Bali and Babi Guling

TOP of my list of dishes to tuck into in Bali was babi guling or roast suckling pig. Babi = pig. Not sure whether we could make it to Ibu Oka in Ubud, made famous by Anthony Bourdain, we ordered babi guling at a warung (a warung is a typically family-run cafe, restaurant or business) on the road from Mengwi to Bedugul. The babi guling came in a shallow woven basket which was double-lined with grease-proof paper and banana leaf. There was a mound of red rice, over which were tender, succulent shreds of meat with thick gravy, some crisp, shiny brown crackling and crisp, deep fried slices of innards like liver and God-knows-what-else on the side, a piece of sausage, some water spinach and a chicken satay.

We also got a coconut shell bowlful of spicy broth, of the peppery kind that drives away a cold. None of us were suffering from a cold, but it did serve to whet our appetites! The suckling pig is stuffed with tapioca leaves (pardon my ignorance, but it was the first time I heard that tapioca leaves were edible! I thought it was only the root!) and vegetables mixed with a variety of local spices and spit-roasted over a fire of dried coconut shells, the last bit explained by Wayan Agus, our tour driver & guide. I detected the taste of yellow curry paste or base gede in it. The dish was good for a change but given a choice though, I prefer pork as a baffat, sorpotel or indad any day, to be mopped up with soft, spongy sannas.

In Ubud, we stepped into Ibu Oka, despite gorging on a sumptuous meal complete with a soup and a dessert that we cooked along with 12 other foreign tourists in a Balinese home cooking class. It was my niece who wanted to try a plate of babi guling here. Her verdict? Really good! I sampled a spoonful, but my taste-buds were too saturated from the heavy lunch to record any impression. I sipped on sweet, tender coconut water instead...

Bali on my plate

ONE of the highlights of my recent trip to Bali was the food. From the fresh, cheap and tasty fare dished out by the humble carts and the warungs to the swish restaurants, there was an amazing world of Balinese culinary delights waiting to be explored. There was nasi goreng, mee goreng, babi guling, rujak bali, chicken and fish satay, urab, gado gado, bakso ayam, cap cay (pronounced chap chai), fried tempeh, tuna steamed in banana leaf, yellow chicken curry, pisang goreng, ikan goreng with nasi and soup and grilled seafood marinated in Balinese bumbu (spices) that we had on Jimbaran beach, all washed down with Bintang beer. Happily none of us came down with the dreaded Bali belly.

Common condiments and spices employed in Balinese cooking are ginger that includes galangal and two lesser types of it, garlic, fresh turmeric, peanuts, candle nuts or macadamia nuts, terasi or dried shrimp paste (quite smelly but indispensable to most dishes), small green Balinese limes, hot bird's eye chillis, white and black pepper, coriander,lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, shallots, fresh cinnamon leaves and coconut. The amalgamation of all these results in an eclectic mix of flavours, the spice and lemon complementing each other like best buddies. Spices and ingredients are manually ground or pounded in a mortar and pestle that might seem laborious in today's times when electrical appliances do all the hard work, but that's how it's done to retain freshness. No Balinese cook will ever grumble that it's hard work.

Fish, chicken and pork are widely cooked and although beef is available it is generally avoided by the largely Hindu populace. In fact, seeing that you're Indian and therefore presuming you're Hindu, the hotel's restaurant staff will immediately warn you that "it's beef," you're pointing at as an add-on to your breakfast omelette. A common remark encountered, especially from hotel staff was: "You Indian? I Hindu", probably expecting a reply like "Yes. I too Hindu", but I would simply smile and nod in affirmation, rather than launch into a long-winding explanation on the religious and cultural diversity of India. The staple food is rice, harvested four times a year, and eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner in traditional Balinese homes along with accompaniments of meat and vegetables. They produce red, black and white rice.

In most homes, rice is cooked early in the morning, and small portions of it is then spooned into tiny baskets made out of coconut palm fronds or banana leaves and left outside homes as a daily offering. The offering baskets themselves are pretty and speak of the creativity of Balinese women, who keep their hands always busy even as they are chatting away.

Floral offerings are also common, placed in temples, outside homes and establishments. There was always a fresh floral offering basket on the extreme right corner of the dashboard of our vehicle, which our tour driver Wayan Agus proudly claimed was his wife's handiwork.

Mussels and mussels...alive alive-o!

FISHERFOLK are engrossed in separating clumps of freshly picked mussels at the Kundapur waterfront, on the Konkan coast of Karnataka. (Apr 30, 2012). The scene brought to mind the popular, old Irish song Molly Malone, in which Molly the fishmonger, plies her trade through the streets of Dublin, singing "...cockles and mussels, alive alive-o." This catch was indeed as alive alive oh as it could get. The asking price? INR 400 for 100 mussels.

(Above & below): It's a scenic walk along the Kundapur waterfront, although some careless litter here and there acts as a scene spoiler.

What was that again...?

During a recent visit to Karnad.... I was so amused by these signboards that I had to capture them instantly...

(Above) Drums Trick?? Let's leave that to the drummer shall we?

(Above) FOR PET LOVERS ONLY - PUPS FOR SALE: What happens when certain words get "transliterated" from Kannada to English? Puffs turn into pups!