With the Indian palate actually willing to experiment with different tastes and the world having become a global village, isn't it time you got Sushi savvy?

India has been witness to several culinary invasions. Burgers from the US, pizza Italiano, and the desi version of Chinese food have tickled Indian taste buds and are here to stay. Now it's the turn of the Japanese: authentic restaurants are opening up to cater to Sushi lovers and Japanese food aficionados

• Sushi traces its origin to 7th century China, when the sheer need to preserve food developed into this highly stylized food form.
• Uncooked / raw food was preserved with vinegar and rice, and wrapped in seaweed. This way the raw food retained its flavour, killed bacteria and preserved it well, till use.
• It was a Japanese chef named Yohei who popularized two schools of Sushi: Edo ( named after the river where the fish was caught) and Osaka.
• It is traditionally eaten with a pungent horseradish paste called "wasabi". Other accompaniments include finely sliced ginger and soya sauce.
• Sushi is always served in bite sized pieces, and you rarely require a knife to eat Sushi. It is best eaten with chopsticks
• White, short grained rice is used to make Sushi. It is mixed with rice vinegar, sugar, salt and occasionally even sake ( rice wine)
• Green tea or sake ( rice wine ) make for the perfect accompaniment to Sushi.
  
  Types of Sushi


• Nigiri: This consists of an oblong mound of Sushi rice, hand pressed and decorated with a dot of wasabi and a slivered topping of tuna, eel, squid, shrimp etc.
• Norimaki: This is the more widely seen and accepted form of Sushi. Rice is rolled over a filling and wrapped in sheets of dried seaweed
• Inside out Sushi rolls: The filling is placed on the seaweed and rolled in sticky rice, sometimes dredged with salmon roe. Most restaurants serve this variety.
• Temakizushi: Cones are made out of seaweed, and filled with rice, vegetables and seafood, enough to spill over. Quite like a savoury ice cream cone, it must be eaten almost immediately before the crisp cone goes soggy.
• Chirashi: Uncooked ingredients are arranged artistically on top of cooked rice, in a bowl. It is extremely filling and very popular.
• Inari: Toppings are stuffed into a small pouch of fried tofu
  
  Sushi is traditionally served on minimalistic Japanese lacquer plates, in Sushi Bars. Colour co-ordination and aesthetics play a major role in Japanese cuisine. Sushi is often eaten with the hand, off wooden counters in restaurants. Etiquette dictates that you dip only the fish in soya sauce ( not the rice) and it may be considered impolite to ask for an extra helping of wasabi. Low on fat, Sushi is rich in Omega 3, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. This humble snack with its oriental origin, makes for a complete, nourishing meal by itself!

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