Flavours of Argentina Dr. Swati Piramal is the Chief Scientific Officer of Nicholas-Piramal India Ltd. and Piramal Hospital. She is the co-author of Eat Your Way to Good Health, a complete fitness guide for the family. Her e-mail address is spiramal@vsnl.com

story begins in 1920 in a small town of Jejun Argentina. Eva Duarte a young girl who decides to go to the big city of Argentina and become an actress. Ambitious and beautiful, she claws her way to the top and becomes an actress. One night she meets Argentinean dictator Juan Peron, becomes his mistress and wife. Not satisfied with being a mere ornament on her husband's side, she rises to become one of the most powerful women in Argentina (and indeed the whole of South America). When the Perons took over the country, it's wealth was reportedly second only to Switzerland. The looting had started, and the ruling elite began to rob the country's wealth. At the end, the country was facing bankruptcy, and riots from the peasants. Eva Peron died of cancer in 1952 at the age of 33 but by then had established herself as "Santa Evita." Madonna the famous singer, played Evita in the movie, which had just opened in Buenos Aires when I visited there recently.

Argus means silver, and Argentina had a river of silver, the Rio Del Plata. As word of its riches spread in Europe after the first Spaniards discovered it in the 16th century, Spain and Portugal continuously influenced it's history.

Argentina is located in the Southern hemisphere. It is a land 6 continents large, wide and long (from latitude 22 to latitude 55). It has about 36 million people, 40% of whom live in Buenos Aires. The official language is Spanish, and the people are mostly Roman Catholic. Argentina is also the country of one of the most famous foot-ball players - Diego Maradona who took his country to victory in the World Cup. Argentina has some of the most beautiful horses which gallop across the Pampas, the largest plains in the world. The world's best polo teams come from Argentina! Argentineans have the mix bloodlines of Creole, Spanish, Italian and Red Indian strains. Blonde, blue eyed but with a golden tan, the women are really beautiful. Sadly there are few Red Indians here, most of whom were wiped out by diseases brought by white men.

We visited Patagonia, and the Petito Moreno glacier, climbed on the turquoise ice with special shoes called clampers, and had for the first time, crescent shaped pastries filled with spinach and cheese called empanadas. I was lucky to find the recipe on the internet!

Argentineans love beef. On the vast plains of the Pampas, gauchos - men who look after the horses and the cattle, settle down with a campfire in the night, around a beef barbecue, which they carve out meat with a silver knife.

A few years ago, a motor mechanic, and an amateur fossil hunter, were digging around in Argentina, and they stumbled upon what looked like a dinosaur. They had found the remains of one of the biggest dinosaurs - a 43 ft long, eight ton monster, dating back some 100 million years. What caught the world's attention, was not so much the fact that that Giagantosaurus, as the dinosaur, was dubbed outweighed the Tyrannosaurus Rex by some three tons, but like T Rex he was a meat eater. Joked one correspondent "It figures that the world's greatest carnivore would be an Argentinean."

Argentineans eat about 60 kilograms of meat per capita, one of the highest rates in the world. Beef exports were Argentina's biggest industry, but as the world becomes more aware of the dangers of red meat, beef consumption is going steadily downward.

In Buenos Aires' more fashionable districts, the ubiquitous mixed grill is rapidly giving way to a new form of Argentinean cuisine, in which the gaucho's diet of beef, beef and more beef is no longer a dominant influence.

The architect of this culinary revolution, is Pierre Mallman, who has a Latin flair for flavourings and spices. I was lucky to watch his culinary demonstration. He invented Argentina's famous caramel cream dessert. He has a theory, that the sweetness of Argentina's desserts is rooted in the elaborate passionate tango dance of the country! Mallmann offers spinach gnocchi, a staple in Argentinean households, and a dip made with pinto beans, herbs and Cuartilo cheese. Argentina also has fiery red peppers, which are sprinkled liberally throughout the dishes.

Strangely enough, you can visit Eva Peron's grave in the Cemetrio de Recoleta a place which is surrounded by fashionable restaurants. We visited Lola - a place, where it is rumoured, that married men go with their mistresses, to watch the passionate tango dance!

And just as Rome is famous for it's gelaterias, you can hardly turn a corner in Buenos Aires, without being tempted into a heladeria, one of the neighbourhoods ice cream parlours, boasting of mouth-watering displays, of home made ice-creams, and sorbets made from melon, mango or the exotic cayote fruit!

Chef Malmann contends, that in Argentina, food and love go together! In one restaurant, I noticed a couple in their 70's, at a table, sharing a romantic dinner. I noticed them feeding each other with spoonfuls of ice cream! As I left the restaurant, I could not help noticing, that they were holding hands under the table. Perhaps there is something to Mallmann's poetry after all! Here are some Argentinean recipes. Hope you like them!