OCTOBER 2017
Khaas Baat : A Publication for Indian Americans in Florida

CUISINE

By NITISH S. RELE

Shared Tables: Family Stories and Recipes from Poona to LA“Shared Tables: Family Stories and Recipes from Poona to LA” by Kaumudi Marathe; 302 pages; $14.18; published by Speaking Tiger Books; (www.speakingtigerbooks.com)

The Konkanastha and Saraswat cuisines may be poles apart in every respect but can easily stir an appetite or two. Like they did for us as Kaumudi Marathe related stories dating back to her roots in the two clans. We read anecdotes (not just about food but also crossing social barriers, caste, creed) of some fascinating time spent with her maternal and paternal grandparents. The reader is then taken on a ‘flavorful’ tour of Poona, Canada, Nagaland, Hyderabad and Wales before the author settles in Bombay as a journalist covering fires, interviewing Amitabh Bachchan, meeting Mother Teresa and writing her first book, “Temples of India: Circles of Stone.” Marriage transports the author to Texas and then Los Angeles where she settled down and started Un-Curry (www.un-curry.com), a catering company, cooking school and pop-restaurant, unlike any other. “I wanted people to move past the idea of Indian food being greasy, spicy-hot food you got for cheap in a dive. I wanted them to explore beyond samosas, tandoori chicken, naan and tikka masala, which were all delicious but only represented a tiny portion of India’s rich culinary diversity,” she writes. Now, who would deny that? Cooking classes allow Marathe to share stories, history, folklore and a good meal with people who want to learn about Indian food. She nixes the belief that all Indian food is spicy. “Before we had chillies, we used black pepper and ginger.” At the end of the book, she skimps on her favorite recipes. We could have used some more of the “un-curry” ones. The author of two other books, “The Essential Marathi Cookbook” and “Maharashtrian Cuisine: A Family Treasury,” remembers her grandmother’s words loud and clear. “Tell the stories you’ve been gathering all your life. Say the things I never got to say.” Marathe would make grandmother Veerbala proud for “hearing family stories, documenting the past, cooking traditional Marathi food from recipes shared by older generations to revive flavours not often tasted today.”

Here are two recipes reproduced with permission from the author:

Marathe Clan: Konkanastha Braised Okra with Tamarind and Jaggery

Serves: 2-4; Time: 30 minutes

My great-aunt Susheela Marathe shared this unusual Konkanastha recipe for okra with me when I was researching my first cookbook.

Ingredients:

Method:

  1. Chop okra into ¾-inch long pieces.
  2. Heat oil in a medium wok.
  3. Pop mustard seeds. Stir in asafoetida and turmeric.
  4. Sauté okra over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes.
  5. Stir in tamarind, water and jaggery.
  6. Reduce heat and cook covered, stirring occasionally, 12-15 minutes.
  7. Add salt and cook uncovered 2-3 minutes to evaporate most of the water.
  8. Serve hot, garnished with coriander leaves.

Sirsikar Clan: Saraswat Pan-Fried Pomfret

Serves: 2-4; Time: 30 minutes marinating + 30 minutes cooking

The Saraswats love fish and I am no exception. Vahini's fried pomfret makes a delicious appetizer. If pomfret is not available, try it with thin fillets of firm, white fish like tilapia, cod, or turbot, even shrimp.

Ingredients

Method

  1. Rub fillets with salt and turmeric 30 minutes before frying.
  2. Spread rice flour in a small plate.
  3. Heat 2-3 tablespoons oil on the griddle till very hot, 4-5 minutes.
  4. Sprinkle some red chilli over each fillet and transfer it to the rice flour, pressing down to coat both sides evenly.
  5. Shallow-fry 6-8 coated fillets at a time, 3-5 minutes per side.
  6. Drizzle a little oil around them as they cook.
  7. Turn fillets when the first side is firm and golden brown.
  8. Replenish oil as needed.
  9. Drain well before serving hot with lime wedges and sliced onions.

Books


Book Reviews By NITISH S. RELE,
Editor@khaasbaat.com

A Life of AdventThe Strange Disappearance of a Bollywood Starure and Deligh

The Strange Disappearance of a Bollywood Star” (386 pages; $15.99) by Vaseem Khan; published by Redhook (www.hachettebookgroup.com)

After “The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra” and “The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown” comes another gem from Vaseem Khan. In the latest Baby Ganesh Detective Agency mystery series book, retired Inspector Ashwin Chopra solves the case of a kidnapped, rebellious Bollywood actor Vicky Verma. As always, he is aided by his adorable wife Poppy, Irfan (former street urchin but now a bona fide Chopra family member), Baby Ganesh and ex-police colleague Rangwalla, who gets a fascinating sub-plot of his own that involves flamboyant eunuchs and a long-buried, hush-hush family story. Like previous books by Khan, there are several twists and turns, one even lands Chopra in a rural prison for hardcore criminals. Once again, we have Baby Ganesh to the rescue. Truly, Bombay, now Mumbai, comes back to life as in: “Caste prejudice, religious prejudice, social prejudice, prejudice in all its myriad forms.” And we couldn’t agree more with Khan on this vivid description of Film City studio in Goregaon. “Serving as a canvas to the unbridled creativity of legendary art directors and megalomaniac producers, Film City had played host to every manifestation of Indian life imaginable. There were lakes, hills, deserts, clifftops, fake villages, and miniature cities. Mughal palaces rubbed shoulders with modern skyscrapers and seedy dance bars.” Hats off to the author for yet another enchanting crime mystery. We await, patiently (or impatiently!), for the next in the Baby Ganesh Detective Agency series.

No One Can Pronounce My NameNo One Can Pronounce My Name” (400 pages; $26) by Rakesh Satyal; published by Picador Hardcover (www.picadorusa.com)

The story is straightforward but the characters are passionately complex. In a suburb outside Cleveland lives Harit in his mid-40s along with his mother. Since the untimely death of his sister, Harit has been dressing up in a sari daily to pass himself off as the deceased Swati. He believes this imprudent attempt is the only way to stay sane and keep his nearly-blind mother somewhat normal too. Employed at a men’s clothing store, he is close friends with a gay coworker Teddy. Not too far away is Ranjana, another immigrant in mid-40s, who is married to Mohan. The two have a son, Prashant, who is studying chemistry in college. Ranjana, who works as a receptionist at a doctor’s office, incorrectly believes that her husband is having an affair and seeks solace by writing paranormal romances in secret. Satyal sets up the characters and their backgrounds eloquently before Harit and Ranjana meet to stir up a friendship of sorts, among many other feelings. The author can be wildly hilarious. “He had a common Indian male physique: second trimester with a possible sail into the third,” he notes about a character. Or here’s another: “It’s just that, well, I’m Indian, and I’d be killed by firing squad if I don’t study science.” And two specifically about Harit: “It was enough to send him screaming back into his sari.” “Uncles were supposed to wear dress shirts—open at the collar—the skeletal silhouette of a T-shirt underneath them, and some gigantic wristwatch.” Despite rampantly confused characters, Satyal articulates their lives in a witty and insightful manner.

A Life of Adventure and DelightA Life of Adventure and Delight” (202 pages; $24.95) by Akhil Sharma; published by W. W. Norton & Co. (www.wwnorton.com)

Akhil Sharma is one of our favorite authors. His award-winning “An Obedient Father” was an absolute delight and so was “Family Life,” an elegantly written novel filled with dark humor. The latest is a collection of short stories previously published in “The New Yorker,” “The Atlantic” and “The Paris Review.” Gautama, a young graduate student who finds thrill among prostitutes, appears to have found an ideal companion with whom he can settle down. However, growing frustration with his parents and girlfriend leads him to “A Life of Adventure and Delight” once again with a prostitute. “Cosmopolitan” is in the same vein as “A Life …” with a middle-aged man looking to start a new relationship. The story “Surrounded by Sleep” is essentially the condensed version of “Family Life,” in which the elder brother, Birju, is severely brain damaged after an accident in a swimming pool. The young sibling Ajay tries to cope with the tragedy and even tries to coax God. “Just get rid of the minutes when Birju lay on the bottom of the pool. What are three minutes to you?” In “You are Happy?” a mother’s bout with alcoholism leads to her murder by her own family. “The Heart is Such a Heavy Thing” looks at love versus dowry (furniture set). Thankfully, love wins for a foolhardy young man. These and a couple more stories explore the pressure from families and society on common people that can lead to silence, accusations and bitterness. Sad and tragic as the stories of their lives are, Sharma is a master storyteller at bringing them to life.

CHILDREN’S BOOK

We Are One“We Are One” (38 pages; $14.95) by Param Patel and Pinky Mukhi; published by Mascot Books (www.mascotbooks.com)

Six-year-old Mintu has invited his friends over for dinner. But he isn’t too sure about whether he should communicate with his mother in Gujarati or offer Indian food since “it is so different.” But his mother assures him, “Your friends love you for who you are, not what kinds of food you eat or what language you speak …” The three friends, Chirpy, Curio and Mintu, have different interests but realize that they are closer than ever after accepting their diverse backgrounds. Sure to instill children with pride for their own food, language and culture, this book celebrating diversity is a moving story that should lead to a meaningful dialogue with children of all ages. Author Mukhi was inspired to write the book after Param had been asking questions about differences between him and his friends while growing up in the United States. “We are brown. We are black. We are white. We are colorful. We come in different sizes. We come in different shapes. We speak different languages. We celebrate different festivals. We eat different food. We like different things. We are so different. We are friends. We help each other. We feel sad for others. We love each other. Love is something deep in us. We feel one with all we love. We are one in love,” reads a touching one-page note at the end. One couldn’t have said it any better.


COOKBOOK REVIEWDeepa’s Secrets: Slow Carb/New Indian Cuisine

“Deepa’s Secrets: Slow Carb/New Indian Cuisine” by Deepa Thomas; 234 pages; $24.99; published by Skyhorse Publishing. (www.skyhorsepublishing.com)

It is no secret that India is the diabetes capital of the world with more than 50 million people suffering from type 2 diabetes, including the author’s husband, Thampy, of Indian origin. The culprits are rice and bread – two staples of Indian cuisine at the top of the glycemic index (GI: rating determined by a food’s ability to raise your blood sugar on a scale of 0 to 100). As soon as Deepa Thomas discovered the culprits, she dwelt into six months of cooking and eating “New Indian.” The result? The author of this well-written, invaluable book lost 20 pounds and freed her Thampy from a 10-year routine of insulin shots. No doubt, it isn’t easy to let go off carbohydrates such as rice, bread, potatoes and pasta, Thomas warns. Her solution is embracing foods high in nutrients and/or fiber and lower on the GI like whole grains, nuts, berries and leafy green vegetables more often, every 2-3 hours. The first two weeks of a slow carb lifestyle are tough but things get better, she assures you. “What I’ve invented, or reinvented, is Indian low carb or slow carb cuisine. Not no carb, which emphasizes fat consumption.” In the 70 recipes of the book, which is interspersed with interesting anecdotes from her childhood, the author advises using gut-healthy ingredients like beans, cabbage, mushrooms, leeks, blueberries, yogurt, etc. The founder of the now-defunct Deepa Textiles, who is also a painter and journalist, hopes “my food, your food, gives you great pleasure and good health, and that your healthy choices free you to find, do, be, and feel your best. That’s everything. Except the carbs.” But, of course.

Here are two of the recipes reproduced with permission from the publisher:

Aviel

avielAviel is Malayalam for vegetable medley. It is the celebration dish in Kerala. I kept the concept, but I didn’t feel the need to cook it to a mush-like consistency. This vegetable medley is al dente—a lot faster, a lot fresher, and every bit as festive.

SERVES 4

Yogurt dressing:

Vegetables (cut into 2-inch sticks resembling French fries):

Sauté:

Tadka:

  1. Puree yogurt dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor. Set aside.
  2. Vegetables: Blanch potatoes and beans in a large pot of salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Add carrots, blanch for 1 minute more. Add zucchini and bell peppers, blanch for 1 additional minute. Vegetables should be firmly cooked, not mushy! Drain.  
  3. Heat coconut oil and sauté onion. When onion begins to brown, add curry leaves (protect yourself from crackling leaves, with a lid) and stir for 30 seconds. Add blanched vegetables and continue sautéing for 2 minutes. Don’t overcook! Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Add yogurt dressing to the sautéed vegetables and toss gently to avoid breaking up the vegetables.
  5. Tadka: Heat coconut oil in a large 12-inch saucepan over medium heat. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves (shield yourself from spluttering with a lid). Add shallot and stir until it begins to brown (5 minutes). Lower heat, and add cayenne flakes. Stir for one minute, and spoon tadka over the sautéed and yogurt-dressed vegetables.
  6. Drizzle with a final tablespoon of coconut oil as a flavor booster! Check seasoning. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serve Aviel with Heritage Barley (Better than Rice) Pilaf, Ammachi’s Clay Pot Fish Molee and Peppery Papadum. 

The humble onion promotes the growth of healthy gut bacteria, which is good for digestion, immune response, and brain function. The inulin in onion also stabilizes blood sugar levels, helping to control diabetes. Onions contain powerful antioxidants, and red and purple onions have anthocyanins (the same water-soluble pigments found in berries) with powerful anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties.

Smashed Chickpea and Toasted Peanut Cakes

smashed chickpeaVendors in Delhi used to toast peanuts on the streets during the cooler winter months. They’d light fires and warm the peanuts in their shells, then slip them into newspaper cones. The peanut-chickpea combo doubles the protein in this recipe for a great vegetarian meal, side, snack, or appetizer.

SERVES 6

Toast and grind:

Make ahead: Cakes, cooked or uncooked, freeze beautifully for a grab and go snack, appetizer, or meal. Use parchment or waxed paper to separate layers before freezing. 

  1. Toast and grind seeds. Mix all the remaining ingredients except for the flour and coconut oil. Use a hand blender to puree to a rough consistency. Check seasoning.
  2. Shape into 2-inch patties.
  3. Press patties into coconut or chickpea flour to help them hold their shape.
  4. Heat oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet. Use enough oil to “moisten” the pan (about one tablespoon). 
  5. Brown the cakes (several at a time, without crowding) over medium heat (about four minutes). Gently flip (I use two spatulas) and brown the other side (another four minutes). Repeat until all cakes are done. You may need to add oil between batches. Keep the finished cakes warm in a 200ºF oven until ready to serve. 
  6. Serve with Reemsie’s Tamarind Sauce or Chutput Ketchup for dipping.

The chickpea and peanut cakes are a nice starter or accompaniment to Crackling Okra and Chukku’s Yogurt Salad. 

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