SATURDAY RECIPE — VIETNAMESE CARAMELISED FISH

Ingredients

Mud Fish (family of snakehead fishes) or boneless Basa fish (type of catfish) - 300 gm
Cooking Oil-60 ml
Spring onion (chopped and whole)-50 gm
Fish Sauce-40 ml
Coconut Milk-200 ml
White sugar-50 gm
Salt-1 gm
Black Pepper - 2gms

Method

1. Dissolve sugar (40gms) in fish sauce.
2. Marinate fish with black pepper, spring onion and sugar-fish sauce mixture.
3. Keep aside for 30 minutes but do not exceed beyond 1hr 30 minutes. 
4. Add sugar to the pan and caramelise to golden amber colour. 
5. Then add the fish and fry for 5 -7 min on each side and add coconut milk.
6. Serve it in a clay pot.

HAPPY COOKING :)

SUNDAY BREAKFAST AT RASA INDIA

If you are a native of Kerala (yes, that God's own country) then we wouldn't have to tell you what it's like to have a Nair-chai kadda- breakfast. It is an experience and an institution. However, Das Sreedharan (who has a cult following in the UK and the likes of Anthony Bourdain, Jamie Oliver and India Knight on his list of admirers), again a native son of the Kerala soil, has recreated this 'breakfast experience' in the form of Weekend Breakfast at his candy-pink-coloured restaurant, RASA INDIA, in Bangalore. This is one breakfast that is bound to turn into a brunch (and who knows even lunch). 

The breakfast consists of  traditional Kerala fare prepared using organic produce — Puttu Kadala, Appam Stew, Rasa Idli, Nair Dosa and much more. Apart from this, they also have a variety of dosas that one can savour — Masala  Dosa, Ghee Roast, Onion Roast, Thattu Dosa and Onion Ottapam. And the ubiquitous idlis — Masala Idli, plain idli and vadas.  Typical Nair chai (or coffee if you like) to sip. Chief Chef Das promises to introduce some more of the finest and healthiest "organic food as prepared in the mornings at traditional Kerala home and also in the famous Nair Tea Shops in Kerala". And we say, bring it on!

Das Sreedharan

Started in England in 1994, Rasa, the brainchild of Das Sreedharan, soon became a hot favourite among English, European and Asian clientele in the UK. Rasa challenged the perception of an Indian curry house by offering Indian cuisine in minimalistic presentation, largely influenced by Kerala.

The food at Rasa is organic. "Organic is a way of life," Das will let you know. That's one of the reasons Rasa also organises FreshWay, an organic market where many organipreneurs display their produce while live music brings the festive feel of a village market. The organic market is usually held during weekends at Rasa. 

Chief Chef, Das creates food in the same manner that he builds the community around him. " With emotions, by having conversations and building stories, while the food entices ones taste buds."  Says Das, “The secret ingredient in our food is love." You get dollops of it here. And here's a sample of it too — watch the video on how Rasa makes the traditional Kerala breakfast,  Puttu Kadala  http://youtu.be/aR9DbvpfhQc 

 Rasa 

 514 B, CMH Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore -32.

Tel: 080 41518237

Date: Every Sunday

Timing: 9AM to 12 Noon

PUTTU & KADALA CURRY RECIPE (Serves 3 or 4)

Puttu flour (essentially made of rice) is readily available in super markets. But if you prefer to make your own, this is how you do it:  Soak two cups of rice  for five hours. Wash and drain. Dry it for sometime. Grind it when it is slightly wet. You should get a sandy consistency. Cool and use. 

Take two cups of flour in a bowl along with salt. Mix the flour well adding little water at a time. You know it is done when it is still moist and yet crumbly in consistency.  Avoid lumps. Get a puttu-maker, which is a cyclindrical tube with a perforated base and separate pot. Fill the tube with little grated coconut, followed by flour. Repeat the process till the cylinder is full. Top the layer with some more grated coconut. 

Fill this pot with water. Cover the cyclindrical tube and keep it on the pot. This entire contraption should be placed on high flame and steam cooked. Once you see steam hissing out of the cylinder, reduce the flame and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the cylinder and gently push out the puttu using a ladle. 

To make Kadala curry

Heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a pressure cooker. Add onion (1 big chopped), dry red chillies (8 nos) cut into two pieces), garlic (5 pods), coconut pieces (one or two small 1/2 " pieces), kadala( black channa - 1 cup) and four glasses of water. Cook up to 12 whistles. Add coriander powder (3tbsp), chilly powder ( 1 1/2 tbsp), turmeric powder (1/2 tsp) and salt and cook for five mins on a medium flame. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan. Splutter 1/2 tsp mustard seeds. Add .2 tbsp of small coconut pieces, 7 nos shallots and saute till golden brown. Add curry leaves and add this to the kadala curry. Serve with puttu. 

ICONIC EATERIES IN PUNE

Our guest blogger Sunil R Nair, a man whose mind is always in the future, lover of verses, a teetotaler and collector of wines,  goes down a culinary-memory-lane in Pune. Check out his blog pushbuttonthinking.blogspot.com. He tweets @spuriousmallu  

Blue Nile Restaurant. Photos: Sunil R Nair

Long before Pune became the mini metro it is today, it was the town of three cantonments, a river — Sangam — an army command, few dozen colleges, Parsis and Bohris. While growing up in this town, one had to declare allegiance to one of the two distinct factions on either side of the Sangam — the old conservative Pune with its customs and traditions and the liberal Cantonment ‘Poona’, swinging to the sounds of Jazz at the Jaws Burger Café or the Regatta along the Bund Garden or The Osho Rajneesh Ashram with its free spirit, love and… grass! This is the part that I belonged to — the profuse, rocking Poona of the 70s, 80s and nineties, before moving to that concrete jungle called Mumbai.

The Lal Deval 

My father, communist, trade unionist and closet-rum-drinker ensured that his kids — my sister and I — were “always” a part of the “hipness” of the Cantonment area. So when the rest of the Malayali kids went to schools that were within walking distance, we went by bus to a school 18 Kms away in the heart of the Cantonment, right next to a  Synagogue, funnily called The Lal Deval (The Red Temple).

My classmates were mostly, completely insane (in a nice way) Parsis, the comical (again, in a nice way)  Bohris, a few radical (in a funny way – at least that’s what I thought) Christians and the likes. Being in the midst of this motley crowd, always an ‘outsider’, had its benefits — I was privy to their hallowed rituals and most importantly their food, replete with ‘soul’.

After 11 years, I went back to the now-called- Pune, to walk down memory lane. Was it guilt or

3 THINGS AND MORE ABOUT BANGALORE FOOD CULTURE

Photo credit: Nila Tamaraa

Simi Mathew

Name: Simi Mathew 

Where are you from?
Though a Malayali by origin but was born and raised in Africa.

How long have you lived in Bangalore?
Since 2004

What do you do?
I am a full-time practicing Psychologist and I also run heritage and food tours in Bangalore. 

Where can we see your work?
www.facebook.com/theootawalks www.simimathew.com 

What kinds of food is Bangalore famous for?
Bangalore is home to two distinct and unique food cultures —  the non vegetarian dishes at Hindu Military Hotels and the tiffin items at Darshinis 

3 best kept food secrets in Bangalore, which only the locals are aware of?

• The Breakfast Biryani at SGS Military Hotel (435, 2nd Cross Rd, Sowrashtrapet, Chickpete)
• Jackfruit Kadubus at Sona Caterers (No. 97, 1st Temple Road, 8th Cross, Malleswaram)
• Night Street Food in Nagarthpete.

The best place(s) for typical Bangalore food 

• For Donne Biryani it has to be

BEST PLACE FOR DIM SUMS IN BANGALORE

Shanghai Siew Long Bun.

You don't walk into this restaurant and ask for "momos". That would get Rahul Uppal's goat — he's the Restaurant Manager of Yautcha, a contemporary-Michelin-starred version of the traditional dim sum tea houses of China. 

"Because  dim sums are not momos," he says. (By the way, he is the grandson of the man who gave Bangaloreans the institution called Casapicola) 

"Dim sum means...a touch of the heart," he continues.  You will hear this aplenty if you care to listen to the people at Yauatcha, situated on the 5^th floor of 1MG mall in Bangalore. 

At Yauatcha they take their dim sums seriously. Chef Khushal (who often gets asked : "Are you Malaysian/Chinese" but he is Indian — from Kolkota) is known as the King of dim sums;

Chef Khushal

he has spent the last eight years polishing his craft to an art form. Shanghai Siew Long Bun is proof enough. There is a technique to eating this bite-sized delicacy — tear the skin a little with your teeth, suck in the duck broth and then eat the dim sum filled with minced chicken and prawn, served with soya and slivered ginger sauce. Never gobble up a Shanghai Siew Long Bun — unless you want to scald your mouth. 

This dim sum tea house serves 45 varieties of dim sums — steam, pan fried, poached, baked et al. Dim sums are traditionally served in threes and not fours because the latter is considered unlucky by the Chinese, except the pork and prawn shumai dim sum — it's served in twos. 

Dim sum is one food that can never be reheated and eaten. It has to be eaten fresh and hot. Its life span is short — it dies when the steam evaporates and the cold settles on it like wrinkles on an aged skin. That means you don’t ask for doggy bags here.

How do you differentiate a good dim sum from a mediocre one? The filling. Follow the old Chinese principle and you will never go wrong: The less you eat, more the flavor; the more you eat, less the flavor. A good dimsum should have the right amount of filling — read not to the brim — for it to be flavourful. 

Turnip Cake

Proof is in the eating. I had the fried Turnip Cake, Poached Peking dumpling, Pork and Prawn Shumai, Chicken Shanghai dumplings and the crispy prawn cheung fun. Both the taste and the flavour were right — every single time.

In the traditional tea houses in olden days China, dim sums would always be the choice of snack to be served with their teas. The two make a good combo, especially on a rainy day.  

Yautcha serves 25 different kinds of teas — white, black, green, blue and the Indian varieties too. (On a cloudy evening, I had the delicately flavoured Cammomile, Dragon's Well (green tea, Anxi tie kuan vin - a blue roasted tea from Fujian, China and Golden Orage Pekoe from Darjeeling, India. Yeah, even I didn't know I could have that many teas at one go. But I did. And it was a 'refreshing' experience.)

Most of Yautcha's teas are imported from China in bulk, once in six months. The teas are fermented and non-fermented; some are rolled by hand, some are long, some are powdered and sun dried. But all are delicious. That could be because it is brewed with utmost precision. The brew master, Meenamit, originally from Bhutan, poured hot water

Meenamit

over 8 gms of tea leaves and allowed it to stand for three seconds (except for the Indian Darjeeling tea which was brewed for 10 seconds), before straining it into a tea pot that served 5-6 cups of tea. The colours range from light green to dark. Only the Indian tea is had with a dash of milk and a pinch of sugar, the rest are good to go without either. 

Sitting in the glass-walled Yautcha, overlooking a Bangalore skyline that's a mix of both old and new, sipping tea and eating hot dim sums on a cloudy day made me wonder how it would've been in those traditional tea houses of eons.

It would've been noisy, with an open kitchen, the sound of the hissing wok, the pleasant commotion in the kitchen, cackle of the patrons, click of the chopsticks, the warmth of the steamers bearing hot delicious dim sums, music in the air...the smells, the sounds, the flavours...it must've been a throbbing life. Yautcha has modernized this. The tables, chairs and lights are aligned, the air is perfumed, masking the smells of food from the open kitchen, the plates and spoons are placed just right...the kitchen is open, the woks hiss, you get to witness the pleasant cacophony in the kitchen.But, if you close your eyes for just a moment and soak in the flavours of the tea and the deliciousness of the dim sums in your mouth...you might, a wee bit at least, allow yourself to be transported to those traditional Chinese dim sum tea houses. 

By the way Yautcha has the Yum Cha promo of unlimited dim sums (24 varieties) and teas (4 varieties) running the entire month of August. You can eat as many dim sums as you want for Rs.1,100 + taxes or 2,100 + taxes for a couple. This is from 3 pm to 8 pm, Monday to Friday. Yes, you will also get complimentary macaroon for dessert.

Bon appetite!

Yauatcha

Level 5, 1 MG Road Mall,
MG Road,Opp Vivanta by Taj, Bangalore 560 008
For reservations call:
1800 266 1000

DISCOVER BANGALORE THROUGH FOOD WALKS

Simi Mathew and Shibaji Ghosh on one of the food trails. They are passionate about food and history. All pics courtesy: Simi  Mathew

What happens when a practising psychologist and the head of an ad agency get passionate about food? They walk the extra mile. 

When her friend promised to treat Simi Mathew to the "best biryani in town", she did not expect to be trekking to Avenue Road (in Bangalore, India) at 6 am. Who would serve biryani at sunrise and who would want to eat it, she thought. However, there were around 100 people waiting outside Military Hotel to be served biryani and by 6.45 am one of the dishes was over. "That day I had a glimpse of the food culture of Bangalore," Mathew recalled. 

Tucked away on the busy Banaswadi Main Road is this
 Gujarati Farsan & Sweets shop

That was eight years ago when she moved to Bangalore from Delhi. It was the beginning of her dalliance with discovering the city through food; today it has culminated in The Oota Walks. Partnering her in this venture is Shibaji Ghosh, head of an ad agency, More Films (India).

"Bangalore became my adopted city," Mathew said. "But I didn't know it the way I knew my hometown in Kerala." She decided to discover the city. Food became an aid, since she loves food. Also, she enjoys her food when "there is a story" around it. This led her to small eateries with a history.

Prone to eating out at least four times a week and living with a non-foodie husband whom she didn't "want to harangue", Mathew started The Oota Company, a not-for-profit meet-up group of like-minded foodies. The group would eat out and bond over food.
 
Occasionally, Mathew and Ghosh would organise food walks for the group. Last year, when they organised one such food walk in Malleswaram for their friends, they were surprised to find 42 people turn up at 6.30 am. All non-Bangaloreans. At the end of the trail, the group not only came to love the city a bit more, but also wanted "more such walks". That was an 'aha' moment for Mathew and Ghosh. Six months later they started The Oota Walks.

Best part of the food walks, apart from
the food, are the stories

Mathew does extensive research before planning a food trail in iconic neighbourhoods. Right now, they conduct food walks in Basavangudi, Malleswaram, Whitefield, Frazer Town, VV puram and the Pete area. A trail lasts three hours covering 2 ½ to 3 kms. They stop at five eateries; taste the signature dishes from a menu curated by the duo. And all along they are given digestable, bite-sized historical facts about the place. "That way people learn that Bangalore is more than an IT or garbage city," Mathew says. The participants are given a kit bag with a map and small cards with historical notes of the place, water, cutlery, napkin and tissues. All for Rs 700-1000. 

Currently, The Oota Walks is gallivanting on the Ramzan trails. They have conducted six walks in the last two weeks on MM Road alone (Shivajinagar and Johnson Market area are next). Mathew and Ghosh spent five days trying out every single dish on MM road before finalising the trail. "Tasting all the dishes is mandatory for the duo." What about the side-effects? "I spin one hour every day burning 800 k cal," Mathew says. And Ghosh cycles 40-45 km every weekend. There is no love sincerer than food. And that makes these friends spin and cycle that extra mile!

Contact: simi@simimathew.com or call us at 9916129575.

MUST VISIT RESTAURANT IN PURI. IF NOT FOR THE FOOD, AT LEAST FOR CRICKET

Hotel Nayak beach/resort, Puri, Orissa

India is a cricket-crazy nation, no doubt.So this shouldn't come as a surprise, yet it did — a restaurant dedicated to the 1983 Indian cricket team, which brought home the first World Cup. Nostalgic moment.  

The life-guard

In the temple town of Puri, Orissa is Hotel Nayak Beach Resort Pvt Ltd. Yes, the beach is just a five-minute walk from the hotel and you will find a lovely old lifeguard (in pic); he might look like he is 100-year-old, but he is not. Just a sweet old man. 
Back to Nayak. The restaurant in the hotel is a unique one. It is dedicated to the 1983 World Cup winning Indian cricket team. There is a brass-embossed dedication on the wall: THIS RESTAURANT IS DEDICATED TO THE HEROES OF THE 1983 CRICKET WORLD CUP WHO HAVE UPHELD OUR COUNTRY WITH PRIDE AND HONOUR. Yep, all in CAPS.

There are paintings of all the members of the winning team hung around the restaurant; each picture accompanied by a bat. Never mind that some of the people in the paintings might not recognise themselves, but I am sure they will definitely appreciate the sentiments behind it. 

The place mats are the field settings of the matches played and an entire wall of the restaurant has the scorecard of that final winning match — overs, runs et al. There are also framed bnw photographs of various moments of the winning match.

A passionate dedication indeed!

Now, if only they could extend the same passion to the food they serve. Nobody get a glass of buttermilk wrong except maybe the folks at Nayak Beach/resort. But they are forgiven, simply because they are cricket-lovers :) 

A nostalgic corner

place mats

The scorecard 

Dedication

Painting of Kapil Dev

Nayak Beach Resort

Address: Bankimuhan Sea Beach, Chakratirtha Road, Puri, OD 752002

Phone:06752 221 383

MANGO MANIA - DELICIOUS RECIPES

It's mango season. That means just one thing — it's raining mangoes in Bangalore, where we live. There is more than one way to eat this fruit known as the King of fruits. Here are some ways. Go on, try 'em.... 

All photos courtesy: Sudha Pillai

Raw Mango & Papaya Salad

Raw Mango & Papaya salad

Ingredients 

Grated raw papaya 300 gms
Grated raw mango 300 gms
Fresh coriander sprig 100 gms
Fresh red chillies 5 gms
Crushed roasted peanut 100 gms
Lemon juice 45 ml
Pepper 10 gms
Cherry tomato 100 gms
Salt and sugar according to taste 

Method 

1.Grate the papaya and mango finely. 
2.Prepare a dressing of lemon juice, salt, pepper and sugar. 
3.Add chopped red chilies and coriander to it. 
4.Toss the above grated mixture well in the dressing and set aside. 
5.Roughly crush the roasted peanut. 
6.Plate the salad with some crushed peanuts over it, followed by the cherry tomatoes cut into halves and placed randomly.

Mango stuffed chicken roulade with spicy mango salsa

Mango stuffed chicken roulade with spicy mango salsa

Ingredients 

Chicken Breast 600 gms
dry mango sheets (aam papad) 200 gms
soft cheese sliced 100 gms
peppercorns 10 gms
bayleaf 10 gms
thyme 10 gms
ripe mangoes 1 nos
green chillies 10 gms
salt 10 gms
brine (salt water) soaked green peppercorns 10 gms
coriander leaves 10 gms 

Method 

1.Clean and butterfly (slit in centre) the chicken breast by inserting a knife into the breast and slowly open it from the side keeping one side intact. 
2.Cut and trim the mango sheets to fit the breast and place it onto the center of the breast. 
3.Place the cheese slice and crushed green peppercorns on the mango sheet and roll the breast to form a roulade (to roll).
4.Wrap it in a muslin cloth or twine and poach it in water with bayleaf, peppercorns and thyme.
5.Prepare a salsa (sauce) using peeled and then chopped ripe mangoes, green chillies, coriander and salt.
6. Sear the chicken breast on removing from the poached liquid and fan it on the plate. 
7.Then pour salsa over it.

Mango Phirni

Mango Phirni

Ingredients 

Ripe mango 2 nos
Milk 1 ltr
Rice 1 kg
sugar 80 gms 

Method 

1.Wash and soak the rice for 20 minutes and make a fine paste. 
2.Boil the rice in milk till it turns soft. 
3.Add the peeled and chopped mangoes into mixture along with sugar and cook till it coats the spoon. 
4.Remove from flame and cool. 
5.Set in mud pots and serve cold. 

Mango sorbet with fresh mint

Mango Sorbet with fresh mintIngredients
Ripe mango 8 nos
sugar 1 kgs
fresh mint 10 gms
cardamom 2 gms
water 1 ltr 

Method 
1.Peel the mangoes and chop them into small dices. 
2.Boil the mangoes along with sugar till soft and cooked. 
3.Add the crushed cardamom into it and let the mixture cool. 
4.Tear the mint leaves into small pieces and add it to the mixture and churn it in a gelato machine.