Rosa ,who was from the state of Minas Gerais and enjoyed eating as much as he did writing –once said: Some people consider this to be the Brazilian equivalent of James Joyce’s Ulysses. His best-known work is the novel Grande Sertão: Veredas (translated as The Devil to Pay in the Backlands). Poet and novelist João Guimarães Rosa (1908-1967) is considered by many to be one of the greatest Brazilian novelists of the 20th century. The one dish that stand out is the traditional meal of Frango com Quiabo (Chicken and Okra Stew) and it is beloved alike by everyone from Minas Gerais state. Even some restaurant chains have adopted these techniques and made this type of food popular in other parts of the country. Traditional cooking is done using coal- or wood-fired ovens and heavy clay or stone vessels called “panela de barro”, carved from soapstone, making for a particularly tasty flavor. The multicultural basis for many of the dishes are the home cooks who reside in the small regional farmhouses that dot the countryside, and many of the dishes are prepared using locally produced vegetables and meats, especially chicken and pork. Minas Gerais is also known nationally throughout Brazil for its rustic and hearty cuisine. The current state’s capital and largest city is Belo Horizonte, and is a major urban and finance center in Latin America, and is the sixth largest municipality in Brazil, after the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Brasilia and Fortaleza. The mineral rich center is Ouro Preto, once the seat of Minas Gerais government. These abundant riches came from the naturally occurring itacolumite rock that can be found in great numbers in the region and were most likely the result of a meteor striking this areas millions of year ago. The state owes its name to what was once thought to be an inexhaustible resource for gold, iron ore, magnesium nickle, diamonds, emeralds, quartz, and semiprecious stones too numerous to list. Minas Gerais was formed mainly by colonists who searched for veins of gold that was discovered in 1693. Minas Gerais, which can be translated into English to mean General Mines, is a Brazilian state hemmed in by the surrounding states of Sao Paula, Rio de Janeria, Gioas, Bahia and Espirito Santa. Seems like Brazil had been on my mind as of late, and I am obsessed with Brazilian cuisine, for the moment.
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