Tuticorin Macaroons

Tuticorin Macaroons (Pic by June Carvalho)

Cashewnut macaroons, I had always thought, were a speciality of Mangalore bakeries, till a friend of mine brought me a box of these cone-shaped macaroons, that are a hot selling sweet confection from the port town of Tuticorin or Thoothukudi as the locals call it.

These macaroons were sourced from Ganesh Bakery, famed for these light-as-air confections that that melt in the mouth. You really can't stop at one, never mind the sugar overload.

Macaroons are made out of a mixture of stiffly beaten egg whites, sugar and powdered cashewnuts which is piped through a paper cone on to baking trays and baked in a slow oven.

Ganesh Bakery packs these macaroons in a plastic bag which is sealed, placed in a cardboard box, which is then invariably gift-wrapped. That's their signature packaging style. Exposure to air results in moisture being absorbed and the macaroons turning soft in no time, hence it's important to store them in air-tight containers.

I welcome more of these sweet surprises. Anyone heading to Tuticorin?

Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread Cookies (Pic by June Carvalho)

THIS army of gingerbread men joins hands to wish 'Havenu Shalom Aleikim' (Peace Be On You) during this  Christmas Season 2012 and all through the coming year.

Kerala Melas!

WHILE on our way to Kovalam beach last month, we made a pit stop at this little wayside place called BRITISH RESTAURANT for a glass of steaming hot tea. Yes, a glass of tea, as against a cup of tea because it is invariably served in glasses in these thattukadas of Kerala. Practical. No frills and fuss.

Since I was keen to have tea in no other place than a thattukada, we stopped here. The tea was good as it always is in these thattukadas, sometimes with a smoky flavour...I remember that from previous visits. 

The story of Asokan who runs this place is indeed interesting. He has rehabilitated himself from being a small time drug peddler and now makes a decent and honest living, along with his ever eager-to-please partner, by cooking and serving meals. 

A fairly good part of Asokan's early life was spent in the UK, and hence the name of his little eatery. However, the British influence ends there, because the food served here is typically Kerala fare. Apart from English which he speaks fluently, he claims to have a knowledge of Italian and French as well.

British Restaurant is on Facebook and at the time of our visit boasted about 750 'Likes'. 

We were quite amused by the signboard which read KERALA MELAS.  It's from there that I was inspired use KERALA MELA as the title of my Kerala trip photo album that I've shared on Facebook.

Aromas of Goa

YESTERDAY I had the good fortune of accompanying my friend Eslinda to Christ College, where she was to showcase a selection of Goan cuisine to students of the hospitality management course. Eslinda needed no hand-holding from me, but only to demonstrate a couple of vegetarian dishes, which she felt were really not her forte, just like most Goans in whose culinary dictionary, the word “vegetable” rarely finds mention, unless you comb it well with a powerful magnifying lens!

A line-up of hearty Goan dishes. (Pic by June Carvalho)

The Goan meat and seafood dishes a la Eslinda, were cooked to perfection with the authenticity lent by the use of the golden-hued Goa palm vinegar and fiery looking Kashmiri red chillies in the pork vindaloo and the recheiado paste tucked into the insides of the mackerel. Apparently, the red chillies are not as angry as they look, only lending an appetizingly rich red to the gravy, without making it unbearably spicy. I thought the chicken cafreal needed to look a little greener, but had no complaints about its taste. The red prawn curry (barely visible at the top end in the pic above) was excellent and teamed up very well with rice. To end on a sweet note were pan rolls with a coconut and jaggery filling.

The students were given a print-out of the recipes and were divided into teams to handle each dish at different work stations in the huge kitchen equipped with, among other paraphernalia, enormous gas stoves that hissed away, heating the bottoms of gigantic vessels.

Our initial apprehensions belied, the task of preparing around 60 portions of each dish seemed effortless and got done well within the stipulated time in a kitchen bursting with energy, a melange of aromas and generous lashings of fooling around as young students are wont to do. All in all, it was a good learning experience, not only for the students whose curriculum demands exposure to Indian regional cuisines, but also for the two of us who got a peek into the functioning of an industrial kitchen and a small taste of high pressure cooking.

Later we were invited to dine at their training restaurant, along with their faculty. The food was nicely plated by the students. They are still learning. The faculty members appreciated the hearty fare, one of them adding that a xacuti and a sorpotel would have made it a superlative experience. To which I would have liked to add: "Helloooo! A drop of cashew feni too!" but reminded myself in time that it was a cooking demo. And that we were sitting. In a mock restaurant. In a college. In landlocked Bangalore. And not...as wishful thinking might permit...on the sands of Betim or Benaulim!  

Here are some of the recipes that were prepared that eventful morning. More will follow as soon as I have the time to upload them...which also includes a few vegetables.

  

FISH RECHEIADO

“Recheiado” at first sight can confuse your sense of pronunciation. It is simply pronounced “rechad”, the "ch"  sounding like the "sh" in "sheekh" or "shammi kebab" with all those in-between vowels remaining obscure and the ending “O” remaining so silent that you hardly acknowledge its presence. But it’s this uniquely Goan fish fry that you’re after, so forget the disconnect between spelling and pronunciation. If you can say “rechad” without batting an eyelid, I'd say you’re fit to tuck into it. 

Fish Recheiado (Pic by June Carvalho)

What you need: 

[For four mackerals or white pomfrets]

For “rechad” paste:

12 red chillies

8 peppercorns

¼ tsp cumin seeds

12 flakes of garlic

2 tsp coriander seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp sugar

Marble sized ball of tamarind (soaked)

½ cup Goa vinegar

Salt to taste

Oil to fry.

For the coating:

Half a cup of gram flour (besan) mixed with about two tablespoons of fine semolina and seasoned with a  little salt and turmeric powder.

What you do:

Soak the “rechad” paste ingredients in the Goa vinegar for about 10 minutes and grind to a fine paste using the same vinegar in which it was soaked.

Scale and clean the fish. Smear a mixture of salt and lemon juice on the inside and outside of the fish and keep aside. With a sharp knife, slit the fish from its back on both sides and fill the cavity with the “rechad” paste.

Coat with the gram flour and semolina and shallow fry on both sides, in hot oil till crisp on the outside. Garnish with onion rings and lime wedges and slide from pan to plate.

PRAWN CURRY 

What you need:

1 cup prawns peeled, deveined, washed

2 green chillies

2 medium onions, sliced

1 tomato cut into quarters

1 200 ml tetrapak coconut milk

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 ½ tsp cumin seeds

6 cloves garlic

4 dry Kashmiri red chillies

4 peppercorns

½ inch piece ginger

½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp tamarind pulp

Salt to taste

2 tbsps oil

PS: You can also extract fresh coconut milk from two cups of grated fresh coconut, ground in three cups of warm water. Strain and use.

What you do:

Marinate the prawns in salt and a dash of turmeric powder.

Grind all the ingredients [except the green chillis and one of the sliced onions] to a fine paste.

Heat oil in a pan, fry the sliced onion and green chillies till translucent. Now add the curry paste, stir around a bit and add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Drop the prawns into it, add the quartered tomato and simmer for five minutes. If the gravy is too thick, add a little more water to obtain the desired thickness. Remove from heat and keep covered till serving time. Serve with rice. For 4 to 6 persons.

Begonia blooms

I WOKE up this lazy Sunday morning to find a beautiful, vibrant red bloom on a begonia plant that was gifted to me by my dear friend Gita. Just like 'sindoor' or a red 'bindi' on the forehead of a woman brightens up her face, this tiny red burst of colour brightens up the green in my balcony. A first bloom is always a sheer joy and pleasure to behold...had to capture it!  

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!

A recipe for disaster...

FORGET about one a penny, two a penny....guess no one would have wanted, even for free, the raisin-studded hot cross buns that I attempted for Good Friday. A total disaster. Turned out more like missiles that could be used to revive a long-forgotten rowdy game called olly-kolly that was in vogue in Bangalore boys' schools during the '70s!

My daughter's sympathetic review that "They're tasty Mummy, but only a little hard," didn't cut any ice. :( Better luck to myself the next time around. I have a whole year to try and perfect them. :)

On the Wild and Wacky Side

Left: AN invitation to join the Mad Hatters Tea Party. Tea pigs anyone? Bath, UK.







Below: WHAT'S so wicked about purely divine milkshakes? Chester, UK

Left: A tribute to Shakespeare?
Stratford-upon-Avon, UK.














Below: Green is in! Cambridge, UK.

THOUGHT FOR FOOD
It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.
Lewis Grizzard

I had clicked this picture when the first fruit appeared on a tomato plant that had started growing by itself in one of the pots in my apartment balcony a couple of months ago. The plant had yielded about eight or ten tomatoes, which I had allowed to ripen on the plant itself. It was such pleasure to see the plant flower and bear fruit. Naturally ripened and just off the plant, the tomatoes had smelled and tasted awesome.

The quote aptly describes the exact same feeling I had when sharing and eating the homegrown tomato...cut in quarters and sprinkled with a pinch of salt...the simple joys of life in an upper floor apartment!

Vintage Ads

THESE advertisements of biscuits, Lipton's Tea, Ovaltine and other foodstuff which I've photographed from the yellowed pages of what must be a priceless copy of a special supplement to The Illustrated Weekly of India dated May 5, 1935 evoke the simplicity and charm of a long bygone era. The supplement, printed at The Times Press, Bombay, was brought out to commemorate the silver jubilee of the coronation of King George V and contains a wealth of information as well as rare photographs of British and Indian royalty of those times. The only way I can connect to that year is to think that my father must have been a little boy of about five years of age, while my mother was yet to be born!

Crabby Tales

EXOTIC as it may sound to a city-slicker, catching crabs is a common pastime for riverside dwellers in the villages near Mangalore. At my aunt's house, located in a most idyllic setting beside a creek in Kemmannu (Udipi district of Karnataka), crabbing was almost like a summer holiday ritual.

Unlike angling, crabbing does not demand a mountain of patience or to be rooted to a spot. You secure the bait firmly to the bottom of a net trap along with a weight and simply fling it into the water when the tide is just coming in. Then you go about your work, checking now and then to see if any crabs have crawled in and begun feeding on the bait, which is usually fish heads or chicken waste left overnight to rot and stink to high heaven. That stink is exactly what entices these scavengers.

Are they already in the net? Oh great! You're a step closer to tucking into crab drowned in a fiery red curry for lunch...yummm...never mind that the scorching summer heat suggests you'd be better off eating something else that's cooling for the body.

And now, here's a helpful tip if you don't want to risk losing a free lunch. While you crane your neck to see if they've landed in the net or not, ensure that your shadow doesn't fall over the water, because crabs are clever and wary creatures. At the slightest hint of movement, even that of a faint shadow over the net, they'll scurry away and it will be a long while before they venture close to the net again.

But once the unsuspecting crabs are firmly entrenched into the net feasting away merrily on a banquet of rotting food, you skilfully haul it in by its string (which is usually tethered loosely to the nearest coconut tree or held under a weight, usually a stone). Be careful not to get a painful pinch with their deadly claws. My cousin would do one better. Cruel as it was, she would pin the crustacean down with her foot firmly on its shell and yank its claws off with her bare hands, (Ouch! That hurt...!), completely dismembering and disarming the poor creature. If only the crab knew it was going to land straight into someone's curry pot! Maybe crabs are not so clever after all.

Happy crabbing!

Meanwhile, during May huge sea crabs are available in our market, each weighing up to a kilo or more, with claws that might be mistaken for a pair of pincers from your toolbox. There's something else that's rather unusual about this variety of crab. Mother Nature has imprinted a cross right in the centre of its back as if to give it a cross to bear! And probably because the pattern so closely resembles a crucifix, it's not surprising to find the largest of the shells - wider than an average hand span - displayed like a prized trophy on the walls of many an old Catholic home in the villages near Mangalore.

Cleaning crab might look complicated but isn't really a daunting task. You lift the shell off its back, then remove the grey gills also called 'dead man's fingers', trim the rest of its limbs (with a pair of multi-purpose scissors) and then crack it vertically in half. Wash well. Most fishmongers will clean them for you. I get mine to also give the claws a good whack, hard enough to make them crack. This makes it easy to prise out the sweet, succulent flesh afterwards.

Hands-on is the best way to eat crab. Cutlery is of no use here.

The other day I picked up two kilos of blue crab (which amounted to only 8 or 9 crabs) that went into a curry, pictured above. Be content drooling over the pic...and don't get crabby because I'll post the recipe shortly.

The Taste of India

A beautiful article on how Amul became the Taste of India. Did you know that Amul is today the biggest dairy brand in Asia-Pacific? 


Milk and the man
Vinita Krishnamurthy


Within a short span of time, it became the ‘Taste of India.’


FOR once the Amul advertisement has got it wrong—their latest offering feting the founder of India’s White revolution on his 90th birthday features a cow and calf looking up at India’s most popular milkman. That Dr Kurien pioneered the use of buffalo milk seems to have been overlooked by the intrepid ad makers. The rest of the advertisement, however, is bang on target. A visit to the Amul dairy in Anand evokes a sense of admiration for the people behind the movement and pride that it should have started in India. The rather overpowering smell of milk is offset by the awe-inspiring milk silos and squeaky-clean equipment.


What makes the Amul story so attractive is that it starts with research and ends with successful application and implementation. Apparently, Kurien had been told that the high fat content in buffalo milk made it impossible to convert it to milk powder. After several failed attempts he managed to make the first batch of buffalo milk powder, which he reportedly emptied on his happy assistant’s head. Every step and strategy in the Amul story is worth studying for anyone involved in social science, basic science and management. The co-operative movement gave direction to random production and introduced quality assurance ensuring safety. It automatically eliminated wastage since the excess produce was converted into products with a longer shelf life. The supplier gained from being paid for the raw material and the consumer gained from a choice of products. Operation Flood then spilled over from Gujarat to become the largest supplier of milk and milk products to the huge market in Mumbai. Within a short space of time it became the ‘Taste of India.’


The ultimate test for any business model is that it should be viable wherever replicated. The co-operative movement started in Anand has been successfully implemented in several states of India. The White revolution, unlike the Green revolution, has stood the test of time in that milk and milk products do not have to be imported. Bridging the urban-rural gap with a customer-supplier relationship and making it economically viable for both is tailor-made for our country.


The success story even inspired Shyam Benegal to make the award-winning film aptly called ‘Manthan.’ And why not, when the protagonist is a winner surrounded by beautiful women wearing lovely baandhini printed odhnis in an otherwise drab landscape! A short ad-film on Amul plays the signature song from the movie accompanied by a concise testimonial that sums up years of struggle, hard work, success and empowerment. The visuals have recently been updated, and include a woman at a computer terminal and girls clicking pictures on their mobile phones. Clearly, the Anand Milk Producers Union Ltd has come a long way-- perhaps the way that every venture should go. May you live longer, Dr Kurien!


Courtesy: Deccan Herald, 8 December 2011

Brownies, biryanis and chicken kababs...

IT was a pleasant afternoon at a residents' welfare association fete in Kammanahalli where I went at the invitation of a friend.
I will shamelessly admit that as always for me, it's the food at such fetes that is the main attraction. The fun and games are secondary but one also gets to meet and greet people that one hasn't seen in ages.

It was after a long time that I got to gorge on some lovely, mildly flavoured mutton biryani, with the meat cooked just right without being tough and chewy.

There were varieties of snacks on sale at ridiculously low prices - Rs.10 a brownie, piping hot chicken kababs at Rs.20 for a plate of three meaty pieces and a mere Rs.5 for a chicken croquette that wasn't all mashed potato masquerading as chicken. Aside from having more than my fill for need and greed, I brought home a parcel as well. Burrpp!

Mangalore Tea Biscuits

LIKE people and places, it’s funny how certain foodstuffs too can evoke a sense of nostalgia. While in Mangalore recently, I picked up a packet of tea biscuits that my grandmother used to stock along with other goodies from the local bakery as a supplement to the wonderful treats that she herself dished out every evening for tea.

Although I have no archival evidence to support the claim, I’m told that these were first introduced in Mangalore by the bakers Andrew Pinto & Sons in the year 1850, which means they're about as old as the Indian Railways! Though not half as expensive or famous, they continue to be as typical to the region as Kayani's Shrewsbury biscuits are to Pune.

Although the original bakery has long since ceased to exist, several others now manufacture these biscuits and supply them to retail stores throughout the length and breadth of South Kanara district. Its cellophane packaging is most unpretentious but tucked between its mildly sweet contents for me are a host of sweeter memories!

Passion Fruit Plants Anyone?

I'VE got quite a few passion fruit saplings ready for distribution to people who have gardens and who are really keen to have them. With this in mind, I had emailed one of my friends, Gita, thus:
"Gita, I have some healthy saplings of the purple variety of passion fruit to give away. A friend of mine had given me some of the fruit and I had carefully dried the seeds and buried them in a pot. They sprouted and have grown into healthy little plants and I'm looking for good homes that will nurture them and see them grow and yield fruit...like sending kittens and pups to good homes who will care for them...:)

Would you like to have one or two, since you have a garden? I'd be very happy to give you if you like. See pics of the fruit. Also made a cheesecake and topped it with the pulp. It was yummmm and is on my food blog. Hope it whets your appetite!"

Gita's reply:
"Oooo it really looks yuummm...am drooling over the pics.. :) I will be most happy to take the saplings from you and nurture them along with my two cats and a dog.:)

Its so uncanny...when my Mom was here last, she asked me to plant a passion fruit creeper and was saying that she had the juice at a friend's place and loved it. My Mom will be happy too...it's as if you heard our conversation...Awesome!"

Isn't that incredible? What a coincidence! And to think that I wasn't even eavesdropping on them?! Stories like this really make my day. Meanwhile, I've been busy transplanting the plants from the pot into small plastic bags for distribution. And yes, I'm reusing plastic bags, thereby contributing my wee bit to reducing my carbon footprint!