food adventures in india
Well it’s Phew for now as India says “Nahi Chahiye” to GM aubergine. I’m with V.S. Vijayan, chairman of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board who said our hero of the hour Environment minister Jairam Ramesh has saved India “from a catastrophe” by announcing a moratorium on genetically modified crops. I’m no scientist but common sense would suggest we be very very scared of GM.
The Hindu : Cities / Kochi : Moratorium on Bt brinjal hailed.
All my birthdays and Christmases came at once last Thursday when good friend Nita offered to help me explore the area around her family’s office in Khari Baoli Spice Market. Now, I never need much of an excuse to go to Old Delhi but when an insider offers to show you around, it’s time to drop everything and run!
Three of us set off mid-morning for what would turn out to be one of my most memorable days in Old Delhi. We started at the Naya Bazaar end of Khari Baoli – Nita’s friend and foodie extraordinaire Anil, on holiday from his home in Paris, also came along and brought a certain ‘Je ne sais quoi’ to the jaunt. Anil has the most amazing ability to get people to behave naturally in front of the camera and I spent a lot of time pestering him for tips – hope something has rubbed off!
For once, though, this wasn’t an eating trip, but a time to look, listen and try to scribble down as much as possible as fast as possible - Nita was wonderful at coaxing out the kind of in-depth information that my ‘tuta puta’ Hindi prohibits, and by the end of the day my head was swimming with the discovery of new foods, recipes, folklore and family history. We also returned home with a whole heap of new (to me) ingredients to play with. Wah kya bat hai? as they say in these parts!
One of Delhi’s signature winter street foods is Shakarkandi. We all breathe a sigh of relief in the autumn when the spicy sweet potato vendors appear: we know the cooler weather is truly on its way.
As with much Indian street food, a plate of Shakarkandi is a tapas-sized portion and ideal for those between meals dilemmas. I particularly love ordering a plate late afternoon when dinner seems a long way off. I ordered up this plate outside Lodhi Gardens after a Republic Day walk last Tuesday. I love watching the ritual of assembling the Shakarkandi – the sweet potato is first plucked from the small pile warming on a pile of coal, slowly peeled, cubed and tumbled into a plate. The cubes are then liberally sprinkled with masala and lemon juice before being mixed with an expert flick of the wrist.
Classic David and Goliath tale as owner of Indian fast food giant Haldirams faces life imprisonment for attempted murder of humble tea stall owner.
Click to read more… Haldiram owner, four aides get life.
A February Food Walk
I have a new favourite Hindi word – Bhojanalaya, or eatery. And I have a new favourite Bhojanalaya – Hotel Adarsh Niwas in Old Delhi. I had lunch there yesterday with the Man with the Best Job in Indian Journalism, as part of a whistle stop tour some of his favourite Old Delhi haunts.
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Tea-Time in Kinari Bazaar
A bit slow out of the blogging blocks this year – I blame the weather – this cold snap has almost brought me to a standstill. I’m spending way too much time under the covers wearing umpteen unflattering layers and clutching a hot water bottle. I may not have been tapping away furiously yet – maybe I should try, it might warm me up a bit – but I have been tinkering and mulling.
First, I decided we needed a new, 2010-friendly look – what do you think so far? Also, I realised things were getting a little tame around here and a new adrenalin-fuelled direction was required! Something to get the pulse-rate up a notch, a kind of culinary triathlon.
Happy New Year to everyone!
We’ve just spent a week on the Coramandel Coast in southern India. I had intended to be blogging madly about South Indian dishes but we just couldn’t stop eating the fabulous beef – most notably at Nautilus Restaurant in Mamalapurram where we all ate Steak Frites for 4 nights running (their calamari was also excellent), but also at Le Club in Pondicherry. We also loved the authentic baguettes and pastries at Baker Street in Pondicherry – close your eyes and you’re in Place Vendome!
I snapped these candy floss vendors on the beach front at Pondicherry – the pink looked so dramatic over the last of the monsoon skies.
The bakery in INA Market was feeling festive yesterday – I couldn’t have put it better myself. Marry Christmax from me too!
All this chasing around after turkeys, tracking down Brussels sprouts and and non-stop catering doesn’t leave much time for blogging but I can’t let the season pass without sharing a couple of recipes without which, for me, Christmas simply cannot proceed.
The first is for Mincemeat – the best way to whip up some festive cheer, filling the kitchen with heavenly spiced fruit smells that instantly bring on that Christmassy feeling. I use the mincemeat to make sinfully moreish mince pies for drinks parties or as a dessert (preferably with brandy butter). I bought all the ingredients except suet in INA Market. Suet, grated beef fat, is a throwback to pre-refrigeration times when mincemeat was a way of preserving meat. It’s not absolutely necessary and even without it you’ll make mincemeat that’s a hundred times better than the shop-bought variety. Beef and vegetarian suet is available at Modern Bazaar in Vasant Lok – although don’t be tempted by their ready-made mincemeat, it’s way too spicy.
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So this is Laura and I at the start of our first ever ‘Upar Wali Chai’ (def: n. tea, high – decadent tea-time treats served with no restraint whatsoever) which was held at Gunpowder Restaurant in Hauz Khas Village last weekend. Thirty guests, a mountain of cakes and the sun setting over the lake made for a winter afternoon to remember.
Here’s a selection of pictures taken by the lovely and super-talented Tom Pietrasik
Pulling off these pistachio macaroons gave me some sleepless nights!
Satish and Kiran, Gunpowder’s lovely co-owners were on hand throughout both in the kitchen and front of house.
Never too young for afternoon tea!
Sigh! The Florentines and Chocolate Cake (both made by Laura) were divine.
We both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves – the appreciative noises of munching diners made all the days and days of baking worthwhile. There couldn’t have been a more blissful spot than Gunpowder for our first afternoon tea venture – thanks to all the staff there who made everything so easy for us. We’re hoping to be back with another Upar Wali Chai in January.
Contact us at uparwalichai@gmail.com
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