Wahi hum, wahi Aminabad

So I stumbled upon the ‘tehzeeb’ city last weekend- Lucknow! What a beautiful place, with huge roads dotted with pristine gardens that a certain politico has built amidst a lot of controversy. From Aminabad to Gomti Nagar , the one thing that you can feel in the erstwhile ‘Awadh’ is warmth, amongst people, their handicraft (lovely chikankari!!) and of course theircuisine. Although I was there on business, it was quite adventurous to sneak out some time to meet a few dear friends from Lucknow so I could enjoy the gastronomical experience of the famous Awadhi cooking.

My friend, Malvika actually stuffed her car with the 7 of us and took us on a food joyride. So first we stopped at the Royal Café in Hazratganj market and enjoyed the ‘Basket chaat’ there. It is pretty much a mix of aloo tikki, crisp sookhi poori, soft badaswith a drizzle of curd, red and green chutney packed in an edible basket made of potato ‘lachha’ (slivers) itself . The basket chat is particularly famous for its uniqueness and surely the taste. It was chatpata but too filling. So we decided to give food a break with some shopping in the market itself. A couple of hours later, we had given the Lucknow economy a serious boost by collectively spending almost half a lakh on the chikan kurtas andshalwars.

With so many in the car and so many (parcels) in the boot, we were then driven to relish the brilliant, world famous TundeyKebabi’s galouti kebabs with mughlai roti. While the mainTundey Kebabi  is in a place called Chowk in the busyAminabad, we settled for the one in Gomti Nagar to avoid theRamzaan rush. The Aminabad Tundey has kebabs that are made with beef (known as Bade ke Kebab) as well but the rest of the branches have mutton ones only.  Between the seven of us we ordered three plates galouti and two plates boti kebabs. Both came with a liberal helping of sliced onion and chutney on the side. One bite into them and you know why there is nothing liketunday’s kebab that exists anywhere other than Lucknow. The melt in your mouth consistency transcends you into gastronomical heaven especially when accompanied with the mughlai roti.

Over 100 years old, the legend associated with the invention of these kebabs goes thus. In Lucknow, there was a one armed chef in the royal kitchen who designed this recipe and the consistency so he could make them with one hand. Another story is that the chef made these kebabs so that the Raja in those days, who didn’t have teeth, could enjoy them without any botheration. While in conversation with the great grandson of Tundey I figured that tundey kabab is actually unique because of the closely guarded secret recipe of masala that is used to make them. This masala has more than 150 ingredients and have been given down the family tree by the women of the house. TheirBoti kebab was quite a delight too. It is lamb marinated in curd and then garnished with seasoned onions and served with a brown gravy. The masala in there was also to die for. Although everything was so delicious that we could go on eating there, we kept some space for the Dum Biryani from the famous dastarkhwan. 

Dastarkhwan is actually a Persian term that actually means a wide spread of dinner that has everything from Qorma to Kheer. However, this Dastarkhwan is a restaurant in Hazratganj where we sat dowm to have some chicken curry and mutton dumbiryani. Interestingly, the dum style of cooking originates fromAwadh itself. The style of Cooking on slow fire (Dum) was used extensively by the Lucknowi Bawarchis. While in Dastarkhwan,when the Awadhi Biryani was served, everyone just quietly took in the experience of the delicately cooked meat over the ‘khilekhile’ saffron soaked rice. Truly had never had anything more divine!. The succulence of the meat warranted for an encore but we knew we would have had to rent a stomach for that.

By this time, I was so high on food that I convinced everyone to make a dash to Imambara, in old Lucknow despite the Ramzaanrush. Although this area has been named after the monumentImambara, it has been made famous by the phirni available at many stalls that are specially decorated during the holy month. Made of coarsely ground rice and condensed milk, this phirniwas truly brilliant because of the delicate flavours of saffron and cardamom and also the temperature at which it is served. Petbhar gaya per mann nahin bhara! With this thought, we reluctantly called it a night only to wake up early morning to enjoy the famous dahi jalebi at the Chaar Bagh Railway station. This unique combination is supremely popular in lucknow and now I know why. The jalebis are crisp and the dahi (curd) has right amount of tart in it. Together they make the perfect ‘Nawaabi’ breakfast.  I wish I could spend some more time exploring the city and the Awadhi cuisine but conferences are sometimes quite ‘zaalim’!

Kala Ghoda ke picche- The Pantry

My love for food has taken me many places big and small but seldom has it taken me to a place that is a complete treat not just culinary but for the eyes as well. In one of my previous blogs ‘Food show addiction’ I had spoken about how there is a promise of a dreamy, fairy lights decorated Nigella’s  kitchen that transcends the food to another level of goodness as it fulfills the senses at many levels. So even if you cant taste the food she makes you would love to be right by her side when she makes those recipes in a magical pot in that equally magical setup. 

Uff! Enough said about Nigella and her kitchen. However there is a reason behind all that chatter; my recent visit to a new eatery in town that has me and the in-laws swooning about not just the food but its looks. Set in the heart of the city,at the posh-arty location of Kala Ghoda, THE PANTRY gives us a little piece of England in its looks but a brilliant assortment of organic food from all over India.

First the decor! The moment I lay my eyes on this place it clearly looked like a white drop of snow in the cluttered, back (read black)ally of town. We went there because the place came with serious recommendations for my brother in law who takes his food very seriously as well. According to him, the place reminded him of Rene’s cafe in the good old comedy ‘Allo Allo’. Being a Parsi I am sure he has love for everything Victorian :-). And that gets me back to the Victorian windows that add to the cosy interiors of this place. The ‘semi curtains’ in white made it even more angrezz!  Inside, the fairy lights and some intelligent paper collages makes  for a place that is unpresumptuous, and super cozy!almost nothing like any place else in the city. The very unprofessional pictures taken from my Iphone may just give you a bit of an idea about what I am talking about.

The husband and I landed up there on the first evening of the new year with his brother and fiancé in tow for a ‘light cafe meal’. This was in order keeping in mind a very sober New Year’s Eve thanks to our new and precious member of the family, our son Jehan. It was one of those very few pleasantly cold Mumbai evenings. The Pantry’s ambiance quickly got us in the mood to try on almost everything on the menu. That brings me to the food.

No matter how great the ambiance of a place, very clearly food connoisseurs need their reasons to be happy. True to its name, this place stores the best ingredients from all their specialist states. The sugar and honey come from Punjab, the dairy from Parsi dairy farm and many other food basics that I cease to remember. It is a start up of a few food lovers who are making the effort of cutting the middle man and bringing organic food from the farmers, straight on the table.

So there, we looked at the menu. Although they have a tempting selection of coffees, tea  and hot chocolate on offer, we chose to try out their all organic savory selection first (trust me, we have many a times started with desserts :-)). Their fresh salads included a variety of salad leaves, pears and various kinds of cheeses. Brilliantly refreshing and ample! Next on order, a pulled pork sandwich and sausage roll. Fantastic!. The size of both was just perfect from cafe meal perspective but if you are 'geedadd' hungry then it would be sensible to call for a lot more of those sausage rolls! dukh ki baat yeh hai  that their stuff usually is very limited in number. So doing pehle aap,pehle aap while ordering may see the sandwich train leave the food station super fast!!.Up next, the ham stand sandwich which had basic ham and cheese but filled with great English mayo and mustard in a super fresh bread. Moving to the sweet section, I had to try the bread & butter pudding, a childhood favorite which was pretty sadly pretty dry than how I remembered it last but it somehow made up for the flavour with the magical sprinkling of cinnamon. i think cinnamon brilliantly works at making anything saada into something exclusive. the chunks of gooey bread looked better than they tasted :-) yet. The husband on the other hand is the guinea pig for all desserts ‘banana’ at everyplace. He tried the bannoffee tart which was given a thumbs up. Next on the 'try-al' was the hot chocolate. hmmmm! it was richly Belgian and could give the sinful counterpart at 'la pain quotodien' a run for its money. the accompanying chocolate chip cookie with melting chocolate chips in the middle toh dil le gayi!!. There is another one on the menu! oatmeal butterscotch cookie which was the poor step sister to the chocolate one; it was an unimpressive version of ‘Cookie Man’s Brandy snaps’. Along with this the chocolate twisty was also quite some what neither here nor there!.  The damage was pretty reasonable of 450 rupees per person.

The Pantry also provides free wifi, so your I-pad, laptop,kindle can give you company over a cuppa. I prefer the real thing- books over a nice kahwah

Beginning early at 8 in the morning the lights are out by 11.30pm. All in all, this cafe is indeed like a breath of fresh air or shall I say aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans that takes over the moment you enter the gully right next to Fab India.
Try it out for the love of everything that makes you happy!   

Of flowing river and brilliant musings: Coorg!

Jan 26, 2012 6.45 pm Place: COORG, Amanvana


So here we are at the Scotland of India- COORG after a small flight and long cab journey via Mysore! Despite being up since 5am and except for catching small snoozes during the drive, my dear Anvita and I are still chirpy, giggly, cracking jokes and absolutely fresh. The legs hurt but not like they would after a presentation for hours. Eyes are dry as well but I still don’t mind gazing at the stars in our private courtyard (ahem..! ) that houses a lotus pond as well. The bungalow is absolutely beautiful with patio lighting for honeymooners (hyuk!!).Amanvana, the place we are staying in the ever so beautiful Coorg is almost like a ‘jack in the box’ kind’a place. While entering this property both anvita and I were wondering if its location in the city would really be any good for our ‘chaen’ and ‘Aman’ but surprisingly it’s not just incredibly beautiful with manicured landscapes but supremely serene as well. There’s a lot of promise for a quaint picnic alongside river Kaveri with our respective books and chutney sandwiches. The chocolate scrub at the spa sure would be super relaxing too J however that is still a promise as of now.


Meanwhile, am awaiting the ‘Blue Banyan’ wine (a a new brand of wine) & cheese crackers to ease off any remaining tensions of physical and the emotional journey of life.


ANU


P.S. it is amazing that when we are in a clutter free, clean lemongrassy environ all the writing flows brilliantly! Happy republic day alsoooo!

Julie & Julia- Yesterday & today

Julie & Julia! Although a recent film but such a classic!! Mazaaaa hi aa gaya..dil khush ho gaya!  A very dear friend told me almost 2 years ago that I must see this film because he thought it had all the ingredients that I love. After watching it last night, I agree. It is a movie about two women (one of them played by my favorite Meryl Streep), France and cooking. to top it all it is based on true stories.

Julie and Julia are these two quintessentially modern women of their times looking for an outlet to explore themselves better. Of course, in layman terms, they were looking for something to do which was worth their while!! From the year 2002, Julie is the contemporary new age women with a new job that sucks, she seeks consolation in the one constant in her life i.e. if you put eggs, flour, chocolate and sugar together you get a batter beaten to death in order to reach heaven :-) She knows that cooking is the only thing that she can rely on to break away from everything inconsistent in her life including her residence that has recently shifted to the sad part of New York, Queens.  It is so true that while everything seems erratic in our lives we always take solace in that one thing we took to casually as a hobby like cooking, painting, sketching or for that matter writing. Sometimes, we don't really know if we have a 'book' in us but surely we do have a ton of anecdotes and small memories that are worth sharing. Blogs are brilliant because of that. I feel I am writing it for a select group of friends but god knows who all are reading it. Julie's effort to find a worthy one year was in taking up cooking challenge where she had 365 days to cook 524 of Julia Child's recipes.


Julie trying Julia's recipes




It is the same Julia whose story has been beautifully intertwined from the 1950's France to the present day of Julie who seeks inspiration from her. The first woman to take up an advanced French cooking class with only men in tug disliking her for bettering the perfection that they created in their tutorial kitchens, Julia was a natural! Sadly with no children and therefore ample time at hand, France was the perfect ground to find her a new something to learn. Her heart set in America still, she wrote recipes after recipes for the 'serventless American women'!


Reel & Real Julia Child

 Her struggles in finding her true calling are so relatable. After experimenting with learning a new language, then trying to make designer hats and then finally realising it is food that she really wants, Julia shows that unsure side of a woman who doesn't quite stop at a compromise for a choice. Once her book is taking shape she loses a publishing deal that she almost clinched. What she doesn't lose is hope! Dejected for a while, the support of a loving husband sees her through to finally a cook book!
 Julie on the other hand is potrayed as this lady who gets obsessed with Julia, her use of butter and has almost the same conviction to get through those 524 recipes in a year. However, she is reckless, consumed in one task at a time, and almost not as evolved as Julia. Julie let's go without giving it too much of a try. She is not cooking for a supportive husband but for  mission. Amazing how Julie was even more me... more 21st century with rationing time and juggling work and home, sometimes giving up on the personal time. At that time Julia is much of an inspiration. No wonder that Julie loves the butter smacking Julia.
   It's amazing how the maker of this masterpiece movie has been able to capture the truest, the simplest need in both Julia and Julie and in fact all of us women and that is to live a beautiful life...create something brilliant for everyone to marvel & most importantly ENJOY it ourselves :-) It can be our passion for stitching, knitting or even the professions we are in, it all gives us such joy. We are the wives, the mothers that have another something we love to do with our lives.
Now whether it is desperation to live a life full of color and creativity, i don't know but it is usually how I very happily see many of us living :-)

designer emotions@dharavi? Kabhi nahi!

Bahot dino ke baad aaj Dharavi ka rasta liya!!  The 60 meter Dharavi road is a path less trodden in my regular commute to work and back. The simple reason being that just like the nallah running parallel to this road the traffic there is always choked. However today because I chose to travel by a taxi my taxiwallah chose to travel by Dharavi J! Usually in the comforts of my own car I don’t even realize the passage of life I am crossing through. Today was different!!

Going from the same place, I managed to get a closer look at those ugly, tattered, stacked one on top of the other jhuggis!!. There were sights that I observed that were stark contrasts from our being in the usual rosy life. For instance, I noticed a man who was dressed in a clean white shirt and pajamas struggling to comb his just washed hair. The shanty that he was staying in could not be high enough for a man of average height like him. With a broken window glass for a mirror, and jute sacks as curtains, on a closer look I figured he wasn’t really unhappy or ‘struggling’ as I said before. 

Then there was a young girl playing with a little baby who was lying on the wall that separates the nallah from the chawls. I was scared for his life thinking what if he topples? But the girl seemed carefree, happy to play with the little one busy tying his/her scarf. To think that we have always learnt that babies need to have an infection free environment, this was quite a contrast. However again the girl looked happy and the little baby was not crying (so I am assuming he was happy too!)

A board in Marathi stated that dropping scrap in the nallah is a punishable act but just a foot away there was a tailor who was throwing purple colored fabric pieces in the nallah right there. One elderly man was borrowing shaving blades from his upstairs neighbor.

Overall the construct of these chawls screamed convenience. There were bunches and bunches of electric wires put together hugging the tallest chawl and there were big small water pipes coming out of each one of these rooms directed towards the nallah. The site of the nallah itself was so repulsive that I seriously wondered how these people manage to bring themselves to live there.

Then it occurred to me… the biggest and the strongest instinct of mankind- Survival!! Our evolution is based on it (as per Charles Darwin). While we dabble with designer dreams in our designer homes, these people have no time to dream. Everything, everyone is a step, a resource utilized to survive. Emotions, feelings, candy clouds, picture perfect holidays gayee tel lene!!  To think there are many amongst us who cannot manage emotions and need psychological help seems like a completely alien concept to them. For a moment we may feel for them but with them being incredibly busy in putting one breath and the other together I wonder if they have anytime to even feel these ‘designer emotions’. The means to get anywhere are probably not even classified. Like a struggling director crudely put it ‘Jab bhook lagti hai to ghanta sach jhooth mein farak samajh aata hai’ !!  Really! It is then when a rucksack serves well as a curtain and a dirty corner in the wall works well as a baby crib. I don’t know what we do or don’t do to deserve our lives but for sure whichever and whatever life a man gets, somehow he manages ‘live’ it!!

Sunder Munderiye..!!!

 Two days ago was Lohri! Going by the books it is the end of the harvesting season in Punjab and the end of winter in North India. But for me and most of my cousins who grew up together in one big Dilli ka ghar, it was one day when we could wear the best of clothes and eat as many aate ki pinni’s  as possible. All the mummy’s and Badi Mamma (my granny) would be busy figuring out the number of guests who would be coming over for Lohri baalna (bon fire) in the evening. Or on several other occasions it would be them figuring out gifts for those relatives to whose houses we have been invited for Lohri Party.  It used to be a day off from school so in the morning all us kids would be busy ‘helping’ the men of the house in bringing apart old rained down furniture that was comfortably getting accumulated in one corner of the terrace. Although it was for the fire in the evening we would bash up the furniture with an utter sense of urgency (it was somehow a lot of fun) post which we were obviously super tired , hence jumping and prancing about further was not an option!!!    Poori sabzi and half a phooge ka laddoo later, we all would be fast asleep only to wake up to the halwais’ Kadhayi and bartan making a racket in the verandah ahead. All the mummy’s would have by now gotten ready with the best of jewellery and phulkari dupattas. My chachi (aunt) used to go a step ahead and tie a paranda in her plait.     

Pinni- the most popular lohri sweet meat




We kids had no special agenda other than waiting for the bon fire to get started hence we used to pass time with picking up one of the wooden phattas (plank) meant for the fire and start playing cricket with a newspaper rolled up as a ball.

As soon as the bon fire would come to life our much beloved bat and ball would be ‘swahah’ed in it. Also there was a sudden realization. It was indeed very cold during those days. Delhi is still shivering at some 6 degrees but I guess with all the day’s play us kids would never really feel it. Anyhow, so there was a bonfire and all the elder were throwing in til, gud ke laddoo, corn that would eventually pop out of the bon fire and almost hit us back . There was the punju song and dance with the music blaring from our beloved Phillips 240v deck. The butterrrr chicken and lachha paratha would follow with Uncle’s ‘Car-o-bar’!!! (concept of booze in a car’s boot which only Delhiites are aware of I guess J).

 

typical dressing for lohri celebration



As the wood turned to amber coal and the fire gave way, the party also used to come to a close with all relatives chasing bye bye’s for at least half an hour on the gate (another punju tradition that never leaves us!!). And for us chillar party, we were almost sad to let go of either our dumb charades or i-spy dens!

That was Lohri for most of us as kids. Today, life has moved on. All cousins are either studying in some part of the world or are happily married. I have shifted from Delhi to Mumbai as well. By virtue of marrying a Parsi, there is no knowledge amongst most about the Punjabi new year or all that goes on in that day.  Therefore, today it is all about sifting a few of my ‘kind’ who know its relevance and (unlike most others who continuously make fun of this festival’s name) get a few figs of wood and coconut shells in a bowl and do a small fire, throw in some revdi and Act II popcorn, and a few ‘hoye hoye’ and half a ‘sunder munderiye’ song  at a dear friend’s place. Life’s hues have changed. Smaller things were very big when we were small. Every festival was an event, an opportunity to have fun. These days it’s almost inconvenience to most. After all, there are way too many tasks to juggle aur uske ooper rishtedaron se kaun miley? Somehow, very very strangely I am continuously thinking of that one dialogue that Ajay devgan brilliantly delivers in the movie Singham – Mujhmein hai dum kyunki meri Zarooratein hain kum!!  :-)

FOOD SHOW ADDICTION!!

Nigella's home as brilliant as her food!!

Think there is a new category of addiction in the psychiatrist's book - FSA or FOOD SHOW ADDICTION. I for one am a self confessed food show addict (no prizes for guessingJ). I absolutely love watching cooking shows on TV. Travel comes a close second as the moment there is Nigella, David Rocco, Rachel Allen, Rude boy, Donna Hay or Master Chef Australia (and only MC Australia!!)Calling, I forget everything. There can be the most difficult recipe on offer but just for the fact that its sheer art on plate I would be delighted just to see it happen. I think there is a huge something about cooking and food that tingles the reward centre in our brains so brilliantly that we tend to forget most of the idiots we bummed into through the day.

Therefore my attempt at exploring the reason that makes food shows so addictive. I think, food shows are not any more about food alone. They have a promise of sorts. A promise to make you look like someone with great culinary skills (without really having them) by combining some basic yet clean ingredients and cooking up a great HS (high society) dish. Better still these shows have a promise of having a kitchen, read lifestyle that would ensure you cook those many designer dishes in those designer kitchens and homes. 

Donna Hay's fast, fresh, simple!



 Donna Hay’s obsession with ‘white’ from the cutting board she uses to the kitchen oven and the show set that has sand and gushing sea as backdrop transcends you straight to that beautiful home of hers. You want to see her cook not just because of all the simple yummy recipes but more so for the cooking she would do on that beautiful griddle on her balcony with the noise of waves and the breeze in her hair. Her cutlery is so enviable that you would eat plain celery out of it and NOT complain J

Then there is the ever so favorite Nigella Lawson, the queen of excesses. Her beautiful English home just makes me long for a place exactly like hers. With books of all kinds stacked rustically yet all over the place, Nigella’s kitchen can be forgotten for a while (i.e. until I explore her entire house). Another thing that I will give an arm and a leg for is her pantry..! It is so quaint, almost like a hobbit’s den that has almost everything to rescue someone who is pressed under a hard day. Nigella’s trick to cook is simple… EXPRESS WAY. So although the real time cooking isn’t really that fast (have tried) I want to see her cook something that I may have half a chance at when I return to my kitchen from a long stressful drive back home!  The fairy lights in her kitchen take me back to the word ‘celebration’. That cozy corner cooks up lamb shanks and ice-cream cakes with the same zest. Her special edition of Nigella Christmas was exceptional. It really made my desire to see a white Christmas even stronger. The real Christmas tree with Nigella’s cheat’s Christmas pudding threw a cinnamon smoke cloud and I fell in love with food show once again. 

So you see it is not just about the food but also about the lifestyle that promises a lot. After all, who wouldn’t want to have a house with a fantastic back garden that not only houses all the fresh food ingredients but also a real wood oven? To top it all, the dream is complete with the promise of doing nothing but gardening and cooking food that is absolutely beautiful!! What say Jamie Oliver?