allow the flavors to meld together.
3. After the marination period, take out the bowl and divide the mixture into equal portions. Take each portion and shape it into a flat disc, similar to a patty.
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, place the shaped kababs into the skillet and fry for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown and fully cooked.
5. Once the kababs are cooked, remove them from the skillet and drain on a paper towel to remove any excess oil.
6. Serve hot with fresh naan bread, salad, and mint chutney on the side.

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Mazurka is the essence of traditional Polish pastry art. Flat, sweet, and beautifully decorated, it’s as symbolic of Easter in Poland as painted eggs (pisanki) or the Easter basket blessing (święconka).

Its roots go back cultures, with the earliest mentions dating to the 17th century.

Today, there are dozens of variations of this festive dessert, but the classic mazurek is made with a buttery shortcrust base, topped with a sweet layer—usually dulce de leche (kajmak), nuts, or chocolate. This glossy surface becomes a canvas for creative decorations using dried fruits, nuts, and icing.

Some mazurkas look like miniature works of art—intricately decorated, bursting with color and the symbolism of spring and Resurrection.

The tradition of baking mazurek for Easter became firmly rooted in the 19th century, when it became fashionable to decorate desserts with religious, patriotic, and springtime motifs.

In Polish homes, preparing mazurek is often a shared, family ritual—especially the decorating part. It’s a time for creativity, joy, and passing traditions down through generations.

Mazurek in Poland  is more than just a cake. Mazurek is a Poland Cultural Symbol. In the Polish language, the word “mazurek” has several meanings:

Mazurek as a musical piece. The most famous composer of mazurkas was Frédéric Chopin, who wrote 59 of them, transforming the folk form into poetic, expressive piano works.

Dąbrowski’s Mazurek as the Polish national anthem.

Mazurek as the Easter cake.

Try making a traditional Polish mazurek – beyond its sweet taste, you’ll discover a dose of fun, creativity, and true holiday joy!

As Poles like to say: “If you haven’t tasted żurek, you don’t really know Polish cuisine.”

Mazurek for Easter – Recipe

Adapted by Joanna Ochniak

Instructions

Preparation time: 50 minutes

1. Make the dough: Beat the butter until fluffy. Add flour and beat again. Pass the cooked egg yolks through a sieve and add to the mixture along with the raw yolk, powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt. Knead the dough until smooth. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
2. Prepare the filling: Peel and grate the apples. Mix with chopped almonds and lemon zest. Pour 1/3 cup of water into a pan, add the apple-almond mixture and baking sugar. Cook gently until the water evaporates, and the mixture thickens.
3. Shape and bake: Roll out the dough. Cut into the shape of an Easter egg. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use leftover dough to roll into thin ropes and create a border around the egg shape. Spread the apple filling on top.
   Bake at 180°C (356°F) for 20 minutes.
4. Decorate: Warm the dulce de leche (kajmak) and pour it over the baked base. Once it sets, use white and brown icing to draw pussy willows (bazie) or other Easter motifs. Feel free to decorate with almond flakes, shelled walnuts, pistachios, dried or candied fruits, or any other natural, edible decorations of your choice.

Happy Easter!

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(Easter Sour Rye Soup in Bread)

Żurek, one of the oldest soups in Polish cuisine (dating back to the 15th century), owes its distinct sour flavor to a naturally fermented rye flour starter. For centuries, it was considered a humble dish of the poor, yet over time it became an essential part of Polish Easter traditions.

Enriched with white sausage, boiled eggs, and horseradish—symbols of life, strength, and rebirth—żurek became a true celebration of the season.

It grew to symbolize the end of fasting and the beginning of joy—a dish that brings together generations and regions. Served in crusty bread bowls or deep plates, often made with ingredients from the blessed Easter basket, żurek remains a beloved part of the holiday: slightly sour, but warming to the soul.

As Poles like to say: “If you haven’t tasted żurek, you don’t really know Polish cuisine.”

Żurek Wielkanocny (Polish Easter Sour Rye Soup) – Recipe

Adapted by Joanna Ochniak

Instructions

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour 10 minutes

1. Rinse the dried mushrooms and soak them in a small amount of water for 2–3 hours.
2. Place peeled vegetables (carrot, parsley root, celery, leek) in a pot with 2 liters of water. Bring to a boil. Add bay leaf, allspice, onion, garlic, and salt. Simmer for about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the eggs and potatoes separately in salted water.
3. Slice the soaked mushrooms and add them with their soaking liquid to the pot. Pierce the white sausage with a fork and add it to the broth. Simmer for about 15 minutes, covered. Then remove the sausage and slice it into rounds.
4. The bacon add to the soup along with any additional seasoning to taste. Bring to a gentle boil.
5. Stir in dried marjoram and the sliced sausage. Slowly pour in the sour rye starter while stirring. Simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat.
6. Stir in the sour cream and horseradish to taste. Mix thoroughly.
7. Serve the soup in hollowed-out bread bowls or deep plates. Garnish with a quarter or half of a hard-boiled egg and chopped parsley. Optionally, add cubed boiled potatoes to each serving.

Zakwas na Żurek (Homemade Sour Rye Starter) – Recipe

Ingredients

• 500 ml boiled, cooled water (room temperature)
• 5 tablespoons whole meal rye flour
• 1 small piece of crusty rye bread (for natural fermentation)
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
• 1 bay leaf
• A few allspice berries

Instructions

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Fermentation time: 4–5 days

1. Use a glass or earthenware pot (not metal or plastic). Rinse it with boiling water to sterilize.
2. Pour 500 ml of cooled, boiled water into the jar. Add 5 tablespoons of rye flour, the bread crust, garlic, bay leaf, and allspice. Stir with a wooden spoon.
3. Fermentation process:  Cover the jar with a piece of cheesecloth or gauze and secure with a rubber band. Leave it in a warm, dry place (e.g., on a kitchen counter) for 4–5 days. Stir once daily with a clean wooden spoon.
4. Check readiness: When ready, the starter will have a pleasant, sour aroma. Strain the mixture through a sieve to remove solids. Pour the liquid into a clean, sterilized bottle or jar. Keep it sealed and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

⚠️ Warning: If you notice mold, a bad smell, or an overly sharp sour taste, the starter has gone bad and should be discarded.

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Pasanday means favorite in Urdu. It is a Mughal dish now native to Pakistan. This dish belongs to Karachi, Hyderabad, and is served as Parchay in Punjab. Pasanday is basically beeffillet flattened into strips and marinated with spices and yogurt. It is cooked for 3 to 4 hours. It is served hot with slices of onions, lemon, and green coriander. It can be eaten with puri or chapati. This dish will make you lick off your fingers.

Country / Pakistan
State / Sindh
City / Karachi
Recipe / Traditional

Pasanday – Recipe

Adapted by Muhammad Raees

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix the yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, papaya paste (or meat tenderizer powder), cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, red chili powder, and salt until well combined.
2. Add the thinly sliced pasanday to the marinade and mix well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight for best results.
3. Heat oil in a large pan and add the chopped onion. Sauté until the onion turns translucent.
4. Add the tomato paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, red chili powder, and salt. Mix well and cook for a few minutes until the spices are fragrant.
5. Add the marinated pasanday to the pan and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender and cooked.
6. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with rice or naan. Enjoy your delicious pasanday!

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The History of Gumbo

Of all the dishes in the realm of Louisiana cooking, gumbo is the most famous and, very likely, the most popular. Gumbo crosses all class barriers, appearing on the tables of all social classes. Although ingredients might vary greatly from one cook to the next, and from one part of the state to another, a steaming bowl of fragrant gumbo is one of life’s cherished pleasures, as emblematic of Louisiana as chile is of Texas.

Gumbo is often cited as an example of the melting-pot nature of Louisiana cooking, but trying to sort out the origins and evolution of the dish is highly speculative. The name derives from a West African word for okra, suggesting that gumbo was originally made with okra. The use of filé (dried and ground sassafras leaves) was a contribution of the Choctaws and, possibly, other local Indian groups. Roux has its origin in French cuisine, although the roux used in gumbos is much darker than its Gallic cousins.

Types of Gumbo

The gumbos people are most familiar with are seafood gumbo and chicken and sausage gumbo. But that merely scratches the surface of gumbo cookery, both historical and contemporary.

• Lafcadio Hearn’s La Cuisine Creole, published in 1885, contains recipes for several gumbos made from a variety of ingredients—chicken, ham, bacon, oysters, crab, shrimp, and beef, among them. Some of the recipes are made with okra, others with filé. Although there is no mention of a roux in any of the recipes, some of them call for the addition of flour or browned flour as a thickener.
• The Creole Cookery Book, published by the Christian Woman’s Exchange of New Orleans in 1885, calls gumbo making an “occult science” that “should be allowed its proper place in the gastronomical world.” A New Orleans gumbo, the book maintains, “Can be made of scraps of cold meat or fowl, a few oysters, crabs or shrimps, and with a couple of spoonful of well cooked rice, is a very satisfying and economical dinner.” The editors include several recipes for gumbo, one of which incorporates filé (spelled “fillet” in the book). All the ingredients are useful, natural and completely nutritious. Some of the recipes are made with various greens and herbs, but, curiously, there is no mention of okra as a gumbo ingredient, although the book includes three recipes for okra soup.
• The Picayune’s Creole Cookbook, published in New Orleans in 1901, includes recipes for a variety of gumbos. Among the principal ingredients are chicken, ham, oysters, turkey, wild turkey, squirrel, rabbit, beef, veal, crabs, soft-shell crabs, shrimp, greens, and cabbage. Some of the gumbos are made with okra, others with filé.

Traditionally, gumbos have been divided into two large categories—those thickened with okra and those thickened with filé. According to some accounts, before the advent of refrigeration and freezers, okra was the preferred thickening agent for gumbo, while filé was a substitute used only in the off-season when okra wasn’t available. That sounds plausible, but references for dried okra as an ingredient in 19th-century gumbos. By drying okra, cooks could use it in their gumbos year round.

In some respects, putting gumbo into either an okra or a filé category is still valid, but for many cooks, a brown roux is the only thickener, and filé has virtually disappeared from their recipes. Often roux-based gumbos do incorporate filé. Filé is used both for thickening and for flavor. It is usually added to a gumbo just before serving, or at the table. Many okra gumbos also incorporate a brown roux and some roux-based gumbo contain a small amount of okra, often cooked until it virtually dissolves.

If all those variations aren’t confusing enough, there are also raging controversies over what constitutes a proper gumbo roux. Roux, of course, is flour that has been browned in oil or some other fat. Both cooks and consumers have their own opinions on how dark the roux should be and how much should be used in a gumbo. There is no agreement on these matters, as anyone who has tasted gumbos from different cooks can attest.

A good place to sample an astonishingly wide range of gumbos is the World Championship Gumbo Cook-off that is held each October in New Iberia, Louisiana. Although the New Iberia event requires that contestants cook their own roux on site, it’s preferable to dissolve them in hot liquid before adding to the gumbo pot.

Modern Gumbo Variations

Contemporary gumbos are made with all manner of ingredients in a variety of combinations. Seafood and non-seafood gumbos are two primary types, and they may be made with or without okra. But some gumbos include ingredients from both the land and the sea. Duck, smoked sausage, and oyster gumbo is one delicious example. Some cooks add hard-boiled eggs to chicken and sausage gumbos, and quail eggs find their way into other versions. A very atypical version is the Lenten gumbo z’herbes, which is made with a variety of greens.
Seafood gumbos often include crabs, shrimp, and oysters. Shrimp and okra gumbo is a perennial favorite, as is chicken and okra gumbo. Chicken and sausage gumbo is extremely popular, and in the households of hunters, ducks and other game birds often wind up in the gumbo pot. Turkey and sausage gumbos appear frequently during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. An unusual but delicious combination is a gumbo of beefsteak, smoked sausage, and oysters. Some cooks use ham or tasso in their gumbos, and others use fresh sausage in place of the smoked variety. The possible combinations are virtually endless.

The Tomato Controversy

One ingredient that does arouse controversy is the tomato. Some cooks use it in their gumbos, others wouldn’t be caught dead putting tomato in theirs. In that respect, the situation is analogous to jambalaya, where the question of the appropriateness of tomato is a burning issue. Tomatoes are most often found in okra gumbos, but I’ve had roux-based seafood gumbo that also contained tomato. Gumbos containing tomato are more common on the eastern side of Bayou Lafourche than they are farther west.

Gumbo’s virtue, aside from its deliciousness, is that the dish is very forgiving of the cook. Measurements do not have to be exact, ingredients may be changed to use what is on hand, and unless the diners are so set in their ways that they can’t appreciate change, the result will be quite good.

New Orleans Chicken and Sausage Gumbo – Recipe

Adapted by chef john coletta

This recipe came from Paul Prudhomme, the New Orleans chef who put Louisiana on the American culinary map. It is a hearty, rich Creole stew generously seasoned with black and white pepper, cayenne, paprika and filé powder, a spice made from the leaves of the sassafras tree. Filé powder is readily available in most North American grocery stores and online, and while it’s not 100 percent necessary, it lends a distinctive, earthy quality to the dish.

Yields 6-8 servings

Ingredients

1.5 kg – 2 kg. Organic Chicken cut into 10-serving pieces (ensure that the wish bone is removed and reserved for future stock making.)

10g. Sea Salt; Fine Grind
7g. Sarawak White Pepper, Finely ground
5g. Tellicherry Black Pepper, Ground from a mill
5g. Mustard Powder
7g. Cayenne Pepper
7g. Paprika
5g. Garlic Powder; Granulated
7g. File Powder (dried sassafras leaves and ground into a powder)

180g. Manitoba Flour

600 ml. Corn Oil, Peanut Oil or Vegetable Oil

150g. White or Yellow Onions: Finely Chopped
170g. Celery; Stalk; Finely Chopped
130g. Green Bell Pepper: Finely Chopped

2125 ml. Chicken Broth
250g. Smoked Andouille Sausage or Kielbasa Sausage; Rough Chopped
1 Bay Leaf; Fresh
5g. Garlic; Finely Minced
320g. Rice: Long Grain White Rice: Cooked

Method

1. Place chicken pieces into a non-reactive bowl.
2. In a spice blender, add the sea salt, white pepper, black pepper, mustard powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, granulated garlic and file powder and pulse mix well to form a unified spice mixture.
3. Rub 25 grams of the spice mixture onto the chicken. Allow the seasoned chicken to rest for 30-minutes.
4. Set aside the remaining spice mixture.
5. Place the flour in a non-reactive bowl and add 15 grams of the reserved spice mixture. Blend well to form a unified mixture.
6. Place a 25-30 centimeter deep heavy bottom cast iron skillet onto a low-medium heat. Add the oil.
7. Dredge the chicken pieces into the seasoned flour mixture to coat well, shaking off excess. Reserve the leftover flour.
8. When the oil is hot (150 C degrees), add the chicken pieces skin side down. Cook about two minutes on one side until golden brown. Turn and cook about three minutes on the second side until nicely browned. Do this in batches so as to not crowd the pan. Place the browned chicken onto absorbent paper towels.
9. Pour off all but 240 ml. of oil from the skillet. Strain the oil thru a fine mesh strainer and place into a heavy bottom 5 liter pot. Place the pot onto a low-medium heat. In a slow and steady stream add the reserved seasoned flour. Stir rapidly and constantly with a wire whisk until the mixture is golden brown. This should take 1-hour. Ensure that the roux mixture does not burn during the developing process.
10. Add the onions, celery and green peppers to the golden brown roux and stir to ensure a unified mixture. Remove from the heat.
11. Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil in a large heavy bottom saucepan.
12. Add about half of the roux mixture to the broth, stirring rapidly with the whisk. Continuously adding the roux mixture, always stirring rapidly and constantly.
13. Add the smoked sausage and stir. Cook over medium heat, stirring often from the bottom, about 15 minutes.
14. Add the chicken pieces, bay leaf and finely minced fresh garlic. Cook for about 40 minutes, on a medium-low heat, slowly stirring.
15. Remove the chicken pieces from the pot. Remove the chicken meat from the bones and discard the skin, bones and cartilage. Shred the chicken and add it back to the pot. Simmer for another 15-minutes or until the gumbo evenly coats the back of a spoon.
16. Ladle the completed gumbo into a warm preferred serving vessel and serve with white rice spooned into the gumbo.

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