Introduction

And if you're from a culture that has *no* wine tradition at all, then it's a case of approaching everything with an open mind. I'm of Indian origin, eat Indian food a good deal and enjoy wine - so my family/I have spent a lot of times experimenting with different combinations of food/wine to figure out what works and what doesn't. NZ Riesling stands up to *many* curries, as do most Traminers, and Shiraz goes very well with a lot of tandoori dishes. With local Singaporean cuisine, it's a similar issue of trying different things out - if you're going simply by tradition, then there's really nothing that goes with chicken satay and peanut sauce (aside from maybe juice or more recently, Tiger Beer)

- if you're willing to try different things out, you find that Australian Rieslings work very well in tandem.

The likes of UC may say it's wrong and not 'proper' - but it works as far as I'm concerned.

Salil

How unfortunate for you!

You could adopt one of them.

No, it isn't. In areas of the world where wine is traditional, traditional pairings have arisen. Since European species of plants and animals were imported into Australia and New Zeland, it only makes sense to import European wines too, and to try them as an accompaniment.

Yes, as a reference point. It gives you something to start from.

there are no 'rules', only traditions that usually make sense.

If you tried traditional pairings, you might be stunned how ell they work.

Try Tummàla and Nero d'Avola.

What is Tummàla? It's a Sicilian rice dish. Recipe below (from Cucina Paradio, by Wright):

Festive Baked Rice

TUMMÀLA

1. Place the chicken with the gizzard and the heart but not the liver in a large stock pot. Add the onions, celery, tomatoes, parsley sprigs, and peppercorns. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook the chicken for 2 hours, or until the meat falls off the bone when pushed with a fork.

1. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the veal croquettes. Soak ½ cup of the breadcrumbs in the milk. If mixture looks soggy, squeeze the milk out. Add the veal, half of the pecorino pepato, the garlic, 2 tablespoons of the chopped parsley, ½ teaspoon salt and the pepper. Lightly beat 1 egg and add it to the mixture. Mix well with a fork or your hands. Form croquettes the size and shape of your thumb. Cover and put aside in the refrigerator.
2. Drain the chicken, saving all the broth in a smaller pot. Remove all the skin and bones from the chicken and cut up the meat into small pieces.
3. In a large frying pan, sauté the chopped onion in 1 tablespoon of the lard over medium heat until golden, about 8 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the remaining lard to the pan and sauté the veal croquettes until they are browned. Add the sausage and pork rind and sauté for 10 minutes. Add the sautéed onion, the remaining parsley, and the tomato paste diluted in 1 cup hot water. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Set aside.
4. Bring the chicken broth to a boil and reduce it by one-third. Pour 2 ½ cups into a heavy saucepan and add the rice and about 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Cook, covered, until al dente, about 15 minutes. Pour about ¾ cup broth into the veal-sausage mixture.
5. Drain the rice, if necessary, and mix it with the remaining pecorino pepato.
6. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a deep baking dish and spread the remaining breadcrumbs over the bottom.
7. Spread the rice on top of the breadcrumbs, about ¾ inch high. Spread three-quarters of the chicken and half of the veal croquettes and sausage mixture on top of the rice. Make a layer of hard-boiled egg. Layer the tuma on top of the eggs. Cover with the remaining veal and sauce. Spread on a layer of caciocavallo. Mix the remaining chicken with the remaining rice and spread it on top.
8. Beat the remaining 4 eggs lightly and combine with the pecorino. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce evenly over the top.
9. Bake until the top has a nice golden crust, about 1 hour. Check from time to time to be sure it doesn't dry out. The tummala can be served directly from the baking dish with pan sauces or with tomato sauce. Serves 8 to 10.

Hmmm, a sicilian dish made with mozzarella and caciocavallo (not sicilian) and rice (which in Italy grows mostly around the 45th parallel)... something's not very traditional ;-)

Yes, Tummàla uses rice, which is not all that common in Sicilian cooking. But Sicilian cooking is a blend of several cultures.

Here's the reference from Wright:

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