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arktos wonders which cuisine gives the most bang for the buck in terms of flavor, and nominates Mexican as the winner: "you can feed a family with only a chicken, beans, tortillas and about 8 vegetable types, some dairy products, and a minimum of seasonings. This type of cooking 'fortunately' lacks really expensive 'essentials' (Tequila excepted!) and seems to be mainly an inexpensive and tasty manipulation of around a dozen or so main ingredients."
"Any type of cuisine/dish that originated out of necessity fits the bill," says ediblover. "These would be foods that originated from days of peasantry and slavery, where only the cheap things were available. Sure, some things that were cheap then may be expensive now, but overall it should work."
"An important clarification: Do you mean most frugal where *you* live or where the cuisines originated?" asks Karl S. "It's a huge difference. You are evaluating cost from the first, not the second, perspective, it would seem."
"Frugality is about making the most of the resources you already have, so I'd say whichever cuisine uses the spices and herbs in your cupboard would be the cheapest," says k_hack. "Buy whatever meat is on super-sale, get grains in bulk, cook your own beans, and cultivate a garden. Every cuisine is going to be expensive if you're holding yourself to the standards of high-quality oils, lots of exotic produce, and grass-fed beef/animal protein."
Discuss: Which cuisine is the most frugal in which to cook/eat by?
When I was busking in San Francisco, I managed to live on very little. I bought dried beans (pinto or black) and cooked them with bay leaf, onion and garlic, sometimes adding bacon ends and pieces I kept in the freezer. I lived near a 'Mexicatessen' that made corn tortillas de mano I bought by the dozen. I made homemade salsa mostly using canned tomatoes because the fresh ones were too hard,...+READ
When I was busking in San Francisco, I managed to live on very little. I bought dried beans (pinto or black) and cooked them with bay leaf, onion and garlic, sometimes adding bacon ends and pieces I kept in the freezer. I lived near a 'Mexicatessen' that made corn tortillas de mano I bought by the dozen. I made homemade salsa mostly using canned tomatoes because the fresh ones were too hard, expensive or unavailable, adding a couple of jalapenos, onion, garlic, cumin and dried oregano and cooking it a bit. Dinner usually involved adding a little cheese and putting it under the broiler briefly, or making enchiladas by adding one of those little cans of tomato sauce to the salsa. Mornings, I made huevos rancheros because eggs were so inexpensive. That is basically what I lived on for months. I never tired of it. Once, I sang with a DC-based band that was still rehearsing and not gigging yet. We didn't have much money, and pooled our pennies to go to the store. I cooked for everyone in one of those wok-shaped electric popcorn poppers with a high round lid because the stove didn't work, buying pound packages of rice, lentils, split peas, etc., and getting an onion and a couple of carrots or stalks of celery at a time. Chicken necks and backs make a delicious base for soups and stews. The meat was taken off the bones too, and added to the pot.-COLLAPSE
the poorest country with the richest culture; indian food with its focus on pulses and veg delivers incredible flavours with a little effort, hardly any meat and the best use of local ingredients.