Enjoying spending 5 days with family in Arizona. Fun on the quads and walking the high desert around Tonto Basin.
Roosevelt Lake -water is low. No rain here since September.
Author Archives: Chris
Mumbai markets
We rounded out our India trip with a tour of some of Mumbai’s markets – led by an excellent guide – Jason – and joined by a young British woman. Despite the heat, Jason made the tour very interesting and we started the visit with the old Crawford market, built at the end of the 19th century, now renamed Mahatma Jyotiba Phule market after a philanthropic Indian who rose from the lowest caste and gave back by making education for girls a reality. A fabulous fruit and veg market and we were able to pick up some much needed dried curry leaves -virtually all our recipes call for them, even though we both have live tree plants at home.
The fabric market was fascinating – seeing the shoppers feeling all the fabrics, trying to make decisions. It brought back many memories of Saudi Arabia.
Chau alley- with street food vendors and small shops selling mostly Indian fast food. One item was a poppadum loaded with chick peas, chopped tomatoes and herbs – I’d say “Indian nachos”!
And then there was the flower market. Sorry about all the marigold garland photos – I cannot resist.
Finally – a walk through a temple area – no photos allowed – the the most sacred place – a cow stall – right down town Mumbai! People happily bring food for the cattle, who look very well taken care of!
The End.
Dabba wallas and dhobis
We started the day with a tour to see how some of the hardworking underbelly of Mumbai make a living.
Like in Fort Kochi, the British officers brought and kept their dhobis (laundry men) and in 1947, after independence, the dhobis remained and started servicing Indian needs (hospitals, hotels, businesses that require uniforms, and textile factories).
The ghats abut the Byculla train station and laundry is delivered by train or cart. The dhobis are not native to Mumbai, and live in miserable conditions surrounding the ghats – however, an emblem of pride is a dish attached to the patchwork roof of their dwelling!
we took the train several stations to Church Gate, where we watched the dabba wallas at work. On the way we saw these poor women (likely of the lowest caste)replenishing the crushed rocks between the railway tracks using nothing but a metal scoop. Back breaking work!
Dabba wallas are peculiar to Mumbai.
Dabba = box (usually a cylindrical tin or multiple containers also called “tiffin”;
Walla or wallah = a doer or holder – person.
When literally translated, the word “dabba walla” means “one who carries a box”.
In 1890 a Parsi banker wanted to have a home-cooked meal in his office, and so the first Dabba walla and the profession came into existence. Many others liked this idea and the demand for home-cooked meals delivered to the place of work soared. Mahadeo Havaji, a Parsi, saw the business opportunity and started the lunch delivery service with 100 dabba wallas and it continues in a very similar delivery format to this day as an association. Most dabba wallas are related to each other, belong to the Varkari sect of Maharashtra, and come from the same small village near Pune. Income of about 8,000 rupees a month ($125) is divided equally between all the dabba wallas who are self-employed, but belong to a union which guarantees a monthly income and a job for life!
Nowadays, about 5,000 dabba wallas, wearing a traditional Ghandi cap, deliver tiffin boxes to about 200,000 customers who pay about 3,000 rupees a month ($45).
How does it work? A dabba walla picks up the tiffin box from the home of the customer during mid to late morning. The lunch box is marked with alpha numeric coding to identify the pick up area, individual, delivery area and delivery location. These dabbas are then taken to the closest train station, and delivered by train to one of several central distribution spots (this is the step that we visited). The tiffins are carried from the train in long (about 5 feet) shallow crates and are then divided into delivery location using the coding. The dabbas are loaded on to a bicycle (up to about 25 per bicycle) for delivery by the local dabba walla. This whole process is repeated in reverse, after lunch, to return the tiffin from the office back home!
Afterwards we drove by and made quick visit to India Gate, built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary and the imposing Taj Mahal hotel.
Teeming Mumbai
Our drive from the airport to the Fort area of Mumbai provided quite an eye opening experience as to the variance of life styles in this teeming city of 21million. From Wikipedia: “Mumbai, also called Bombay, is the capital city of the state of Maharashtra in India, and it’s the most populous city in India. As the 4th most populous city in the world and one of the populous urban regions in the world.”
A walk around the Fort neighborhood, where our hotel is located, offered a perspective of wide boulevards, green spaces, massive Victorian style buildings with colonnades, and these playing fields, Azad Maidan, and Tudor-style club house ( previously known as the Bombay Gymkhana club house built in 1875). The grounds cover 25 acres and are used for inter-school cricket matches, protest meetings – to include the largest ever by Mahatma Gandhi in December 1931, and yesterday for the Mumbai marathon, which we, thankfully, missed!
And then there is this – massive structure – bathed in the beautiful golden light of late afternoon. The railway station!! Formerly named The Victoria Terminus in 1887, in honor of Queen Victoria. It was designed by Frederick William Stevens and the architecture represents “progress and prosperity” through a variety of sculpted birds and animals. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site and was renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in 1996.
The Municipal Corporation Headquarters was also designed by Stevens in Gothic Revival style and built in 1893. Noteworthy is its 255 ft tall tower with the central dome rising to 234 feet.
On the streets …
Out of the hills to the plains and the coast
Our descent from Kothagiri to Coimbatore was long and careful, giving us plenty of opportunity to savour the breath-taking views and realize the magnitude of these. NilGiris mountains.
Monkeys were everywhere alongside the road and jumping from branch to branch.
The cool air remained in the hills and Coimbatore was hot, dusty and a bustling metropolis with over 3million people going about their daily business.
Our train was just 30minutes late, and despite the packed platform, the carriage was not full. Some like to bring a full meal along even though there is plenty to buy from the stewards during the almost four hour ride.
Rice paddies en masses along the way!
Alleppey on the water
Arrival at Ernakulam Junction at 5pm on a Friday was crazy! Luckily Nan had insisted on having a driver meet us to take us down to Alleppey -a two-hour drive. The roads were full of motor cycles, tuk-tuks, , bicycles, trucks, cars, people!!!
It was dark when we arrived, so we could only get a sense of how lovely the Kayaloram Heritage Resort would be. Sure enough! The next morning as the sun rose over the lake and house boats and fisherman were on the water creating a peaceful scene, the previous day of travel was forgotten. A gaggle of geese and an unlikely flock of guinea fowl and a rooster roamed the grounds and the open-air lobby.
The accommodations were lovely little cottages.
We spent the morning browsing some of the local stalls and shops in Alleppey.
The highlight was a three-floor store with one floor dedicated to saris. Being a Saturday, the young brides-to-be were out in full force – with their friends, sisters, mothers and other advisors in tow.
Cooking with Renu #4
Lemon Rice (South Indian)
1 cup rice soaked for 1 hour
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp. Turmeric
20 tiny shallots ( 1/3 cup ) or large shallots chopped into pieces
3 green chili’s, slit
3 dozen curry leaves
2tsp. Mustard seeds
1/2 cup peanuts, dry roast them
2 Tbls. Cilantro
Juice of one lime, or combined lemon & lime
1 1/4 tsp. Salt
2 Tbls. Oil
Pressure cook the rice and set aside to cool. (Or, use about 2 1/2 to 3 cups leftover cooked rice).
Heat the oil in pan or wok to HOT. Add dried red chili, mustard seeds, the green chili and the curry leaves in quick succession. Then add the shallots and stir as they cook a bit.
Turn off the heat and add the roasted peanuts. Add half the cilantro, stir in and allow the mixture to cool down before adding the rice, which has also cooled a bit. (If using leftover rice, warm it slightly and add a bit of turmeric to color it yellow.)
Combine the rice and the flavorings. Dissolve the salt in the lemon/lime juice and stir that in and serve.
Kofta Palak Curry. (North Indian)
6 small potatoes, boiled and mashed
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 large floret cauliflower (1/3 -1/2 cup) chopped fine
2 medium carrots, grated
2 Tbls. Cornstarch
1/2tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Chili powder, hot
1/2tsp. Fennel seeds
Oil, sufficient for frying or deep frying in wok
Mix together potato, chopped spinach, cauliflower, and carrot in a bowl. Add 2 Tbls. Corn starch, salt, chili powder and fennel seeds. Form into small. Alls about golf ball size. This will make about 7 balls.
Heat the oil to HOT, SMOKING. Cook just a few balls at a time and turn them until they are browned slightly. Drain them and cook the rest. Set them aside. They will be reheated slightly when the spinach curry gravy is made and they are put into it.
Spinach Curry (gravy)
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 medium tomatoes, quartered or chopped
1Tbls. Slivered ginger
1 fresh green chili
2 to 3 dozen cilantro stems, cut into 2-inch pieces
Large handful spinach leaves
4 cloves of garlic
1 Tbls. Oil
1/2 tsp. Fennel seeds
1 tsp. Cumin seeds
1 Tbls. Oil
1 dried red chili
1 tsp. Garam masala
2-inch stick cinnamon
1tsp. Salt
1/4 cup heavy cream
First, purée the handful of spinach with the garlic. The garlic keeps the spinach from turning brown.
Next, heat the first Tablespoon of oil in the wok until HOT. Add cumin and fennel seeds together and let cumin seeds darken slightly — just a few seconds — before adding the onions. Stir the onions until browned a bit, then add slivered ginger, stir, add the green chili and stir about 30seconds.Add tomatoes and “let it become soft and pulpy” as Renu says. Then put in the cilantro stalks and cook for another minute before turning off the heat and letting the mixture cool a bit before puréeing it. When puréeing it in the blender get it really really fine by adding just a bit of water. It should be totally smooth, says Renu.
Now put the second tablespoon of oil in the wok and get it HOT. First add the dried red chili, then the cinnamon stick, then the purée you have just made. Ok and stir this as it sputters. The oil will bubble out almost immediately. At that point add the puréed spinach/garlic mixture. Finally, stir in the cream and set aside. It will thicken a bit. Before serving add a bit of water to loosen it and gently place the Kofta balls into it. Reheat very gently… maybe adding a bit more cream before serving.
Credit: Renu www.explorindya.com
The Todas
Many theories as to their racial origin have been suggested, but the Todas themselves believe that ” God dropped a pearl on the Nilgiris, out of which sprang the mother Goddess, Thakkirsi, who, with a tap of her cane, created, out of the dust of the hills, the first Toda and his Buffalo. The influence of this legend on the Toda life and religion is profound, for their entire social and religious life revolves around their buffaloes and it is only with much reluctance that a Toda can be forced out of, what he believes, is his birthplace in the Blue Mountains (The Nilgiris). ”
The Todas live in a village, which is called a “Mund”. Their houses are igloo-like oval-pent-shaped huts made of bamboo and dried grass fastened together with rattan, and thatched. The entrance is small – only about 3 feet high – and access to the inside is possible only by crawling.
The Toda temple in each Mund is similar to these huts, though they may be slightly bigger and have walls of stone slabs instead of wooden planks plastered with dung and clay as in the case of the dwellings. In front of the door was a large slab of stone which is removed for the priest to enter. Men may go inside the enclosure, and women have to be on the outside of the enclosure.
Todas wealth are measured by their buffaloes. The men tend to the Buffaloes and the women craft fancy ringlets and silver jewellery and embroider shawls and bed and table linen by embroidering in a crewel style using mainly black and red wool thread on a cream background.
We met Vevi Killi who invited us into her home for a cup of tea and then we settled ourselves under an ancient tree where she showed me how to do their embroidery. The patterns are all memorized! I didn’t do too badly!
Her husband cooled the tea by pouring from one beaker to another.
The village.
Tea
Yesterday we visited the Homedale processing plant in Coonoor. During our stay at Akriti, we have learned much about the growing of tea, harvesting, how weather and site location affect the quality of the tea, and so much more. The process used at this plant was CTC (crush turn curl).
Ravi told us, and we were surprised to learn that “all teas – white, green, oolong, and black are made from the leaves of the same species. While the varietal of the particular Camellia sinensis plant as well as the weather conditions and soil contribute to the final taste of the tea, the significant differences of tea type develop in the processing of the leaves. The distinguishing factor that determines whether tea leaves will become white, green, oolong or black is in the oxidation.”
“High quality green tea requires tender and freshly plucked buds from the small-leafed China variety of the tea bush – Camellia sinensis var. sinensis. Since green tea does not undergo any fermentation, great care is needed during handling, transportation, and storage of the leaf prior to manufacture, as bruising and excessive heating immediately encourage fermentation and microbial infection. The plucked leaves are directly heat-treated, rolled, and dried.”
Cooking with Renu #3
Aloo Gobi ( Potato / Cauliflower ) (Northern Indian)
2 large potatoes , cut into 1 1/2 inches pieces
3 cups cauliflower florets
2 green chili’s, split
2 inch ginger finely chopped
1 Tbls. Cilantro
Spices
2 Tabls. Oil
1/2 tsp. Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. Fennel seeds
1/4 tsp. Fenugreek seeds
1 tsp. Coriander powder
1/2 tsp. Hot chili powder
1/4 turmeric
1 tsp. Salt
Heat the oil to hot. Add pinch of asafetida powder. Add cumin seeds to sputter and then quickly fenugreek, fennel seeds, ginger and green chilis in succession. Stir fry. Then add potatoes and toss. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Leave over lower heat stirring occasionally for about 10to 15 minutes until water is absorbed. Add cauliflower and another 1/2 cup water, toss and then cover. Simmer for another 8 or 10minutes. When almost all moisture is absorbed, add the 6 dry spices and salt. Cover and set aside. When serving, add the fresh cilantro.
Methi Paneer (a Renu recipe)
1 cup Paneer ( made from 1 1/2 liters whole milk and 1 1/2 tsp. vinegar)
1/3 cup cashew paste (made from 20 cashews ground with water)
1 pinch asafetida powder
2 Tbls. Heavy cream
3 Tbls Kashmiri Methi leaves (fenugreek leaves)
2 bay leaves
1 dried red chili
1/2 inch cinnamon stick
5 cardamom pods, seeds only
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 Tbls. Oil
Cube the Paneer into 1/2inch pieces.
Heat the oil to hot and add, in this order, pinch of asafetida, the red chili, cinnamon stick, bay leaves.
Add Paneer cubes and toss until they take on slight color. Add the Methi leaves and the cream. Then add cashew cream and salt. Remove from heat. Add the cardamom seeds and stir gently. It will thicken. If serving later, add a bit more water and reheat gently.
Purayal (South Indian Beetroot with Coconut)
4 medium beets, cooked, cooled, peeled and diced
Pinch asafetida
1 tsp. mustard seeds
2 dried red chilis
12 curry leaves
1 tsp. Urad dal
1 tsp. Salt
3/4 cup fresh coconut ground fine
1/2 Tbls. Oil
Heat oil to hot. Add pinch of asafetida. Add mustard and let pop for a second only . Add quickly urad dal, chili pieces, curry leaves. Be careful not to burn the lentils… so quickly add the chopped beets. Take off the heat and stir in the salt and coconut. Serve.
Tadka Dal (Northern India)
2 cups toor dal ( yellow dal)
2 fresh green chilis
1 dry red chili
1 1/2 inches ginger
1 cup chopped red onion
3/4 cup minced fresh tomato
2 Tbls. Ghee
2 Tbls. Garlic chopped
1 Tbls. Chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp. Cumin seed
1/4 tsp. Hot chili powder
1 tsp. Paprika (for color)
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Turmeric
Rinse the dal. If not using a pressure cooker, soak it more.
Heat the ghee to hot. Add, in quick succession, cumin seeds, dry red chili, the green chili, and the chopped onions. Lightly brown the onion before adding the garlic and then the ginger. Sauté a minute or two. Then tomato and cook until the moisture escapes and the oil bubbles out. Add salt, chili powder,, paprika, turmeric and 1/2 Tbls. of the cilantro. Pour this mixture over the dal and mix. Put in instant pot with 3 cups water and cook about 5 minutes on high and then allow natural release.
Add chopped cilantro when serving.
North Indian Raita
1 large cucumber
1/2 cup minced red onion
1/2 cup minced tomato
1 Tbls. Cilantro, chopped
1 cup yoghurt
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 green. Hili, finely minced
1/4 tsp. Roasted, freshly ground cumin powder
Mix vegetables together with cilantro. Add salt and roasted cumin and green chili. Stir in the yoghurt and sprinkle a bit more roasted cumin on top. Serve.
Ravi’s Puffy Bread: Bhatura
2 cups flour
1tsp. Salt
1/2 cup yoghurt
Water
Mix ingredients together to make a soft dough. Leave it to rise in a covered bowl for one hour.
Knead the dough. Divide and roll out into circles the size of your wok.
Heat oil in wok. Gently drop the circles into VERY HOT oil to fry on both sides. This takes just seconds.
Drain in paper towels.
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Renu’s Chickpeas in Tea
2 cups dry chickpeas, soaked overnight in ample salted water
Tie into muslin packet:
2 tsp. Tea leaves
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 Black cardamom pod
Boil chickpeas for 20minutes in fresh water along with the tea-cinnamon packet.
Seasonings:
2 onions minced
1 inch ginger, minced
1 green chili, minced
2 tomatoes, puréed
Chole masala packet
2 Tbls. Oil
Heat oil to hot. Add cumin seeds and toast briefly. Add onion and sauté. Then ginger, green pepper and tomato purée. Cook until moisture evaporates and oil starts to bubble out.
Tamarind /Jaggery Sauce makes a good accompaniment. Mix the two together with a bit of water, salt, cumin and chili pepper to taste. It should be a bit sweet.
credit: Renu Kumar www.explorindya.com
Lakshmi the Pongal cow
So much excitement this morning at Akriti! The milkman, Devrag, brought Lakshmi, one of his dairy cows – she is part Jersey part Brahmi – decked out in her Pongal make-up and finery. A special feast of sugar cane, bread, coconut, and cane leaves was prepared in her honor. BTW: Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth.
Tea train (Blue Mountains train)
We boarded the quaint NilGiris narrow gauge train at 2 p.m. for the 46 km ride between Udhagamandalam (Ooty) and Mettupalayam in the foothills.
It was in 1854 that the first plans were drawn to build a mountain railway from Mettupalayam to the Nilgiris Hills and 45 years later the first train chugged through the hills carrying liquid cargo to the British (think gin!) it was later used as a tea train, and only afterwards for passengers. PSeeing the terrain, this was quite an engineering feat. The train itself is a charming blue and cream with wooden coaches and bench seats. Lovely trim work is now somewhat dilapidated, but the impression remains. The carriages are hauled up hills by diesel steam engines, designed and built by the Swiss Locomotive Works, and a brake-man travels at the back of the last carriage – the first class carriage we rode in.
There are five stations between Mettupalayam and Coonoor – Kallar, Adderley, Hill Grove, Runnymede and Kateri – and four between Coonoor and Ooty. It was in Kallar that we stopped to add water to the engine and the engineers lubricated the camshafts and levers that turn the wheels.
The diesel train journey is quite magical as you meander through eucalyptus and tea plantations to subtropical vegetation and the views of the NilGiris.
Cooking with Renu #2
Coconut Chutney (South Indian)
1 small coconut, meat removed
1 tsp. Salt
1 green chili
Put all together in the processor and start grinding, dry…. no water. Grade thoroughly not adding water until you must to keep going. Gradually add a bit of water, still staying mostly dry. When it comes together as a paste, add a bit more water.
1 TBLS oil
1 dried red chili, broken into pieces
1 tsp. Urad dal
12 curry leaves
1;tsp. Mustard seeds
Now heat oil to hot. Add in quick succession dal, pepper, curry leaves, mustard seeds. Do not let dal get dark. Lift pan off heat if dal browns too quickly. It should be light brown. This should take only seconds, so have your spices ready. Pour this spice mixture over the chutney. Mix now or mix later.
Khatta Meethi Baigar ( sweet and sour eggplant ) ( North Indian)
4 small hard egg plants
1/4 tsp. Oil
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Fennel seeds
1tsp. Coriander powder
1/2 tsp. Turmeric powder
1 Tbls. Tamarind paste
25 grams jaggery
In a small bowl, put the oil and mix all the spices into it, making a paste. Slit eggplants into pieces vertically from the bottom without cutting through the top and stem. Rub the spice mixture into the cut sections of the eggplant.
Mix the tamarind paste into a bit of water to form a thick syrupy liquid. Add water to the jaggery and let sit.
2 Tbls. Oil
Asafetida, a sprinkle
1/2 tsp. Nigella seeds (black onion seed)
1 Tbls. Water
Heat oil to hot , sprinkle in asafetida. Add seeds and let them pop. Add 1 T. water and then the eggplants. Cook gently over low heat until eggplants are almost entirely soft. Add the tamarind syrup and the jaggery and it’s liquid. Bring to a boil and cook it until the sauce is thick. About 5 minutes. Cover and let sit until ready to serve.
Rawa Idli (South Indian)
2 cups water, room temperature
2 cups semolina
3 Tbls. Yoghurt
Soak semolina in the water and yoghurt for several hours.
Seasoning ingredients
12 or more curry leaves
2 dried red chilis
1 tsp. Mustard seeds
1 tsp. Urad dal, white
1 tsp.salt
2 tsp. Eno ( 1 tsp. Bicarbonate of soda mixed with 1 tsp. Of citric acid)
Put the salt into the semolina mixture. It should be a sloppy loose mixture. Add the Eno powder (or the bicarbonate and Citric acid mix) and stir it in. This makes the mix a bit fluffy.
Heat the seasonings
Put 1/2 Tbls. oil in the pan and heat to hot. Add, in order: lentils, then chili, then leaves, then mustard seeds. Toss the pan a bit. So the spices don’t burn, then pour them out onto the semolina mixture and stir.
Brush a bit of oil onto the idli forms. Spoon mixture into the forms, stack them and steam gently for about 12minutes.
Note: This batter can be kept in the fridge for a week or more if you withhold the Eno powder / bicarbonate-citric acid. Add that just before cooking. To turn this batter into a dosa batter, thin it with a bit of water.
Paratha stuffed with carrot / cauliflower ( North Indian)
200 grams flour
1 tsp. Salt
Water to mix
2 medium carrots, grated
2 large florets of cauliflower, crumbled fine or chopped
First mix the dough, knead it minimally and leave it to rest, covered.
Put carrots and cauliflower in two separate bowls. On top of each, put
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Fennel seeds
Pinch of asafetida
One green chili. Dry finely chopped
1 Tbls. Chopped cilantro
1/4tsp. Chili powder
Stir up the cauliflower mixture. Do NOT stir up the carrots mixture until ready to cook. Let it sit awhile, then stir the salt and spices just before cooking.(Otherwise the salt will force liquid out of the carrots. )
When ready to cook, divide dough into golf ball sized balls and roll them out to 1/8 inch thick. Put 2 Tbls. of cauliflower or carrot into the center and gather the dough up around the filling like a pouch. Flatten the pouches with the help of a bit of flour and roll out again.
Toast the paratha on a hot griddle or skillet on one side until browned spots show. Flip it, drizzle with oil, look for slight browning and then flip it again and again drizzle with oil. Take it off the flame.
credit: Renu Kumar www.explorindya.com