Around this time of year, with mango season afoot in India, I confess to just a twinge of mango envy, and not a little nostalgia.

Picking through a few select memories, I find myself dreaming of long ago summers, and of coconut leaf mats, spread with rosy mangoes from my aunt’s farm ripening in fragrant quiet in my grandmother’s store room.

In boarding school, much longed for treats of Neelam or Malgova mangoes after lunch, came charged with the additional, if dubious, thrill of encountering a mango seed weevil scuttling out of the kernel, and the ensuing schoolgirl hysteria that it would set off!

In blisteringly hot summers in Delhi, my father, the official fruit (and fish) buyer in the family, would bring home baskets of mangoes from INA market, to be demolished in sittings that saw some of us put away four or five mangoes at a go. (I’ll not be naming names, besides Dussheri, Langda, Chausa… 😉 ) To say nothing of all those mangoes consumed in milkshakes, in ice cream, and with fresh cream, or in savoury delights like chutneys and pickles. There were so many ways to love this fruit and all those wonderful Indian varieties to choose from!

Continue reading →

Can it really be time to retire the hearty soups of winter and move on to lighter fare? Salads, even? Here in Vancouver, with temperatures edging towards twenty degrees celsius, with glorious sunshine and blue skies, I’d say yes! Of course I’m not looking ahead on the weather front for any looming rainclouds.

Speaking of salads, it would be hard to find any in the traditional Coorg repertoire. Certainly there are cool accompaniments to a spicy meal, made from mangoes, citrus, or cucumber mixed with spiced yogurt. But I think that overall, we did seem to nurse a healthy suspicion of uncooked greens and vegetables!

Still, given the eclectic palate and adventurous taste buds of some, a salad as we generally know it might have made an unexpected guest appearance at the table now and then.

Continue reading →

We’re just past the first weekend of spring. Crocuses, daffodils and early cherry blossom are washed in gentle sunshine one day, cool rain the next. There is lots of fresh snow in the local mountains, a reminder that winter  isn’t done with us yet. But that doesn’t deter keen gardeners from flocking  to nurseries and garden centres to pick out what they need for the coming season. Seeds, seedlings, shrubs, potting soil, manure, flowerpots. Maybe even a garden gnome or two.

Doing a spot of spring cleaning of the contents of my freezer, I came upon a packet of white poppy seed that had somehow escaped my attention these past months. They’re still fresh and viable, though strictly in the culinary sense. They certainly aren’t going to be planted in my garden, given that they might grow into something quite illegal!

“Papaver somniferum, the Opium poppy, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are derived. Opium is the source of many narcotics, including morphine (and its derivative heroin), thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine. The Latin botanical name means the “sleep-bringing poppy”, referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.”

Well! No, these are just going into something I enjoyed at home in Coorg recently. One of my favourite (and perfectly legal)  desserts – kaskasé* payasa.

Continue reading →

A crisp bite, followed by a rush of tangy salt and spice, carried on a smooth wave of melting…fat!
Warning: Seriously addictive snack ahead!

The inspiration for these spiced crisps made from pork belly, came from my wonderfully talented friend Kavitha, who is as creative in the kitchen as she is in her writing and artwork.

When I visited her in Bangalore a while ago, she had a package of pork belly strips from a local butcher who caters to a large Korean clientele. (This cut of pork is popularly used for Korean barbecue.)  She rustled up a quick snack by dipping the strips of pork belly in thinned down kachampuli, seasoned with just salt and pepper, and pan frying them.

The result – a melt-in-the-mouth porky treat, with a surprising hit of tanginess and warm spice that has you reaching for just one more!

Well and truly hooked, I have since that visit experimented with a few more simple spice mixes , sticking with that touch of tartness and a hint of spice. Here are two of my current favourites.

Continue reading →

For special occasions, neyi kuul, or ghee rice, is a favoured dish at the Kodava table.

What’s not to love about soft white rice, cooked in generous quantities of ghee with onions and spices, and garnished with cashew nuts and raisins? And yet grandmother seems to have had her own take on “ghee rice” for her table.

There was no garlic, or ginger or green chilli in her version. Her ghee rice was scented with whole spices, subtly sweetened with caramelized onions, and studded with raisins and cashew nuts. It also wasn’t white, but tinged with a heavenly pale gold, and made just a little earthy by the addition of a hint of turmeric.

I always wonder about her culinary influences. Just as neyi kuul echoes the Mapilla rice dish of neyichoru, this touch of sugar in the rice was perhaps influenced by a Parsi neighbour in Mercara – a cue taken from the rice cooked with sugar caramelized onions, and traditionally made to accompany a dhansak. We’ll never know for certain, but I do know it made a dish beloved by generations of her family. We knew this as pann kuul or “fruit rice”.

Continue reading →

Quoting the much quoted Bernard Shaw quote : “There is no love sincerer than the love of food“.

Indeed! And can there be any love sincerer than the love of a good samosa?

Vancouver truly is in love with samosas, and they’re everywhere! In the many Indian restaurants and sweet shops, of course, but also ready-to-eat at supermarket delis, or ready-to-cook, in the frozen food sections. You’ll find them in more unexpected places too. Like on the menu of the restaurant on the ski slopes of Grouse Mountain, (Après-ski samosa, anyone?) or fuelling a craving at the gas station.

For a time, they were even available at the concession of one of the neighbourhood Cineplexes. Who wants popcorn when you can eat hot samosas instead? The most popular stall at any Food event is almost certainly the one selling samosas, whether the large Punjabi style flaky pastry cones, or the crisp, papery Ismaili style samosas with mincemeat filling. Take samosas to a  potluck and you can be sure it’ll be the first platter to be picked clean!

Continue reading →