I attended a talk at the Rubin Museum of Art last Wednesday (April 16th, 2008). It was a book launch for Raghavan Iyer's new book: 660 Curries. He was joined by Professor Stuart Firestein of Columbia University. He is a professor of neurobiology in the Department of Biological Sciences. The evening was part of a program called Brainwave which asks how art, music, and meditation affect the brain.

It was an interesting evening. Raghavan was knowledgeable about his subject. There were many things he said during his talk that were almost identical to what I say in my classes. At times I questioned myself if I had stolen things from him...But I couldn’t have – since I never met him or heard him speak before. It must just be that those things are true. For instance, I have always said in each and every cooking class I teach, that no self respecting Indian household will ever have curry powder in their home. I usually add that it is the British who messed things up in that area. But Raghavan had a far more gentler way of saying things. He said it is the genius of British marketing that so many people in the west know about curry powder today.

Stuart Firestein was very entertaining too. I enjoyed his take on things - since I am a cook and not a scientist - things that he had to say were fascinating.

Raghavan started the talk by saying curries are:
1.Saucy 2. Simple 3. Sensational 4. Spicy

Raghavan said that spices are the backbone of Indian food and I fully agree. Whenever people say to me that they don't like Indian food because it is too spicy - I tell them that Indian food CAN be hot, but doesn't have to be. Indian food is very 'spiced' but doesn't have to necessarily be hot.

We tasted 3 things during the evening. The first was a Potato and Red Kidney Bean curry.

He had broken down a curry into the various flavor elements of taste like bitter, sweet, salty, sour, pungent, astringent and umami.
Stuart Firestein told us that flavor is the most complex and powerful of all our senses... most multi-modal.
Flavor has a deep emotional connection.
Flavor has a very strong ethnic component.
Taste and smell memory... don’t know why they are so emotionally laden.
At this point Raghavan related a story about when he was very young and got extremely ill. His mother crushed his pills and mixed them with honey – and so, to this day he cannot enjoy honey.
Firestein talked about the Proust effect - we all have it. But, he joked that we may not write as many as 6 volumes, as Proust ended up writing after eating a Madeleine.

Then Raghavan went on to say that in the world of curries, it’s all about balance.

A member of the audience asked about Vindaloo. While I rolled my eyes (just a little) – he very patiently answered the question. He said that the origin of the word is Portuguese. The word denotes vinegar and garlic – as opposed to just crazy spicy - which is what most people think of when they hear Vindaloo.
When asked a question about potatoes that were in the first curry we tasted, he said that he was a potato-holic. Joked that someone could wake him up and feed him potatoes in the middle of the night - and he would be happy. I felt a kinship to him because I too have used that line. Only, I talk about coffee - but on second thought, potatoes would be a nice thing to wake up to also. He said he loved kettle-fried potato chips and then added, “dipped in chocolate.” I’m not sure if he said it but salty and sweet – talking about balance - all tied up with the balance in spices when making a curry.

Then they discussed Umami. It is what most of us know most commonly as MSG (mono sodium glucomate). According to professor Firestein it gives the flavor of succulence, it coats our tongue- gives us the satisfaction sensation. Firestien said that scientifically, nothing points to the fact that MSG is harmful to humans. And then he joked that all of those in the audience who have the allergic reactions of headaches, etc. to MSG – they are essentially unfounded.
Also in response to a question about how the idea started that MSG was harmful to our health - Firestein replied that it was probably a food chauvinist thing or isolationist in nature. I agree – makes perfect sense.

The professor then talked about what people call the “Margarita Effect.” The salt at the rim of a margarita glass is to create the perfect balance of salty and sour in one sip. Salt and sour use the same pathway on the tongue to the brain.
Raghavan added, “that is why it is said to add salt to taste. Salt balances everything else out, it is a catalyst of taste.”

The second taste we had was the Smoky Eggplant with Garlic and Red Chilies (p492). It was a puree and Raghavan said that different varieties of eggplants will result in a different tasting dish. In India we tended to use the big globe eggplant for dishes that are pureed and we never salt our eggplant because we like the bitter flavor. I have had students ask me if I salt my eggplants before cooking them. I always questioned in my mind – when students brought up the biiterness of eggplant why I really hadn't ever met an eggplant that I found too salty. Raghavan said that bitterness is sought out in Indian cuisine. He is right - we love bitter gourds. Also, the only time I would salt an eggplant is if I was looking not textural variance. Salting draws out the moisture and leaves the eggplant more chewy and toothsome.

Someone asked how to get the eggplant so smooth. He said he used a masher and held up his hands. Everyone laughed and I nodded my head because in many of my classes I see an occasional student showing some disapproval when I use my hands. Most of the time I am able to joke and explain my self away. And Raghavan used humor too. He said that Indians eat with their hands and “for us, eating with silverware is like making love with an interpreter.” He also told a story that his mother visited him in the United States at the age of 75. She saw Raghavan’s kitchen equipped with with food processors, blenders and every other gadget known to mankind. His mother simply asked, “What’s wrong with your hands?” Everyone laughed. I enjoyed that very much.
Back to the Smoky Eggplant – Firestein talked about mouth feel and the perception of creaminess. He said that we feel creaminess on our tongues when all the particles are the same size – like a guiness beer. So we can make something taste creamy without adding cream to it. Just like this eggplant puree.

Someone asked about why Avial was eaten with Jaggery. Raghavan answered that was not the way his family ate it but he made an educated guess to explain it. I liked that because that’s how I do it too in my classes. I have noticed that many people think that ethnic food has to be exactly alike or that all of us should know everything or if something happens to one Indian then it must happen to us all. If they stopped to think for a minute that if 10 Americans were asked to make a hamburger or a meatloaf – we would have 10 different specimens of burgers and meatloaf.
Back to the question – Raghavan explained what jaggery is (unprocessed palm sugar) and Avial is a spicy wedding stew. His guess was that because Avial is so spicy – the jaggery must balance things out.
He demonstrated very well how all Indians might not eat the same way but what the reasoning behind it would be. I would have added – if you like it – eat Jaggery with Avial and if you don’t – then don’t. Food is so personal and subjective.

Something very interesting that I learned from Firestein was that it is speculated that humans might have the ability to speak because we cook our food. Cooking our food, he said makes it soft and so our jaw muscles are not so developed due to the reduced gnawing – and so that might leave room for our vocal chords to grow.

Raghavan talked about the 8 flavors of any given spice depending on how you treat it. He listed them:
Raw Whole, Raw Ground, Roasted Whole, Roasted Ground, Fried whole in oil, Whole soaked in a liquid like vinegar and Crushed soaked in a liquid (the 8th flavor escapes me right now).
Firestein joked that he found it more complicated than many of his experiments in the lab.
I was fascinated by his list and I guess I teach it too in my classes. By watching the same spices being treated in different ways to achieve different flavors; or watching 2 or 3 dishes being cooked with the same spices but tasting totally different is a good way for students to see the above concept come alive. Spices will taste differently according to the way you treat them.

The 3rd thing we had was the raisins with the mustard seeds
- cloyingly sweet for me personally (but then I am not partial to sweet things). He talked about how he would use it as desert or serve it with coffee ice cream. Raghavan used this opportunity again to talk about balance, and here it was hot and cold – and also hot as in spicy and sweet.

Before the program started Raghavan was sitting by himself at the front of the room and I introduced myself as an admirer of his cookbooks (I own his Betty Crocker's Indian home cooking and have thumbed through Turmeric Trails), and a fellow cooking teacher and caterer. He was very gracious and polite. He signed my copy of his book and invited me to e-mail him.
I am lucky I decided to get the book signed when I did because the line after the talk was long and I wouldn't have been home in time to watch my favorite TV show du jour.

Were any of you at the Rubin Museum?
Do any of you know about Raghavan Iyer's books?
I liked recipes from his previous book - I will test out a few from this latest book and report back.