Irani Chai and Osmania Biscuit

When in Rome, do as......

In Hyderabad, head to the nearest Irani Café and indulge in a cup of Irani chai (tea) with Osmania Biscuit.  Or biskoot if you want to be even more Hyderabadi.

Hyderabad, India and chai from Iran....it's a long story that goes back to the 1890s when there was a great famine in Persia that caused millions to flee their country.  Their journey on foot lasted over eight months, across the Hindu Kush mountains, crossing two continents before they reached the shores of Mumbai or Bombay as it was then known.  To sustain a living, they served tea from a kettle and later went on to establish little cafes. Some of them moved down south and to the city of Hyderabad and made it their home.  

Irani chai is a sweet concoction of boiled milk and strong brew of tea, both made separately and then mixed just before serving.  Strange, since in Iran, they do not I read, add milk to their cuppa!

The Osmania biscuit has conflicting stories of how it got its name.  Some say, the then erstwhile ruler of Hyderabad, the Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan wanted his biscuits sweet and yet salty and the resultant creation was named after him.  Another story is that the dietitian (dietitians that long ago?) of the Osmania Hospital created the biscuit.  However, that is only of academic interest.

In any case, we were at the Charminar monument on a Sunday morning and stepped into the Irani café a little across the road for a cup of tea.  At 7am, all neighbouring shops still had their shutters down, but the Nimrah Café was abuzz with activity. It was packed, no table was free. No waiting either.  You walked in, order was taken, steaming hot Irani chai and Osmania biscuits appeared in moments.

As you stood and sipped on the sugary sweet tea one wondered why the beverage was served with yet another sweet-salty item.  But again, the thought was momentary.  The tea was nevertheless delicious and the biscuits melted in the mouth.  I was not complaining.  Any thoughts of why I had crept out  of my comfortable bed to go on a guided walk in my own city were dispelled.  I was set to go!

What's In Your Garbage Bin?

Left-over food, outer leaf of a cabbage, squishy vegetables, rancid fries……. you may not give it too much of thought, after all it is not everyday that you discard food, but then by oversight you missed that pack tucked away in the vegetable tray. You went out for dinner last night and what do you do with that little food from the previous meal. Many other plausible reasons. All valid. Or so you think. But just consider some thousands of families doing the same, and the food that is collectively going waste. That  really is food for thought.

Tristam Stuart is a freegan - living off food thrown in the trash can, and not because he cannot afford it, but to prove to the world that food fit for consumption is being thrown away in UK.  He is used to dining well from the food that supermarkets throw out. And the food he salvages is not dirty and inedible.  Each year 484 million unopened yoghurts;1.6 billion untouched apples; bananas worth £370 million; 2.6 billion slices of bread are junked.

In his book Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal , he brings all this to light . He is appalled at the food going waste. 

 Consider these startling facts:

Supermarkets in the UK chuck out 1.6 million tonnes of food a year due to overstocking. They don’t see gaps in shelves as good business so often order more than they need.

Marks and Spencer requires its sandwich suppliers to get rid of the crusts and the first slices at each end of each loaf that they use. These four slices from each loaf amounts to one factory throwing out 13000 slices of fresh bread everyday.

A farmer supplying spinach to a supermarket had to waste a whole crop because blades of grass were found between the growing spinach.

Asda, the British supermarket chain owned by WalMart wastes 20-30% of carrots because they’re not perfectly straight. A British wholesaler had to throw away 5000 kiwi fruit away because they were each 4g below the EU minimum of 62g. last year.

The European Union’s bizarre legislation on the cosmetic quality of fruit and vegetables sold throughout the EU compounds the problem. For instance Class I cucumbers must "be reasonably well shaped and practically straight " - with measurements specified in most cases. Some of these laws were changed in November this year, but there are still 26 categories, including apples, strawberries, pears and kiwi fruit where this legislation still applies.

All fresh produce has a sell by date and anything close to that is dumped by major supermarkets.The sell by food label has nothing to do with food safety. So,effectively the food is not spoilt. This food goes into landfills so that gases like methane are not released into the environment! In places like Korea and Taiwan such food goes as pig feed, while in Europe, the pigs are fed with expensive feed that the farmer in such hardtimes can ill afford!

The FAO predicts that the number of people (especially in developing countries ) without enough to eat will exceed 1 billion in 2009. In India – millions of tonnes of vegetables are lost annually due to a poor supply chain apart from other reasons that are not likely to be under our control.

We can do our bit to control the food that we throw away.  Over-ripe fruits and vegetables can be converted into smoothies, pies, desserts, soups and even ice creams. Left over rice can be deliciously turned into a nicely seasoned product. As long as the food is edible and without compromising on food safety, there can always be way to convert the product into something edible. 
 
I have always admired the lovely looking fruits and vegetables that one finds stocked in super markets abroad. But now, I think I know better.

Konkani Cuisine

This picture appeared in a magazine and set me off on a trip into the past. To be honest the dish 'Khotto/Khotte' was never my favourite . But it was a big hit with friends of my parents and whenever it was made at home, my dad had to make several trips to deliver it to them. Simply put, the Khotto is idli made in a jack fruit leaf container. It was made for specific festivals. A great deal of preparation went into the making of the Khotto. There were only few houses in our city that had these trees. Special requests had to be made in advance . The leaves had to be plucked carefully. After which they would be washed in water and wiped dry with a soft cloth. Then it would be knit together - 4 leaves - with clean sticks -carefully made from the coconut tree - it was really an art, for it had to be perfect so that the batter would not seep out. Once the containers were ready, the batter was poured into them and steamed. The leaves would then be pulled apart to reveal a perfect cone idli! The jackfruit leaf would impart a characteristic flavour to the khoto and this made it different from the ordinary idli. It could be eaten with just about anything under the sun. A channa/prawn gashi, or with coconut oil poured on it and accompanied with chutney.

The konkanis, it seems, are fond of using leaves in their cooking. Another special treat ( and this was a great favourite of mine) is the Patholi. And the leaf used for this delicious preparation is the turmeric leaf. The leaf would be smeared in the centre with a little amount of rice flour paste, over which a mixture of jaggery and coconut would be placed. The leaf would be folded and steamed. The leaf as in the case of Khotto is discarded, but the aroma of the turmeric leaf added to the taste and it was just divine.

Who ever thought I would miss the food of South Kanara. I must stop now..... sigh..

If you love the sub ... read on

The subway sandwich is a favourite of mine. And only one of them - the veggie delite . I learnt that it is best to leave our Indian items out of a sub – after all it is a western concept and paneer tikka is a definite NO- NO.

You should think it would be easy just walking into the sub outlet and ordering a veg sub. I had the most terrible experience . I managed the choice of the bread. Then came the veggies, and I wanted my money’s worth, I had all that was displayed, followed by the sauces. The experience almost put me off sandwiches for a year till the younger one took charge of my order . And I was happy once again.

We walked in a couple of days ago. There was a small group that just came in. And they were rather demanding and very sure of what they wanted. One said honey oats , another was emphatic about cold meat, her companion wanted exactly the opposite, please warm the sub for me, no olives, more jalapenos and so on. I was flummoxed. There I stood tongue tied, the daughter had just received a call and she kind of signalled me to go ahead. But no, I stepped back and allowed three others ahead of me, and waited till she finished and came along , and in seconds I was handed a delicious sub which I enjoyed with a chocolate cookie and iced tea.

I realise that I am not the only one feeling intimidated at a subway outlet. I found a whole wiki-how page devoted to ordering a sub, and they seemed to agree that it was a complicated process. I feel better already.

Some tips I picked up at http://www.wikihow.com/Order-a-Subway-Sandwich
Decide the bread, meat, veggies before approaching the counter.

Bread choices - Bread:
-Whole Wheat-Honey Oat-Garlic-Italian-Italian Herbs & Cheese.

Whole Wheat and Honey Oat are both made with wheat bread. Italian, Garlic, and Italian Herbs & Cheese are all made with white bread. "Italian" is they claim just a fancy word for "white bread." The bread is made by them. (I wonder if that is how it is in India too) And you can either have a six inch or footlong.

Be specific about the veggies you want – more lettuce please, or less olives, or go easy on the cucumber….
Vegetables
-Onions-Lettuce-Tomatoes-Pickles-Pepperonis-Jalapenos-Green Peppers-Cucumbers-Olives

Cheese:
-white American-cheddar-pepper jack

At our sub outlets I am told they ask you if you want extra cheese - be prepared to pay more if you have taken the extra. It may hold good for other ingredients too.

At this stage I think you need to tell them if you want to warm the sub. Warming of the sandwich is recommended if you have wet items like meatballs in them. The do say you can roast a teriyaki.

Sauce:
Go easy on the sauces. I had a terrible time. Mustard ma'am ?– sure ,why not? – I remember how I loved having mustard sauce with sausages when I was a kid ( way before I turned vegetarian), and sweet onion? or whatever – I love onions and figured it would be good too, – yes some more of that please, and so on, till I had a heavy sub handed over . Ugh!

Choice of sauces -
-Light mayonnaise-Regular mayonnaise-Mustard-Dijon mustard-Honey mustard-Ranch dressing-Sweet Onion Sauce-Chipotle Southwest Sauce-Barbecue Sauce

Meats for the carnivorous

Salami-Pepperoni-Ham-Turkey-Roast Beef-Bacon-Roasted Chicken Breast-Teriyaki Chicken-Steak

And of course if you wish the Salt, pepper, oil, vinegar

Phew! That is a lot, and I should think the term sandwich artist coined by them is quite appropriate for the guy at the counter. I guess a few visits and I would be all set to order my sub on my own.

Read this link too if you want to be a smart one at the subway, some of which has been quoted above http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1019155

And you could find a clip on YouTube too.

The weight of recession

I am not talking about the economic impact of recession. I am hardly the expert on such serious matters. The focus of this post is what is being refered to as the 'recession pounds'. Weight watching - now that is my subject. On second thoughts, who said I am not an expert on serious matters, such a 'weighty issue'?

As feared the recession has sent costs of products spiralling upwards. Prices of food seems to have touched a new high. It is therefore inevitable that citizens are reaching out for products that suit their wallets, and in most cases, the highly refined energy dense foods, those with the unhealthy cholesterol levels are lower priced as compared to the healthy but relatively expensive foods such as fresh fish, fruit, vegetables and whole grains. It has already been seen that the fast food giant McDonalds is showing a 'healthy' growth by sales of their not so healthy food.

This will probably reflect in weight gain and higher proportion of obese people. Adam Drewnowski, the director of the Nutrition Sciences Program at the University of Washington in Seattle suggests the following which makes good sense. He says, "The answer lies in affordable but nutrient-rich foods such as ground beef, beans, milk, nuts, cheese, carrots, potatoes, canned tomatoes, soups, and rice," calling it "a diet for a new Depression." Of course, coupled with healthy cooking methods.

Eat healthy. It has long term benefits. A feel good factor when you look at your reflection and lower medical bills.

PS: Under the guise of this post I hope to pass off what is generally termed 'nagging' as good advice!! Or am I the only one who thinks so?