On one of my birthdays, while living in New York City, I decided to go to a Spanish restaurant in Lower Manhattan with a group of friends. As we entered the eatery, it seemed like we had stepped into another century. Old world charm surrounded this place — the entire decor definitely said that. Funnily enough, I thought of the corrida de toros (bullfighting), since there was a lot of red in the room. If you sat there too long, your imagination could run away with you.

After we were seated by the kind host, I decided to order a dish called paella (pronounced pa-ei-ah), and more specifically a paella de marisco (seafood paella). It was something that I had not eaten before. When the dish arrived 15 minutes later, I could not help noticing how yellow-orange the rice was, and that the flavours emanating were simply mouthwatering. There was a variety of seafood such as prawns, squid, lobster and mussels and it smelled faintly of fish biryani. All the wonderful flavours burst into my mouth as soon as I started eating. So involved was I with the food, that I even stopped talking to my friends. Paella does that to you; it isolates you from others because it needs all your attention in noticing and sensing the flavours and presentation.

Most food researchers say paella originates from Valencia in Spain. However, their findings omit the possibility of the Andalusian influence on this dish. While paella is traced back to more modern times, it could also possibly have had its roots way back in Arab culture and cuisine. In the year 711, the Arabs conquered the Iberian peninsula and renamed it Al-Ándalus. Here, they created one of the greatest Muslim civilisations that reached its peak with the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordova in the 10th century. Rice, saffron, apricots, carrots, coriander and cumin, among many foods, were an integral part of the Arab cuisine introduced to Spain. Today, Spain produces 30 percent of the European Union’s rice supply, and is its second largest producer. Whereas paella is concerned, the story goes that Muslim kings’ servants created paella from leftovers, and this dish was referred to as baqiyah — the Arab word for leftovers. They would cook it on an open fire and take it home to their families.

Valencia is a region on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Most Spaniards claim that paella, which consists of rice, rabbit, beans, chicken, garlic and tomatoes, comes from this region. Farmers working in the fields, in the mid-19th century, ate dishes made out of rice, and added many of the above ingredients, or anything that was around them, such as onions and snails. They cooked it over an open fire for their lunch. It seemed like a handy and hearty meal to eat.

Paella means frying pan, and is derived from the Latin word patella (pan). Valencians used the term paella to describe any pan and the dish, whereas the rest of Spain uses the term paellera to describe traditional pans, and reserve the term paella only for the paella rice dish. The pan is shallow, wide and flat-bottomed. Most Spaniards might be annoyed if you cooked in the wrong pan, and would not consider it paella.

When the paella flavours burst into your mouth, they demand your undivided attention and take you on a unique but familiar journey

I see paella as a product of two amazing cultures — Spanish and Arabic, and I consider the variations like biryani and pilaf (also pulough or pulao), as sisters or cousins of this very flavourful dish. What is so special about this meal is that its origins are humble — farmers or servants (of the Muslim Kings) invented this dish. From here it spread to all of Spain and, eventually the world. When I first cooked paella at home, I used fish, lobster and prawns, along with vegetables, tomatoes, smoked paprika, garlic and saffron. It was simply delicious. While some spices are common to both biryani and paella, they do taste different, and only a hint of each dish is in the other. However, they do resemble each other tremendously.

Paella de marisco

Ingredients

1 pound medium or large prawns, deveined with shell on
1.5 cooking spoon of olive oil or any other oil
1 beef sausage, sliced
1 pound deboned chicken cut into small pieces
2 medium carrots, sliced fine or shredded
1 medium sized zucchini, sliced fine
1 red capsicum pepper, chopped into small cubes green capsicum pepper, chopped into small cubes
1 onion chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, chopped fine
4 strands of saffron, crushed
2 teaspoons of white vinegar
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon or more of salt, depending on how salty you like it
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1.5 cups of Spanish rice — if you don’t have, use any short-grained rice, washed
14 ounces of chicken stock
1/2 pound of mussels, cleaned and de-bearded (throw out cracked or opened mussels)
1/4 cup water
1/2 bunch coriander, washed and chopped into small pieces
1 lime or lemon, cut into small pieces with rind on

Method

In a pan — preferably nine inches or wider in diameter and flat-bottomed — heat oil. In a few minutes, add shrimp and fry until pink. Remove from the pan, and add sausage slices and chicken pieces and fry until cooked fully. Remove and keep aside. In the same pan, fry onion and then toss in garlic and cook for a minute. Toss all the other vegetables in and cook for about two minutes. Add saffron, vinegar, salt, paprika, black pepper, three quarters of the cooked prawns, chicken, and sausage, lime, followed by the rice. Keep on the stove for three minutes on low-medium flame. Stir occasionally to prevent the contents from burning.

Now add the stock, cover the pan with a lid, and let it cook for 20 minutes on medium flame. Do not stir during this time. After that, remove the lid, and place the mussels on the top of the rice, add water to the pan, and cook for five minutes with the lid back on. Garnish the rice with the remaining shrimp, and throw out the mussels that didn’t open during the cooking process. Serve and enjoy!

Published in Dawn, EOS, September 20th, 2020