POLSKA À LA CARTE
Melt-in-the-mouth meat
dishes, butter-fried dumplings, warm spiced wine, mushrooms galore, juicy
apples... Poland is a must-visit for any food connoisseur
Sunday dinner is an age-old
family tradition in Poland and usually in volves inviting relatives and close
friends. What lies on most tables is pork but there is no shortage of beef,
poultry and fish. Hearty soups are popular too, using seasonal vegetables and
horseradish along with Mediterranean garlic and dill, exotic pepper, paprika,
marjoram and oriental pink spice and cinnamon. At the core of Polish taste
though are sweets apple pies, poppy-seed cakes, Papal cake, cheesecakes,
gingerbread etc.
Poles have their buttery
version of dumplings. Similar to Japanese gyoza or the Italian ravioli, Polish
pierogi are made of thinly-rolled dough, boiled or fried and stuffed with
various fillings (sweet and savoury). There's a lot to choose from white
cheese, meat, potatoes, cottage cheese and onions, spinach, mushrooms, groat,
lentils, fruits and more. Another speciality is uszka (small, twisted version
of pierogi) filled with dried wild mushrooms, dished up in clear borscht
(beetroot soup of Ukrainian origin). In Warsaw, there are many eateries solely
dedicated to pierogi.
PAPAL CREAM CAKE
Something as simple as a
white cream cake shot to stardom in 1999 when Pope John Paul II visited his
home town of Wadowice and longingly spoke about `kremówka', which he and his
school mates used to buy in a pastry shop in the market square. On the very
next day, kremówka became the order of the day in all local tea-rooms! And ever
since, the cake has been known as `Papal kremówka' (a thick layer of cream and
custard filling sandwiched between two squares of delicate French puff pastry)
MULLED WINE AND VODKA
A 1000-year-old tradition,
Polish mulled wine comprises almonds, raisins and a slice of fresh orange. The
heavenly aroma of ginger, cloves and cinnamon makes it irresistible. Poland
also falls within the vodka belt with some blends dating back centuries.
Popular flavours include cherry, rowan berry and lemon. Zubrówka, a dry
herb-flavoured vodka in yellowish colour, has been produced for more than 600
years and makes for a great souvenir to take back home. Another unique liquor
would be Goldwasser (a unique multi-layered vodka containing flakes of real
gold!).
SAUERKRAUT, PICKLED CUCUMBERS
While we have `aam ka
achar' and pickled onions in balsamic vinegar, Poles have sauerkraut i.e.,
pickled cabbage. You can eat it as a salad with fried fish or sample items with
sauerkraut as a central ingre dient. Bigos, Poland's national dish is made with
boiled sauerkraut, sausages, spare ribs, mush rooms, apples and beef.
Sauerkraut soup, in winter,
is made out of ribs, mushrooms and onions. Pickled cucum bers are another
pungent treat Poles can't do without.
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shikha shah
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TL13MAR16
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