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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

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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.

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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.”

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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St. Stephen’s, Ooty

Nan and I had the opportunity to attend another church service – Matins, in English and led by a very good lay preacher of the Church of South India – this time in historic St. Stephen’s Church, in Ooty.

Here is is the backstory about St. Stephen’s as written and compiled by Nan where she quotes almost entirely from what she found on the internet titled “A Journal Entry by Tristan Hunt, 2003.”

What follows is lifted word for word…  photos are mine – taken on Sunday.

“… to enter the porch of St. Stephen’s is to re-enter a lost universe of Anglo-India: of duty, militarism, and racial solidarity. Here, the administrators of the Indian civil service, the soldiers of the Bengal Artillery and Light Dragoon’s, and the missionaries of Anglicanism celebrated their civilization amid the encircling jungle of the western Ghats.

“And here lie their monuments to the fallen — those who gave their lives for a vision of India.  The Rev. William Sawyer ‘who having labored with a diligence and zeal for six years as a missionary to the heathen at Madras died in the faithful discharge of his duties as chaplain of this station.’ Poor Georgiana Grace, ‘the beloved wife of JC Wroughton, Esq, Principal Collector of this Province’ who died at the age of 30 ‘leaving her husband and seven children to deplore their irreparable loss’.  The unfortunate Richard William Preston, a captain in the 1st Bombay Grenadiers, who ‘drowned in the Kromund River while out hunting with the Ootacamund Hounds. Thy Will Be Done.’

“The very fabric of St. Stephen’s was a statement to English imperial hegemony. It’s architect, John James Underwood, a captain in the Madras Engineers, extracted its wooden beams from the remains of Tipu Sultan’s palace in Seringapatam, some 100 miles -east of Ooty.  Tipu Sultan Fath Ali Khan, the Tiger Prince of Mysore, was one of the most persistent obstacles to the expansionist ambitions of the East Indian Company. Time and again during the late 18th century, he powered through Britain’s ‘thin red line’, capturing thousands of soldiers in the process.

“Most would succumb to infection in his disease-ridden dungeons. But Sultan’s palace was also a place of more intimate fears as captive British soldiers were pressured into joining the Mysore army. As part of their induction, the hapless warriors of empire were, according to an account unearthed by historian Linda Colley, body-shaved, stretched naked over a large bowl and ‘circumcised by force’. The British army was systematically unmanned. Seringapatam constituted a site of deep horrors, both physical and psychological, for the British colonial imagination.

“It took a Wellesley — Richard Wellesley, Governor General of Bengal and brother of the future Duke of Wellington — to crush the Tiger Prince in 1799 and open up Southern India for British rule. Pictures of the killing of a tiger, complete with leather boot atop the skinned Nimal’s head, would become a favorite leitmotif for Victorian Rule in and over India.”

“Underwood’s decision to strip Seringapatam for the roof of St. Stephen’s was the ecclesiastical equivalent of shooting the tiger. The thick beams which had provided the foundations for the Tiger of Mysore would support the Anglican soul of Ooty. Here the soldiers, tax-collectors and British colonial elite gathered to reaffirm their victory over Tipu Sultan’s India.”

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Pongal festival

Pongal is a four day Harvest Festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu and dedicated to the Sun God. The celebration dates back over 1000 years and falls during the month of Thai (January-February) during the season when rice and other cereals, sugar-cane, and turmeric (an essential ingredient in Tamil cooking) are harvested.

The First Day

This first day is celebrated as Bhogi festival in honor of Lord Indra, the supreme ruler of clouds that give rains. Homage is paid to Lord Indra for the abundance of harvest, thereby bringing plenty and prosperity to the land.

The Second Day

On the second day of Pongal, the puja or act of ceremonial worship is performed when rice is boiled in milk outdoors in an earthenware pot and is then symbolically offered to the sun-god along with other oblations. All people wear traditional dress and markings, and in accordance with the appointed ritual a turmeric plant is tied around the pot in which the rice will be boiled. The offerings include the two sticks of sugar-cane in background and coconut and bananas in the dish. A common feature of the puja, in addition to the offerings, is the kolam, the auspicious design which is traditionally traced in white lime powder before the house in the early morning after bathing.

The Third Day

The third day is known as Mattu Pongal, the day of Pongal for cows. Multi-colored beads, tinkling bells, sheaves of corn and flower garlands are tied around the neck of the cattle and then are worshiped. They are fed with Pongal and taken to the village centers. A type of bull run also takes place where young men run and attempt to grab the bull by the horns and force in to submission.

The Fourth Day

The Fourth day is known as Knau or Kannum Pongal day. On this day, a turmeric leaf is washed and is then placed on the ground. On this leaf are placed, the left overs of sweet Pongal and Venn Pongal, ordinary rice as well as rice colored red and yellow, betel leaves, betel nuts, two pieces of sugarcane, turmeric leaves, and plantains. In Tamil Nadu women perform this ritual before bathing in the morning. All the women, young and old, of the house assemble in the courtyard. The rice is placed in the centre of the leaf, while the women ask that the house and family of their brothers should prosper.

We went to Kothagiru this morning to observe some of the rituals.

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Cooking with Renu #1

Matar(peas) Paneer

1/2 litre milk

1 1/4 t vinegar

Boil milk. Add vinegar very slowly, while stirring milk. When it has separated scrape from side of pan and drain in a sieve. Pat in to rectangular shape while pressing out excess liquid.

Matar:

Asefitada

1.5 t cumin seeds

1 bay leaf

1” piece cinnamon

1 dry red chili

2 tomatoes puréed

1/2 t coriander

1/4 t chili powder

1/4 t paprika

1/2 t salt

1c peas

1 T chopped cilantro

NOTE: when using Asefitada never use garlic and vice verse.

2 T oil in pan – heat.

Add pinch of asefitida, cumin seeds. Let pop. Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, and chili. Add tomato purée and cook down. Add remaining dry spices to the tomatoes. Add peas and paneer.

Cut the paneer in to cubes and brown lightly in a little oil.

Sprinkle with cilantro.

Baingan Bharta (Punjab/Rajasthan)

1 eggplant

Char over open flame.

1 tomato diced

1/2 red onion, chopped finely

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1T ginger, chopped

1t garlic, chopped

1/2 t salt

1/2 t paprika

1/4 t chili powder

1/4 t turmeric

1/2 c yogurt

Handful of fresh mint.

Heat 3T oil. Add fennel seeds and let pop.

Add onion and cook until light brown. Add ginger and garlic

Add tomato and cook until soft. Remove from heat.

Peel and chop eggplant. Add to tomato mix. Add dry spices, yogurt and half the mint, chopped.

Chop remaining mint for garnish.

Roth bread – an old recipe from Rajasthan.

This particular bread is eaten at the full moon in August. Married women fast for the entire day, and they prepare this bread serving the first piece to a cow, the second piece to their husband, and only then can they break their fast and eat themselves.

250g whole wheat flour

1 t salt

1 t carom seeds (Adjuain – good for digestion)

1 T ghee

Crumble ghee and add enough water to make a firm dough. Cover and let it rest.

Punch and knead lightly until smooth and even. Break off golf ball size pieces and roll to about 1/8”thick – about 6”diameter. Crimp the edges and stamp with wedding band to make rings on surface.

Bake on dry cast iron pan. Flip and brush ghee on browned surface. Flip again with ghee side down.

Credit: Renu Kamir www.explorindya.com

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The NilGiris and Ooty

Morning broke with beautiful clear skies and views of mountains in the distance.

After breakfast we set off towards Ooty with a little diversion to take a walk through some of the older tea plantations. Various shades of green covered the hillsides and Rajat explained how individual plucking of the fresh shoots provides for optimal results, whereas some farmers have the shoots removed with a scythe which damages the twig and causes the bush to coarsen and turn darker green; the financial yield from this tea is much less. If the shoots aren’t plucked every eight days, the plant can easily get out of control and revert to being a tree – as we saw on some of the plantations. The temperatures were perfect and the scenery spectacular.

We visited the market in Ooty where preparations are in full swing for the Pongal festival which starts tomorrow, Sunday. Sugar canes and bunches of neem, with its frothy white flower, were all over and people were buying to ornament their homes, vehicles, etc.

Otherwise, deliciously fresh produce was in abundance and I have complete cauliflower envy – a huge head can be purchased for 75c!!!!

Banana fact: Each guest at EVERY Indian wedding (many with 2,000 to 3,000 guests) is given a banana! Two weeks from the date, the banana merchant is contacted and given the date and numbers. Banana branches are cut, wrapped in banana leaves, and stored in a cool dark place to ripen. One of these branches holds about 600 bananas!!!

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In to the hills

Our tuk-tuk arrived promptly to take us on the 30 minute drive to Ernakulam Junction for our train ride on the Bangalore Express to Coimbatore, and the next phase of our adventure. It took us a walk to the far, far end of the train (the trains here are looooong) and back again to find our coach with a/c and our assigned seats. The journey took almost four hours, during which food wallahs constantly plied the aisle with their “chai, chai” or “coffee, coffee”, and whatever other food items they were hawking.

Rajat met us in Coimbatore and we set off on the two-hour road trip to the NilGiris (blue mountains) with stops along the way. First stop was a large Tiffin (restaurant that is open all day serving Indian “fast food” – typically a light lunch. Ours was dosa with chutneys and sambal.

We stopped to look at plantations of curry leaf plants, something we have enjoyed in virtually every dish we’ve eaten. Rajat told us of its medicinal properties also. We were amazed by this young man who loaded two huge bundles of the leaves – each weighing about 60 kg – on to his moped and then gingerly took off to the wholesale market!

Just before starting our ascent, we stopped for a coconut milk and ate the deliciously soft meat from the coconut.

Up, up and round and round, we climbed to 6,550 feet passing lush tea plantations along the way. And here we are, in these beautiful hills, perched on the side of the hill. Renu and Ravi, our hosts, are delightful and full of stories and information.

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Punting on the backwaters of Kerala

Even though we are spending a couple of nights in Alleppey, we decided to take a day tour on the backwaters. This entailed a one-hour drive to the village of Vaikom. Our guide greeted us and organized us in to two long, wooden canoe-type boats with the oarsmen using bamboo poles to punt our way through the narrow channels.

It was so tranquil and lush, and so interesting to see life in the backwaters unfold as we floated past.

We made a visit to a hamlet where we saw spices growing. (Top l-r: cloves, cinnamon, coffee beans, tamarind. Bottom: pepper corns and nutmeg)

We learned that the cinnamon tree needs to have at least six years maturity before the bark can be peeled, and then it needs to be taken from branches rather than the trunk – which would kill the tree. Pepper corns grow on a non-parasitic vine (this one climbing on a mahogany tree). All peppercorns come from the same plant – green, red, black and white. To get white peppercorns the seeds are soaked and then the outer skin removed. The outer peel of the nutmeg is used in chutneys; inside – the flower or mace is used in cooking – especially Biriyani; peel that away and you find the nut, which is grated for use.

This man was particularly fun to watch as he was washing his calf and then tried to get it out of the water! As warm as it was, I wouldn’t have minded a dip myself!

These women are making rope from coconut fiber.

We had a simple, but delicious, lunch – served in an open air pavilion type building! They probably cooked very thing out the back on a single gas ring!!

After lunch we switched to a larger covered boat, that was also a punt, and travelled one of the wider channels back to our transport.