We all absolutely love fried food, and anyone who says otherwise is lying to themselves. Whether its a crispy fry, potato chips, chicken nuggets, fried chicken, pakodas, bhajiyas, samosas, vada pavs, or any other crispy, fried delight, we all can honestly admit to having craved these golden, brown delights at some point or the other. Unfortunately, most of us have hang ups when it comes to these tasty delights out of fear of being unhealthy or worse, putting on weight.
However, a recent post by Chef Ranveer Brar sheds light on the importance of cooking in this manner in a place like India where ovens aren't as common and frying helped to preserve food for longer, and advises to indulge every once in a while. Sharing a image of fried goodies, the celebrity Chef captioned, "It would be unfair not to talk about these crispy delights and the queues they generate the world over – whether it is the southern American fried chicken or the Italian Fritto Misto, the English fish -n- chips, our very own pakoras or the Japanese tempura. Frying has given us lip-smacking food the world over."
He added how cooking with oil in a certain way creates contrasting textures, "Being a chef, I am familiar with viscosity and the temperature that hot oil generates to give food the richness, the crunch and a contrast of texture that is otherwise not possible."
Adding, "However, to explore frying and its evolution in the Indian context, during one of my travels, I spoke to eminent food historian Dr Pushpesh Pant, and he put things quite in perspective. Fried food allows cooking at up to 190°C. With oven not being a common medium of cooking in India, and water being a source of health insecurity, frying was the only medium to preserve food for a longer time."
{{/usCountry}}Adding, "However, to explore frying and its evolution in the Indian context, during one of my travels, I spoke to eminent food historian Dr Pushpesh Pant, and he put things quite in perspective. Fried food allows cooking at up to 190°C. With oven not being a common medium of cooking in India, and water being a source of health insecurity, frying was the only medium to preserve food for a longer time."
{{/usCountry}}The chef also continued with how such food works great for travellers, adding. "‘Safri’ food or cuisine of the traveller still is pickled delicacies like achaari gosht and fried food like mathris and their kin. It is unfair to completely negate the relevance of fried food across all food cultures in general and our food culture in particular. This method of cooking has been obsessively targeted as a sole reason for ill health in India, leaving out key details like the quality of fat and the temperature of frying."
He concluded with the best advise, "Sit in your living room window with hot tea and pakoras, eat less but eat for sure, because sometimes, nothing beats good fried food."
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