Living in Vancouver, you’d think the prospect of rainy weather wouldn’t be the biggest attraction when heading out on a vacation. Ah, but this wasn’t just any rain – it’s the monsoon in India!
So I jumped at a recent opportunity to spend a short time at home with family and friends, soaking in the sights and sounds of my favourite season.
Naturally, much of my time was devoted to revisiting some of the wonderful foods that are such a part of my monsoon memories of Coorg. There was plenty of baimbale and akki otti, kulaeputtu and maddu puttu of course, because it’s good for you (and I just happen to adore it!).
I did take a really short break from all that indulgence, to share a bit about a couple of the season’s best – wild mushrooms, and thermé with one of my favourite food writers, Vikram Doctor. Regular readers of his column “On My Plate” in the Economic Times, may already know that Vikram now has a fortnightly audio podcast – “The Real Food Podcast”.
If you haven’t discovered it yet, you’re in for a treat – listen up!
If that’s whetted your appetite for more, here’s a recipe I came across for a delicious new way to cook another old favourite – kaymbu, or red stem Taro.
Chonde kaymbu palya
Red stem taro in a garlicky sweet and sour sauce, finished with a flourish of irresistible kaipuli!
- 1/2 kg red kaymbu stems, peeled and sliced into 2” lengths
- 1 medium onion, finely sliced
- 2-3 dry red chillis, broken and deseeded
- 7-8 cloves of garlic (or more!) with the skin on, lightly crushed
- 1 1/2 tsp mustard seed
- I sprig curry leaves
- 3 tbsp jaggery
- Salt to taste
- 2-3 tbsp oil
- 1/4 cup kaipuli juice* or 2 tbsp thick tamarind extract
Heat the oil in a shallow pan and sputter the mustard , then add the crushed garlic. Sauté for two minutes, or until the garlic takes on a golden brown colour. Add the chillis and the sliced onions and cook on medium heat until the onions are softened and transparent. Add the curry leaves, turmeric salt and the chopped kaymbu. Stir to mix.
Reduce the heat, Cook on low heat for ten minutes or until the kaymbu is tender. Add the jaggery (if you’re using tamarind, add it now) and cook for a couple more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the kaipuli juice.
*Or Seville orange juice if you have it.
As I’ve mentioned before, rice plays such an important role in our lives, and observing people hard at work transplanting paddy in slushy fields, has renewed my respect and appreciation for farmers everywhere.