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Breakfast

 Traditional Porridge Varieties From Tamil Nadu

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Porridge is a breakfast or dinner food, mostly nutritious and healthy. In Tamil Nadu, porridge is called as “koozh” or “kali”. Kali will be thicker than koozh, and both are equally beneficial to health. They are traditional breakfast food which serve the energy to work throughout the day.

 Traditional Porridge Varieties From Tamil Nadu

1. Kezhvaragu koozh

Kezhvaragu is the Tamil word for finger millet, commonly called as Ragi in India. In some parts of Tamil Nadu, it is also called as Keppai. Kezhvaragu koozh was the traditional breakfast of Tamilians centuries ago. Later people turned to idly,dosa and now, due to modernization, people mostly prefer pre-packed foods like cornflakes and bread.  However, keppai koozh still survives in several parts of Tamil Nadu as a road side drink. It beats the heat and it is very ideal to have during summer.

One cup of Ragi flour is dissolved in 2-3 cups of water. The dissolved mixture is added to 4 cups of boiling water and stirred continuously. Salt is added to taste and stirred continuously to avoid formation of lumps. After few mins, the porridge thickens and gets ready. When left to cool, it thickens again, so buttermilk is added and mixed well. Some prefer to add cooked rice while stirring.

For those who prefer spicy koozh, it is served with onions and chillies or pickle. For those who want is sweet, jaggery is added. Kezhvaragu koozh is recommended for anyone who works under hot sun, especially during April-May. This porridge is recently gaining support amidst other fast food dishes, mainly because of its high nutritional value.

2. Ulundhu kali

Ulundhu kali is a very healthy traditional sweet dish with high medicinal values. It is recommended to have as a breakfast dish. It helps to strengthen bones and muscles, especially for women. In most of the Tamil villages, this is compulsory given to teen girls who recently attained puberty. It is then used as a pain suppressor for period cramps, after-delivery pains and menopause issues.

Ulundhu in Tamil means Urad dal. Black urad dal along with skin is used for making ulundhu kali. One cup of black urad dal is roasted until light brown. It gives a nice aroma when roasted. It is then left to cool and ground coarsely in a mixer.  A big lemon sized piece of palm jaggery is dissolved in water and this urad dal powder is added to it. The flame must be in medium low throughout the process. The urad dal powder and jaggery syrup are mixed continuously without forming lumps. It finally attains a paste-like consistency and then gets ready to be served. A load of good nutrients with just two ingredients, highly recommended by great grand mothers!

3. Pazhaya soru

Pazhaya soru or pazhaya sadham is a tasty porridge made with left over rice. It was once the staple breakfast of farmers who step out to work early in the morning. It is still made in villages where people indulge in hard work that require high strength and stamina.

Left over rice from the previous day is soaked in water overnight. In the morning, the soaked rice is added to a bowl along with the water. Most of the nutrients remain in that soaked water and it is very important not to throw it out. A cup of curd, few chopped pieces of onion, coriander and chillies are added. It is then served with some pickle. Enriched with vitamins, pazhaya soru keeps the body cool and energetic!

4. Vendhaya kali

Vendhayam in Tamil means fenugreek. It is known to reduce body heat. Vendhaya kali is also one of the traditional porridge varieties to reduce body heat during summer. 50 grams of raw rice and half tablespoon of fenugreek are soaked overnight. After 8-10 hours, they are ground together with salt to obtain a smooth batter consistency. This mixture is now added to boiling water and stirred continuously for 5-10 minutes.

Mostly, all these porridge dishes are cooked in low flame as they may form lumps. After stirring well, gingelly oil is added and mixed for few more seconds. When the porridge becomes ready to serve, it should bot be sticky. It is then served with palm jaggery and few spoons of gingelly oil.

During the good days, when there were no mixers and grinders, people used stone crushers to grind powders and batters. They just took some extra effort to form a healthy family. Rice, Ragi, Dal, Wheat etc were used extensively to make food healthy and tasty. Though the definition of ‘taste’ has differed now, traditional foods are always the ‘best’ as they served as both “food and medicine’!

Featured Photo of ‘Pongal Celebration’ by Nithi Anand clicks under CC BY 2.0

Relish The Hot And Spicy Dishes Of Madurai

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Madurai is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu, known for its contribution towards the development of Tamil language during ancient times. The city still lives with pure traditional values. Along with the slang, attire and other cultural uniqueness, it also thrives with mouth watering dishes.

Madurai residents are mostly non-veg lovers and their food is spicier when compared with other districts of Tamil Nadu. When people from Madurai migrate to other districts in terms of occupations, their unique recipes also travel along with them. This is how Madurai jigarthanda, Madurai idly and a lot more unique food became famous all over Tamil Nadu.

1. Kari Dosai

Kari dosai is an authentic Madurai dish famous for its aroma and taste. It is actually a type of “oothappam”, also known as “kal dosai”. It differs from normal dosai in its size and thickness. Kari dosai is thicker than the normal dosai and it has stuffed mutton pieces (In Tamil, kari means meat).

Meat is minced into small pieces and cooked with onions, tomato, chilli, ginger and garlic. Dosa batter is spread on the pan in thick medium size circle and beaten eggs are slowly spread over it. Oil is poured over sides and the cooked mutton kheema is spread over the dosa. After cooking one side, dosa is turned to cook on the other side. It is then served with chutney.

2. Kola urundai

Yet another spicy non vegetarian treat is the famous Madurai mutton kola urundai. This is mostly served as a snack. Boneless mutton pieces are ground in a mixer or blender and then cooked with onions, ginger, garlic, chillies, coriander and spices. The cooked mutton is simmered in low flame to dry out water and left to cool down.

It is then made into small meat balls and fried in oil. This meat ball fry is one of the famous iconic dishes of Madurai. The spices used and the low-flame cooking method gives a wonderful taste. Visitors to Madurai must try definitely and it will become a big favourite of any non-veg lover.

3. Madurai muttai idly

Madurai is famous for Jasmine flowers, which is called as Madurai Malli in Tamil. The same goes with idly, as Madurai special idly is paralleled with the soft petals of the city’s jasmine. Idly is the staple breakfast of south Indians which is a steam cooked food made with rice and urad dal batter. Though idly is common in all parts of Tamil Nadu, Madurai people took a bold decision to bring non-vegetarian ingredient into idly also!

Let us taste a bit of Madurai muttai idly which is a mix of idly-egg scramble. Onions are fried on a hot pan along with chillies (or capsicum), tomatoes, ginger, garlic and spices. Eggs are poured into the mixture and small pieces of cooked idly are scrambled into it. Eggs and idly pieces are well scrambled for few minutes until they are cooked well.

The delicious mix is then served by sprinkling pepper powder on top. In a Madurai kitchen, if Idly made for dinner remains, then it gets recycled as muttai idly for the next day’s breakfast.

4. Kalakki

Kalakki is one of the many different versions of egg fry. In some parts of Madurai, it is called as vazhiyal. It is also known by other names such as tikka, ding dong etc. So if you come across any one of these strange names in a Tamil hotel’s menu list, know that it is just a spicy omelette variety, mostly served at the end of the meal.

Egg is beaten well along with salt and pepper. Mutton gravy is poured into it and poured on a hot pan. It is not turned to opposite side like other omelette varieties. As mutton gravy is added, it becomes extremely soft. It is just folded and served hot and spicy.

This is mostly served in street corner food stalls, and small restaurants. As parotta is default in these food corners, they usually prepare a gravy for side dish. This gravy is then used to make spicy Kalakki, which completes any fast food feast.

There are preferences for every people living in different regions. Madurai people love spicy food and non-vegetarian dishes top their menu list. Above mentioned are just a few to pick and there are a lot more to explore around the eateries of Madurai.

Featured Photo of ‘my first dosa’ by Phil Denton under CC BY-SA 2.0

Bapuji Cake – Why It Makes Me Nostalagic Even Today

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Remember those boring afternoons in the classrooms, where the only thing that went through the mind was ‘how much longer till the lunch break’? Well, I sure do, even though lunch was not always a grand affair to write home about. Yes, Mom did send Frankies, egg rolls, and luchi-aloo dum once in a while, but it was mostly sandwiches, boiled eggs, and a tiffin cake. To be honest, as a kid I loved the Bapuji cakes and didn’t really mind having them for tiffin.

As I grew up, I saw the city move on to chocolate chip cupcakes, Madeira cakes, or cakes filled with jams and dry fruits. Even after the city evolved it taste buds to those fancy pastries and confectionaries, I can say with much conviction that the love for this cake remains the same for me and many other Bengali kids growing up in the eighties and nineties. It will always feel like my bit of nostalgia in the form of a cake.

A bit of history about these square-shaped delights

As Amitava Jana, the present owner of the bakery, proudly claims, Bapuji cake has now become synonymous with tiffin cakes in Kolkata, just as chocolate bars are simply called ‘Cadbury’s’ by the Bengali folks. He, along with his brother Animesh Jana, runs the bakery now which was started way back in 1973 by his father. The bakery has a number of production units in Pallabpukur, including two more workshops at Lake Town and Serampore. It is still quite a small operation and the cakes are mostly made manually.

A quintessential presence at roadside tea stalls and tiffins

The New Howrah Bakery, which is the manufacturer of the Bapuji Cakes, still holds its ground amidst all the competition from the fancy goodies. From the youngest age, I have seen these cakes adorn the roadside tea stalls. In fact, it makes glad to this day when I get to see these cakes kept in glass jars at the stalls, and I can’t help but reach for one. And, trust me I am not the only one to do that!

Bapuji is still a middle-class Bengali’s favorite companion to evening tea. The bread, eggs, and banana combination is mainly a preferred companion for the morning cup, but the evenings are for the biscuits and Bapuji cakes. In fact, these cakes were a Bengali mother’s savior as they packed these in the lunch boxes of their fussy kids.

The fact that these cakes are such nostalgia for me is also because of the taste. Sure, it is a bit drier than the other fancy cakes in the market, but it is still absolutely delicious to my taste buds. And, taking off that greasy wax paper and to take a bite is sheer delight too.

Given that over 50,000 Bapuji cakes sell on an average in a day, I would say many other taste buds share the same nostalgia that I do! And, it makes my heart so happy to know that, thanks to its immense popularity, the humble Bapuji cake is here to stay.

Featured Photo of ‘Maha Prasadam’ by Os Rúpias under CC BY-ND 2.0

“Paranthe Wali Gali” The Lane Of Paratha Makers

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Paranthe Wali Gali , also called Gali Paranthe Wali, means “the lane of paratha makers” or the “bylane of flatbread”. Perked your tastebuds yet? Paranthe Wali Gali is situated in Chandni Chowk (Moonlight Square) in Old Delhi, India, and has functioned for over a century. Once known to be the grandest market selling silverware and other items, it is now famed for its parathas or deep-fried breads.

About Paranthe Wali Gali and the Origins of its Parathas

Before we delve into this delicacy, let’s have a taste of its history. Since its inception, Paranthe Wali Gali has grown from carrying a handful of paratha shops to a multitude of joints that sell a variety of parathas. This paratha culture dates way back to the reign of the Mughal emperor. Sometime in the 1870s, the first paratha shops moved in.

Parathas are an extremely popular, whole-wheat flatbread that still resonates as a traditional favourite among Delhiites. It is either made plain or packed with a stuffing. As they were originally owned by Brahmins, who are strict vegetarians, paratha cuisines have mostly adopted a strict leaning to vegetarianism. Mainly with a Jain clientele, the use of onions and garlic were also strictly omitted in the original parathas back in the day.

Here at Paranthe Wali Gali, parathas are churned out with optimal efficiency to meet interminable numbers who visit the region to quell their taste buds. It’s almost like a systematic production line here where one person rolls the dough, then packs it with a filling while another oversees frying them in iron tawas (or hot plates) filled with desi ghee. Perhaps not an ideal choice for the health-conscious. Despite this, the area still remains a popular destination among Delhiites to Indians all across India, to the curious traveller looking to dip his fingers into some street food. Celebrities aren’t spared either! From Amitabh Bachan to Ranbir Kapoor to politicians such as Jawarharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, food here continues to draw its foodies in hordes.

Types of Parathas

The variations of parathas at your avail here are numerous. They range from your basic, unstuffed paratha to the common aloo paratha, which is stuffed with potatoes. Other stuffings include aloo dahl, mixed vegetables, paneer(or Indian cottage cheese), mattar(or peas), mushrooms, smashed pappadums and sultanas.

For more exotically-stuffed parathas, there are an array of savoury ones that are filled with nimbu-pudina(which is lime and mint flavoured), mirchi, almonds and fillings like rabri and mava. Rabri parathas are raved about. Mashed with almonds and pistachios, they aren’t your usual parathas and would easily satisfy anyone with a sweet tooth.

The parathas are usually served with a variety of chutneys and curries or even an accompaniment as simple as curd and pickle. Complemented with a piping cup of hot chai, these meals are ideal for your cold, wintry day. If you enjoy your street foods, this is the place to begin, end your day or break it midway with this sumptuous feast!

Featured Photo: Aloo parantha and dahi for breakfast by rosemilkinabottle under CC BY 2.0

10 Lip – Smacking Dishes From The Cuisine Of Kozhikode

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Kozhikode, or Calicut as it was called earlier, is best known for its spices, nature and lip-smacking Mappila cuisine. The beaches of Kozhikode offer an amazingly tranquil experience to the tourists as much as they would fall in love with the cuisine of Kozhikode. Here are some amazing dishes you must try out when you visit Kozhikode next time:

Kozhikode Halwa

Halwa is a dessert which is made in a variety of flavors in Kozhikode. It is much different from the halwa which is known in the North India and the rest of South India. Kozhikode Halwa has a unique specialty which makes it one of the most sought after dishes to try in Kozhikode. It is made of wheat, tapioca, maida, dry fruits, fresh fruits and a host of other ingredients including coconut, jaggery, coconut oil, and ghee. It is made such that, the halwa remains tasty and unspoiled for over two weeks without fail. You will find the bakeries and sweet shops in Kozhikode decked with halwas of various colors and flavors.

Kozhikode Biriyani

Biriyani photo
Mutton Biriyani – Rich Maha, Vermont South by avlxyz under CC BY-SA 2.0

Another popular delicacy to taste in the cuisine of Kozhikode is the Biriyani. Even though the Thalassery Biriyani is also very popular, you will find many popular Biriyani centers in Kozhikode city. Those from the North India and Hyderabad will love Kozhikode Biriyani which has the flavors of the Mughals and Nawabs but with a hint of Kerala’s own spices.

Alisa or Aleesa

This is one of the specialties of Malabar which you can particularly taste during the holy month of Ramadan. It is a classic combination of wheat, chicken, dry fruits, nuts, coconut milk, and a special mix of spices which looks like a Kheer but tastes out of the world. It is a rare combination of flavors which you can taste only in the Malabar areas of Kerala.

Kallummakai

Kallummakkai or Mussels are another specialties of the cuisine of Kozhikode. The place is a coastal area, mussels are cultivated in special farms in and around the Malabar area. Mussels are prepared in many ways in the Muslim households using the native spices, especially black pepper. You must try some dishes made with Mussels while in Kozhikode.

Milk Sarbath

Milk Sarbath is one of the most popular street-food you must try in Kozhikode. As anyone can guess, milk is the main ingredient along with sugar, sabja seeds, and Nannari syrup. The entire mix tastes heavenly and also cools your body during the summer season and hence is a popular street-food in Kozhikode.

Puttu with Fish Stew

Most of the people who visit Kerala would have tried out the famous Puttu or steamed rice cake with Kadala (black chana) curry in coconut gravy or with Beef. Here, in Kozhikode, you must try out steaming hot Puttu with Fish Stew which will delight your taste buds.

Kasba and Other Arabian Food

Since the ancient days, Arabs have kept a close relationship with the predominantly Muslim areas of Kozhikode and Kannur. In fact, the entire Malabar area is highly influenced by the Arab connections and hence the cuisine of Kozhikode also contains many Arab dishes such as Kasba.

Pathiri with Beef / Mutton / Chicken

Pathiri is another delectable dish made by the Muslims in the area. It is a rice flatbread and best eaten with spicy Beef, Mutton or Chicken curry. The vegetarians can enjoy it with vegetable stew or Kadala curry.

Crab and Other Seafood

Being a coastal region, the cuisine of Kozhikode definitely has some amazing seafood. Crab is one of the specialties to have when in Kozhikode.

Mappila Snacks

Kozhikode being a Muslim dominant area, you will be able to enjoy many Mappila snacks such as Muttamala, Ethakka Appam, Unnakkaya etc which will make you fall in love with the place.

Featured Photo by eddy under CC BY-SA 2.0

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