B for Blini, Borscht and Bread

There8217;s much more to Russian cuisine than bland cabbage. After Japanese, Greek and French food, it8217;s the latest 8216;it8217; cuisine. Think Russian food, think caviar, pancake, and, of course, ice-cold vodka

THINK RRUSSIAN CUISINE and you get a vision of that most fa-mous of all food imports, the Russian salad. That cheesy concoction of mayonnaise and a mish-mash of veggies, a must on all menus at most restaurants and even at the most North Indian of shaadis. But hey, Russian salad is hardly the last word on Russian cuisine. It8217;s just part of, well you guessed right, the starters. As the well-heeled Indian is now discover-ing, with the opening of specialty Russian food restaurants.

After Japanese, Greek and French, Russian is the new 8216;it8217; cuisine: exotic, different and most importantly, deli-cious. Essentially a warm cuisine, suit- able for cold climatic conditions, it is fast adapting itself to the new world. And if the idea of Russian food con-jures up unappetising images of bland cabbage and gristly beef to you well, you couldn8217;t help reading Maxim Gorky and Tolstoy8217;s grimmest stories as part of the school syllabus, could you?, then it8217;s time for a rethink.

The classic Russian meal starts off with a shot of neat frozen vodka. That is, if you are in Russia. In India, the climate is not always suitable for vodka, so opt instead for wine or beer. There are three Big Bs to the cuisine8212;blini, borscht and bread. Blini are es-sentially pancakes, but they8217;re very dif-ferent from the usual preparation you associate with the word 8220;pancake8221;. The Russians have perfected the art of making the thinnest and finest pancakes in the world. Borscht is a vegetable soup, made from beetroot and so bright red in colour. As for breads, the Russians love their bread almost as much as their vodka and are amongst the largest consumers in the world.

Authentic Russian restaurants still follow the idea of the zakuski table, where all the appetisers are laid out on a large table along with vodka. When ordering appetisers, authentic Russian caviar served with blini and sour cream is a must.

But remember, it costs upward of Rs 2,000 or more for a small portion. If you want it to be easier on the pocket, then opt for cold catfish or salmon prepara-tions served with a spicy sauce. Other than a few add-on sauces, the cooking is almost free of condiments and spices, with only salt and pepper used.

When ordering the main course, old favourite stroganoff is a must-try: slices of beef, chicken or lamb braised in sour cream and served with rice. Another classic preparation is the chicken a la kiev, a Ukranian recipe of fried, crispy chicken, quite close and yet unlike to the chicken nuggets served at most fast food restaurants.

And now for the things that make you go mmmm. Top off the meal with a traditional apple blini dessert, cloy-ingly sweet, but perfect. So good that it feels like a crime, except that there8217;s no possibility of any punishment.

WHERE FOR RUSSIA?

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