love love ,,,,, Absinthe....

I do not have a slotted spoon , nor a cube of sugar.I do not have a reservoir glass nor a French climate. All I have is a bottle of Absinthe and a sober mind to drink. I write this with a large , sorry extra large of Absinthe in me,. wonder what Absinthe is ?Historically defined as a distilled highly alcoholic beverage around 45 to 70 % proof. It is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from herbs (wormwood), including the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium(worm wood), commonly referred to as "grande wormwood", together with green anise and sweet fennel. Absinthe traditionally has a natural green colour but can also be colourless. It is commonly referred to in historical literature as "la fée verte" (the "green fairy" in French).

Worm wood a herb which gives color and flavor to Absinthe, has an essential oil called 'Thujone' which can bring your mind to a peculiar state of heightened awareness, its like a kind of open it up to new ideas, thoughts, concepts, and no wonder a favorite drink of Van gogh, Hemingway, Picasso and Oscar wilde.They called it the green fairy. and I call it the Green green fairy, after a drink everything is green, what i look, the fan, the refrigerator, the mirror and I in the mirror.

I started with my dinner, cutting green onions and green tomatoes, the green chili looked more green and my fried eggs almost green.Van gogh a painter whose work, notable for its rough beauty, emotional honesty, and bold color cut off his ear for different reason but then he was under the influence of absinthe all his life, perhaps an extra large of Absinthe cold have been in him when his ear came off. Today here I am happy looking at the silver knife with black handle with a faded green in it.

A critic said that Absinthe makes you crazy and criminal, provokes epilepsy and tuberculosis, and has killed thousands of French people. It makes a ferocious beast of man, a martyr of woman, and a degenerate of the infant, it disorganizes and ruins the family and menaces the future of the country.and many countries banned it .. oh what a unfortunate thing to happen.

But then, here I am very much fortunate enough to have a student from France , remembering and bringing me absinthe , A simple word of 'thanks' is not Enough for you Sow for the Mighty Green drink, and to the readers the Brand what I drank is ABSENTE a refined Absinthe with slightly lower concentration of Thujone and the legend Van gogh self portrait on it, ABSENTE is a French word , Translates to ABSENT in English but here I am very much present with the Green Fairy.....

to be continued.....................

Sweet... and the sour Thirteen

So many things happening,and I am combining everything together, My my brother in law got a gift of baked cookies for this Diwali, every year they get a pack of sweets which will be sweet, and this year its something ironic the Cookies(tough it had sweet in it), and the best part is, its we who baked it. I didn't really knew it will end up in all government office for this Diwali as a token of gift from my school.

While pondering on why Cookies this year, rather than some sweets, which was the classical tradition of my school as well as the society,it took just an instance for the answer,its not only the way of being unique but also the price/cost of sweets , which is exaggerating.

Last week I was in Annapoorna Sweets looking at the photograph of Diwali sweets, with Amaravishy, I didn't know that the photograph will deceive you that easily with reality, I took four ladoos with rupees thirteen for each and its , not even an one mouth bite.What to call it, Entrements? or Hors d oeuvre?. That made a real sense why my school gifted Cookies in place of sweet as a substitute.(not the price tough)

The Cookies here is worth mentioning ,taking its name from the Dutch word koekje or koekie which means little cake,Its commonly baked until crisp enough that they remain soft, but some kinds of cookies are not baked at all. Cookies are made in a wide variety of styles, using an array of ingredients including sugars, spices, chocolate, butter, peanut butter, nuts or dried fruits. The softness of the cookie may depend on how long it is baked.With the ranging variety from dropped , pressed, refrigerated molded, bar and sandwiched, one will never say a no to cookie.

Later , which was three days before Diwali, I was all ready for the preparation of our annual ladoos for Diwali, The sleepy eyes after the chicken lunch, judged the quality of syrup with preciseness, and indeed the final consistency is one hundred percent perfect. Looking the frying boondis through a perforated spoon, one would easily forget the tiring legs and the hand of clock. After Six sweet hours of preparation the result counted to almost two hundred ladoos,

The sumptuous and wonderful sweet came out so well, that I would call the ladoo is Amaravishy place as magnificent ,but with the thirteen rupees one,which lacks the basic characteristics of sweet, do not even deserve the place/position to be called a so called sweet.So the next time when I come across a Thirteen rupees sweet(ladoo), I'll just avoid it as the numeral thirteen.

Between the five years

When I was a little boy say around five, every thing which comes out of oven in round crisp consistency is Biscuits to me, I have never come across the word Cookies for another fifteen years. Later in my under graduation during a training time with a popular bakery in Coimbatore, I had my first encounter with cookies, The variety in preparing and the different styles of it made more lavish, I would call it a Sumptuous bake. I practiced the art of rounding the dough and piping the batter for the umpteenth time, forgetting that the measurement is the main soul of baking.Then my twenty year old mind didn't care much about recording the recipe in a written form and... that was then.

Much later, that is after another five years, I had the best opportunity to record the recipe, that was when the tsunami came in Chennai, Unexpected , same like our unexpected time in a very popular bakery in Chennai, Say our work starts at midnight and winds early morning, then the twenty five old mind of mine looked the commercial part of baking, forgetting the inner soul - the measurement.

Today after Five year, witnessing batches of batches of cookies prepared in our department for the Diwali fest, is a kind of nostalgia. wondering what relation between cookies and Diwali, there are too many answers , but the best thing is to keep wondering. We had five varieties of cookies, starting from Choco chip, choco nut, cherry, Masala and the last Salt. Everything has its own character, and texture. I happily saw the students of the final year working with the dough, without any resentment . I saw great master chefs in them , and Wonderful team leaders in them.

wishing them good luck, I pestered them to make note of the measurement, because I don't want them to wait another five days or five years. If measurement seems very complicated , its simple to use the bakers percentage, that will make things easier, to remembered or at least to record.


Bakers percentage = total weight of Ingredient/ total wt of flour X 100

The weight of flour in all the recipe is 100%

For example a recipe calls for
Flour = 200 gms = 200/200X100 = 100 %
sugar= 30 gms = 30/200X100 = 15%
Butter= 50 gms =
salt 10 gms=


more on cookies in the next post..
happy baking,

All is well..

A nine nights and ten day festival, worshiping the Hindu god Shakti is called,The Navratri.and we along with the students celebrated Navratri today as an academic activity.A teaching and learning experience.

Saying all is well, do not turn a curdled milk and I learned that there are more than a couple of excuses when a milk curdles.The menu was Tempered Chick peas (Sundal), Sweet Pongal , (Spinach)Keera Vada , Sweetened Pressed rice, Mashed bananas with jaggery and a Mint sherbat.

The guest was not more than thirty , and we welcomed everyone with the sweet strong mint sherbat, followed by a speech on Navratri and Poojas. "Everything went well" is what the feedback I got,searching the meaning for the word "Everything" , my mind didn't forget that not "All is well" . Sometimes too much hospitality fades or erases the bad taste of food.Here, I am not complaining of the food ,only the sourness in it.

The milk boiling for the pongal tarted curdling, as soon as the rice is added and resulted in a sour sour taste.Later the sourness in the pongal was destroyed by adding melted jaggery and Of-course some Ghee to overcome the flavor of the curdled milk. The frowned faces on the curdled milk turned Grin when the pongal turned sweet, and towards the corner something carried more sourness and more frown.

The something was none other than the grounded dal for vada, the excited chef who was suppose to prepare the vada , soaked the dal last night , say around two am. If only he had knew-ed earlier, that over soaking will end up in sourness, he would have had a good night sleep. The hands of Mr. Manikandan(Classmate & Friend)did as much magic as possible to rectify the sourness, but gave up after comprehending that jaggery is not an ingredient in Vada.(if only jaggerey were an ingredient).


The only option left was to rename the Vada, so that , to do some justification for the sour taste in it, and Mr.Classmate did the naming ceremony, naming it Vilasikpura Vada , because there is no or nothing called as such Vilasikpura. I wondered weather its a bad omen that everything is sounding sour and tasting sour, its like breaking a yukky coconut to Hindu God, where God never feels bad , its we who carry the dilemma(yukky) in heart.

Not to my surprise, I found the last three liters of milk Curdle in front of my eyes, which was on flame for preparing Tea. My angry eyes on the student near the milk pot gave an answer that the vessel was very much clean and no soap water in it, a word from behind me said its too much of heat that made it curdle,a couple of mouths complaining the shopkeeper for the stale milk, and someone inspecting the packing date on the milk packet. But the Milk curdled is Curdled , removing the Letters TEA from the menu card.The function ended with a glass of water to wash down the dishes which the guest consumed.

The three things, The milk for pongal, the sour grounded dal and the milk for TEA, made me ponder , and its not the bad omen its like "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong". Thanking Edward Aloysius Murphy for his Murphy's law, I walked back slowly carrying a happy face saying "All is well, if something goes wrong, there is Murphy's to tell".

The Three G

Another day of good cooking, and its all Goan this time, the menu was Chicken cafreal with pav bun, and Prawn pulao for the main course and to end with a sweet dol dol. The briefing of the menu was not stretched, and some minor doubts kept lingering with the chefs and chefies.

The first step is with the flying ferment for the bun, and the dried yeast mixed well with the sugar, flour and water to end up as fluffy ferment, which later mixed well with dough for the bun. The fermentation took some thirty minutes , and later the second proof was for another twenty minutes ,and with two twenty degrees in a deck oven the pav bun came out well with great aroma and wonderful color.

As with pulao, few soaked the basmati and few forgot, those who forgot got a sticky pulao and those who soaked the basmati in water, ate happily the prawn pulao. The simple ground paste of the three G(Ginger, Garlic, Green Chillies) is soo good that it made the Cafreal a real feast.With a roasted brown and marinated green color , Galinah Cafreal remains my all time Favorite.

Indeed the dessert was sweet, with rice flour cooked in coconut milk and sweetened with jaggery, the stirring continued till the mixture released the Ghee which it kept drinking all through t the stirring process. The mixture was later poured in a greased plate, and was cooled before the hungry mouths and greedy hands devoured it.

All together a happy cooking session , Without knowing to what the credit goes(to the students, menu, cooking method, )i sincerely pray that every cooking session should be as happy as this one.

Indeed Inspiring ..

Four in the morning that's the time , my day starts ,and how I Carry the same energetic and exciting smile through t the day, till ten or eleven in the night is what all matters. Always have a smile and of-course have a Yes, that's what you paid for and that's what the hotel industry is all about.

There is no melancholy in my mind, I strongly agree that the hotel industry is the second most glamorous industry after the cinema industry,and that too on the last date of August , we were honored by the presence of Mr.Sanjay gupta , General Manager, Le Méridien, coimbatore.

The Occasion was the Inauguration of the activities of the department of catering science and hotel management.to be honest, I sincerely expected an elderly hotelier where you juxtapose age and experience , Ironically,what we had was a real inspiring feast of words, Words of patience, words of hospitality and words of wisdom from a young and energetic hotelier Mr. Snajay gupta, a man of virtue.


If only we had you earlier in our campus , for a lecture .We could have added more colors to our earlier batch students, The words still lingers in me, "Never say No" and NO from a service person is what no customers wants to hear. We are living with it, yet not looking at it. Sir you made us contemplate .

A man of moral excellence, I thank you for your appreciation on our invitation with a fortune cookies on it, and the way you thought the students what creativity is all about, Every one create something innovative, only very few makes them realize it and pushing them forward towards success.

I believe hospitality is an inborn behavior and the art of achieving it, is never free, and cost some commitment , love and some strong passion. and people like you can/ (and will) inculcate all the necessary ingredient , towards excellence in a hotel management graduate.

With heart full of gratitude and mind full of stimulation ,Thank you " Who practices hospitality entertains God himself"

devouringly pork

photo: flicker.com


The woods are dark, deep and dense and we three were expoloring the emotions of coorg , that's when, something got struck in my mind . The humble pork, one will never accept a coorgi cuisine without our Mr.humble in it. The pork meat is expensive than any other and that's what people prefer, one will wonder why the love it, the special masala or the meat itself.

The powdered masala is made of more coriander seeds, less of cumin seeds, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. All these were pan broiled and later pounded into a fine powder which is of dark brown color. I got a chance to steal a look in to the ingredients and Thanking Poncha for a Kilograms of that which I am going to infuse in my daily cooking.

Another uniqueness is the Coorgi vinegar, which they call kanchampuli (thick black extract from kudampulli-dried and smoked fruit rinds of the camboge tree).. The sourness is perfect and blends well with the pork meat.. people advised me to substitute with lime juice, its like eating an egg less omlette.

Sometimes I do not like the idleness of spices lying in my shelf ,so i made it go into the pork curry, without much difficulty I found a good place which sell pork meat and the preparation went like this. First boiling pork with pinch of salt, turmeric and some Black coorg vinegar, (a pressure cooker will do better), when the meat is cooked, a mixed paste of ginger, garlic, green chilies and coriander leaves goes in after a good boil add the coorgi spice powder and adjust the seasoning. when the gravy is thick add little more of kanchampuli and remove from flame.

The pork is fine and perfect, only thing is I am tasting it outside coorg and too from a non corrgi hand, but I am sure I will make it next time to Kodagu, just for the indigenous Pork prepared from the native hands.

Coorg - A Magic Moment....

A week of solitude, yet the instinct of the world being along with me. The reason, I was in Scotland of India, and more than that with my friends Ponchas. Coorg, which is how everyone call the Kodugu region of Karnataka, It is famed for so many things. The history and mystery , the flora and fauna, the game fishing and river rafting , together an overwhelming joy.

The place I stayed is "Sidapur' one hour travel from "Mercara" the districts capital. The town is relatively small with salubrious weather, surplus peace and happiness.The name is derived from the people of Kodagu, Kodavas. The Puranic versions says the land of initial settlement was called Krodadesa which later became Kodavu. and the word Kodagu is derived from the word Kodava, Kod means ‘give’ and avva means ‘mother’, i.e mother Kaveri, the river Kaveri(the reason for my etymology)

Starting with the river, the first day was in its bank with great fishing rod and beautiful lures . The moments on the bank was really Magical except we couldn't lure any fish to out bait, even if we have baited some , I'm sure the fish would have ended back in their world, for the reason all are Herbivorous in Ponchas place.

To be precise all in ponchas place follow the principle of Lacto Vegetarianism.(except we Five) we classify us as pure meat eaters. Only we couldn't get a chance to devour any meat. Ponchas mother in law is indeed a great cook and the kitchen is awesome with all family members mis en place in it.

The five day food was a real feast, with endless varieties, The Akki Roti(rice bread)which was chewy and hard , married well with the delicious chik peas masala, I wouldn't call it the secret ingredients .Its pure Hand of taste and their affection towards cooking and their exemplary hospitality.


The Vegetable bath with cucumber raitha, the countless chandrakala in our belly while traveling, the steamed kolukatta , I would be punished if i forget to mention any one of the recipe. so here comes one, which is Quite simple and truly yummy, The shallo fried brinjals, Aubergines or eggplant, where it is thinly sliced and marinated with limejuice, coriander powder , garam masala, chilli and pinch of salt, (a dash of coorg vinegar and a teaspoon of coorg masal will also goes well). after marination its shallow fried, and the feel is tender and none will not stop with just one. It gave a secret why poncha love it. Because a real substitute for meat.. and my sincere thanks to Mrs poncha.

On my journey back home .I thought of ponchas Mother in laws promise of meat cooking next time, and I am sure it will happen only when I go alone to coorg. Its sometimes difficult with vegetarians around you and I started planning my next visit to "The Scotland of India".

The stain of Cacao.

The affinity towards Cocoa is getting stronger and stronger,Theobroma cacao, which literally means "Cacao, the food of the gods." The mighty Cocoa a powder made from cacao seeds after they have been fermented, roasted, shelled, ground, is been around in my kitchen pantry for quite long time. Only to be experimented last week. I do not call it a cocoa research, rather an eagerness to enjoy the texture of Chocolate , home made chocolate to be precise.

It was ten years ago, I remember chef Abdul , and his Home made Chocolate, me being a mere observer, helping him in greasing the mold and cleaning the sauce pans. The perfect blend of Butter, Cocoa , Milk powder and sugar turns to a beautiful slab of home made chocolate , which is later divided in to small cubes and served as compliments to all guest rooms.

That's when the affinity exactly bloomed in me, Its not the taste I like the most. It is the feel when you prepare it.to understand the sugar, cocoa, milk powder and its characteristics make you feel better.I practiced it many times and prepared it so many times , where the Cocoa stain and the better feel will last in my heart forever.

A week ago, two unopened tins of cocoa powder, created a chocolaty nostalgia in me,The cocoa instinct filling my mind, In the name of Chef Abdul, I started the old secret recipe, melting hundred grams of butter in low heat, and stirring hundred grams of icing sugar, followed by six tablespoon of Cocoa and four table spoon of milk powder. What a perfect blend, not forgetting the mixed dry fruits, the mixture was then refrigerated.

The sophomore did the honor of tasting and me drenched in the happiness of cocoa,an Italian study says a small square (20 g) of dark (bittersweet) chocolate every three days is the ideal dose for cardiovascular benefits. I do not have a cardiovascular problem, but then with an indelible chocolaty/cocoa stain in my heart and sleepy eyes on my face, I was about to leave the kitchen .That's when, my droopy eyes alerted with the sight of another unopened Cocoa tin.

Happy Chocolate!! Cacao

Cocoa Facts

*Cocoa beans contain polyphenols (similar to those found in wine) with antioxidant properties which are health beneficial. These compounds are called flavonoids and include catechins, epicatechins, and procyandins. The antioxidant flavinoids are found in the nonfat portions of the cocoa bean. The flavinoids also reduce the blood's ability to clot and thus reduces the risk of stroke and heart attacks.

*Phenylethylamine is a slight antidepressant and stimulant similar to the body's own dopamine and adrenaline

*Cocoa beans are rich in a number of essential minerals, including magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, potassium and manganese

*Cocoa and chocolate can increase the level of serotonine in the brain. Serotonine levels are often decreased in people with depression

Freshers - for how long ?

What I thought, would be an answer, turned into a bewilderment . Yes, the second cooking session with the freshers was very hard to comprehend. Contemplating for more than twelve hours, I ended up without any answer.

Is that the, freshers new environment? the new face? or their first step in foraging? I didn't knew what made them so awkward in the second cooking session. If only ,I had know the real reason, a perfect planning would have been carried out before the second cooking session. But, as I mentioned earlier the First cooking session was overwhelming. Sometimes you won't know the structure and shape of deception.

The second menu was quite simple, with requires a little fundamentals, not necessary to be a catering science student. I see the money spent by students on mobile phone top ups and Frankenstein gadgets,I do not understand the hesitation they show on spending ten rupee for a duster cloth. After all its their utensils which they clean before and after cooking.

I ask for two dusters and what the fresher does is, tear one duster into two, Is he the clever or am I the fool. The attitude of the fellows when they arrive ten minutes late for the cooking session without proper kitchen kit, untrimmed hair, and incomplete recipes in their journals is deplorable.

The menu for the day was Stuffed parathas with curd, Chenna Pulao, Dum Aloo, Mutton fry and Gulab Jamun. Out of twenty students hardly four to five knew what the menu was. I am not complaining or Squabbling here, I talk the basic impression the freshers create " A kind of first impression". they simple forget how significant the impression is.

back to the culinary part, after forty five minutes of silence , bloomed an excuse from the first student, which continued with multiple excuse and a bunch of promises for perfection in the next cooking session. With agony in my heart . Me briefing all the recipes and after twenty minutes ,the cooking session started.

With an array of expectation in my mind, I look forward for the next fist day order, which is when the next cooking session for the freshers will be.I end up now with my post ,wondering how long should I call them FRESHERS.

The King and the Queen"

so many days I have crossed Burliyar, a place between Mettupalyam and Coonoor,on no occasion I witnessed, what I saw last week."The Array of Fruits" These fruits are green spiny outside, like a miniature jack fruit.and few with spiny plums and a black hard tomato. I remembered that days afternoon class on Thai cuisine, where Tropical fruits were discussed. Only to witness it in my own place, in between the hills. We people from Nilgiris often stop at Burliyar for a tea break, when we take that route. The same thing happened last week, in my case I stopped for a cup of Coffee.After munching two mirchi pakoras and one aloo vada , my hungry palate turned toward the fruit on the racks.


The first one is Rambutan , small red fruit resembling plums,exept for the red spines outside, The name rambutan is from the Malay word rambutan, which literally means hairy caused by the 'hair' that covers this fruit, and is in general use in Malay, Indonesian and Filipino cuisine, which make it the origin.The outer skin is peeled exposing the milky, fleshy fruit inside which is then eaten. It is sweet, sour and slightly grape like and gummy to the taste.One can keep munching it for hours.


Next to it was the humble , Mangosteen,a tropical evergreen tree believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas of Indonesia. The rind of the fruit, which is not edible, is a deep reddish purple when ripe. The fragrant edible flesh that surrounds each seed is sweet and tangy, juicy, and somewhat fibrous.with so much of nutrients in it, and with its delicious taste, no wonder in calling it the "Queen of fruits"




Next comes the King of all tropical fruit, The Durian, known for its stinky smell, despite its popularity the raw fruit is forbidden from some establishments such as hotels, subways and airports, including public transportation in Southeast Asia. I knew the reason why its prohibited, the smell is Shit.Exactly the fruit Smells like hell, and taste like Heaven. The segments inside is a rich custard .The flesh can be consumed at various stages of ripeness, and it is used to flavour a wide variety of savoury and sweet edibles in Southeast Asian cuisines. The seeds can also be eaten when cooked, and there are even durian ice creams. Es durian (durian ice cream) is a popular dessert in Indonesia, sold at street side stall in Indonesian cities, especially in Java.Durian fruit contains a high amount of sugar,vitamin C, potassium, and the serotonergic amino acid tryptophan, and is a good source of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. It is recommended as a good source of raw fats by several raw food advocates.With all theses medicinal and nutritive values these fruits are available only during these months from June to October, hurry, a small stop on the way to the Nilgiris at Burliyar, "The King and The Queen" is waiting for you.

From the Freshers

It a day for the freshers and the menu had all Indian in it, starting with roti, a masala dal to accompany ,with aloo methi and tomato chicken , a tint of sweet carrot kheer to finish the course. I precisely said them what not to do and what to do, and not a big surprise , seeing many without a knife and duster cloths. Is that mean, that they hate cleanliness? There is always an excuse. That they are freshers, where they are entering a world which is something new and accustoming takes time.But then ,to me Patience is what all i learned

Not bad , what I witnessed, a perfect start, which I didn't expect with all thirty five in one culinary class. Tough it was a kind of gaming with new ingredients , I couldn't see any one trying an extra mile to go on with the cooking. It was three in a batch, cooking all five dishes . Starting with the dough for roti followed by boiling the dal,everyone mastered their own way. I didn't find any difficulty in shouting the recipe, except the last night drink which kept hanging in my mind.

Jumping over a square shaped roti, and one colorless tomato chicken all other table had a perfect blend of everything , the taste, the texture and the consistency . All together i'll put in a single word "Awesome"

I remembered the last year burnt dal, uncooked roti and curdled carrot kheer, and wondered what is unique with the freshers this year, with three hours of browsing my brain I was left without an answer. With confidant compilation of the second menu, I am sure I'll have the answer in the next cooking session.

HAPPY COOKING!

"House of the Acolhua people" - Kahlúa

Almost a year, its first of July and the year old Kahlua landed in my book shelf. Thanks to dushy, who successfully fished his masters in Swiss , only to end up working in Bangalore, India. I questioned why not Europe? or else where , after a year of studies and thirty odd lacks in to it.The answer was "contacts" he made friend from around the globe, good isn't it. Horse meat eating friend from Greece to eat what not friends from China. Tough he couldn't smuggle a Absinthe for me from Swiss, I am very much happy with the Kahlua which he brought.

Kahlúa a Mexican coffee-flavored liqueur is dense and sweet,almost syrupy, created a nostalgia of having cough syrup during my eighth grade. with the distinct taste of coffee, from which it is made it also contains sugar, corn syrup and vanilla bean.The alcohol content of Kahlúa is 20.0%. But the Kahlúa Especial, the higher grade has an alcohol content of 36% and has a lower viscosity and is less sweet than the regular version.

The kahlua which I had was twenty percent and its really good. The patience died as the time went with kahlua in my hand, the fist sip went neat and the second one with Vodka. Its used for making many cocktails and as toppings for desserts. Kahlúa with Irish Cream and an orange cognac give B52.two parts Kahlua and three parts vodka give Black Russian.Mud slide is vodka, Irish cream and Kahlua. ans when you top it with baileys Irish cream its baby Guiness.

After the drink its the movie part, with san and friends, watching Transformers - part three. With mind full of Cybertronian, Megatron, Shock wave and optimus prime, deep inside my mind Black Russian kept blinking. I know it'll be past midnight to reach home. I do not mind the time when it comes to Alcohol.

HAPPY Kahlua.......

A mighty Sweet Start..

Photo: www.indianfoodforever.com

To be honest, the fist time in years, a Fresher cooking something in the first practical session. As years goes , I see many with more confidence in them. The eagerness and the interest what they show towards culinary is really Good.

Its almost a week and today , Friday the 24th of June, I had a fresher who is very much confident in what he does, the dish he prepared was Mysore Pak, the more interesting part is that the recipe was take from Google and experimented at his home, and the result, Teaching his mother how to make mysore pak.

Mysore pak a sweet dish of Karnataka,is usually served as dessert. It is made of generous amounts of ghee ,sugar and chick pea (besan) flour.Some say Mysore Pak was first created in the kitchens of the Mysore Palace by a palace cook named Kakasura Madappa out of the above ingredients. The cook at the Mysore Palace kitchen simply made a concoction of besan, ghee and sugar. The sweet that was formed delighted every one so much that it became a "Royal Sweet". When asked its name, Madappa obviously didn't have its name, so he simply called it the ‘Mysore Pak’, a delicacy from the Mysore Palace. The king relished the sweet so much that he got Madappa to set up shop outside the palace grounds so that it could be made available to common people

I have seen many who knows to make good mysore pak, but in all , the measurement of ingredients in very, very precise. If something goes wrong , they just keep complaining the measurement , forgetting the real reason behind it. But today , I saw the fresher without a measuring cup when preparing the sweet, might be the reason, that the sweet what he prepared today turned out to be a sweet. As I said earlier, once you know the functions of Ingredients and its role in a particular dish, then everything else is simple. You literally create an understanding between you and the dish, That's what happened today , a mere understanding, between the fresher and the mysore pak. Once it is achieved , how-much ever time you prepare(closing your eyes, jumping up, lying down), the dish will never deceive you. And today, it created an awesome impression on me. and I believe that the impression last forever.

HAPPY SWEET!

MYSOREPAK
Take one cup of besan flour and gently roast in 1 tbsp of ghee. Make a sugar syrup with two cups of sugar and 1/4 cup of water. Add the besan flour little at a time,keep stirring. Add ghee(3 cups), little at a time , the mixture will absorbs it, when you see the fat coming out from the mixture , pour it in a greased plate and cut after chilling.

Tasteless indeed...

I made a awful chicken today, not few will agree, but I do know what I'm up to. The order was for pepper chicken,with a good coat of gravy.So a small twist in the recipe I couldn't stop adding half a coconut. It all happend in a happy mood, tough things are sad and diffrent inside me, when it comes to cooking, I forget the worries till the time the dish is off the flames. Here with the chicken today , I am not blaming the ingredients or the pressure cooker with a fault indicator, or whatever, the dish just turned unappetizing.

Comments or complaints , I take it as complimentary , after all these years of cooking, some how I could manage to judge its texture, and the texture of the chicken today was just raw, however good you say the chicken taste , I know deep inside that its just raw chicken, dressed with wonderful and tasty comments of yours.

A cheap quality ingredients, the water you add, and the heart and soul you put in cooking, soo many things contribute to the taste and texture of the dish, towards the end, if something goes wrong, you'll just know what went wrong, where and when. But when you have everything perfect,The ingredients, equipments, and a happy mind for cooking ,almost everything and again if the dish turned out to be tasteless , like the chicken I made today, just do not get perplexed. It happen's for some unknown reason.

dosa, dhosha, dosay, dosai, dhosai, tosai, thosai, or dvashi

More than a couple of months , the tawa gifted to me was just idle in the kitchen, if only I lit the stove, the tawa gets seasoned. I enter the kitchen just to drink water, thats how things will happen when you are alone at home , filled with lonliness all times , carrying the boredrome with you all times, cooking becomes a big question??

When I have guest, things are quite diffrent, I cook, not for the sake of cooking, but happily. The unexpected visitor (my uncle), who came last week made me to use the tawa, and I cooked dosa.. simple plain dosa

Dosa a staple of South India, has a history of more than two thousand years, the fermented mixture of rice and urad dal batter , has its origin in Udupi, Karnataka says Patrick Lawrence Chapman, English food writer. The Sanskrit classic Manasollasa written in 1051 AD by Western Chalukya king Somesvara III describes Dosai. The first reference to Dosa occurs in the Tamil Sangam Literature, with so many thoeries prevailing, who ever or whatever the place of origin may be , Dosa is one popular and basic dish one could't avoid.

The fermentation process increases Vitamin B abd C, contains no sugar , saturated fatty acids , The CHO rich dosa is loved by many. How ever good the mixture is ,The best depnds on the hand which pours the batter and the Tawa which browns it, and in my case the tawa didn't deceive me. I could call it just perfect. Thanking the person who gifted me the Tawa, I'm going in for variations in dosa next time.

HAPPY EATING!

The Herbal Cuisine

Herbal Cuisine, which combines the proportion of food and medicine is becoming more popular, but its future depends on customers education and regulations to insure safety.

Almost all the cuisine around the world use herbs in one or the other form , and in many parts of the world there are restaurants which just specialize in Herbal cuisine .With growing number of fast food outlets and people conscious towards health makes the Herbal Cuisine more significant and clearly it has a very good scope.

Herbal cuisine around the world has a long history, one explanation of its origin is that, gathering food in the wild, and ancients found that some plants could be prepared as food as wells as being used to cure disease. These special plants with the combine nature of food and medicine are seen as the basis for Herbal Cuisine.
According to historical records, the first profession chef of herbal cuisine appeared in the Chinese emperors Palace over one thousand years ago, with the country’s social development; herbal cuisine has gradually become accessible and popular among ordinary people.

The Chinese use more that five thousand kind of herbs for their medicines and that shows the secret behind their long and healthy life. By 1990’s many big city’s around the world have been hit by a fever for Herbal Cuisine. “Serving Herbal Cuisine” has been adopted as a marketing strategy by many restaurants as well as those in the Five Star Hotels.

The traditional herbal cuisine has for a long time placed excessive emphasis on its curative effects and neglected the culinary pleasure for diners.Under such guidelines herbal cuisine dishes were not appetizing at all and indeed the medicinal taste kept many diners away. But today many restaurants use herbs in the most effective form to produce delicious dishes, keeping in mind the medicinal and nutritive value of the herbs.

In China restaurants specialize in Herbal Cuisine has patented “100 - Herb Banquet” that includes over two hundred dishes, the work in such a way that the best combination of medicine and diet is achieved. But many people just refuse to try a medicinal diet due to their misunderstanding that a medicinal diet is a kind of medicine, but today many great chefs use their skills and innovation to meticulously prepare herbal cuisine where more attention is given to the taste of the food. When one considers herbal cuisine as a complete disease curing medicine, the result is always unhappy. “Herbal cuisine can only play a supportive role in safeguarding health”.

In India today, the art of culinary and the food lovers community has increased dramatically, for example here in coimbatore, South of India. There is a huge and great market for Organic vegetables, there are people who pay double or triple the amount for the organic food. Which shows their concern and importance given to health and diet. In today’s busy world, where less time to dine and where people sticking to work and dine policy, where more are becoming more health conscious .Starting a Herbal cuisine restaurants will have a great scope and good business. That to in Coimbatore, a restaurant specializing in herbal cuisine will attract more customers. – very big market with huge potential.


More on Herbs and some dishes with herbs in the next post

CURRY MASALA - for a good cause

More than a week , A straight cocktail dinner on Saturday night marked the success of “Curry Masala” An Annual Food festival, organized by the PSG Alumni Association, Coimbatore. Unlike the last year, the second food festival had a spread of three cuisines, Andhra, Rajasthan and Kerala, the varieties exceeded fifty with salad bar, a Barbeque of seventy five whole chickens and various street foods.

The work involved is all the same, for all the food fest which we have worked earlier. The fest scheduled on last Sunday of January expected a good crowd and the crowd literally exceeded our expectations. The Dishes what we prepared was full of bliss and it’s really worth the sleepless Saturday night.

We involved students from the first and final year which made a total of sixty, the number sixty sounded more of strength, but when the work started we stammered with the word ‘Strength’. There is more difference between ‘you work’ and ‘making others work’. Tough this is the first time, both the batch of students were exposed to bulk cooking, (for around fifteen hundred pax), many students enjoyed what the did, either peeling an onion, or grating hundreds of coconuts or chatting with girls all times, they loved what they did.

The laal Maas (mutton preparation) from Rajastani cuisine was excellent as were the Varuthracha curry (Kerala preparation) and Bhuna Kukda(Chicken Preparation). The salad was five multiplied by four platters made a good twenty and the welcome drink made from tender coconut, honey and so and so … was awesome, it kept moving on and on , only to check the servers patience and the strength of the person who cuts the tender coconut.

Around the corner .Mr. Student, complained about the BBQ marinate I did, and the complaint turned in to a blasting when he roasted (pre cooked ) the chicken in the oven. The marinade was watery, it’s not coating to the chicken, no flavor, no color, chicken is soggy and the worst of all power going off in between the roasting. With just half cooked twenty five chicken the bla.. bla.. blasting of Mr. Student kept ringing in my head.

This time, I took the chicken to the oven, to pre cook and the result was wonderful, only then I, found out the temperature which Mr. Student cooked the first twenty five was two third of the temperature (too low) which I set in the oven.

All went well with happy faces and full stomach, we parted after midnight, carrying the word Proud in our heart, This Annual food fest is a fund raising event and the fund goes into the free education of the poor and needy students. (It’s worth working for an event like this) And in my sleep these letters kept wandering around “R” “D” “O” “P” “U”. Looking forward with patience for “CURRY MASALA 2012”

Another three days

Photo: www.ruthiecherryfineart.com

Its one year since the food fest and like the last year, the meeting was countless , of course with wonderful results in the end. With another three days for the fest, this post is for those who involved in making this event a success or a flop.

I know things will be great at the end of the day, but when it comes to planning I see more words than action. It all started with a feed back of previous fest, and after number of meetings the previous meetings minutes just kept fading away. With new faces in the meeting hall day after day, the cartridge in my HOD's printer just kept ejecting indent of ingredients to be purchased with lot many revisions.

With so many indent in hand, many got confused and the solution was arrived with anonymous decision, lot many things went unanswered, forty fillets from one kilo of fish, soaking and grinding the raw rice for Ada when you get it ready made and beautifully packed, and the number of pax to which the cooking happens... All unanswered.

Three different cuisines, thirteen different cultural events, thirty varieties of foods and Three hundred students volunteer. What more is needed to make the minds in to deciding the quantity of dishes to be prepared, and the views of all ,make you hard to distinguish an amateur with a professional . after all every one loves eating and no one can say ,I just breath in air , without taking any food for the living.

Ohhh I didn't tell what are all the cuisines, Its Rajastani, Kerala and Andhra. Its great seeing all great peoples spending their valuable time and energy for this event, and I am very much proud to be a part of it.. This is for a good cause, the profit from the event will help providing free education for students. what more is there in life than a free education to the needy... and people,another three days, the post is about how well the fest went...

No Madachi... Only Cajuchi

I knew what my plans are for the new year, at home doing nothing , and nothing. With nothing in mind I was driving down to coimbatore from ooty, the day is first of January. Around the seventh hair pin bend ,I just remembered what I said to Ms.M, "do not spoil your new year in the college hostel, go somewhere and be happy" I prayed too, for her hostel permission to go Goa with her family. But I did not expect to get a Fenny from Goa, because thats what God asked me for my prayers.

Unlike dushy(my student) who bought Khalua for me from swiss, which lies in his home shelf(do not know when it will reach me), the fenni which Ms.M bought ,came directly to my shelf, made me wait for a perfect day to start, when it comes to Alcohol any time is just perfect. I pray that Ms.M Should make it to Sikkim for the next New year eve, you get good Beetle leaf liqueur there.

"Fenni" - Goa's own drink, have two varieties , one with coconut and another with Cashewnuts, the coconut fenny is the distillation of coconut palm and the fermented juice of cashew apple gives cashew fenny. This is a colorless liquid matured in wooden barrels and gets a golden brown tint, Shake fenny in a bottle or glass and you can see some froth on top, which in Konkani language they call as FEN, and that gives fenny its name. There are around four thousand mini distilleries in Goa which makes fenny. North Goa is more of cashew and South is more of coconut.

Though there are many brands in Goa, the brand Cashyo is the one which spells it Fenni, this triple distilled beverage from Goa has a maximum of forty two percent alcohol by volume, that may sound high, but when you drink ,perhaps you'll not believe it. Coca Cola , tonic water, lemonade and on the rock with slice of lemon is what many suggest, but I preferred it neat, in spite of its strong flavor.

For those who do not like it neat, here are some cocktails, Fenni with apple juice, apple vodka and ice give "Fenny Martini". you mix in seven - up, chilli peppers and ice with fenny you get "Fire & Ice". There is fenny highball, fenny mojito, scarlet letter and groove, fenny with cointru and seven up gives a wonderful cocktail called "KISS". Some final words to end with, as my tongue tasted it, I knew it gives a instant kick, and u'll feel high. If not for the first time, I'm sure you will fall in love second time. Its true that Goa and Fenny cannot be parted and I believe that fenny has its own legacy to tell


Fenny Facts
*"Sattari" - The fenny capital of the region
* Fenny can be added to goan pork dishes
*Reals and Big boss the other good brands of fenni
*the first distillation gives Arrack and the second "Cazole"

Konar Mess Kari Dosai

The first class of an Academic year for the freshers start with a self introduction, Ironically I introduce the freshers to the culinary on what they study for all three years, but then, in between I ask the students about their home town and hear Nagerkoil, Salem, Erode, Ooty, Coimbatore, Madurai and many. When I hear the word Madurai I make a stop and say a very few things about Madurai, tough I have not been to madurai, until recent times , I say a few things for unknown reasons
The American College(started in the year 1881), Thiagarajra College ,Fatima college, places like subramaniapuram, that puram this puram and many people in Kollywood, with poets, actors, artists and good good politicians(NO Kanth), ahhh I remember that very much ..I, who voted last time in Nilgiris will rather fry my fingers in hot hot oil than to dip my finger in voters ink in the coming electoin,what a shame - Rotten Politics/politicians.(I am from Nilgiris - enjoying 3g in Coimbatore , wish you know what 2g is)* Rotten also has one more meaning which starts with the letter R

A month ago I watched a tamil film "Myna" which starts with a scene where they plan to join for lunch in Konar mess in Madurai for its famous kari doasai(mutton dosa), After three hours the movies had a sad ending, the more saddest part in me was, they neither showed Konar mess nor the Kari dosai. A week after the movies, The sad in me faded away when I made a visit literally to Konar mess in madurai for its Karidoasi.

Unlike the movie, where they plan for lunch. I made it for dinner, and was there on time to witness the tawa full of Kari dosai, I did not opted for the menu , just settled for kari dosai, The dish is like a miniature Uttappam with meat topppings, A cup of batter is poured on the tawa, then topped with beaten eggs and cooked mutton chops, the entire uttappam is turned upside down and cooked for another couple of minutes, the result an awesome
dish with delicious taste ,Apart for then u have Malli Idli(jasmine idli)Biryani, Idiyappam, varieties of dosas, and many. I asked him for all the accompaniments .Of all the mutton chops and onion gravy married well with the taste of Kari dosai, No wonder one will get addicted to it when you taste once and perhaps u 'll sign a legal document of all your asset (if any) to the taste of kari dosai. Next time when you are in Madurai Forget not the simmakkal Konar Mess Kari Dosai..

City of Jasmine....

One of the oldest cities in India, Madurai , derived from Madurapuri - the city of divine nectar , is famous for so many things and the cuisine there is worth mentioning. The five hour journey from coimbatore took Eight hours reaching madurai at two in the night, with tiring legs and hungry stomach ,I got down from the bus cursing the driver for his skillful driving, but the glowing shops, with hot idlis , parathas and food and food brought all the happiness in me. Yes Madurai is a Sleepless city indeed.

In the morning back from the Algar temple, the hot hot sun and the dusty dusty street made me to settle for something cool and relaxing. Nothing will match the authentic Madurai Jigarthanda. A tall glass filled with chilled reduced milk , with sabudana, china grass, nannari, sugar and an Awesoome scoop of ice cream . The real cool and relaxing drink

Its the best refreshing drink for summer, a single glass will make you "cold heart" thats the meaning for Jigarthanda, add the word JIL JIL(Cold Cold)to it, I am sure you will go for a second and third glass.

With cold cold energy, the hot hot sun and the dusty dusty streets turned out to be a cool cool walk, a solid one hour walk to the Nayakar Mahal palace, with huge Pillars and painting inside, with idols and carvings inside, I din't knew that the local "Sourashtras" community food was waiting outside, The "Sourashtras" community with their original homes in Gujarat , settled in Madurai long long ago, their food is all vegetarian with mouth watering taste. U try it sometimes ,no wonder you will stop eating meat.

Just outside the palace , there is a small road side stall, and the process goes like this, three containers of soft dough, one with rice flour, drumstick leaves and seasonings(green color). another with Ragi flour, onions and seasonings(brown color) and the last with refined flour with a stuffing of semolina, sugar and ghee(white color). All pressed in palms and deep fried in oil. Two rupees for the green ones and Three rupees for the brown and white ones. I ate ate and ate with hundred and six rupees out of wallet the fellow in the stall is tired frying the dough

Wishing the cook with heart and soul the taste of it lingered in me all through the visit to Meenakshi sudareswar temple. Visit here at-least once in a life time , you/One will understand why Madurai is called the city of temples. Kannagi burnt Madurai as a result of the injustice caused to her husband Kovalan, they say almost everything burnt except the Meenakashi sundareswar temple. I do believe in god and this is the way I pray, I close my eyes and pray to god that save everyone who comes to my mind, the best part is, my tamil tutor who torn me aprt in my school days will come first, followed by the neighbor who broke my nose when I was 17, all my enemies, atlast my family, friends, well wishers, and in this temple something also came towards the end, its the Simmakkal Konar Mess Kari Doasai.I prayed that the mess should be open.


My prayers coming true, Konar Mess Kari Doasai is my next post