x-posted from my blog.
A few years back while visiting Kumta I went back to the little shack where I had earlier seen young women making papad (writeup and pics). I was glad to see that this little cinderblock workshop was still active, and women came together to make papad and other eatables to sell in local stores. I like the light in this pic.

• Kumta: Jewel of the Konkan
• Kumta: Field of Dreams
• Kumta: School Kids
• Weaving Jaaii flowers in Honavar.
• Shanbhag School Kumta
• All posts in Kumta Category

While I take for granted the turmeric used in cooking, I distinctly remember my grandma preparing scalding hot, turmeric milk whenever we had a sore throat or cold. And grandma admonished us to sip it hot, letting it course its way down the back of our throats. Haaiiii! She had alchemized this common root, to a piping hot, golden elixir, which not only got us back to school the next day (unfortunately), but also back on the playground (v good). Something magical about that turmeric milk! If she only knew!

A few months ago when experimenting in the kitchen I had cut my palm. Having seen my aunts and mother for ages in the kitchen, I instinctively reached for the turmeric powder and dabbed it in the cut stanching the blood and forming a clot. Now scientists tell us that turmeric is anti-bacterial – preventing infection and also helping heal the wound! Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric is responsible for its medicinal activity and pigmentation.

Ensconced in multimillion dollar laboratories, western scientists are slowly catching up to what our grandmothers, armed with stone mortar and pestles have known for millennia. Something magical about that turmeric!

Scientists now tell us that curcumin is anti-inflammatory, in that it can reduce soreness and fever, much like tylenol or paracetamol. And it acts like those latest anti-inflammatory drugs called cox-2 inhibitors: Celecoxib and Vioxx. Both of these medicines have serious side effects and vioxx has been withdrawn by the FDA for safety reasons. On the other hand, turmeric as a dietary constituent is safe and well tolerated!

A host of scientific investigations have also looked at the ability of curcumin to fight cancer. Curcumin kills several types of cancer cells in the laboratory. In animals, curcumin prevents or slows cancer in the skin, breast, liver, fore-stomach, duodenum and colon. Curcumin also has anti-angiogenic properties; translation: curcumin seriously slows new blood vessel formation in tumors, causes asphyxiation of tumors and thus preventing their growth and metastases.

Without turning this into a scientific review paper, I hope you are convinced that turmeric is really good for you. Daily consumption of dietary turmeric in the form of added spices, or this turmeric milk can have near magical properties.

No wonder that in Hindu pujas, devas (Gods as crude approximation) and young brides are doused in turmeric powder!

Here is a really simple recipe for the magical turmeric milk (haldi dudh, in konkani). At the first signs of a sore throat, or feverishness, sip this hot milk drink and call it a night! Wake up fresh and ready to take on the world!

When you do try this recipe, I’d love to hear your experience.

Note: Ginger (adrak, Sanskrit) used in this recipe is well recognized in Ayurvedic and western medicine as having anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. It is widely used to prevent motion sickness, to prevent nausea and most importantly suppresses cough. More on that in another recipe.

• In a mug, place 1 tsp turmeric powder



• 1 tsp minced ginger



• Add a quarter cup water and twirl to mix in turmeric
• Top off with milk. You can also skip the milk and do this in water!
• Microwave ~ 2 min (depends on power rating of your microwave) bringing milk nearly to a boil)
• Leave milk in the microwave for ~ 5 min, allowing the active ingredients of ginger and turmeric to seep into the milk
• Add a teaspoon of jaggery. Alternately use honey, cane or regular sugar to taste. Mix well and reheat milk
• Spoon out and discard ginger bits; turmeric settles to the bottom. If it bothers you, you can strain
• Sip this very hot and feel the heat course over your gullet
• Off to bed! Awake refreshed and energized!

• Sharma and others, Curcumin: The story so far, European Journal of Cancer (2005) (PDF).
• Villengas and others, New mechanisms and therapeutic potential of curcumin for colorectal cancer, Molecular Nutrition & Food Research (2008) (PDF).
• Goel and others, Specific inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) expression by dietary curcumiin in HT-29 human colon cancer cells, Cancer Letters (2001) (PDF).
• Tiwari, Ayurveda: Secrets of Healing, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, India (1995)

I could have a tough day at work, or come in cold and shivering from shoveling snow. On days when things just don’t go right and you start wondering if the Universe is conspiring against you. I walk in the front door and get a whiff of roasting wheat, … Yaay! Its Shira for dessert! What problems?

M is not a sweets person, but after a tough day, she too instinctively thinks of shira. That warm cream of wheat halwa, also called kesar halwa, sooji halwa, or any of a myriad terms.

Just a whiff and our moods brighten. Like if a gentle breeze lifted the burdens off our shoulders, forgotten for ever. The Universe can take care of itself, I’ll settle in and savor the shira, one warm, nectarine morsel at a time.

Perhaps it reminds us of our childhood. For any religious festival, a puja, a birthday, an anniversary, or celebration of a good report card from school – my brother’s report card, that is – aiee made shira. Now it is hardwired in my DNA, a whiff of shira equals a celebration!

Few simple ingredients for the basic shira! But what an opportunity to experiment. Add just about anything, you are limited only by your creativity!

Most commonly added are sliced bananas and raisins. M occasionally makes shira with crushed pineapple from a can, which comes out delicious. This time we tried supplementing with bananas, mango pulp and bits of cashew! Aaaaaah! But then, even the most simple shira is heavenly!

Try it sometime! And please tell us of all your variations, so we can emulate.

Ingredients:

• Rava (Sooji, a variant of cream of wheat, 1 cup)

Rava is coarsely ground wheat after the husk has been removed and the bran sifted out. It is not as finely ground as the wheat flour used to make chapattis or roti. Rava is a much coarser ground much like the texture of grains of sand. When looking for it in Indian grocery stores, rava is called Sooji, or wheat semolina. Couscous wheat is a much coarser ground and I don’t relish it for making shira.

• tuup (home made clarified butter, 2 tbsp (low cal version); or use ghee or butter; Aiee, who likes her sons “well-fed”, adds twice as much tuup/ghee)
• sugar, 3/4 cup
• mango pulp, 2-3 tbsp; see what you like
• cashew bits, 2 tbsp roasted on the side
• cardamom, 20 cloves; powder seeds in mortar-pestle
• kesar (saffron, we are currently using Iranian saffron gifted by a friend; splurge with 25+ strands)
• hot water, 2 cups; on the side, keep a kettle of water ready at a boil.
• milk, 2% low fat, 1/4 cup (Aiee uses whole milk … of course)

Method

• On low heat, roast the rava with constant stirring
• rava will lightly brown
• add tuup (ghee), sugar and continue to roast
• add mango pulp, cardamom, roasted cashew bits
• once thoroughly mixed, add the hot water and milk
• sprinkle and mix in kesar strands
• a nice aroma fills the kitchen and taste buds start to salivate
• stir vigorously while cooking over medium heat till it reaches a thick doughy consistency
• Turn off heat and allow to cool;
• When entertaining guests, aiee used to transfer doughy shira to a thali (deep dish), pat flat and cut in diamonds
• Not done yet! We place a small silver bowl of shira and offer it to the divine at our family shrine. We say a small prayer in thanks for all the blessings bestowed on us. Then with much restraint we start to eat it slowly, relishing each tiny spoonful!

The school made a significant investment in cooking equipment and prepares a nutritious, vegetarian meal for the ~ 850 primary and secondary school students. Lunch is simply rice, sambar or daal, a lentil curry or vegetable and pickles (see actual student plate above).

During my meetings with parents of Scholarship recipients, and listening to comments at the Parents Teachers Meeting, parents absolutely love the school lunch program. Parents are relieved of the pressure to pack a lunch every morning, or have it ready for the lunch break. Parents are also surprised (and glad) their kids actually eat the variety of vegetables and lentils the school serves. The school subsidizes the lunch and charges students Rs 80 per month (~$2 per month, Rs 4 per meal or ~ 10 cents per lunch!). Students not on the meal plan can eat occasional meals and drop cash in an unmanned donation box.

Kids love the food too. Meals are taken in the company of friends (and associated peer-pressure to finish their plate). Lunch is done within 20-30 minutes, and since they still have an hour break, they get to play around, gossip, or browse the library.

Thus I showed up just before lunch time to “test the quality of the school lunch program.” I always have interesting reasons to be present wherever free lunch is served. Very delicious food and a primary reason why we included lunch as part of the scholarship package we provide needy students. Whenever you are in Kumta, you are welcome to join in for a free lunch!

See pics from the Lunch, below

Boys and girls line separately for their lunches; senior students (X Std/grade) take turns serving. This day they also served a special “payasam” (see nearest bucket)

Students wait for all their colleagues to be served before starting.

Then after a brief benediction in Sanskrit (Shanti Mantra),

They start to eat.

One more of the lunch/ auditorium

• Lunch at the Saraswati Vidya Kendra
• Shanbhag School in Kumta
• Academic Update from the Shanbhag School
• Scholarships for the Needy
• Scholarship Activities at Shikshan.org

Tambdo phovu is very easy to prepare and inexpensive. The biggest expense would be the coconut and in the Konkan, every family would have their own coconut trees. You could mix as little or as much as you’d want. It doesn’t spoil, though the phovu may soften a bit.

The key ingredient here is the phova piTTo (powdered spice mix). Earlier, this would be made in every home, but now families simply buy it in the market. Phova piTTo from Kumta is famous! On every visit to Kumta I pickup a pound to bring here, and also for my aunts and cousins living in Mumbai (who are too lazy to travel to Kumta). Shilpa of Aayi’s Recipes has a recipe for the Kumta phova piTTo!

After much pestering, Manashi has developed a taste for it and now makes delicious tambdo phovu. I get it at least once on the weekend! I count my blessings, else I’d have to make do with chemical laden, starchy mush called cereal!

Ingredients

• Phovu (thin puffed rice, 2 cups)
• soyi (grated coconut, 1/2 cup; we use the frozen variety, microwaved to thaw)
• Kotumbari (coriander seeds, 1 tbsp)
• Jirae (cumin seeds, – 1/2 tsp)
• Tambdi mirsang (dried hot red peppers, 4 medium sized)
• Saakar (sugar, 1 tsp)
• MeeTh (salt, to taste)

Method:

• Roast the coriander and cumin seeds; then the red peppers separately in a wee bit of oil.
• Collect in a steel bowl, along with the soyi, poha piTTo, sugar and salt.
• I use a pestle (of mortar and pestle) to first crush the seeds, the red peppers and then crushingly mix with the phova piTTo, soyi, sugar and salt.
• Mix in the phovu in small amounts.
• Moisture from the soyi should be sufficient to soften the phovu, but you can sprinkle a few drops of water.
• Serve with some sev on the side.
• Bon apetit!

• Shilpa has a slightly different, but equally delicious recipe for the red phovu.
• You may like another of my Konkani Favorites: Kadgi Chakko!

and my favorite Kumta related posts:

• Kumta: Jewel of the Konkan
• Kumta: Field of Dreams
• Kumta: Main Street
• Kumta: School Kids
• Or you can see all my posts in KUMTA category

Eat Healthy! Live Long! Run Far!

A few blocks from our place in Kumta is a little “girNi” (or mill) which grinds various types of flour. It is run by a distant relative ours; apparently everyone in Kumta is related to each other! And fortuitously for me, he was milling raagi flour that day. So here’s a little tour of the making of Raagi Flour.

Shanbhag maam (in Kumta I call all elders by this honorific ~ we are all related, you see) poses with a bag of Raagi flour.


Raagi comes in these 110 lb bags and Shanbhag maam hauls these on his back!

My first look at whole raagi (Red millet or African millet).

In this simple contraption, the millet is ground. Through the homemade bellows in the foreground, the ground raagi collects in tin cans. The husk blows up through the pipe at the top and collects in the cloth bag in the back.

To cool, the ground raagi is heaped on newspapers on the floor, then hand filled in plastic bags and sealed. For a pittance I bought a couple of bags of raagi flour and carried them to our home here. On our dining table, raagi bhakri will appear more often. Yaay!

A closer look at the owner/manager/laborer/bag filler/cashier/cleaner/load hauler!

During my travels to India, I look forward to visiting our ancestral town of Kumta – Jewel of the Konkan in coastal Karnataka. And when I read that Shilpa’s Aayi (mother) actually lives in Kodkani, a village near Kumta, I had to make the pilgrimage and take darshan of this Devi – the inspiration behind Aayi’s Recipe. I contacted Shilpa and asked to visit her parents. She readily agreed and gave me their contact details.

And on a beautiful Saturday, I hitched a ride on a school bus dropping kids off to kodkani. Now, that in itself needs a separate post.

As the bus pulled up at the designated place, Shilpa’s father was waiting and brought me to their beautiful home! Wow! A traditional style bungalow, which immediately transported me back to the home of my grandparents in Bhatkal. Terracotta tiled roof; an open ‘jagli’ and a tulsi vrindavan in the front yard. The magnificently blossoming tulsi gave me great vibes of the place (see pic later).

And what a joy it was to finally meet Shilpa’s Aayi! Yes, Aayi of “Aayi’s Recipes.” Hundreds of thousands have salivated at her dishes, as shared by Shilpa. Legions have been inspired to try her creations for their loved ones. And so many look forward each day to new posts to titillate the palate. And I was invited to a beautiful konkani lunch made by her!

Look at the spread. I hurriedly captured it before wolfing everything down. By the time I was through, not a morsel was left. What is more beautiful than all those recipes Shilpa posts on AayisRecipes? Eating dishes lovingly made by her Aayi! … and I got to eat it! nyean, nyean, nyean, nyean!


Here is the Tulsi Vrindavan in the aangan.

After lunch and general discussion on the state of Kumta Schools, Shilpa’s father took me to the nearby river Aghanashini – translating roughly as: “Remover of sins.” I know what you are thinking: “Arun go take a dip!” You are just jealous I got to eat that Aayi-made lunch. nyean, nyean, nyean, nyean!

What a idyllic place grow up and raise a family. This dug-out was going out to the delta and picking up sand, which is a significant economic activity here.

Another pic of the river with a nearby boat resting on its side. I can see myself, taking a nap in the shade of the coconut trees yonder. (click image to see a larger version)

Shilpa’s father then drove to me a nearby Devi temple and then dropped me off to a mutual friend’s. All in all a great way to spend an afternoon! Thank you Shilpa and your Aayi for inviting me into your home!

And before you wonder, the Shanbhags here were no relatives of ours. But the owner was a Konkani and hovered around the front lobby in his uniform white munda, white jhabba with a pocket stuffed with a diary and a stack of folded paper, slicked hair and heavy black framed glasses. Could have been one of my uncles, and I referred to him as “mama.” Quite an entrepreneur. He owned two hotels diagonally across a busy intersection called “Shanbhag Circle,” about a block from the bus-stand. While we stayed at the “International,” the one across the street was Shanbhag Lodge, catering to the local middle class. There he also had a Restaurant (Shanbhag Restaurant).

Here in the “International”, he had a Bar plus Non-veg Restaurant and our favorite, the “Shanbhag Fastfood.” The fastfood catered to poor laborers. Only high tables and no seating – you stand and eat. So folks are encouraged to eat and move-on. You pay first and get coupons, which you turn in for your food. All snacks (Dosas, idli, vada, etc) were 5 Rs and Tea or coffee were 3 Rs. Really! M and I had our fill for under 25 Rs (slightly over 50 cents with the sliding dollar).

It was not the money, it was the experience of eating here. The spectacle of buying coupons, getting the food, standing and enjoying the delicious fare. During lunch he also served a Sambar-rice for 8 Rs. The place was packed as laborers crowded for a filling meal. For dinner (10 Rs) he served a simple thali and I saw entire families eating here. You could feed a family of five for about a dollar!

We were here for about four days, ate at all the Shanbhag restaurants and had a gala time. Highly recommend if you are visiting Hampi. There is a western touristy hotel nearby, but what fun would that be!

Before the pics, I share an anecdote. Taking a break from the blazing sun, M took a nap in the room, while I wandered the local bazaar and came back to the room with a couple of mangoes and some grapes.

I said to M: “Heh, the lady who sold me these fruits was very nice.”

She replied: Of course they love you; you never bargain!”

I said: “M, let me explain what happened and then you tell me if I should have bargained:

“I saw this push cart with fruits tended by an elderly lady. In my basic Kannada, I asked her the prices and got two types of mangoes and some grapes. She tallied and it came to 60 Rs. So I give her 60 Rs. Then she looks at me again, nods and hands 25 Rs back to me, saying “saaku” (enough). I insisted she take the entire amount, but she refused.”

I asked: “So tell me, what should I have bargained with her for?”

Ok, Here are the pics.
The one and only! Shanbhag Fastfood!


Dosas are made right in front of our eyes. We were salivating watching these brown!

M pursing her lips in anticipation of digging into the dosa! I could not get her to pose any more pics before she tore into it!

And a nice dosa has to be followed by a hot kaapi!

Today, she doesn’t remember the temples we visited, or the palaces we were wow-ed by. But ask her where she would like to go and without any hesitation she will say: Lets go back to Shanbhag International and eat dosas at the Fastfood place.

On this visit to India, we won’t actually go to Hospet, but we will certainly scour the South to find great places to eat, which steal our hearts and make us want to come back.

We will be in Mumbai for a few days only, so if any of you want to go for an early morning run along Chowpatty, drop me a line.

Have a great Thanksgiving and a busy Shopping Season!

I recently saw two recipes for Raagi Roti (or Bhakri) and convinced M to give it a try.We followed two similar recipes; one by Latha from Yum Blog! and the other by Asha of Foodies Hope. There are slight variations, so go ahead and check them out.The bhakri had a nice earthy taste and was slightly gritty. The red onions and chillies gave it a nice zing and did not need any chutney to go with it. It did dry my mouth, and I gulped a couple of glasses of water and juice. I quickly chomped down two bhakris and was surprisingly full for the rest of the day. It sits strongly in your stomach. This ability to fill you must be an important reason why raagi is a staple amongst the poor laborers in Northern Karnataka. This would be a great snack to power you on a long hike.

Ingredients (essentially from Latha’s post)

• Raagi flour – 1 cup; see making Fresh Raagi Flour
• Cilantro, finely chopped – half bunch
• Red onion, 1/2 of medium sized, finely chopped
• Green chilly pepper, 2 finely chopped
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Mix ingredients in the least amount of water and knead into a smooth soft dough.
• Set aside for 15 minutes.
• Spread a few drops of oil on a hot tava (pan), place a ball of dough and pat it to a pancake. Try to get it as thin as possible.
• It helps to rub oil on your fingers to prevent them sticking to the dough
• Roast covered over medium heat
• Flip and roast other side as well.
• Don’t crisp, but leave soft.

A little background: Raagi is also called African millet or red millet, and was introduced into India four millenia earlier from Ethiopia. In Maharashtra it is called Nachani and in Konkani, we call it Nanchano. The raagi crop grows well in arid lands making it popular amongst farmers in parts of the dry Deccan plateau. The seeds once harvested are also resistant to insects and spoilage and another reason raagi has become a staple of farmers. And it unusually brings vital amino acids to an otherwise starchy diet.Give it a try! Eat Healthy!

Have to confess, M looks through a few food blogs every day to figure out what new dishes to conjure up every evening to tame her impatient, ravenous husband. Yes, I am well fed!

As I have elaborated before, food blogs have an important advantage, they are not written by celebrity chefs mixing ingredients in designer kitchens for TV fans. These are written by your average householders, who are always time-challenged to cook something delicious yet simple and healthy for their loved ones – their own spouses and kids. Yes and in their cooking you find the most precious spice of ‘love’.

But how do you track the seemingly millions of food blogs out there? Over the last several months I have tracked several Foodies and listed them in my Food to Live For blogroll on ArunShanbhag.com

A useful trend amongst foodies is to organize a ‘Round-up’ based on an ingredient or festival. Contributors post recipes on the theme and an organizer rounds-up and links the recipes in a large post.

Asha of FoodiesHope, recently organized a Round-up of “Regional Cuisines of India: Karnataka.” Foodies from around the globe recreated traditional dishes in modern kitchens and also conjured up new recipes with locally available ingredients.

Asha, received 368 contributions and has painstakingly sorted and summarized it in four posts. If you even remotely like Karnataka Cuisine, this is verily food nirvana:

1. Appetizers and Snacks
2. Breakfast and Brunch. (Includes a dazzling variety of dosas!)
3. Dishes for the Main Course
4. Spicy Powders, Desserts and Else.

So take a few minutes to visit her posts, identify the recipes you like, click through for the complete recipes. Since some of the contributors were already on my Food to Live For blogroll, we have tried several of these dishes at home. Yumm! No doubt I have not had a chance to post – coz we were busy eating )