Salak Bali

In Bali, my finger nails got all red because of constantly peeling and eating Salak, or 'snake fruit'. One look at it and you understand why it is called so - it is covered by a reddish-brown, scaly dry skin, like a round little reptile. It crackles when you peel it off and reveals three dryish, huge 'cloves' of fruit with an apple-like taste and crumbly, starchy consistency. Delicious and addictive!

A bit more on this fruit, courtesy Wikipedia:
Salak (Salacca zalacca) is a species of palm tree (family Arecaceae) native to Indonesia and Malaysia. The fruit grow in clusters at the base of the palm. They are about the size and shape of a ripe fig, with a distinct tip. The fruit can be peeled by pinching the tip which should cause the skin to slough off so it can be pulled away. Salak Bali is commonly sold all over the island of Bali, and is a popular fruit with both locals and tourists. It is also a favourite of the monkeys found in the famous "Monkey Forests", with the animals often stealing fruit from visitors, especially children whom they see as an easier target.

Freshly squeezed

Inspired by another lavish buffet breakfast at a 5-star hotel, I decided to get up a bit earlier every morning, take out my rusting away juicer, and squeeze out something refreshing and colourful to start the day on a sweet and healthy note! I managed to do it yesterday and today, and both me and hubby enjoyed it thouroughly! First of all, it made me wake up early (and I am NOT a morning person). Second, slicing and manipulating the fruit, and the ensuing fresh aroma, was positively meditative. Third, it gave us more time to chat in the morning, sipping juice at the terrace of our beautiful flat overlooking the Arabian Sea which we will have to leave next month due to the lease expiring. Sigh! So imagine that: shimmering waters, great conversation, the morning newspaper, and a glass of brighly coloured, fruity, citrusy, vitamin goodness. Actually juice is such an intrinsic part of the Indian diet, but as usual I am being a "late bloomer".

Yesterday I made pomelo, orange and lime juice. It was awesome and invigorating, except that later on it gave me a bout of acidity!

This morning, I made watermelon juice. I bought a medium sized watermelon at the neighbourhood supermarket, and left it in the fridge overnight. Funnily enough, slicing it brought long-forgotten childhood memories to me - you know, one of these things that come back to you in a flash and you have the feeling of vaguely recollecting a past life... In Sofia, the beginning of summer was marked by the arrival of gypsy families from all over the country, setting tent at the roadside, and spreading mountains of dark green or light green with stripes watermelons. So throughout this season, watermelons became a staple dessert in most Bulgarian households. My mom and I used to get off the bus (number 306) one stop earlier, as "the best guy" had set up business there, and then lug a couple of watermelons all the way home, taking a shortcut through the neighbourhood school yard. I remembered my parents teaching me how to choose a good watermelon: first, weigh it in your palm; then, start tapping it like a drum, to see if it has this nice hollow sound which means it is ripe and sweet; to confirm the ripeness, look at the little stub on top - if it is already brown, it means it has laid around for enough time to ripen nicely. Some sellers, to show off how nice their watermelons are, would cut out neat tiny triangular pyramids into the fruit and take them out like a cork, to show the colour of the flesh. We would reach home, wash the watermelon thouroughly, then proceed to cut it in boat shapes (something I would do so deflty as a kid made me almost slice off a finger this morning!). For a really good watermelon, just sticking the knife in was enough for it to crack open with an awesome crunchy sound. And my mother would call us to the kitchen: "Look at this beauty! It cracked open by itself!" I remember my dad eating watermelon with cheese which I found yucky! Yep, all these memories came back rushing to me this morning (thank you, watermelon!) while I squeezed out the most refreshing and sweet, ruby red juice. I relished it, although it made me run to the loo every 10 minutes all the way till noon!

Tomorrow I am planning sweet lime (a cross between an orange and lime), lemon and apple mix.

Other juices on my list:
- carrot and apple
- pineapple
- grape
- cucumber and apple

Malaysian breakfast

Recently on a Malaysia Air flight, I was offered Nasi Kandar, a traditional Malaysian breakfast. I jumped on the opportunity to try something new. It came hot, looking more like a lunch - rice, boiled egg, fish in masala, the whole thing sprinkled with peanuts and tiny dried fish flakes. It was absolutely delicious and comforting. Fish and rice in any case is one of my favourite combinations, and I relished it, with the added crunch of the fish flakes. The only thing was the lingering smell and taste of fish, something we Europeans are not used to early in the morning.
But it seems Malaysians don't kid around with their breakfast. It is a major meal of the day and not just a meagre snack gulped down on the way to office. Apart from Nasi Kandar, they also indulge in Nasi Dagang (glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk, served with fish curry, coconut sambal, and cucumber pickle), chicken and vegetable Congee (something like our oats, but made of rice), and Roti Telur (something like crepes).
I guess having a heavy breakfast is common in Asian, predominantly agrarian countries. In India too, a typical villager's breakfast would be Aloo Parathas (flat bread stuffed with potatoes), idli sambar (steamed rice cakes with thin curry), Sabudana Kichdi (sago pearls fried with spices and curry leaves)... Yummy! But then, these guys then go out and work hard in the fields, quickly burning all those extra calories! While we sit staring at computer screens all day long!!! Food for thought...

A moment of bliss...

WHITE ONIONS

Recently, while driving to a beautiful seaside area called Kashid (just 3-4 hours away from Bombay, pristine white beaches!), I noticed many stalls selling white onions. We had a local in our car, so I asked him why is so much of this variety sold here. He said a lot of farms around grow it and sell it, as it is used in Ayrvedic medecine (it seems it helps kids with severe coughs). Which prodded me to look a bit further and here is what I found:

--> White onion is a type of dry onion that has a pure white skin and a mild white flesh.

--> Because white onions have a slightly higher water content, they are somewhat sweeter then yellow onions.

--> Usage: In Mexican food; raw on burgers and in potato, pasta and lettuce salads; barbecued on shish kebabs; sautéed in casseroles, stews, soups and roasted beef, pork and poultry dishes

--> Contain vitamin A & C, calcium and iron

--> Are fat- and cholesterol-free, and very low in sodium

--> Are more prone to molding than yellow onions because of their higher water content. So must be stored in a well ventilated place

--> Onions contain anti inflammatory, anticholesterol, anticancer, and antioxidant components and are considered effective against Respiratory Disease, Tooth Disorders, Anemia, Skin Disorders, Ear Disorders, Cholera, Urinary System Disorders, Bleeding Piles, common cold, heart disease

--> Ayrveda prescribes the mix of betel leaf juice and white onion juice to fight asthma

Roadside fruit wholesale

While driving from Chandigarh to Manali last year, we could not help but stop at this roadside market for wholesale plums, pears and raw almonds (had never seen that before!). We grabbed a couple of boxes which we ate through our journey to Leh.

Our current dining table, with kitchen (and cook :-) in the background

My favourite comfort snack

I love corn, or as it is called in India, butta. All over the country, coal roasted corn rubbed with salt and spices (chaat masala) is a typical monsoon treat, and you see many stalls around, with vendors furiously fanning the fire in small iron burners. It is very safe to eat, as I would guess no bacteria survives the high temperature. But I still prefer to have it home made, in two different ways:

1) Just boiled and salted.

2) Roasted directly on the gas burner, then coated with a mix of butter, salt, black pepper and lime juice. It is YUMMY!!!

When we go for a movie, my favourite intermission snack is boiled corn kernels, mixed with butter, lemon juice, black pepper and masala.

Gurtaj's loves his childhood snack of corn and cheese baked on toast. I do a variation of it, adding a bit of chopped onion and fresh coriander.

I put boiled corn kernels, greeen peas and sauteed onion when I want to give some crunch and colour to steamed rice.

Sauteed capsicum, corn and mushrooms is one of my favourite combos.

And I think corn is a must in any vegetable bake (with or without pasta).

At dinner in Kandahar restaurant (Hilton Towers, erstwhile Oberoi), we had an amazing starter of tandoor roasted corn coated with spicy masalas, served on an elegant vintage skewer (looking very much like what a woman would put in her hair to keep her bun together).

Cream of corn soup, of course!!!

At Noodle Bar in Bombay, they serve an amazing starter or fried corn cream cubes, delicious with soy sauce!

And recently, on my friend Lulu's blog, Lulu Loves Mumbai, I read about a tantalizing way to cook corn on the cob in a Goan curry!

Some time ago I got scared off corn, being told that that's what pigs have so that they get nice and fat. But believe me, it was not for long! I believe that any vegetable (including the villified potatoes), if eaten in moderation and as part of a healthy diet, is good for you. And on prodding further, I discovered that corn has plenty of health benefits:

--> Cooking sweet corn, whether you cream it, steam it or keep it on the cob, unleashes beneficial nutrients that can substantially reduce the chance of heart disease and cancer, according to Cornell food scientists.

--> It is a low-fat (!!) complex carbohydrate.

--> Its insoluble fiber is tops at tackling common digestive ailments (like constipation and hemorrhoids) by absorbing water, which speeds intestinal movement.

--> It is a surprising source of several vitamins, including folic acid, niacin, and vitamin C. The folic acid in corn is known to be an important factor in preventing neural-tube birth defects. It's just as important in preventing heart disease, according to studies that show folic acid can prevent a buildup of homocysteine, an amino acid, in the body. Long-term elevation of homocysteine has been linked to higher rates of heart disease; folic acid helps break it down.

--> Is a great source of thiamin, which supports your memory and fights Alzheimer's disease.

--> Contains pantothenic acid, necessary for carbohydrate, protein and lipid metabolism. Pantothenic acid is an especially valuable B-vitamin when you're under stress since it supports the function of the adrenal glands.

The picture was taken during our drive from Manali to Leh, at Rothang Pass

Tha Calcutta Series: How can a Chinese restaurant be called Waldorf?!

Sweet like jalebi

This is a line that you can hear in many an Indian song, and yes, you guessed right, it is praising the sweetness of a girl! And while no self-conscious Indian (or other) girl would include jalebis as part of her (healthy) diet, it is, indeed, one of the most sugary, comforting Indian sweets (but only eaten piping hot, like the one Gurtaj is wolfing down in this photo. His father stood for 20 minutes at a street stall, waiting for the vendor to fry a fresh batch).

While it is eaten all over India, the jalebi is particularly popular in the North. You see jalebis being fried on the roadside, in huge black woks filled to the brim with boiling oil (the only way to get the spiral shape to perfection is to be really quick and deft in the frying - it is really an experience to watch).

I turned to good old Wikipedia for a bit of history of this delicacy and even found a recipe for those willing to try:

Jalebi is a fried sweet commonly prepared in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, thought to have originated in the north of India, probably in the state of Punjab. The Persian word for Jalebi is "Zoolbiah". It is made of deep-fried, syrup-soaked white flour batter and shaped into a large, chaotic pretzel shape, rather like the American funnel cake. Jalebis are bright orange or yellow in colour, but are also available in white. It can be served dripping warm or cold. It has a somewhat chewy texture with a crystallized sugary crunch. The sugars get partly fermented which is thought to add flavour to the dish. It is a derivative of jangiri. Another version of it is "Emarti", a red-orange in colour and sweeter in taste, made in Uttar Pradesh. Jalebis in Orissa are also sometimes made of chhena. Jalebi is one of the most popular sweets in India and is served at celebrations, especially during national holidays like Independence Day and Republic Day, in government offices, defence and other organisations. Jalebi is similar to the sweet referred to as "Zangoola", popular in the middle east.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup yoghurt
Vegetable/canola/sunflower cooking oil for deep frying
1 cup sugar
Few strands saffron
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
2 drops orange food colour
2 tbsps rose water
PREPARATION:
· Mix the flour, baking powder and yoghurt into a batter and keep aside for 24 hours to ferment.
· Pour batter into a ketchup dispensing bottle.
· To make sugar syrup: Melt the sugar with the rose water and boil to get a one thread consistency. To check for one thread consistency, carefully dip the tip of your index finger into the syrup, touch your finger and thumb together and genly tease apart. If one thread is formed between your finger and thumb the syrup is done.
· Turn off fire, add the saffron strands and cardamom and stir well.
· Heat the oil in a deep wok-like dish. To test for the right temperature, drop a small amount of batter into the oil. If it sizzles and rises to the top of the oil, the oil is hot enough. Keep the flame on medium at all times to ensure all round cooking of the jalebis.
· Now hold the ketchup dispenser over the hot oil and squeeze the batter into the oil into a wiggly, randomly coiled circle. Squeeze out several at a time.
· Fry till light golden and then remove and put directly into the sugar syrup.
· Allow to soak for 2-3 minutes and then remove.
· Serve warm

Forget about counting calories and enjoy!

Happiness is a scoop of ice cream

Today, after trying out VibroGym, the supert workout station that every one has been raving about (it increases gravity and doubles the intensity of what a weights session would achieve), I could not bear the thought of all these calories burnt, and decided to compensate with a stopover at our neighbourhood Natural ice cream parlour. Established in 1984, this chain is the Indian version of Baskin Robbins, the difference being that they use real fruit in their ice creams, so a lot of their flavours are seasonal. All ice creams are also 100 per cent vegetarian.
Today I really had a tough time choosing between tender coconut, gooseberry, chikoo, guava, saffron pistachio, date, and cream. But finally settled for a mix of roasted almond and tender coconut which I polished off in the car, before even reaching home. It's really a mystery how the crunchiness of the almond is retained even after soaking in the ice cream for so long. And the tender coconut scoop was just divine: fresh yet creamy, with the coconut flesh providing pleasant chewy bites.

When the season is right, they also offer peach apricot, watermelon, musk melon and mango. And throughout the year they have a few chocolate flavours, of which I am not a great fan.


Website: www.naturalicecreams.in

Something fishy

Open any Bombay guidebook, or ask anyone to recommend good places to eat here, and invariably TRISHNA will come up! This legendary seafood restaurant in a small lane adjacent to Kala Ghoda art district, is a magnet for tourists and gourmet Bombayites alike. It is far from elegant (I would even call its interiors gaudy) and not even remotely classy. But while there, you will see some of the richest Indians sitting next to hippies and enjoying oil and butter-dripping delicacies. It is always full. And getting a reservation on the same day is nothing short of a miracle, even after they opened a second room. When you finish eating, you are expected to leave immediately and free up a place for those waiting in line at the entrance. So here, you can't linger on and order tea or coffee - it is simply not served.

The menu is huge. You get seafood starters and mains. Indian, continental and Chinese. However, I always end up ordering the same thing: butter pepper garlic giant prawns; tandoori pomfret, and shrimps (or calamari) koliwada (deep fried with a special spicy batter). I absolutely love their yellow lentils, garnished with cumin fried in ghee (clarified butter). And of course, you can't have a meal here without the customary naan or roti.

It is a place to indulge, and 'healthy' is not in their vocabulary. I invariably hate myself after eating here and promise to never come again. But with guests, we always end up here, and enjoy it every time.

What's in a bhel puri

There are very few snacks that symbolise Indian roadside eating like bhel puri. It is a snack almost as essential here as a sandwich would be in the West. Although it looks like junk food and it looks fattening, it's actually packed with good stuff: puffed rice, sev (fried crispi little sprinkles made of besan flour), tomatoes, onions, green chillies, chopped coriander, date & tamarind chutney, and green chutney. Some varieties include goodies like pomogrenate seeds, grated coconut or chunks of green mango. To be consumed immediately after being mixed together (otherwise it becomes really soggy), part of the fum is waiting at a stall and watching the whole thing being assembled. The ingredients themselves are always meticulously arranged by the vendors, and look like mini art works - mostly the sev, puffed rice and potatoes in the middle, and the bright tomatoes and green chillies used as a frame.

Sunday Lunch

Bombay winter... The two words almost mutually exclude each other. But when temperatures drop to 10 degrees where they have to be at least 15, something has changed... I guess I should consider it a bad sign about global environment. But I have to admit I am enjoying it to the fullest! I am so much more energetic without the heat bogging me down!

To celebrate the last few days of cool, we invited a few friends over for a relaxed lunch on our terrace, overlooking the Arabian Sea. I wanted to keep the menu simple and fresh, in tune with the 'lightness of being' in this weather. I ordered a lasagna just in case, and made the rest myself:

VEGETABLE STICKS WITH DIP: Baby corn, carrots, white radish, capsicum and cucumber sticks. Dip: yogurt, goat cheese spread, crushed walnuts, salt and pepper.

CHEESY CHICKEN CASSEROLE: I used a Bulgarian earthen dish for slow oven cooking. I layered chicken pieces with mushrooms and pieces of smoked cheese (La Vache Qui Rit). Finally, I poured a big mug of diluted cream spiced up with black pepper on top. It cooked for 30 minutes in moderate heat. The chicken was melting in the mouth, and the mushrooms and melted cheese gave this extremely simple dish a positively gourmet taste!

GERMAN POTATO SALAD: Just boiled potatoes mixed with homemade mayonnaise, mustard, gherkins, salt, pepper, onion (very important to sprinkle it with salt and crush it in your palms before mixing it in the salad, in order to tune down the sharp taste), and lots of parsley and dill. Yum!

AUBERGINE SALAD: Dust aubergine slices with flour, fry them and let them cool down. Season with a dressing of olive oil, crushed garlic, salt, pepper and lots & lots of dill. It got some rave comments!

COCKTAIL OF THE DAY: Green Island Mauritian white rum, half soda half Sprite, lemon juice and a lot of ice. Perfect for a mid-day drink!

Daily Junk

Canteen temptations:

Dahi batata puri: Boiled chickpeas, moong and potatoes inside a fried 'puri', garnished with green chutney, tamarind, crushed cumin powder, red chilli powder, chopped coriander, beaten curds, fine sev (crispy stuff sprinkled on top), chopped onion.

Bhajias: deadly - vegetables in a batter, deep fried, every Indian's preferred snack for cold weather.