Paella (IPA: [pa'eʎa]) is a typical valencian rice dish from Spain. The name paella is the word for "frying pan" in Valencian (from Latin patella). Paella is usually garnished with vegetables and meat or seafood. The three main ingredients are rice, saffron, and olive oil.
Legends about its origin:
* There is an old story of how the Moorish kings' servants created rice dishes by mixing the leftovers from royal banquets in large pots to take home. In the Arab countries, it is often wrongly believed that the word paella originates from the Arabic word baqiyah, meaning leftovers.
* The story about the word paella deriving from para ella (for her) is obviously wrong too, even though it is said that most paellas are made by men cooking once a week for their wives.
* It has been noted the similarity in name and method of cooking with the Pilaf dish. The word paella has amazing resemblance to other rice dishes made from Greece to Iran: Pilaf, Pilau, Polo. All prepared in similarly shaped cookware.
* Nevertheless, the origin of the name paella is in the Catalan word for frying pan. This word in turn derives from Latin patella and is akin to French poêle, Italian padella, Old Spanish padilla and New Mexican Spanish puela.
No comments:
Post a Comment