Monday 28 November 2011
Mangalore has its own macaroon. It doesn't taste anything like what you would expect a conventional macaroon to taste like, but its a macaroon all the same. These Mangalorean macaroons are very similar to the German Wasp Nests that I made some time ago, and have the same texture and sweetness of those meringues, except that they are made with cashew nuts, rather than almonds. Pretty much every Mangalorean I know will instantly recall the taste (and price) of these macaroons, and remember them fondly. We used to buy them from Taj Mahal Sweets, and they were a delicious treat for special days.
My fondest memory of these macaroons is associated with my Aunt Kitty's visits. Aunt Kitty is a friend of my mum's, and she lives in a village outside Mangalore, where she's a teacher. She's a wonderful lady, who looked after me when I was a baby, and mum had to go back to work. She is a dedicated teacher, and everyone who knows her and works with her remembers her acerbic tongue, but at the same time, no one disputes her generous heart :-)
As kids, my sister and I loved it when Kitty Aunty (as we called her) came to visit, as we knew we were in for tons of treats. Aunty Kitty loved spoiling us, be it with ice creams from the famous Ideal's ice cream parlour in Mangalore or sweets from Taj Mahal or puffs from Venus Bakery. And of course, these macaroons, which she always loved to buy for us. Even when I was all grown up (some may dispute that fact, hehe) and heading to the UK, she tucked a small packet of these treats in my suitcase, so I wouldn't be deprived of them. I am lucky indeed to have such lovely aunties, and while I get to see them only rarely these days, I can never forget their huge influence on my life.
Thursday 24 November 2011
Back in India, Christians all over the country are busy preparing lovely Indian goodies to share with neighbours and friends. We don't really have a Christmas gift culture there, as such, and it has stayed truer to its religious roots. Christmas is a festival that is celebrated mainly by the preparation of lovely food and wine, sweets and Christmas cakes, and the opportunity to share these goodies with friends and family. A true foodie festival to delight young and old alike. Christmas is all about sharing a plateful of dukra maas and sannas with a couple glasses of homemade wine, usually after having sweated through worshipped at midnight mass. Its all about fake cotton wool 'snow' on tropical Christmas trees.
Oh, and the joy and excitement of all of us kids making little nativity scenes or 'Christmas cribs' as they are popularly known... and then heading over to all the neighbours' houses and checking out the competing cribs... coming back home and pestering dad to get some more lights in the crib, cause cousin Binoy's crib is better than ours... and wait for Dad to put up Christmas lights and stars along the pathway to the house... oh, and how can I forget the fireworks that we used to rush out and buy from the little pop up shops that regularly er... 'popped' up during all major festivals (health and safety be damned :-)) As we usually went to convent schools we used to have at least ten days off from studying, which added to the festive euphoria.
Christmas for us in India, was a joyful time, a week filled with family, friends, food and fun. And its something I miss a lot when I am away from home. I have only managed to get back once to India for Christmas in the last ten years, and it makes me sad. But at the same time, we as a family have made up our own Christmas traditions, as we go along and they are a joyful, albeit confused, mixture of Indian, British and Canadian cultures.
Sunday 20 November 2011
I've been a little lazy this week. Its been a bit of a rough time, as I've been waiting on a few things, and I wasn't able to plan my weeks and cooking as much as I would have liked. I ocasionally get these kind of periods in my life, and I have to slog a bit to get through them. The weather hasn't been particularly kind either, as its been gray, cloudy, with tons of snow (oh, and its only beginning, sob!!) and no natural light of any kind, which usually inspires me to cook.
So, yeah, life's been a bit of a drag, and by the time I've cooked dinner, it's so dark, I really have no time to photograph either. I normally photograph on weekends, when I can find some natural light during the daytime, but the last weekend and this one has been so packed that I've hardly had any time to cook. We headed over to Calgary the weekend before, and had a real blast at the zoo. I wish I'd had some more time to explore the city, but Aditi and I bonded over the animals, and we loved the butterflies. The butterfly enclosure had an ovewhelming fragrance that reminded me of my mum's garden, and it brought back so many memories. We also enjoyed seeing all the Canadian animals, though I realised later that, except for cougars, we've seen practically all the others in the wild, including grizzly bears.
My friend Mike is a wildlife photographer in BC, and you should check out his wildlife and landscape pictures here, well worth a look, and you'll see so many beautiful animals, including the rare kermode bears.
Tuesday 15 November 2011
There is one fruit that you are going to see on this blog fairly often in the next few weeks, and that's the apple. I have a crateload of apples this autumn, thanks to my kindly neigbour. Mr M has an apple tree in his backyard, which, like his Evan's cherry tree, produces tons and tons of apples every year. This year he asked me to help him clear the tree. Little did I know that what he meant was, take all the apples home. Kay, Aditi and I, between us, picked every single apple off the tree, and we had a gigantic crateful. I spent days sorting through these apples.
Sunday 13 November 2011
Friday 11 November 2011
The recipe I picked is another classic. Tomato soup. Now tomato soup, for me, is comfort in a bowl. Its such a classic flavour, and one that you can never go wrong with. We were lucky enough to have a fairly decent tomato harvest from the garden, and Kay ripened several in a bag with an apple, which, somehow or other encouraged even the green ones to ripen up. The sun-ripened ones from the garden rarely ever made it into a dish, as they were pretty much gobbled up straightaway, but these indoor ones were perfect for this soup. Somehow or the other, roasting always lends such an intense flavour to tomatoes, especially if they are not quite the best of the crop. Not that I mind, because nothing can beat the taste of a tomato from your own garden, no supermarket tomato even comes close to that stunning tangy flavour.
Sunday 6 November 2011
This is a long post, so grab yourself a glass of your favourite tipple, and come join me on a voyage of discovery, from Goa to Mangalore to England, all via a dish called a vindaloo.
First off, confession time. I hadn't thought of chicken vindaloo for the longest of times. Not sure why, really, because I sure loved this dish when I was growing up. I was reminded of it again, when one of my students requested that I teach him how to make this dish. Which then made me wonder why on earth hadn't I blogged about it, since its a South Indian (and British, haha) classic.
First off, confession time. I hadn't thought of chicken vindaloo for the longest of times. Not sure why, really, because I sure loved this dish when I was growing up. I was reminded of it again, when one of my students requested that I teach him how to make this dish. Which then made me wonder why on earth hadn't I blogged about it, since its a South Indian (and British, haha) classic.
Vindalho de galinha, or chicken vindaloo, as its commonly known, is a fiery, tangy and hot dish, with a slight edge of sweetness that gives it a beautiful balance of flavours. The dish hails from the tiny state of Goa in South India. Goa is India's smallest state, and was a colony of Portugal until taken over by India in 1961. The state is still awash with its colonial history, and elements of Portuguese culture are everywhere, from the food, to religion, to architecture and language.
Friday 4 November 2011
I have always thought that the humble cauliflower is a very underrated vegetable. It gets thrown into soups and cauliflower cheeses. Its delicate flavours are usually masked with strong ones, never giving it a chance to shine on its own. I have always liked cauliflower, not just the taste, but also it ease of preparation and not to mention the fact that it is super nutritious and healthy, plus locally available too. Win-win all round for me.
In this recipe, despite the ominous presence of the Madras curry powder, the flavours of the farm fresh, local cauliflower come through strongly and hold their own with no trouble. The spices enhance, rather than take away from, the fresh taste, and for a quick and easy dish, it packs a powerful punch of flavour. This was one of my mum's standby recipes for a easy, quick and very nutritious supper, one that satisfies the finickiest of eaters. As a child I loved it with plain rice, or with chapathis (when mum could be bothered to make them, they were not her (or mine) favourite thing in the world) A little bit of lime or mango pickle on the side, and we were sorted.
In this recipe, despite the ominous presence of the Madras curry powder, the flavours of the farm fresh, local cauliflower come through strongly and hold their own with no trouble. The spices enhance, rather than take away from, the fresh taste, and for a quick and easy dish, it packs a powerful punch of flavour. This was one of my mum's standby recipes for a easy, quick and very nutritious supper, one that satisfies the finickiest of eaters. As a child I loved it with plain rice, or with chapathis (when mum could be bothered to make them, they were not her (or mine) favourite thing in the world) A little bit of lime or mango pickle on the side, and we were sorted.
Tuesday 1 November 2011
Just the dish to kick start healthy eating after the chocolate excesses of Halloween!
I know this sounds a bit silly when I am a stay at home mum, but there are days when I am totally rushed off my feet. I have recently started a few new ventures, including teaching Indian cooking classes, so some days I just don't feel like cooking much for dinner. But the rest of the family still expect a meal, so... I turn to this recipe when I need a quick and healthy, but flavourful meal. Kathryn and I taught a variation of this in our class, and it was a real hit. The paneer is beautifully soft and spicy, the tomatoes (from my own garden, mind!) add the tanginess, the spinach, a hint of bitterness and iron and the potatoes are there for the nice heft that they offer to this dish. I love it because it pleases everyone in the house, and its so easy to make, it only ever takes me 20 minutes, max, from start to finish. And look at all those beautiful colours in this dish!
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