Food culture in my zone

The vegetable seller at the end of my street will sell only the regular vegetables. They don’t sell exotic vegetables like broccoli, mushrooms, purple cabbage etc. These are expensive vegetables which an ordinary vegetable seller is unwilling to risk (or maybe because they don’t have the knowledge about its quality and freshness. Even the ones who come to sell them from door-to-door service will not bring these veggies.

 So, if I wish to make something exotic then I have to visit a special supermarket or a particular stall that specializes in these vegetables. I am happy with these farmer’s markets that is held regularly in different suburbs of Mumbai and these are the places where I am assured of fresh and organic supply of my food stuff. These veggies are useful for preparing stir fries or salads, which are not only healthy but also can be prepared quickly.

Recently I attended a buffet party where there was live cooking, food hot from pan to the plate. Such cooking is the inspiration which makes us believe how easy it is to cook. I am always surprised by the people who grumble about the inconvenience when they have to cook and it takes them hours to prepare a meal, even though they have helpers for chopping and cleaning..

 Have simple food nah!

Having an elaborate meal can be done on special days like festivals or family together unions but on regular days a simple meal is quite reasonable.

Most of the families in India have just dhal, rice, curd, chappati, one cooked vegetable/meat dish and salad on regular basis.

 How long does one take to cook such a simple meal?

During my travels I have noticed that even in the European and American families, cold cuts or fast food are quite popular and elaborate meals are reserved for special days.

 During my stay in Tenerife, I attended the Pinolere craft fair at Orotava.There were many stalls which exhibited the local food, fresh fruits/vegetables grown locally and different kinds of cheese, wine and sweets that were famous in that region.

Europeans have lots of traditional dishes that can be found only in that region. The food and taste varies from region to region and may not be available just 100 kms away. Europeans prefer cold cuts and salads. They eat more cheese, more yoghurt, and on an average drink more wine and hard drinks than Americans.

In Spain, natives have laid back attitude. It’s more about savoring the food, enjoyment, drinking and having long chats. They are more relaxed as compared to Americans. In America there is fast food culture and sticking things in the microwave. But for both, American and northern European, a ‘full meal’ would be a main course flanked by vegetables/meat and perhaps followed by dessert.

For the Italian, on the other hand, a ‘full meal would be a pasta dish followed by main course (usually meat or fish) accompanied by vegetables or potatoes, then salad and finally dessert and/or fruit.

In India, people have developed the taste for all kinds of food. Indians like experimenting with the food and are quite creative in adjusting the taste to their palate. They will add ginger to the Chinese dishes, hot green chilies to bland Spanish dishes and will mix all kinds of sauces into a chicken burger.

To quench this hunger, they bring back sauces and soup-packets from the countries they visit, some of them reach beyond their expiry date before they can be consumed.

 Is this food healthy?

 Is it not better to eat locally grown food more than to eat the packed food imported from foreign land?

As the result of this mix-up the authenticity of the regional food is disappearing. In no time at all, people might forget the traditional dishes and will opt for quick and fast food.

On December 10 the global network of Slow Food and Terra Madre comes together to celebrate Terra Madre Day and promote local food.

Slow Food is an international movement founded by Carlo Petrini in 1986. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem. It was the first established part of the broader Slow movement. The movement has since expanded globally to over 100,000 members in 132 countries. Its goals of sustainable foods and promotion of local small businesses are paralleled by a political agenda directed against globalization of agricultural products.

 Terra Madre is a network of food communities, each committed to producing quality food in a responsible, sustainable way. Terra Madre focuses on the relationships between food communities, cooks, universities and scientists.

I am quite excited to be the part of the Mumbai Food Bloggers and we have planned a potluck party on Terra Madre day where, each one of us will be preparing the unusual regional food. There will be discussions and sharing of the food culture.

Hmmmn ..looking forward to this..watch this space!

Coming back to fast food with fresh vegetables, here is the rice plate made in jiffy

This is the rice dish with fresh peas, mushrooms and Broccoli and just takes not more than five minutes to prepare if you have boiled rice ready in your fridge.

If you chance about visiting these restaurant kitchens you will see that all the vegetables, sauces and ingredients are chopped and neatly arranged around the cooking area. We can do the same into our kitchens too, isn't it?

With little oil (if you are diet conscious) just fry garlic and chilies in a pan. The trick in fast cooking is the fire..on high flame cooking, the juice traps inside the veggies, making it crunchy and tasty, whereas on low flame, the juice escapes  from the veggies and coats all the other ingredients in the whole dish leaving the veggies soft and limp..

Boiled rice and vegetables are added and continues stirring is required.

Rest of the ingredients like salt, spices and sauces can be added according to one's taste.

Tossing is fun, you lift the pan and shake and toss the rice up in the air (careful..not up to ceiling..beware!).......

Another dish of vegetables can be prepared separately to go with the rice place.

This kind of cooking is suitable for small portions and a very good option for the single people who compalin 'What to cook for just one person?"

So now you know!!!

Carved Fruits and Vegetables

carved watermelon

bouquet of carrots and radish

carved pumpkins

bird of carrot and radish

carved watermelon

Vegetarian Noodle Soup

Nothing is more satisfying than the bowl of soup especially on a day when I am too confused to cook anything else

For me, soup is not just ripping off the packet of Maggi, (or any other soup packets like Wai-Wai or Mama), and cooking as instructed on the wrapper.

 Nah! I make it into a full meal, more appetizing and more nutritious.

 On one flame I have water boiling with the ingredients like oil, red chillie powder and dehydrated vegetables, that were included in the noodles packet.

 I have another pan on a high flame where I stir fry garlic, dried red chillies, green/red/yellow pepper, carrots, mushrooms, baby corn, onions, etc

 Just for a minute I stir fry all the fresh vegetables on a high flame till the aroma sizzles me and then off they go, dumped into the clear soup.

 I squeeze out the lime juice, add chilly sauce and mushroom sauce and taste a spoonful to check if it's okay.

 When I am ready to eat, I take a clean bowl, empty the noodles from the packet, pour the hot soup over it and garnish it will basil leaves.

 So while contestants are busy producing innovative dishes on Master Chef, here I am savoring my noodle soup, and not drooling a wee bit while watching that colorful and fancy cuisine.

 Other foodies are also making innovative dishes and sharing their recipes with Master Chef India, should be interesting I am sure!

Dish of the day -1

Stir fried mixed vegetables in black pepper sauce with rice

One evening at 'Le Pain Quotidien'

“Give us today, our daily bread”

While you pray, besides your God, somebody else is also listening…” the best bread maker at ‘Le Pain Quotidien’  at one of coziest Belgian chain, who is baking the most flavorful rustic bread that are crunchy from outside and soft and fresh from inside, which are not only scrumptious on their own but make great base to the delightful Tartines that I would taste later during the meals.

This was one of those places where I could freely click pictures of the food that I ate and nobody seemed to mind, and all this because I was in the company of food bloggers, who care too much about food (as much as I do) and will not let go of their memories, to be invited for such food-bloggers-meet is an opportunity I wouldn’t want to miss.

For that I am grateful to Rushina for extending her invitation and including me in the company of twenty more food blogger to enjoy the meal at 'Le Pain Quotidien'.

Le Pain Quotidien might seem like bakery with a display of big-sized bread on the wall shelf and a tart-studded dessert counter, but enter inside and it’s a new world.

I walked up the spiral wooden steps to join the company of food bloggers with an empty stomach all ready to enjoy the refill.

I was greeted with a glass of mint lemonade, cool and refreshing, a perfect drink to start the evening.

The meeting was all about introduction, getting to know each other, talking about food, clicking pictures and then the best part of the game…eating.

The fun part started with making of our tarts, sweet and savories, using our imaginations. The table was laid with bowls containing assorted boiled vegetables, shredded chicken, burnt garlic,and also assorted fruit marmalade,  chocolates and jars of custard.

I made only one with savories like chicken, mixed vegetables, burnt garlic, soya sauce, olive oil and black pepper. I did not make the sweet one, for which I was to repent later when I feasted on other sweeter tarts.

While bloggers worked on imagination, I started the feast on starters that included Vegetarian Bruschetta and Mediterrian platter.

The enjoyable part of the evening was relishing the Tartines, One by one, they arrived, bite-sized, easy to pop into the mouth, not caring about the calories nor their quantity and loved them all- the big range that included the grilled Asparagus with ricotta cheese, shaved parmesan cheese and diced tomatoes, Buffalo mozzarella with olive spread and marinated tomatoes, roasted chicken&smoked mozzarella with granny Smithe apple, tomatoes and basil pesto, toasted Belgian ham and cheddar with olive and basil, and the most tastiest of all,-the roast Tenderloin tartine with grain mustard, confit onions and cornichons.

We ate and clicked pictures of everything we ate, we listened, we chatted and ate again and clicked more pictures of the food, of the ambiance, of rustic décor, of the shelf containing a big range of exotic food bottles on sale,etc

You would think we should feel full to the brim at this point after having eaten so much but nah!, there was more- main course to select from the options of various dishes on the menu card.

I chose chicken stuffed with spinach and chevre served with herb potatoes and mushroom sauce and we sat down on a long table to share a meal together. I added a bit of soya sauce and lotsa red chillie flakes and enjoyed my portion -The most yummicious chicken that I have tasted.

Everybody had ordered dish to their own taste and preference, those who had Quiche Vegetarienne with roasted leeks, onions and asparagus, were praising that dish a lot. The Vegetable Lasagne with ricotta cheese and mushrooms was a huge portion and many of them couldn’t finish it, later they told me that fish plate, pan seared basa fish with burghul risotto, mushroom, chilli and balsamic sauce was divine but I was too full to try other dishes. There was also Green Asparagus Risotto with Parmesan cheese and quiche Lorraine with ham, gruyere and roasted leeks which was enjoyed by some of them.

Then came the tarts (that we had made earlier) which were placed in front of Rushina to judge and pass her expert comments. Like Matt/George of 'Masterchef Austrailia', she dutifully tasted each dish and expressed her delight. Since I had made tarts of savories, it sat there on the table-neglected (sniff! sniff!) but who would eat savories after meals? so the best ones were the one that contained custards with chocolates, or blueberry sauce and/or combinations of different sweet sauces and winner, Prathibha (The Chef and her Kitchen) got praise, recognition and lotsa claps.

The tarts were yummy and we have our food blogger Nikhil Merchant who shares his recipe for tarts on his blog..

The meals ended with the cup of chocolate milk and it was time to collect a take-away gift of cookies and breads. Lovely evening, will remember till the memory fades with yet another food-bloggers meet.

Do drop by even if you are not a blogger. The staff is friendly and food is absolutely delicious. The average prices: Rs. 250-450 a plate

The place was full, even though it was late evening.

Hop on to tutorials to know more about Le Pain Quotidien
Do visit, at Dhanraj Mahal
C.S.M. Road, Apollo Bunder
Near the Gateway of India
Colaba, Mumbai 400001

Phone: 022 6615 0202

OPENING HOURS
8am – 11:30pm

Paella Making Ritual on the street of Malaga, Spain

In my earlier post I have discussed about the Paella making festival in Spain where a big rice dish is made in the middle of the road for the whole neighborhood. The whole community cooks together and eat with much dancing and merry making. 

My cousin who lives in Malaga was kind enough to share the photographs of this festival that took place this year.

A complete Paella dish contains assorted vegetables, assorted sea food, assorted meat and it is topped with shrimps and clams.

Paella is made in huge paella pan and a big group of chefs contribute their help, it is served with bread and wine

While the paella is simmering, the folk are busy with fiesta of music and dance

Thank you Johnny Shahdadpuri for sharing your pictures with me.

Food Literature- Book review

How The Banana Goes To Heaven (Paperback)
by Ratna Rajaiah

Ratna Rajaiah is good, stylish writer with deep insight towards minute details. Her book is written with meticulously researched information, which she collected during her weekly columns in the Sunday edition of the ‘New Indian Express’, tracing back the history and the nutrition value of each ingredient. This book is like a food bible, where every food item is personified exposing its health and medicinal secrets, its origin, some anecdotes, some facts and finally a recipe.

Take the example of ‘White Pumpkin’ now I am not too fond of this ingredient and wouldn’t even touch it with a yard stick but the author arouses my interest by addressing this vegetable as ‘The Goddess Gourd’ and goes on to say “The white Pumpkin is not only a popular offering to the gods in Hindu ceremonies but is also considered effective in warding off evil spirit and evil eye- the very reason why it is often seen hanging outside newly built houses and buildings” An interesting information which will henceforth make me notice a Pumpkin if I see one.

There are many other secrets revealed in the pages as you go along with her exploring the traditional fare and, BTW, did you know that ‘White Pumpkin’ is used to treat various kinds of nervous disorders and mental illness? I didn’t. She writes: “One well-known Ayurvedic preparation made from it is used for the treatment of epilepsy and even insanity” She goes on to talk about its other medicinal and health benefits and how it is used to cure many other diseases.

Interesting to note: “The ash made from burning the seeds and the peel of white Pumpkin is mixed with coconut oil and is used to promote hair growth and as a treatment for dandruff” hmmmn!

Small wonders roll out from every chapter, unfolding the secrets of different ingredients, as we begin to understand the nutrients of various food items used in our everyday cooking. Every new chapter begins with a food quote on that particular ingredient, tuning your mind in the receptive mood. The book is packed with information on vegetables, grains, oils and also on vitamins, fats, carbohydrates, proteins, etc.

For a food lover like me, this book is a treasure, packed with so much information that I would recommend to everyone to have one copy of their own for regular reference PLUS one more to gift your loved ones whose health and well-being, you really care…..

Also Cross posted my review at flipkart