Food is the quickest way to get to know a country, its
people and its culture. Dominican Republic , though thousands of miles away
from India, still has a cuisine that is both unique and yet comfortingly
similar to Indian food.
The first thing that stuck me as I got of the plane was how
unbelievably tropical Santiago, DR was. I mean they had mangoes growing in the
beginning of March, even we in India, where mangoes originated from (I guess
they did originate from here, after all they are called Mangifera Indica) get
Mangoes only in the peak summer months of May June. Here are my top 10 must
haves while in Dominican Republic.
1.
Rice and beans and meat: This is a no brainer. A full Dominican meal of “arroz, habichuelas y
carne” (Rice, Beans, and meat) are typically called “La Bandera” (The flag) and
is the staple in every home. A complete meal, it is both comforting and
satisfying. The meat is mostly beef here, and I loved the minced variety which
was almost like mutton kheema back home. Just think of this meal as a ‘Rajma,
kheema and chawal’ version of the carribeans and you can feel your mouth water.
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| rice and beans with meat |
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| another take on the rice beans and meat; garbanzo beans chicken. |
2.
Empanadas: I can
not get enough of these fried flour puffs. The mildly sweetened flour used for
the outer covering is a perfect foil to the spicy or savoury filling of either
vegetables or meats. They are like the Indian gujiya/karanji/neyurio , the
exception is that while in India we stuff our gujiyas with even more sweeter
stuffing, here they have a savoury stuffing. So if a gujiya and a samosa were
to have children they would be called ‘empanadas’ , like literally, I am not
kidding here.
3.
Fried plantains: Now this was the most
surprising of all the foods. I always considered plaintains to be like bananas
on steroids. So fried plantains was essentially like the super addictive kerala
banana chips back home. Nada. These were not crisp to begin with, a lot more
starchy and chewy. Infact if I had to compare them to anything it would be home
style fried potato wedges.
4.
Pollo: This is like the normal rotisserie
chicken back home, and yet it is not. It is amazing how roast chicken
transcends all boundaries of creed, colour and country; there is a beloved
roast chicken recipe in every country, be it the north indian Tandoori version,
the English Sunday roast, or the carribean pollo.
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| roast chicken , pollo |
5.
Cassava bread or casaba: These cracker like
baked yucca breads is nothing like I have had before. It is an ingenious way to
utilise local produce, provide for employment for the local farmers, as well as
keeping the Dominican tradition alive. Previously a dying art because of its labour intensive
production, it has got a renewed importance due to mass production of late. It tastes
great with tuna spread by the way.
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| casaba with tuna |
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| steamed casava with pickled onion |
6.
Crema de maize/harina de maiz: This warm
breakfast porridge custard made of maize and called crema de maizena, or made
from flour and called crema de farina is a delightful way to begin the day. it
is a cornstarch pudding, but what I loved is the use of subtle spices in the
dish. There was vanilla pods, cinnamon sticks, and I think even a bay leaf in
the porridge. Topped with raisins and cinnamon powder this was delicious enough
to try and attempt back home. Something like the ‘dalia’ back in India.
7.
Mofonguitos: these are boiled, mashed plaintains
which are moulded into shapes and fried. The mashed plantains are mixed with
chicken or veggies and spices before frying. The ones we hhad were served elegantly
at the KGB restaurant in Santiago. They taste a little like the Bengali ‘dhoka’,
just a little though.
8.
Tropical fruity cocktails: As mentioned earlier Domincan
Republic is a tropical paradise, and also has a thriving night nife. Both of
these combine to give a heady concoction of dreamy cocktails made with freshly
picked fruits. Think Passion fruit mojito, and tender coconut mojitos. If
cocktails are not your thing , ask for the local beer ‘presidente’ and see the
look of mutual admiration and brotherhood light up the eyes of the bartender.
9.
Fruits: Am I repeating myself here?That's because I was bowled over. The tropical fruits like papaya, pineapples, bananas and mangoes are
farmed right around here. After the heavy starchy meals of plantains , yams,
sweet potatoes, rice and tukata, and the rich meaty sides, what I craved for
were the fresh cut fruits so abundantly available.
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| mangoes growing on trees! in early March |
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| four types of fruits for breakfast, tropical paradise |
10.
Tres leches: This milk soaked cake made of three
forms of milk; condensed milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream had many fancy
variations, and even one which prided itself in being Quatro leches with a
caramelised butter cream fourth leches. Tres leches are moist and light and
have the mildest of flavours. I could say they tasted like a bread butter
pudding or the indian Shahi tukda, but honestly, this is one dish which needs
to be tasted and experienced. It is nothing like anything, and the best way to
end a Dominican meal, and this blog post.
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| they called it quatro leches; a take on the original tres leches |
Buon Provecho!
to read more about my experience in Santiago , Dominican Republic read HERE
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