[Sca-cooks] Help- Northern Indian sotlety ideas

[Volker Bach]

Rob Downie schrieb:
>
> Our 12th night's theme is "A Caravan to India", northern Indian, 15th or 16th
> c. I think.  Anyone have any ideas on what materials and/or subject matter
> would be the most plausible for that place and time?  I've used all sorts of
> different foodstuffs to make subtleties in the past, so new things won't scare
> me.
>
> I have NO knowledge of that area at all, but I really like to try to to make at
> least one subtlety for all of our larger events, especially if we have visiting
> royalty.  Even if they didn't do sotleties in that particular culture, I'd
> still like something fancy to convey the right atmosphere - that's what
> subtleties are all about!

Elephants and camels, richly caparisoned. A
fortress, with elaborate decorations (get a
picture book of India's castles - they are
stunning!). Akbar's guns. Lots of color, plenty of
pearls and precious stones (I think you can do
such things nicely in sugar or even buy imitation
confectionery ready-made). If you can do and
afford it, gold leaf was used in INdian food at
the time as far as I know. You are looking at the
time between the decline of the Sultanate of Delhi
and the rise of the Mughal Empire, both Muslim
states (so the Hindu imagery would have to be
low-key) with strong Persian and Central Asian
influences and a penchant for going over the top
in terms of color and decoration.

Oh, boy, are you going to have fun with this

Giano