Falooda

Indian Summers are oppressively hot and humid. And kids and adults would do anything to keep cool. Falooda is sold as THE thing to cool your body down and it is freely avilable in all the iceream shops, bakeries and street food vendors. It was introduced to India by the Moghuls - so it is a Middle Eastern dish except the Indians added their own twist to it.  The twist is the secret syrup - called Roohafza that you will find in all sorts of soft drinks, lemonade, fizzy sherbet drinks and so on. I tend to use Roohafza very sparingly as it is extremely sweet. But it has an amazing smell of roses and a bright pink colour that looks great on desserts.

To explain the Falooda to Aussies - it is like an Eton Mess - a jumble of things put together with different textures and flavours. I made this for my birthday last week but the pictures taken at night were not particularly good.  Luckily I had the ingredients so I could make it again for the photograph.

Aloo Tikki - Spicy Indian Potato Cake

 Every holiday in India we try to go on a journey by train.  This time too, it was no different. The journey was special because we have never travelled on the Shaan-E-Punjab (The Pride of Punjab). All the way from Amritsar to Delhi on the Indian Railways. It was a 5 hour journey on the seater car of the train. The scenery was quite different to what I was used to down in South India where it is greener and with lots of bodies of water.

The food was also different - and just to be safe we ordered just vegetarian food. So it was vegetable biriyani and Aloo Tikki. I was not very impressed with the food in the train - (only because we had enjoyed three days of amazing local food in Amritsar) - and I didn't give it much thought until we arrived in Delhi.

In Delhi, we stayed at my friend's house and her maid was the one who really got us hooked into Aloo Tikkis. These delightful crisp skinned potato cakes with bits of peas and cauliflower, dipped in a sweet, tangy and sour tamarind sauce and a bit of mint chutney were just too good to stop at one.

The best part was you could make them and use them like burger patties and watch a game of footy while pretending to be in Delhi. So this is what I did today - to relive my holidays!

Pazham Pori - Plantain Fritters

 What is it about greasy food wrapped in paper and watching the sunsets? I grew up with it, my children grew up with it - and it will probably continue for generations.  Except it is different sorts of greasy foods.  My sort of greasy food is a deep fried plantain fritter served with a cup of hot chai - and watching the sun disappearing into the deep blue waters of the Arabian sea.  

We never used to be able to get the plantains in Melbourne. Those days whenever I visited my home town I would devour them in all forms with much enthusiasm. The last two years I have been able to source them fairly regularly from my local Indian grocer. I wonder if I will have the same enthusiasm for them when I visit the next time.

This recipe is my athai (aunty) Vimala's recipe. She made the most amazing plantain fritters when I visited her in Nagercoil last time. The plantains were from her mother's back yard, organic and vine ripened. Needless to say, it is the most delicious fritter I've had in a very long time.

The perfect fritter has crispy outside skin and a soft, warm and sweet plantain inside.

Sundal - Chickpea Salad

 Amma used to serve this up as afternoon tea once in a while.  I was never a fan of it in my younger days. As I grew older and my taste buds changed, I realised that I have become a huge fan of chick peas. It is filling, packed with nutrients and above all, so tasty - and don't forget, gluten free. That ticks so many boxes. If you are thinking of controlling your appetite, chick peas are a great option as a small amount keeps you feeling full for longer.

In my youth, we never bought tinned chick peas. In fact, I was not even aware of the tinned chick peas until I came here to Australia! Amma did it the old fashioned way - soaking the chick peas over night and then cooking them the next day.  This recipe is however, made with the tinned chick peas - reducing the cooking time. Also, in amma's recipe there are no added raw vegetables. I added them in as I wanted something light and fresh for dinner on this hot Melbourne evening!

This is also served as a popular street food item in news paper cones in Marina Beach, Chennai. You can use your choice of legumes and /or garnishes.

Beef Ribs Chatpata

 India is full of road side eateries.  As you drive along, there are many food stalls with all sorts of delicious things being cooked on a open flame or on hot coals. When I was young, I had no qualms about walking up to these food stalls and picking up food - and eating straight off the banana leaf / news paper it was served on.  When I took my children back home, I did not really want to encourage them to do that as they were young and I did not want them to fall ill on our holidays.

But the road side food is very much part of my food make up - it is who I am and even now when I am there I pick up random goodies from road side eateries.

One of the things that I love is the beef chatpata - beef with the fat rendered and cooked in its own fat till it melts in the mouth. Hot, spicy and the original Indian "fast food".  Chatpata means fast as in quick; so here is my beef chatpata for you to try!

Mutton Sukka Varuval - Pan roasted goat South Indian style

 I know what you are thinking - who would eat mutton, right? Well, let me tell you, my friends.  If a South Indian person calls you over for Mutton, never say no!  

What you call mutton is old sheep meat.  What South Indians call mutton is young goat meat.  Confusing, right?

Try it just once and you will get hooked.  You can get beautiful goat meat in Preston Market - you can either buy it chopped or you can get a leg of goat and request it to be chopped.  I always buy it with the bone as it adds a lot of flavour to the gravy.

A sunny winter afternoon, drink in hand, story book and some beautiful mutton sukka varuval.  What more can you ask for?  That is heaven in a plate right there!

In my University days in the hostel, my roommates and I used to bribe the watchman to buy this for us from the local tea stall.  We called him watchman thatha (watchman grandpa) and he treated us like his children, indulging us even if we asked for it late at night. We relished it with parotta (layered Indian flat bread).  Mmmm - it is a marriage made in heaven!  This was the equivalent to HSP in our youth, kids, if you are reading this! :-)

Kallu Night - the experience (The Kerala Local Pub experience)

 The local toddy shop - is a place where decent hard working people do not go to.  Kallu, Toddy, Arrack - all of these words have quite negative connotations to the extent that people hide the fact they enjoy a drink or two. However, the fact is all the good hard working people I know have a drink or two and I have grown up drinking freshly tapped toddy direct from the toddy tapper.

The main point to note is that you would never see a lady in a toddy or arrack shop.  The toddy shop - affectionately shortened to the "shop" or referred to as the "Shaap" in the local Malayali accent, is mostly visited by trades people after a day of  hard labour and it is common practice to drown oneself in the cloudy cheap liquor that is made from coconut water and fermented naturally.

(recipe for kallu here: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/06/kallu-toddy-alcoholic-coconut-water.html)

Imagine the setting - the hard wood table and benches, lit up by multiple coloured bulbs, bawdy songs in the background, spicy curries and hot parottas washed down with cool, chilled kallu.  Its local heaven for the thousands who have no other form of entertainment.

These days most kallu shops also sell foreign liquor - and for the locals it is irresistible. Kerala being a coastal state, most of the fiery, spicy dishes that are sold in the kallu shops feature seafood.

Here at Kitchen Anugraha we love to give our guests a first hand experience of the sights and sounds along with the tastes of back home.  This week we featured a kallu night - complete with spicy food, bawdy songs, coloured lights, lots of noise and laughter.  As it got darker, the lights came on and dessert was served - a fitting end to a fun night.  Thank you to my featured guests and fellow kallu shaap patrons! :-)

Tea Stall Cookies - Coconut Biscuits

 The "Tea Stall" is a meeting place for all sorts of people - school and university students, labourers, retirees - and they all come together to these nondescript and often nameless tea stalls for tea by the metre and snacks. These tea stalls usually have a big pot belly stove in a corner with the milk constantly on the boil - and churning out orders for coffee and tea. Along with coffee and tea is a choice of deep fried and baked snacks, usually made in advance and stored in big mason jars and glass display cases.  

My husband tells me that when he was at University, he would walk down to the Tea Stall with friends and they would share one cup of tea between two friends. It was a common practice among cash strapped students to share tea and it even had a term - "By Two" 

So he would order one tea, served in two cups - and a few coconut cookies to go with it and they sat talking and watching the waves crashing on the beach.

My friend's daughter who lives in the US was also reminiscing about the tea stall days and she hunted out this cookie recipe.  Both of us decided to try the recipe and compare notes.

I am not much of a baker as you know by now - and straight away I made the mistake of using caster sugar when I read confectioners sugar in the recipe. Nevertheless, the cookies turned out quite crisp and nice and my husband says the coconut ones reminded him of his Besant Nagar Beach days!

Recipe Credit: @Kannamma Cooks 

Pani Puri

 I am unable to translate Pani Puri to English - they are little puffed up breads (Puri) that you make a hole in and stuff with fillings of your choice, add the thin sauce (Pani) - and pop into your mouth.

When you stand on the street popping these into your mouth - with the juices running down your arm in the hot and humid weather it is a joy that is hard to convey. You have to experience it for yourself!  The fusion of flavours and textures, the salt, sugar, sourness of the tamarind, the heat of the chilli, crispiness of the puri and the ice cold pani is just heaven in your mouth.  

As you keep popping them one after the other - the only stress is how quickly can I finish the one in my mouth so I can have the one in my bowl because the vendor has the next one ready to go....Phew! pressure!!!! 

Since being in isolation we haven't been out to have this in Melbourne.  I decided to make it myself. Thank you Hebbar's Kitchen (https://hebbarskitchen.com/) for making this possible.

I would buy the puris from the Indian store as they are locally made and just the right size for popping into your mouth.  I did do it the hard way - and since I did not have a cookie cutter that size I used the lid of a vegemite jar to cut out the puris and they are a little too big.

Tandoori Chicken

This is a favourite with young and old alike - it goes nicely with a schooner of beer or a glass of wine or just by itself.  I do not have the clay tandoor oven, which gives the tandoori chicken the classic burnt / charred marks. So I make do with my electric over and the grill plate to finish off.

Grilled Corn - Indian street food

On a day like today - when it is warm and muggy with a cool Melbourne breeze every now and again and perhaps even a passing shower, I think of Marina Beach in Chennai and my friends. 

We used to spend time watching the sunset and then dig into delicious street food served by the street vendors.

One of my favorites was grilled corn.  Fresh sweet corn grilled slowly over hot red coals and served with a dash of butter, lime, chilli and salt.  The salty beach air, the cool breeze, friends all added to the enjoyment of this simple dish.