Food Coma

Our Food Adventures From The Last Few Days

More cooking with Shrikant & Shubha.

Cooking with Shrikant generally becomes a community event, as we all like to observe and pitch in. Charayna says it’s good everyone is in the kitchen, as he needs to be supervised. :o) Shrikants dish this evening is Vegetable Paneer. One of the very simple dishes consisting of just about any medley of veggies, he used carrots, bell pepper (capsicum) tomato, onion and Paneer (Indian cheese) all in a tasty spicy curry sauce. Shubha also joined us this evening and made the Chappathi. Apparently she is known throughout Andra Pradesh as the master of the Chappathi :o) Rowan is learning to make the Chappathi dough so she can do it for us when we move to our own apartment.

Rowan working the dough

Chappathi master Shubha rolling and cooking the dough

Indian snack food

Here is another Indian treat called Sago Vadam. They are made from these clear, hard sheets of dried tapioca. The tapioca pieces are thrown into a pot of hot vegetable oil and turn instantly into a light, fluffy tapioca chip. Charanya showed me how to fry some up. You can eat them with any kind of chutney, curry, sauce…...anything.

Valentines Day Mousse

Yes, the Indians do observe Valentines Day. It’s wacky how these western observances that are purely created for capitalist reasons have spread worldwide. The marketing created by these ‘special events’ is hopefully helping the economies of countries like India, however, St. Valentine was NOT a Hindu by any means………..so, there goes the true meaning of the holiday. Shrikant & Charanya secretly brought home a tasty little triple chocolate mousse cake for us to have to celebrate the day. YUM! A very nice treat!

The Great Kabob Factory

We should actually be titling this part of the post as ‘The Great Meat Orgy’! Shrikant and Sumit (Shubha’s husband) decided it was time to eat some serious meat (most of what we eat on a daily basis is vegetarian). I was jumping up and down with excitement at the thought of gorging on chicken, lamb and seafood. Thank you Shiva! This restaurant is very similar to the Brazilian meat & kabob restaurants Fogo de Chao found in big cities throughout the US.

The kabob master chefs are lined up in the kitchen sticking various forms of carnivorous delights onto big sword-like skewers and then throwing them into the fire pit. The various meats and seafood are spiced with different Indian spices. The waiters bring plate after plate after plate of kabob meat and fresh fruit to the table (they also have the vegetarian options as well). You can have as much as you would like. Repeatedly! They encourage you to take more. And THAT IS JUST THE FIRST COURSE! Then they bring various kinds of daal and paneer with different Indian breads. Then comes dessert, A YUMMY Indian ice cream on a stick called Kulfi. It was loaded with cashews and pistachios. When I got up from the table, I felt like I was about to give birth to a small lamb! Ugh! To top it off, we were headed to the Paan table to eat our organic toiletry digestive. :o) We have to thank our friends for treating us to such a fabulous evening.

chicken, lamb, lamb pate patty, chapathi. The first of many servings!

assorted chilie, mint and yogurt sauces

fruit and the daal and paneer being served

two kinds of daal with garlic naan bread

Shubha and Sumit

the whole gang

Jenni ready to give birth to a small hoofed animal

but, maybe after the Kulfi ice cream! :o)

Here is a picture of Rowan in her food coma after we got home.

Indian Dumplings

Shrikant is the breakfast master on Sundays. This morning he made Idli (rice flower dumplings or pancakes) with various seed spices. He also made a yummy, yummy, yummy peanut-based chutney to go along with it (roasted onions, chilies, peanuts and spices). I have to tell you that the peanut chutney is a gift from heaven and I will be making this at home. YUM! The meal is topped off with fresh coconut water, a natural electrolyte drink right from the coconut.

Idli in steamer trays

pressure cooker is used for steaming dumplings

Idli ready to eat. Delicious!

roasting ingredients for the peanut chutney

before the puree

Yummy peanut chutney

the source for our delicious coconut water

Now, time to fast for 3 days! :o)

A Bindi For My Brother

Our first trip to a Hindu temple was a huge learning experience. With Charanya as our guide and teacher we learned all about the different Hindu gods and their powers, plus the customs of worship at each sanctum inside the temple.

We visited the local Film Nagar Daiva Sannidhanam Temple here in Jubilee Hills. Before entering the temple you must remove your shoes and wash your feet. No cameras are permitted inside the temple, so

there are only outside pictures in this posting. There are different sanctums placed throughout the temple, each housing a different god. A priest is stationed just outside each sanctum to give each worshiper some blessed water (he pours it into your cupped hands, you drink some and pass some over your head). The waters are flavored with camphor or tulsi (Indian basil). Then the priest recites a blessing for you and you bow as he puts a silver cup on your head. Sometimes they will throw rice or turmeric on your head as part of the blessing. Keep in mind that when I say ‘priests’ they look nothing like Christian priests. They look more like Gandhi in their simple wraps of fabric.

Here is a photograph of the entrance to the temple, of what we think is a statue depicting the many avatars of Shiva or Vishnu.

We visited the following sanctums within the temple:

Ganesha, the elephant god (the remover of obstacles)

Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity (both material and spiritual), light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage, and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm.

Saraswathi, the goddess of knowledge, music and the arts.

Shiva, seen as the supreme god in the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism. In the Smarta tradition, he is regarded as one of the five primary forms of god. Shiva is an adjective meaning “auspicious, kind, gracious”.

Vishnu, the supreme god in the Vishnuvite tradition of Hinduism. Vishnu is the all-pervading essence of all beings, the master of-and beyond-the past, present and future, the creator and destroyer of all existences, and one who supports, sustains and governs the Universe and originates and develops all elements within (thanks Wikipedia! :o) Vishnu has a number of avatars (yes, Hinduism is where avatars originated, not Nintendo and Hollywood).

Hanuman, the monkey god is believed to be an avatar of Lord Shiva. Hanuman is worshiped as a symbol of strength, perseverance and devotion (reminds me of the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz).

Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. He is considered the Perfect Man or Lord of Self Control or Lord of Virtue.

Krishna, many Vishnava groups recognize him as an avatar of Vishnu while others consider him to be the Supreme Being.

And there were still others………If you are interested to learn more about Hinduism and its gods, go to Google. Thank Shiva, Vishnu and Krishna for Google! :o)

Now, this next part is just for Jenni’s brother Ben.

My dear brother had been texting me asking me if ‘I’ve got the red dot on my forehead yet’. Well, Benny, as we were being blessed at one of the sanctums in the temple, a priest gave us our Bindi (or red dot as you call it). It is made from vermillion and turmeric powder and applied by the priest using his finger after he gives you the blessing. It is a symbol that we have worshiped today in the Hindu tradition. This photo is just for you! :o)

It was really fascinating to experience these Hindu traditions. There are volumes more to learn about this religion and its philosophies, gods and history. We can’t wait for our next temple visit.

Walkabout

Rowan, Charayna and I were out walking around the neighborhood the other day and came across this little park so we decided to check it out. It was a nice green space (there are few of those here) with lots of trees and nice landscaping. It seems that the men tend to take afternoon breaks when they come to read and take naps in the park. The women continue to work! As we walked around, we came across the cutest litter of puppies, probably 12-16 weeks old. I just couldn’t resist and had to go over and see them. We could have taken any one of them home with us. The mother was nowhere to be seen, so we hope someone looks after the poor little fleabags.

As we went on our way I had to stop and check out this construction project. I have been noticing that the scaffolding they use to put up around multistory construction is all made out of wood poles tied together. Yes, TIED TOGETHER! It just amazes me that the workers walk around up there on nothing but sticks tied together with rope. We have seen 10 story buildings completely wrapped in this kind of scaffold. Yikes!

Charanya took us on another outing so we could start looking for some kitchen utensils we would need for our own apartment that we move into on Monday. We had our driver take us to another part of town where our friend Shubha said there is supposed to be a good utensil shop. We arrived at this little street that was lined with all sorts of shops and vegetable carts. We came across this interesting chalk drawing on the street, of Jesus on the cross. We found it interesting since this is a primarily Hindu region.

As I was taking this photo I looked up and had a cow coming right for me! Toro! Toro! I said. The locals on the street were very amused by this.

We found our utensil shop and proceeded to get a big pile of assorted containers, cutting boards, chopping knives, frying pans, etc. All of these things we will leave with Charanya when we leave our apartment. The wheeling and dealing was so much fun. We walked out of there having only spent $26 US. It is amazing how cheap things are here. As we were getting ready to leave the shop and find our vegetables, another cow was at the bottom of the steps just hanging out. I love it! Here are some photos.

Thank goodness fresh food is so plentiful and inexpensive here. We were able to get this beautiful selection of fruits and vegetables for only $3.60 US. We are definitely in our food element! :o)

Angeethi – Punjabi Delight

We were all keen to not cook tonight and go out for dinner instead (since we have done little of that). Our friend Shubha recommended a place called Angeethi, a restaurant that prepares north Indian cuisine from the Haryana/Punjab region. Haryana borders Pakistan to the west and is where the capital city of Delhi is. We will be traveling up to Rajasthan, just south of there, in early March.

Punjabi food is prepared using some different ingredients and spices than the southern Indian food we have been preparing and eating here in Hyderabad. Oooooweeeeeeee! Are there some-a-spicy dishes here! Shrikant & Charanya helped us get a good selection of dishes so we could experience a good sampling of the food. We started off with a couple of drinks, Jal Jeera (when it came to the table I thought it was a glass of pond water with frog eggs floating on the top! Tasty!) and Lassi, which looked like a glass of milk (and a little safer to drink!). The Jal Jeera (cumin lemonade) is made with water, ground cumin, mint leaf paste, lemon juice, black salt, cilantro paste and dry mango powder. Boondi, little deep fried flour balls, are floated on the top. To say it has a very unique taste is an understatement, however we grew to like it by the end of the meal. Lassi is made sweet, salty or fruity. We were served the salty version here. It is made with yogurt, cumin seeds, milk, lemon juice and salt - much easier to drink right off the bat and pretty tasty.

The waiters in the restaurant were dressed in traditional Punjabi attire, which made it fun as they came to the table to serve us. If any of you go out for Indian food, we highly recommend looking for these Punjabi dishes if you can find them. They are extremely delicious, but be ready for some heat.

Here is what we had:

Bhatti Di Champ – chicken rubbed with spices. The least spicy of our dishes and very tender

Roghan Josh – Lamb in the most delicious curry sauce I have ever tasted. The lamb fell off of the bone. Very spicy but you just can’t stop eating it because it’s so good. If Mutton Biryani is a pot of love, this is a plate of pure PASSION! YUM! YUM! YUM!

Paneer Kurshan – Indian cheese dish with peppers and veg.

Sarson Ki Saag – Mustard leaves with kick-yo-ass-hot chilis that sneak up on you as you take that big bite expecting it to be a harmless little vegetable dish. I almost had to take off my clothes I was having such a sweat! It was delicious.

Chilies anyone? :o)

I feel ring sting coming on :o)………………

For dessert we walked over to the Paan counter in the restaurant where they make fresh Paan right in front of you. Paan is made by using a Betel leaf. There are regional variations (India & Pakistan). It is chewed as a palate cleanser, a breath freshener and digestive. Paan makers may use mukhwas or tobacco in paan fillings. Most paan contains areca nuts, cardamom, anis, katha with choona (lime paste), grated coconut, different kinds of betel nuts and a small piece of various candies. The variety of ways it can be made is endless. Here are photos and a movie of the Paan counter.

The Paan was the most unusual flavor explosion we have ever experienced. I can't really explain what it tastes like and does to your mouth. The texture is leafy, crunchy & crackly. Rowans hilarious response - 'I feel like I just ate a bar of soap! So I guess it tastes sort of like an organic toiletry? We laughed all the way to the car. We would do it all again in a heartbeat!