Pickles & Custard

Banana Leaf: Not just an Udipi

2008-03-09T15:23:00.004+05:30

I've posted my review of Banana Leaf (near Four Bungalows Market, Versova, Andheri (W), Mumbai) on burrp.com. This recently opened restaurant comes from the stable of Mahesh Lunch Home, Salt 'N' Pepper and Malgudi Days and lives up to its lineage. Notes from my first visit below:

“According to Ayurveda, banana has medicinal value which is why most South Indians serve meals on banana leaves” – is what is inscribed on one of the walls of this up-scale suburban restaurant. May be true, but it’s not what will make me go back to Banana Leaf. I intend to frequent it to enjoy its authentic yet reasonable South Indian fare.

Unlike Shiv Sagar, Banana Leaf does not offer Southie fast-food. Nor does it branch into other cuisines such as Mexican and Italian. It does have a large variety of idlis, dosas and uttapams though. Mini meals such as paneer gassi with appams are also included. The menu tries its best to stick to the authentic (Iyer dosa, Chettinad Spicy dosa) but experiments with cosmopolitan palates too. Try the Chilly Potato dosa to know what I mean. Cheese Mysore Masala dosa is recommended on days when one is famished and doesn’t mind a few extra calories. Though we didn’t try the idlis some seemed quite interesting – Khatta meetha tomato idli and the Sri Lankan style idli with potato stew, in particular. For those who would rather stick to basics, Udipi style masala dosa and plain rice idli are worth a try.

What makes the experience complete is its true to the theme ambience. Mogra flowers on every table, caricatures (like the RK Narayan / Malgudi Days book-covers) on the walls, mural of the Madurai temple at a one end and plantain leaves all over, transports you down South. If it doesn’t, then the South Indian classical on the ears surely will.

Few more brownie points go to its service. A waiter actually told the six of us to not order six dosas as it would be too much for us! And he was right. Each dosa comprises of about eight stuffed pieces – almost like having a 12-inch pizza by oneself. As mentioned earlier, the food is reasonably priced. Throw in a dessert with a big dosa and it would be about Rs. 80-100 per head.

And now for some downsides. The place is quite noisy, especially on a weekend. Almost thirty minutes wait to get a table on a Saturday afternoon inspite of calling before hand and trying to reserve a table. Apparently they don’t reserve tables on the phone but when we reached the restaurant we found that some tables were pre-booked. The restaurant is pure vegetarian, which could be a boon for some and bane for others.

All in all, it is worth stepping into this not-very-Udipi.

Happy Birthday P&C!

2008-03-09T03:10:00.004+05:30

It's been a year since I started blogging. Early hours of March 9, 2007 is when I wrote my first post as a lark. I wasn't sure then how long I would last, but I've grown to love this medium. It's been an eventful year - lots of food trivia, recipes (more from friends than me), reviews on food-writing and restaurants, serious foodie opinions and funny kitchen anecdotes. As P&C moved into the second semester of its existence, I put down a goal of 52 posts by the end of the year. Unfortunately, I just touched 40! But a new year brings with it a fresh set of promises...

The cake below has been baked by me in celebration. For those interested, there is really no recipe behind it. Just Betty Crocker's chocolate fudge cake mix, Hershey's chocolate sauce and a compote of fresh strawberries.

Here's to P&C!

Weekend Cook-in: Parathas & Hot Chocolate

2008-03-01T16:05:00.011+05:30

I made cabbage-paneer parathas for breakfast last weekend. In keeping with the Oscars' spirit, I would like to thank Seema's cook Rukhiya for making the yummy parathas in the first place; Seema for bringing them to me ; Rajesh for passing down the recipe to Seema; and Tarla Dalal for thinking up yet another way of keeping so many people occupied for hours making something that disappears in minutes.

Here's a free-style account of how I went about it:
1) Cabbage-paneer parathas: Grate about 200-250 g of cabbage. Shallow fry it in about 2 tsps of oil until it loses its rawness. Add a dash of salt while frying. Once done, add fresh cut corriander leaves, 2 green chillies, 1 clove crushed garlic, pepper, red chilly powder, jeera powder (all 1/2 tsp) and salt (1 tsp). Crush 100-150 g paneer and add it to the cabbage mixture. Keep aside the stuffing. Make the dough for parathas. Add 1/2 tsp of salt while making the dough. Over time I have learnt that the dough needs to be stiffer than the chapatti dough, though not as stiff as the puris dough.
Now the laborious part starts. Divide the dough into equal portions and flatten each portion into a roti. Put the stuffing in the center and fold the sides of the roti. Again flatten it out, but this time carefully because you don't want the stuffing to spill out. Fry the paratha on both sides with 1/2 tsp of oil or butter. The size of the paratha depends on the amount of dough per piece which again depends on your eating capacity. For me, just one paratha of the size shown is enough for breakfast. Green chilly chutney or tomato sauce can accompany the paratha on the side.

2) Hot chocolate: I took the easy way out. Put 1/2 tsp Nutella (all time fave) + 1 tbsp water + 1/2 tsp sugar in each cup. Mixed it till it became a smooth liquidy mixture. Poured hot milk on top of it. For the froth effect, please pour from a good vertical distance (just like filter coffee).

More weekend trysts in the kitchen coming up. Let me know what you think of it.

A bride sweet enough to eat

2008-02-11T16:51:00.003+05:30

That was the title of a newspaper article I chanced upon a few weeks back. I filed it for the trivia section of P&C and here it is now...

A lady in Dallas, TX celebrated a decade of married life by getting a cake that was a life-size replica of herself! Here are some statistics to wow you:

1) The 5 ft. cake weighed 181 kgs (far more than the woman itself!) and used up about 25 kgs of sugar and 200 eggs.

2) It took about 5 weeks to make the cake, but months to find the bakery that could do the job.

3) The cake cost the couple Rs. 2.3 lakhs and was served to about 500 guests.

The original plan was to get two cakes, for both the husband and wife, but they ran out of time. So the wife went ahead and fulfilled her childhood dream. She says: "Growing up, I always wanted a doll in my likeness. So when we started planning our wedding [party], I told my husband I wanted a unique wedding where my dream would come true."

The article I read was accompanied by a picture that I cannot scan. But here's a manipulated (and funnier) version I found on a website. To add to it, the husband's name is Innocent!

Hi, I'm the Chef! - Part 2

2007-12-29T23:30:00.000+05:30

I came across this (pic below) on one of my visits to La Patisserie, a bakery at Foodland (Juhu). Not only does this poster encourage interaction with the chef but also puts him on a high pedestal as an expert willing to share tips with interested customers. He is not positioned as your in-the-face service executive. So someone is obviously thinking or reading my blog!

What they say and what they serve!

2007-12-27T00:09:00.000+05:30

Coincidentally I came across a book and a website today that pretty much poke you at the same spot on the funny bone. The book is 'Entry From Backside Only: Hazaar Fundaas of Indian-English', a humorous take on English-gone-wrong in India, as natives struggle to not lose sight of their national and regional langauages. Hinglish is now becoming reality and I won't be surprised if it emerges as a separate body of knowledge just as Indian-Chinese food has!

The website is Engrish; but this time around the joke is on Japan. The site has pages and pages of evidence on English mistakes that appear in Japanese advertising and product design. I couldn't help handpicking a few from their Menus section that will make you smile, if not laugh.

Are they bred in Japan or imported from France?

Surely, it can’t be that crappy…

The Orange juice would do just fine…thank you!

Preethi's Choco-Cherry Cake

2007-12-21T11:56:00.000+05:30

My friend Preethi (she has been mentioned before on my blog...lucky gal!) has taken to baking recently. Her motivation: the oven in her new home in NY. She hastily adds that her sister is an almost professional baker and of course she (Preethi) can't be left too far behind. Sibling rivalry surely brings out the best in people (please don't frown now ok?).

The pic above is of the mocha cake with choco-cherry frosting that she recently made. And though she says "this may be the ugliest cake ever, but it is the YUMMIEST cake ever" I tend to disagree. It looks the YUMMIEST cake ever! I'm not sure whether I'll be able to make it exactly as she describes it below (I don't have the same oven as her, you know) but if it looks even close to that pic above, I would consider myself successful.

I recommend everyone to put this delicious looking healthy cake (if you don't believe me check the ingredients) on their 'to-make-soon' list. Do drop in a note to Preethi in this space if you have any questions or would just like to say thank-you.

Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups whole-wheat flour (not the extra fibrous one, even if you’re using Pillsbury etc. make sure you sieve it)
- 2 large eggs
- 4 tsp oil or melted butter
- Half tsp cinnamon
- 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tsp cocoa powder
- 1 cup sugar or as much as you want depending on how sweet you like it (preferably brown sugar)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- Half tsp baking powder
- A pinch of salt
- Half cup whole milk

Method:
1) Sieve the (already once-sieved) flour, salt, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda together.

2) Beat the eggs, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract in a bowl.

3) When the mixture is nice and fluffy, start adding the flour mixture little by little and spin in one direction.

4) The batter must be of pouring consistency, just like idli/dosa batter. Add as much milk as it takes to bring the mixture to this consistency (it probably won’t take more than half a cup).

5) Use two baking dishes of the same size and shape and pour the batter equally into both.

6) Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes (make sure you preheat the oven at least 10 minutes before you start baking).

7) Once the cakes are cooled, cut the top layer and all four sides of both before frosting.

8) Cherries and strawberries go best with chocolate frosting. You can use tinned ones if you don’t find fresh ones, they actually taste better.

Mocha Variation: If you like mocha flavor, add 1 tsp instant coffee to the flour mixture or half a cup of liquid filtered coffee.

(C)lick! - Orange-in-an-orange ice cream

2007-11-30T10:51:00.000+05:30

Something unique I found in a wedding: orange flavoured ice cream inside a real orange. I wonder how they managed to scoop out the pulp with the skin remaining intact. Must be quite a feat.

PS: Please excuse my un-manicured fingers in the picture.

Of knaves and knives

2007-11-25T15:59:00.000+05:30

Few would disagree with me when I say that the knife is probably the most important kitchen equipment. Few would also know that kitchen knives are of various types, each assisting in a specific type of activity in the process of preparing a dish or a meal. For instance, the bread knife has serrated edges to cut through hard crust and soft insides of a bread loaf more easily. Then there are meat knives which are further classified into the carving, boning, slicing varieties. An exhaustive list of the different types of knives is available on Wikipedia.

However the most intriguing of them all are the Asian knives. Essentially of Japanese and Chinese origin, it is said that these knives are becoming popular with chefs around the world because they are shorter and thinner than the general purpose knives and easier to use for more intricate cutting. And it is not just their shape but their composition too that make them interesting. Unlike our Indian stainless steel types, most Japanese knives are made of high carbon steel; and some have high carbon steel (blade's edge) and soft iron (blade's body) forged together. The Santoku knife, used in most Japanese kitchens, deserves a special mention here. Shown above, this 3-in-1 knife (in layman lingo) can achieve the tasks of slicing, dicing and mincing!

Ever wondered how chef Martin Yan from the popular television series 'Yan Can Cook' managed to whip up his dishes so effortlessly? His Chinese Cleaver (a type of Asian knife used by chefs in that part of the world) could be half the answer.

Entry for Click - Jalebi: The God of Sweet Things

2007-11-18T21:13:00.000+05:30

I’ve made it in the nick of time for Click, the food photography contest hosted by Bee and Jai on Jugalbandi. The theme for this month is NOODLES, but kindly enough it doesn’t restrict it to just the stereotypical Maggi types and lets pastas and chaklis enter the race too.

So keeping with the theme, I’ve picked jalebi - deep-fried concentric noodles oozing of sugar syrup. In the days of mousse and cheesecake, jalebi stands out as quite a plain-jane dessert item. But in the yesteryears jalebi was the king’s delight. Said to have origins in the state of Punjab, jalebi preferably coupled with rabri (thickened milk) and garnished with pistachios, is still a hit at many weddings across the Indian subcontinent.

This picture was taken at a suburban farsan shop that attracts hordes of people at any time of the day for the not-so-staple meal of two samosa-paus with 100 gms jalebi. For Rs. 25 it’s far more filling (and may I add tasty) than a McDonald’s meal. The entry below (taken with a Sony Handycam) is one from the string of pictures that describes the mass-production of jalebis, a process that the shop has mastered over time. I will soon be putting up a short video describing the going-ons in this shop as part of a series on Mumbai street food. But for now do relish my interpretation of the god of sweet things.

Hi, I'm the Chef!

2007-10-28T01:19:00.000+05:30

A new dining concept is peeping out of the kitchen of modern day restaurants in India, that of interactive dining. It is aimed to shake things up for those who are tired of their routine restaurant experience and are looking for more personalized attention. A magazine I recently read talks in specific about the Oriental Restaurant at Uppal's Orchid in New Delhi that has embraced interactive dining with a view to enhance the overall customer experience.

Imagine this - you walk into your regular restaurant, the one you've been going to since Mom met Dad, and expect the regular staff (you not only know their names but have favourites among them too) to help you to your regular table and wait on you till you decide your regular order which they don't even need to scribble by now. But hold on just a minute there. What if the doors of that kitchen you've never seen, swing open and out comes the chef instead smiling and willing to hang around with you and your family while you decide what you want and how you would like it to be made. Then he goes back into the kitchen to supervise the meal as it is being cooked, helps serve it, converses with you and the kids and finally bids you good night! Don't you feel special already?

Somehow I don't buy it.

To begin with, I'm a huge fan of specialization. A chef should stick to being a chef and not become a Jack of all. Multi-tasking chefs can quite literally make the restaurant a mess. And who's really a sucker for chefs in the avatar of fussying mothers? It's de-appetizing for me to even have an over-friendly attendant while I satiate my hunger.

Even if we're talking about restaurants in 5-star hotels, can they afford to replace say 10 attendants with those many chefs? Won't chefs lose that mystical aura if they are over-exposed to the appreciators of their craft?

If the objective is really to establish direct interaction with the chef, there are other ways to achieve it. From the top of my head, how about having a notepad on each table with the heading "Send a note to the chef NOW". Or putting up a board inside the restaurant that says "Take a trip inside our kitchen". Or having a small background note on the chef on every table; so if you know he has worked in continental restaurants before, you can be more sure of ordering from that part of the menu.

Having said all that I'm still keen on being a guinea pig for this concept, but purely for a selfish reason - to click my picture with the chef and put it up on this page!

(C)Lick! - The wedding stalls

2007-10-27T16:16:00.000+05:30

I got to know about the Click food photography event (hosted by Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi fame) soon after I started off my own food photography series (C)Lick! on P&C. Thanks Sweta for bringing it to my notice. Their theme for the month of October was Eggs and they’ve got some commendable entries. I wanted to participate too but couldn’t meet the deadline. Nevertheless, I’ve voted for my top three entries and hope they make it to the roll of honour.

A lot of entries though seemed touched up i.e. played around with using image editing software like Photoshop. I’m sure the voters and judges will keep that in mind when they’re looking for genuinely creative and appealing pictures. In the meanwhile, here are some un-touched slice-of-life pictures for you to relish.

Note: I know I’ve been lousy not only in terms of not writing enough on this page, but also not being prompt in replying to your comments. Going forward I hope to have more interaction. Cheers to that!

Cities I don't want to stay in!

2007-09-30T01:39:00.000+05:30

The renowned Zagat survey recently revealed the top 3 cities that are considered most expensive for dining-out (average price of 3 course meal + drink + tip for one person is given alongside):

1. London - $79
2. Paris - $72
3. Tokyo - $71

Surprisingly, New York is half as much ($39). And what about Mumbai, you ask? Zagat doesn't cover it.

How is the survey conducted: The Zagat survey is web-based, hence easily compiles and processes customer ratings and reviews on a large range of restaurants across major cities of the world (apparently, Mumbai doesn't count!). Research parameters include price, service, quality of food among many others. The results of the restaurant survey has been aggregated to give city-wise trends and the above deductions.

(C)Lick! - The hidden chocolate

2007-09-22T15:44:00.000+05:30

This is the first of a number of series I intend to launch on P&C in the coming weeks. It's called (C)Lick! and is inspired from my previous post on food photography. I intend to cover pictures clicked by me in both contrived and un-contrived settings. All pictures are original, hence copyrighted. Feedback is of course welcome. So here's hoping you lick 'em...

Citings on food sightings

2007-09-09T01:53:00.000+05:30

I've been spending a lot of my spare time these days in discovering blogs (of people unknown to me) and unique utility websites (my best discovery so far is a site that performs an online funeral in case of your demise - service includes eliminating / passing down any assets that you may have on the internet i.e. blogs, mailbox, website, orkut / facebook account etc!). Possibly that's why P&C has got a somewhat step-motherly treatment from me in the last few weeks.

The conclusion I've drawn from all my curious (read useless) surfing is that there is SO much of talent out there...writers who know their mind, poets who know their verse and photographers who know their models. In fact, I'd think the largest amount of talent lies in the last category. Pictures seem to maketh the web page - so Munna from Mumbai clicks away his grandfather's clock for his blog and Dora from Daman puts up the picture of the first tulip in her garden on her orkut album.

Though I'm a novice in photography, the difference between casual and scientific photography is perceptible. Without sounding partial, I'd like to add that some of the food bloggers have displayed eloquence in food photography (I'll leave the list of such sites for another time). But you may ask, is there any thing as specialized as food photography? Apparently so...

1) Food photography is a specialization under still-life commercial photography*

* commerical photography is one that is licensed or commissioned to sell a product, service or idea unlike artistic / fine-art photography which is sold by itself.

2) There are three main types of food photography: (a) packaging - considered most technical and tedious by photographers (b) advertising - includes food ads, menus, product brochures and billboards (c) editorial - considered the funnest by photographers as the emphasis is to make the picture look beautiful in magazines and books.

3) It is generally a collaborative effort involving the food photographer, food stylist, props stylist and their respective assistants.

4) The complexity of this form of photography is aptly summarized by an insightful article as follows:

Food photography is considered one of the most difficult specialties for professional photographers. There is a saying in the industry, “If you can shoot food, you can shoot anything.” The primary reason for this difficulty is how little time you have to shoot before the food looks like garbage.

5) Food photographers use several tricks to make pictures mouth-watering. Did you know that:

a) Glycerine is sprayed on cut vegetables, fruits, meat to make them look fresh and shiny, as food tends to dry out under the harsh photographic light.

b) Cereal is photographed with white glue instead of milk, because the cereal gets soggy quickly and with glue the flakes stay where they are placed.

c) Steam is created by placing dry ice behind the food or using a cigarette or piece of incense stick. Some photographers have an assistant blow cigarette smoke through a straw placed behind the food.

d) Blue tac (a sticking agent) is used to keep the fork in place instead of sliding down the plate where gravity says it should be.

e) Pure lemon extract is used to erase manufacturer prints on bottles, plates and other containers.

After all that reading and writing, I'm tempted to add food photography to my ever growing 'things-I-want-to-try-before-I-die' list. I'm thinking of creating a tumblelog for all my food-sightings. Anyone who seconds that?

More resources on food photography:

1) http://stilllifewith.com/

2) www.foodportfolio.com/blog

Food Fiction: Hook, line and sinker

2007-09-09T00:20:00.000+05:30

I've been meaning to post the edited version of my short food fiction for a while now. Thanks Lo and CB...as you can see the changes suggested by you have been taken into consideration, including a big one viz. the title of the story. Prakash, thanks so much for the appreciation! I did manage to send it to one of the dailies here but looks like they have far juicier stuff on their plate for now. Talking about dailies, I'm impressed with the interest that Hindustan Times takes in food. Some well researched articles with unique content can be found in their online section: http://www.hindustantimes.com/ListingPage/ListingPage.aspx?Category=Food&SectionName=LifeStyleSectionPage&Photo=LifeStyle&BC=Food. So let me have your comments on the final version...

Professor Bandhopadhyay, popularly known as Bond in Kolkata’s Queen College campus, was unwaveringly strict about his students being in class on time and his meals being served on the table in time. A disciple of Classic Physics, he did not retire for the day before thanking Newton for his daily bread. Or was it his daily machh bhaja (fried fish)?

An aficionado of Bengali food, he had detrimentally influenced his wife’s culinary skills with dollops of criticism and pinches of appreciation, over the two decades of their marriage. The truth was he had never got over his mother’s cooking. Every morning on his way to college from home – a distance of eleven and a half minutes by foot recorded on his HMT watch – he would reminiscence the lavish feast his mother had prepared on the durga puja day of 1977. It was a special puja, as he had graduated first class with honours that year.

With pride his mother had prepared authentic bangla bhojon comprising crisp singara (samosas), oily alu postos (potato fried with poppy seeds), rich kosha mangsho (lamb preparation with thick gravy), yummy chingriri malaikari (jumbo prawns cooked in coconut curry) and his favourite chachchari (fried vegetables with pieces of fish). To top it all, she had prepared delectable mishti doi (sweet curd) and sandesh (tofu-like delicacy) for the last course. It was truly a day when Professor Bond was kobji dubiye khaowa (upto his wrist in food), just as he liked it.

Upon reaching the college gates Professor Bond would shake off this delicious reverie, sigh and feel his consolation prize – the tiffin at the bottom of the briefcase that his wife had tiresomely packed. He then looked forward in anticipation to the lunch break when he could devour the savouries in the tiffin.

In spite of being a self-confessed foodie, Professor Bond’s palate did not accommodate much beyond the traditional Bengali fare that he had grown up on. He had several complaints about the ‘bad habits’ of the Western culture; one of them being the fast food, which he believed made promising talent tardier in applying their minds. In fact, while walking by a sidewalk pizzeria every morning he would secretly note the students relishing the cheesy delights and plot to pick on them in class. Just to prove how greasy fast food can make them.

Recently, several of his Bengali colleagues had praised the Filet-of-Fish burger at the newly opened McDonald’s at Park Street. But he thought it was an insult for such rich meat to be sandwiched between two meager slices of bread. “And what would they know about fish anyway?” he would argue.

He also did not approve of the increasing coverage of international cuisines in the newspapers. The likes of pastas, risottos, antipastos seemed vapid to him and he would quickly turn the leisure page lest his wife took a peek; he feared that her experimentation in the kitchen may cause him to go hungry someday.

That day started off no different from the rest. During his walk to college in the morning, he made a mental note to schedule a “pop quiz” for Anuradha, Sudipta and Soma from his thermodynamics class. The trio had been caught merrily chatting over garlic bread and cheese at the pizzeria, blissfully unaware of the condescendence to follow.

The two morning classes went by at their usual humdrum pace. The class before lunch was called off due to a student body meet. For Professor Bond, that meant more time to relish the ware in his tiffin before the next class. He walked in to the staff room expectedly earlier than his lunch-mates Professor Mukherjee and Professor Ms. Raina, and gladly so. He disliked their annoying habit of mining into the contents of his tiffin. “When I don’t care, why should they?” he would tell his wife in the evenings. “And Ms. Raina seems to spend more time in front of the mirror than the stove…sandwiches, pasta and other unhealthy food everyday. How does her family survive?”

He reached out for his briefcase that lay with several others on the large center table in the staff room. That’s when it hit him: the strong smell of something spicy, something fishy, something fresh emanating from a briefcase near his. For a moment, he hoped that he had picked the wrong briefcase but saw his initials ‘AB’ inscribed on the one he held. He reluctantly walked back but stopped midway.”Why can’t I eat on the center table instead of the corner table today?” he thought. Besides, there was not a soul around and wouldn’t be for twenty minutes more. He paced towards the center table as if trying to catch a butterfly that would soon drift away. But he caught it – that enticing smell again which watered his mouth instantly.

He uncovered his tiffin and discovered macher jhol (fish curry) with bhat (rice) and dim bhaja (fried egg) by the side. Under normal circumstances he wouldn’t have complained, but that smell had overpowered his senses. He decided eat what lay in front of him, imagining that he was actually eating out of that hidden tiffin.

“But what am I missing out on? At least I have a right to know that”, he thought. But that would mean waiting to see the owner of the tiffin enjoy the delicacy in front of him. That would be too much to bear for Professor Bond.

Suddenly the spread of the 1977 durga puja appeared before his eyes and something snapped inside of him. That had to be his mother’s chachchari that was beckoning him so much. She, from the heavens above, had decided to treat him for the salary hike he got this year. She wanted to comfort her son with her cooking and had disguised it in the form of someone else’s tiffin. “Yes, that was it!” he thought.

With that thought, he lunged towards the briefcase and rummaged through it until his hands caught hold of the square tiffin box. He placed it on the table and opened it with a flourish. The mouth-watering smell filled up the room and his senses. He shut his eyes for two seconds in bliss and then attacked its contents.

Having left her class early as usual, Professor Raina walked in to the staff room ten minutes before lunch-time. She stopped before the center table and cried out in surprise “Eating tuna fish pizza from my dabba Professor Bandhopadhyay!?”

Desi joints in phoren lands

2007-08-12T19:50:00.000+05:30

I was chatting with Preethi, my friend and partner-in-crime, about restaurants in New Jersey (where she works) and New York (where she stays). And no, I haven't got it the other way around. She told me about 'Dabbawalla' a theme restaurant in Jersey city owned by none other than our 'rolling-in-money' Sanjay Narang. For those who are not aware, Sanjay Narang is the founder of Mars Restaurants and SkyGourmet in India which was recently acquired by London-based Indian Hospitality Corporation (IHC) for $110 m. Mars, possibly the largest restaurant group in Western India, has several premium brands under its umbrella - Birdy's, Not Just Jazz By The Way, Just Around The Corner, Dosa Diner, Tendulkar's are just some of them.

Coming back to Dabbawalla, the theme is pretty obvious. A tribute to the famous six-sigma wallas of Mumbai. Preethi tells me that the walls of this swanky-looking place have pics of the dabbawallas, just as those seen in the picture below. And the waiters / waitresses actually bring a dabba to your table that contains the order you've placed. You have to then remove the food from the dabba and serve it on your plate just as you do in your college / company canteen. If I had the chance I would eat it from the dabba itself.

Dabbawalla is Mars' only international restaurant (if my research is to be believed) and it seems to me that they've taken the premium route here too. The menu card (surprisingly, most desi restaurants in US put it up on their site) prices a plate of samosas at $5.75. If you do a simple conversion that's almost Rs. 250 for two samosas! Preethi advises me to not do the quick currency math, and of course she's right, but ginger chai for $3.25 ~ Rs. 150 is just too much for me to get over.

But I'll give it to them for at least having an authentic Indian menu on the cards. Tabla, rated as the best Indian restaurant in New York, apparently "blends American and Indian styles in both its décor and cuisine". But ever heard of 'rice flaked nova scotia halibut' or 'spice crusted flank steak and brisket' being served in an Indian home? The only thing that sounds familiar in their lunch menu is the chicken tikka cobb salad for $22 and the Goan crab cake for $14 (and only cos it's got Goa in it).

But you really can't expect much when you have an American chef on board an Indian restaurant, and that too when the website clearly states the disclaimer that the food is really his take on the flavours of India. And do remember that if you want to sample his creation you need to book a month in advance please.

This small exercise, however, drilled home the fact that Indian cuisine has truly arrived on foreign shores.

A historical food site

2007-08-09T00:04:00.000+05:30

Some time back I had blogged about the origin of custard and wondered how different varieties of food originated and spread over the world. I came across an interesting site, http://www.foodtimeline.org/, that addresses this by delving into the history of various food items, from salt to sushi. According to the site most food has not been invented but has evolved, or better put what you eat are essentially “contemporary twists to traditional themes”.

Lynne Olver, the editor and researcher of the site, is a reference librarian with a passion for food history. The effort behind the site is an obvious indication of her passion. Culinary research for the site has been done over a wide range of sources – culinary encyclopedias and dictionaries, food biographies, company brochures, botanical and agricultural texts are just some. Primary research includes interviews / investigations / tastings with chefs, professors, book authors, food curators and even government officials.

The site is wanting in design but the content more than makes up for it. To give you an idea, here is a summary on the origin of pickles:

The process of pickling (preserving foods in salt / brine or vinegar) can be traced to the Ancient Egypt. Egyptians pickled fish such as sturgeon, salmon and catfish as well as poultry and geese as salt's dehydrating properties could be applied to almost any food. However, pickled cucumbers (what is called pickles in the western world today) find its roots in India about 3000 years ago.

The site quotes from the book 'Historical Dictionary of Indian Food' by K.T. Achaya (mentioned in one of my previous posts) as follows: "A Kannada work of AD 1594, the Lingapurana of Gurulinga Desika, describes no less than fifty kinds of pickles. By far the most important material for pickling is raw mangoes (whole baby fruit, wild mangoes, cut slices, or the hard fibrous avakkai). Others are limes, lemons, small onions, brinjals, chillies, karaunda berries, pork wild boar, prawns and fish..."

With that, I rest my case on the two protagonists of this blog.

Yes it is Sunny's Dhaba

2007-08-07T23:58:00.000+05:30

Another one from my weekend getaway. Sunny’s Dhaba, about 5 kms from the MTDC Resort at Karla, is unlike the dhabas you’ve seen in Hindi movies where you walk in like it’s your chachaji’s backyard, occupy any khaat you wish while backslapping the person sitting on it, and shout out for your favourite item with the word jaldi at the end of the order. Sunny’s Dhaba is like any plush restaurant (yes, the rate card says it too). And the fact that it’s on the highway, has a huge parking area for large-sized vehicles and a single khaat at every table to make it look pretty, is just a matter of craft.

The rest I’ll leave to pictures and the clichéd phrase “a picture says a thousand words”...

The expansive but empty parking lot and the famous words "Yes it is Sunny's Dhaba" at the entrance. The tyre marks give away the popularity of this place in the evenings.

A mini-park by the side to keep the kids entertained while the parents gorge.

An interesting sculpture of a face-less lady with a ghunghat. A closer look reveals a waterfall behind her. Still waters run deep?

Ah! my favourite one of the lot – the twin lassi glasses. After yummy butter chicken and piping hot rotis, this sweet treat is a must-have.

Maganlal Chikki at Lonavala

2007-08-05T15:32:00.000+05:30

Last weekend I was at Lonavala enjoying a short getaway from the drudgery that’s called Mumbai. The plan included a must-visit to the main Lonavala market to bring back cartloads of chikki / fudge for friends, relatives and all others who want testimony to the claim that we went there.

Those who’ve been to the Lonavala market will agree that in miles all you can see are chikki shops. Not surprising, given that after hospitality, the chikki market (more of a cottage industry) would be the largest employers of locals there. There are many to choose from – the famous ones include National, A-1, Maganlal and Coopers (especially for fudge) and then there are the Mahavir, Super, Rupam, Navratna and Santosh of the world who are possibly cashing in on first-time unaware visitors and those for whom chikki is a chikki is a chikki; how different can it be, anyway?

Even before I entered the market I was sure of buying the ware from Maganlal, the pioneers of chikki in Lonavala. The story goes that way back in the 18th century, Mr. Maganlal Agarwal, the forefather of the Maganlal family that runs the store today, began selling a mixture of jaggery and groundnuts to the laborers working on the Khandala-Pune railway line. This mixture, known as gud-dana, would provide instant energy to the laborers and became famous in its own unique way. Gud-dana is the foundation of the modern-day chikki that now comes in large varieties to suit the palate of fussy and experimentative customers.

With such an impressive history, who would not stop by their shop and buy some of that original making-history kind of stuff. But which shop should one stop by? Every other shop is a Maganlal! Why would anyone want to have so many branches / franchises in a span of 1 kilometer?

When I finally landed at the ‘Fresh & Original’ Maganlal near the railway station, (possibly at the same spot where Mr. Maganlal once stood with his sack of gud-dana) an investigation was in order. Apparently, the two Maganlal brothers of the active fourth generation split a few years back with the understanding that one of them would fully concentrate on the wholesale business. He defaulted and sold the brand name to various franchisees. What resulted was a family feud, a pending litigation and several Maganlals rubbing shoulders with each other in the marketplace.

We bought over 14 boxes of fudge and chikki from them, a fair deal for the scoop he shared with us. I do admit, though, that the chocolate fudge at Coopers is far richer than the slightly bitter (with a tinge of coffee) fudge at Maganlals. But where chikki is concerned, a two thumbs up for the ‘fresh and original’ guys. For more on them visit: http://www.maganlalchikkilonavla.com/

Special thanks to Abodh who writes on http://strayingaround.blogspot.com, for the story on the origin of Maganlal and Lonavla chikki. I hope I was able to supplement his detailed research with my two cents.

Pani-puri for the soul

2007-07-01T01:35:00.000+05:30

Came across this presentation on the resourceful http://www.slideshare.net/. It's won the people's choice award in a contest that slideshare recently held. It's also the only 'Indian' presentation on the honour roll. Or so I think. But commendable effort.

Abhishek Thakkar, the creator of this presentation and a blogger (http://www.hurrhurr.com/), says "I am not a Thela-wala, but yes I will someday take Pani puri to the world. I am proud that such a delicacy has been invented in India, like zero and Kamasutra. I dont feel any shame in bringing it to a contest, its happening in the whole world and if we foodaholics wont bring our stuff to the masses then who will?" Well Mr. Thakkar, what can I say...

I do have a few things to say on the presentation, though:

1) Slide 1 shows a large portion of onion on the plate. The pani-puri in Mumbai don't have onion in them but possibly the golgappa, puchka or patashe versions do. If so, then it's quite embarrasing that I didn't know, given that pani-puri is my all time favourite snack. Can someone please save me from this embarrasment? (On a different note, I intend to have a special feature on my local behlpuri bhaiya soon...so watch out for that one!)

2) Slide 7 has proved that pani-puri is metaphorically 'Mother Earth'. Now even though I swear by the snack, isn't the comparison too far fetched? And though I do understand that it's Mr. Thakkar's first love, it's difficult to imagine that pani-puri is the solution to world peace (http://www.hurrhurr.com/fn/2007/pani-puri-my-first-love). But as they say, love makes people blind...

3) Slide 14 states that it's a 'World 2.0' product. Again far fetched, but wittily arrived at.

4) Slide 15 and Slide 16 are completely unnecessary. Why bring in an emotional angle, and that too completely out of line with what has been said earlier? And it's not ALWAYS healthy when the pani-puri guy has dug his hands into places you would rather not imagine!

All in all, well-photographed images, no real content but surely said from the heart.

Fiction: Professor Bond goes to Italy

2007-06-28T13:59:00.000+05:30

This is my first attempt at food fiction. I thought of previewing it with you all before sending it to magazines / newspapers that care enough about food. I’m open to pats and brick-bats as it’s still in edit mode. In the meanwhile, here’s the uncut version…

Professor Bandhopadhyay, popularly known as Bond in Kolkata’s Queen’s College campus, was unwaveringly strict about his students being in class on time and his meals being served on the table in time. A disciple of Classic Physics he did not retire for the day before thanking Newton and Galileo for his daily bread. Or was it his daily machh bhaja (fried fish)?

An aficionado of Bengali food, he had detrimentally influenced his wife’s culinary skills with dollops of criticism and pinches of appreciation, over the two decades of their marriage. The truth was he had never got over his mother’s cooking. Every morning on his way to college from home, a distance of a precise eleven and a half minutes by foot recorded on his evergreen HMT watch, he would reminiscence over the lavish feast that his mother had prepared on the durga puja day of 1977. It was a special puja, as he had graduated first class with honours in BSc (Physics) that year.

With pride and joy his mother had prepared an authentic bangla bhojon comprising crisp singara (samosas), oily alu postos (potato fried with poppy seeds), rich kosha mangsho (lamb preparation with thick gravy), yummy chingriri malaikari (jumbo prawns cooked in coconut curry) and his favourite chachchari (fried vegetables with small pieces of fish). To top it all, she had prepared delectable mishti doi (sweet curd) and sandesh (tofu-like delicacy) for the last course of dessert. It was truly a day when Professor Bond was kobji dubiye khaowa (up to his wrist in food), just as he liked it. Upon reaching the college gates Professor Bond would shake off this delicious reverie, sigh and touch his consolation prize – the secure tiffin at the bottom of the briefcase that his wife had tiresomely packed. He then looked forward in anticipation to his lunch break when he could devour the tasty savouries that the tiffin held, in the spacious college staff room.

In spite of being a self-confessed foodie, Prof Bond’s palate did not accommodate much beyond the traditional Bengali fare that he had grown up on. He had several complaints about the ‘bad habits’ of the Western culture that had crippled the youth of India. One of them being the fast food fad which he believed made promising talent tardier in applying their minds. In fact, while walking by a sidewalk pizzeria every morning he would secretly note the names of students relishing the cheesy delights and plot to pick on them in class. Just to prove how greasy fast food can make them.

Recently, several of his Bengali colleagues had raved about the Filet-of-Fish burger at the newly opened McDonalds’ at Park Street. But he thought it was an insult for the rich meat to be sandwiched between two meager slices of bread. “And what would they know about fish anyway?” he would argue. He sometimes wondered how the libertarian society had approved of the superior hilsa fish being degraded in a manner as this.

He also did not approve of the increasing coverage of international cuisines in the newspapers. The likes of pastas, risottos, antipastos seemed vapid to him and he would quickly turn the leisure page lest his wife takes a peek. He feared that her experimentation in the kitchen may cause him to go hungry someday.

That day started off no different from the rest. During his walk to college in the morning, he made a mental note of directing tough questions of the pop quiz he had scheduled in the afternoon, to Anuradha, Sudipta and Soma from his thermodynamics class. The trio had been caught merrily chatting over some garlic bread and cheese at the pizzeria, unaware of the condescendence that was to follow.

The two morning classes went by at their usual humdrum pace and the class before lunch was called off due to the student’s body meet for the upcoming cultural fest. For Professor Bond, that just meant more time to relish the ware in his tiffin and stretch his legs before the intensive thermodynamics class. He walked in to the staff room expectedly earlier than his lunch-mates Prof. Mukherjee and Prof. Ms. Raina, and gladly so as he disliked their annoying habit of mining into the contents of his tiffin. “When I don’t care, why should they?” he would tell his wife in the evenings. “And Ms. Raina seems to spend more time in front of the mirror than the cooking gas…everyday sandwiches, pastas and other unhealthy food…how does her family survive?” he would further add.

He reached out for his briefcase that lay with several others on the large center table in the staff room. And that’s when it hit him….the strong smell of something spicy…something tangy…something fresh…emanating from a briefcase near his. For a moment, he hoped that he had picked the wrong briefcase but saw his initials ‘AB’ inscribed in gold on the one he held. He reluctantly walked back towards his seat but stopped midway."Why can’t I eat on the center table instead of the corner table today?” he thought to himself. Besides, there was not a soul in the staff room and wouldn’t be for at least twenty minutes more. He paced towards the center table as if trying to catch a butterfly that would soon drift away. But he caught it – that enticing smell again which watered his mouth instantly.

He uncovered his tiffin and discovered macher jhol (fish curry) with bhat (rice) and dim bhaja (fried egg) by the side. Under normal circumstances he wouldn’t have complained, but that smell had overpowered all his senses. He decided to douse himself in it and eat what lay in front of him, imagining that he was actually eating out of that hidden tiffin. “But what am I missing out on? At least I have a right to know that”, he thought to himself. But that would mean waiting until the owner of the tiffin arrives and enjoys the delicacy in front of Professor Bond. That would be too much for him to bear.

Suddenly the spread of the 1977 durga puja appeared before his eyes and something clapped inside of him. That had to be his mother’s chachchari that was beckoning him so much. She, from the heavens above, had decided to treat him for the salary hike he got early this year. She wanted to comfort her son with her cooking and had disguised it in the form of someone else’s tiffin. “Yes, that was it!” he thought to himself.

With that thought, he lunged towards the briefcase, zipped it open and rummaged through it until his hands caught hold of the square plastic box. He fished out the tiffin, placed it on the table and opened it with a flourish. The mouth-watering smell filled up the room and his senses. He shut his eyes for two seconds in bliss and then attacked the contents of the tiffin.

Having left her class early as usual, Professor Ms. Raina walked in to the staff room ten minutes before lunch-time. She stopped short before the center table and cried out in surprise “Eating pizza from my dabba Professor Bandhopadhyay!??”

© Gayatri H, June 2007

Gifting chillies!?

2007-06-24T13:29:00.000+05:30

For long now I've been nurturing the thought of growing a plant. I've done it in the past and been extremely delighted to see the stem jut out of the soil, and excited to say hello to the tender leaf. Nothing like seeing life taking form.

This time around my aunt's garden (the source of the fresh vegetables she uses for her cooking) inspired me to grow something that could be used in the kitchen, instead of the non-flowering indoor plants we used to grow earlier. Somehow I stumbled upon the chilly plant. Interestingly, chilly plant is grown from the dry red chilly seeds and not the seeds of the fresh green ones. Of course, one can also use a sapling of the plant to grow a new one.

The top picture shows the chilly flakes sprinkled over the red and black soil, while the bottom picture shows how it stands now, after a layer of soil has been added above the flakes. Will keep you posted on its progress on this space.

Coincidentally, I came across an article in a just-hit-the-stands magazine BTW on the new trend of gifting plants. It starts off saying that by gifting a plant one will join the elite group of intelligent, progressive, rich and chic people who do not like the word 'copycat' to be attached to their names. And then goes on to say how hundreds of websites, nukkad nurseries and shops are selling plants to individuals and corporates for the purpose of gifting. So is the entire world becoming elite and progressive? Well, at least I'm not. And besides, I doubt anyone would like being gifted chillies.

Royalty, Mishap and Sweet memories

2007-06-24T12:56:00.000+05:30

Yeah, this could pass off as the title for Lady Di’s biography but that’s not what it is. It is a true story, albeit, and just as sensational. So read on…

Royalty
My friends Lo and C gifted me something symbolic on my birthday – a book titled “Gourmet’s Gateway”, a collection of recipes from the royal house of Jaipur compiled by none other than Rajmata Gayatri Devi herself. It’s an apt gift for 3 reasons – a) I love reading! b) I love reading about food! c) I love reading about food from my namesake! A tidbit attached to reason c) is that my Dad actually kept my name after the gracious and eternally beautiful Gayatri Devi of Jaipur. Little would he have imagined how contrary I would turn out.

The recipes are interspersed with pictures and snippets of various events, parties and gatherings that the Rajmata attended in her heydays. Many people – chefs, hosts and friends from the past – have contributed to the ‘real content’ of the book and some of the featured dishes seem the sort royalty would bite into.
A few snippets make interesting read such as:
As children in Cooch Behar my mother felt that we should learn to cook and she would organize cooking parties for us. My favourite was Mohan Bhog and Alu Bharta. My brother was the maharaja and his dishes were always delicious because the cooks used to put in all the ingredients and all he had to do was to stir the concoction once in a while!

And this one is funny:
Looking back now it does seem as if going for picnics and shikars was all that we did but that was not true. We had enough duties to keep ourselves busy yet we always found time to relax.

Mishap
So Thursday night I got down to making one of the royal desserts that the Maharani has tasted at least once in her lifetime. Hot kheer on a rainy night sure seemed a good deal and I set out after a lot of planning, and rehearsing the entire procedure in my mind at least twice.

I did just as I had rehearsed, and in no time there it sat piping hot on the fire, ready to be devoured with much grandeur. I picked flat bottomed serving bowls and laid them on the kitchen platform. And then with a clamp I picked the kadai that held the regal blend potent with rich, powerful and sweet memories of the kingdoms of yore …

AAAAAAAAAAAAH! That was me screaming, more out of shock than the burning of the hot liquid on my arms and legs.

What followed was a series of “what-happened?”, washing, cleaning, blaming, laughing and quick burn fixes.

Sweet memories
In the process of pouring and dreaming the royal dreams, I had twisted the clamp in a way that I could not hold the kadai anymore. The kadai just revolted, jumped out of my grip and settled on the platform letting loose the kheer it so lovingly held just a few seconds back. Fortunately, the serving bowls managed to grab some of it as it wildly flew in my direction. As a result, everyone got to eat half of the intended portion of the kheer. This is how I made it:

Grated 1/3rd of tender coconut and shallow fried it in 1 tbsp of ghee till slightly brown. Added half litre of milk to it and 4 tsps of sugar and left it to boil till it became thick. Added dry fruits in plenty and several drops of rose syrup at the end.

This is what sweet memories are made of.

Potatoes in curd gravy

2007-06-20T23:10:00.000+05:30

For all those who thought it was pretty outlandish for me to feature a dish in my blog, here's another one to make you get used to it. And then for those who thought that paneer tikka parathas were not evidence enough ("if not the recipe at least the pictures could've tempted us") please note that I've duly considered your request. So this time around there are only pictures and no recipe. If you like what you see, let me know and I will send you the recipe.

What I would like to show off (more than the dish) is my Gordon Ramsay apron. Neat innit?