UNEXPECTED TIMES 2020-21.....CORONA

 

UNEXPECTED TIMES 2020-21.......CORONA

Part 1

Earlier ‘Corona’ word used to be relaxing, comfort giving, refreshing. I remember since childhood Footwear used to be 2 brands....BATA & CORONA. Corona footwear for comfort was the tag line. Then the hospitality industry & a brewery introduced us to a refreshing beverage.....Corona Beer, served chilled. The memories are still strong. In this age of digitalization before 2020 if one Googled “Corona” the first 5 used to be Corona Footwear & Corona Beer. The times have changed & how?

Now the only word with C that comes to mind is Corona & that’s a Big Change. The earlier words Change – Carrot – Cat have taken a backseat too.

As early as 2019 this virus Corona, now known as Covid19 made its presence felt in China but not known to the world. The infected people travelled all over the world and by 2020 February, the world was beginning to feel the sting of this Coronavirus. New virus strain, no medicine for it and spreading thru human’s interaction, the disease spread and a “Covid19 Pandemic” era began. No one had a clue how to control and how long this will last. The WHO and doctors, scientists struggled to make the right serum.

The bigger & developed countries were the first to affected...US, UK, Spain, France, Germany, Brazil not counting China which was already worst affected. India was watching and the government had started to monitor the Covid19 effects & ways to manage its entry in India. It happened with one traveller +ve Covid19 landing in India somewhere in February followed by the Tabligis episode as informed by news media began the arrival of Covid19 in India. The government thru the media was informing of updates but the seriousness never sunk in as WE believed our immunity is better than the world because we eat street unhygienic junk food, use spices and cook all our food. This proved to be a myth as India was slowly getting affected, a large population of 130 crores spread length & breadth of the country with a blind-spot for finding /identifying the patient. Laboratory facilities for checking the strain were limited to under 2 digit in India, Hospitals not equipped, medical facilities in rural India still not developed to tackle the Pandemic.

The country’s prime minister made an appeal on 20^th March2020 to the people to follow “Janta Curfew” so that the Cororna can be controlled thru less public interaction. People responded & it was success. This done, the government announced complete Lockdown in India from 24^th March for 21 days to14th April’20. The patient number was around 500. This was phase 1. Everything shutdown, initially all enjoyed the forced holiday and family bonding unaware of the danger lurking around. The rate of spread did decrease but the authorities to control the spread totally extended the lockdown, 2^nd phase 15^th April to 3^rd May’20 (19days) followed by Phase 3 & 4 ending on 31^st May’20.

During this lockdown to keep the spirits high (no, not those spirits...shops were shut) the Prime Minister announced Thali Bajao Day, Clapping for Frontline Covid warriors, Diya Jalo Night and all these were well responded. But reality was different from this momentarily motivation.

MAATI BAANI for awesome food

MAATI BAANI

Maati Baani….language of the earth "मिट्टीकी भाषा" implies the ties with the roots. 

Maati Baani is a restaurant of Saj By The Lake in Malshej Ghat, Maharashtra. Saj group of hotels is known for it's vegetarian cuisine over the past 20 years. I am a hardcore non-vegetarian but I love to be vegetarian at Saj properties at Mahabaleshwar & Malshej Ghat.

Over the years the kitchen head "maharaj" has now evolved to "chef", the greeting from "केमछो महाराज?"  has been replaced by "hi chef".

At Maati Baani the menu was added with NonVeg dishes….the theme & location demanded them. The local flavours of spices, the farm produce of Indrayni Rice, Jowar & corn, fresh fish from the lake and 100 year old grandma recipes helped in designing a menu fit to say " Maati Baani".

Maharashtrian food, local flavours to cover all the meal sessions of the day are available. Breakfast begins with poha or thalipeeth  or misal with matki/ white vatana

. The Misal is made in 3 varieties…..local with 2 pulses, puneri with 2 pulses & potato, nagpuri with red chana only but in all one thing is common….they all are spicy "झटाक" to say in local lingo. 

To the discerning the chef can produce "घावणे" (rice pancakes) 

to be eaten with sweetened milk or peanut chutney. 

You must try the crispy sabudana wada (sago pattice) or sabudana khichdi (with potato & crushed roasted peanuts).

The Speciality of food also lies in Pit Cooking where the food is put in mud pots, sealed, covered with grass in a pit and cooked on slow fire. The "माटी पका मुर्गा" (pit cooked chicken),  भाजका मसाला कोंबडी (chicken cooked in dry coconut & roasted spices), भरलेली अंडी (stuffed eggs) recipes are 100 years old as they were passed on from grandma to menu ! Another unique egg dish " कांद्यावरचे अंडे"  sunny side up eggs on a bed of sauteed spiced onions (tibetien shakshuka is similar but with tomatoes added). These all can be devoured with rice or jowar or nachani (millets) bhakri (flat breads). There is the special rice preparation "मसाला भात"  typically made with आंबेमोहर variety rice but a local variety available here "ईंद्रायणी" is equally aromatic n flavorful.

Maati Baani also has some selected dishes from gujarat, kathiawad, south india along with the popular Punjabi dishes. Snacks to suit the atmosphere pakodas, tikka, bangdi samosa are truly delicious. Don’t forget to order MB special Kheer as dessert. Any request of an out of menu dish is cooked by chef with love depending on availability of ingredients, restaurant being at remote location.

Villas facing the lake will make your holiday memorable too.

Maati Baani + Rains + Hill view + Moving Fog = Happiness Cocktail

Monsoon Food: When it Rains, Some Foods Reigns!

When it Rains, Some Foods Reigns!

The monsoons arrives with a waft of mud smell that brings memories galore, something triggers the brain’s “memory of food” section and you start craving for typically Rainy menu. It is just like when you smell aroma of some food being made or think of the food you have eaten in earlier years and the taste is almost felt in mind....the power of taste buds n mind combined don’t forget certain foods. It gives a rise to nostalgic food memories and we start looking at our mother or wife to make the delicacies so wanted in the season. We have emotional ties attached with monsoon, bitter sweet memories resurrect and there is surge of emotions. Body temperature drops in rains and due to need of calories and change in our chemistry with rains we star craving for food !!

The most popular demand is for Pakodas (fritters), Hot Chai adrakwali (tea) and shorbas (soups). Depending on the region in India, in North India it is Moongdal Pakodi, Samosas, Bhutta (corn on the cob) 

Bhutta

while in South India it is Rasam (hot pepper soup), Bondas, hot Filtered Coffee, Karakadaka Kanji (njavara rice gruel cooked with coconut milk & herbs) and Tamilnadu’s popular Sundal (spiced up chickpeas).. The eastern regions serve Aloo Chap (a version of batatawada), steamed or fried Momos, Hilsa Fish, fried Tapioca Chips, Kakrol Bhaji (spiky teasel gourd) and the west thrives on Onion Pakoda, lilva kachori, fafda chutney, Alu wadi,

kanda Bhaji (onion pakoda)

Thalipeeth, methi na gota, wild greens Shewla & Phodshi bhajis while sipping on hot ginger tea.

mutton ghee roast

The meals in north India mainly are rich in fatty foods during monsoon & winters so ghee Parathas (pototo or raddish or cauliflower or mutton mince) served with dollops of butter, dal makhani, non-veg delicacies like tawa fried chicken or gizzards, laal maas, mustard oil cooked mutton biryani are famously eaten in households as well as eateries. Common street food like mutton seekh, hot chana (gram) chaat, samosa chaat, poori aloo, jalebi are gorged upon by the people.

The east India is diverse with hilly & sea side regions. They have fatty Pork dishes, Hingi Maas Jalukia (catfish peppery), fish curries are cooked with fiddlehead ferns, spiced up brinjals, Bengals Hilsa from Ganga river in any form, Khichuri (rice, roasted moongdal, whole garam masala, ginger, gr chillies, mustard oil).

kabab

South India savours its Dosai with variety of sambhars, masala dal Wadas,  

Dosai

Mosuru Kodubale (rice flour & yoghurt fried rings), vegetable bhajjis variety (includes gr chillies, tapioca, raw banana, potato, cauliflower), Milagai Bhajji of Kerala (gram flour and spices), Hyderabad’s Punugulu a type of fritter (made from dosa batter mixed with curd, chillies & onions).  The non vegetarians like Kari Wada (minced meat patties), Naada Kozhi Varythathu (chicken fried in coconut oil, its spice), Hyderabadi meat potli with a bowl of haleem (broken wheat, lentils, ginger & spices). 

The western region has stark contrasts within the regions with pure vegetarian and sworn  non vegetarians. The Gujarat gives the vegetarian flavours with the common vegetables like turned into delicacies, hot yoghurt kadhi, patra (colocossia leaves steamed with spices)

Patra

, bardoli ki khichdi, dal dhokli. The Maharashtra food is my favourite and from break fast to dinner I can name them. Breakfast popular dishes are hot ghavane (rice pancakes) with coconut chutney or sweetened coconut milk, thalipeeth (flat fried bread with mixed lentils, spices & herbs), missal (variety from Kolhapur to Puneri to Nagpur)

Misal

, Poha with chana rassa (puffed rice with red whole gram curry), Hot Bhataji Pez (gruel) ani pickle. Lunch all time I can eat can be hot Besan or Kulith Pithale with brown rice, vatana ussal (black gram in coconut curry), non vegetarian fare includes dried Bombay duck bhujane or Javla (dried shrimp) koshimbir.  For snacks the evergreen Onion Bhajji cannot be replaced so also Mirchi Thecha (crushed green chill, rock salt, garlic) with all food. Dinner is normally heavy with Nachani-Kulith Shorba, Vade Kombdi (fried rice pancakes with coconut cooked chicken)

Vade Kombdi

, tawa fried chicken liver, bhakri (rice or nachani). Go north in Maharashtra you cannot miss Khandeshi Mutton, Warli chicken and variety of bhakris.

Javlaa Bhakri

With these delicacies available all thru the country, one can travel all monsoon and come with satisfied taste buds, a few kilos added to your weight and memories of different regions taste & languages. Just like language in India changes every few kilometres, the food eating habits also change. That’s Indian food for you......this covers only monsoon !

Vegetarianism in Lockdown

Vegetarianism in Lockdown

The lockdown forced many Carnivores into vegetarians. The side tracked stocks of vegetable varieties got a boost at the vendor stalls. Some were smart enough to push the non moving vegetables to customers and the gullible, scared of shortage customer just bought it. I for myself a proclaimed Carnivore was in for a shock and it did bring out the poet in me sarcastically extolling the new stars in my vegetarian basket.....bhindi (ladies finger), dudhi (snake gourd), karela (bitter gourd), parwal, turia (ribbed gourd) and so on.

To plan from breakfast to dinner was a task.

Options for breakfast (without cholesterol) poha, upma, sheera, bread chivda, vermicelli upma, sabudana khichdi. Missed eggs & sausages. So some different innovations like Oats Thepla, Thalipeeth, Dhokla, Idly were introduced to my menu. If bored then a Oats in hot milk quick fix was handy.

Meals were a task, Dals were easy to think from akkha masoor, masoor dal, toor dal, moondal, black urad dal etc. Favourites turned out to be Varan (toor dal tempered with ghee & cumin), akhha masoor spiced up and  Maa ki Dal (dal makhani though time consuming but yummy. Time anyways was plenty). Missed Fish curry. No Option found !

From the available vegetables it was a rotating menu, no questions asked. Bhindi was tried with curd gravy, with stuffing (cumin coriander chilly stuffing), just masala sautéed. Dudhi (snake gourd) did manage to slither in with addition of chana dal (gram), with different flavoured mint green masala. Cabbage was big disappointment as I tried paratha, kofta, porial. Capsicum was partnered with potato... stuffed capsicum, sliced potato capsicum, capsicum mixed with besan (gram flour) and passed with flying colors. The failures but essentials were parwal, turia, karela, tindli, beans, cauliflower. Missed chicken & Mutton. Options tried were Arbi malvani masala fried (tastes like malvani fried fish), Soya Kheema, Soya kofta biryani, Suran Masala (same method as mutton masala).

Paneer scored good marks in the menu with its variety show of bhurjee, makhani, kadhai, biryani, pakoda. Aloo or Gobi Paratha with curd and pickle always gave abreak from the routine.

Some odd menus were – Sheer with French fries, Maggie with Kanda Bhajiya, knorr soups  and chapatti tawa pizza, Beans & Carrot Pulav with spicy tomato chutney (tomato thecha).

Yes lockdown did teach us self reliant, crisis cooking, enjoying the own cooked food, doing the house chores and also understanding how much the housewives do for the family. Salute to the women folks. Salute to the vegetables !

Sabzi Ke Gaane

Sabzi ke Gaane in Lockdown. No non-veg is available so these vegetables are the saviours but liking them ??? the poem says it all in good humor

घर मे बैठे ईन चीनीयोंकी वजहसे

गाने सूझने लगे सबजीयां की वजहसे !

(tune: Banda parwar manlo jigar..)

बंदा 'परवल'मानलो जी भर

बन के यार मै आया हूं

किस्मतमे आपके हुजूर

फिर वही 'परवल' लाया हूं !"

 

(tune: Duniya banana wae kyat ere mann me samaai..)

दुनिया बनानेवाले क्या तेरे दिल मे समाई

काहेको 'तुरीया' बनाई

(tune: main tulsi tere aangan ki..)

मै बीवी तेरे आंगन की

क्या रेसीपी बनाऊं 'बैंगन' की

(tune: Bindiya  chamkegi..)

'भींडी' कटेगी , थोडी पकेगी

तेरी भूख उडे तो उड जाए.

(tune: Zindagi kaisi hai paheli haai..)

ये 'दुधी'...कैसी है पहेली हाय

कभी हलवा तो कभी सबजी बनके सताय.

 (tune: main shaayar toh nahin..)

मै 'गाजर' तो नहीं....मगर ऐ 'बीन्स'

जबसे देखा मैने तुृझको, 'मूली"को शायरी आ गयी.

(tune: jhoot bole kaowa kaate..)

झूट बोले करेला खाए कडवे करेले से डरीयो,

मै मैके चली जाऊंगी तुम करेला खैयो.

 

'तोंडली' आहे एवढीशी

पण खायला खीळते बत्तीशी.

foodmall on expressway

FOODMALL ON EXPRESSWAY

It's been 15 years since the mumbai pune expressway became functional. The daily vehicle traffic then was 15k grown now to over a lakh vehicles.

In 2002 the Foodmall was a great halt for traffic from Mumbai thane. It was the first of its kind in maharashtra and the mall was a challenge to large scale catering, catering to different classes, catering to different taste and top it all catering to daily 10000 cars/ buses.

It was like a small food town planned with food stalls serving maharashtrian, southindian, punjabi, chinese meals n snacks, along with stalls of chaat, sandwich burger, dhokla…... u name it and that item was available. Beverages hot n cold, prepared and packaged were available. There were shops for chikki to chocolate, paan and tobacco.

The magnitude of malls operation then has changed 3 fold. In 2004 just to give insight in operations read the following data -

Cars 15000, private buses 110, ST buses 300

Food cooked - batatwada 8000pc, misal 200kg, idly- wada 9000pc, samosa 5000, other foods approx 300kg, tea 20000 cups, water bottles 6000 etc

Travellers visiting toilets 25000. The average time taken to serve food (self service) from buying coupon to being served was 12 minutes….a neat competition to MNC food chains

All this managed by a team 120 staff round the clock.

To cope up with increasing crowd, Foodtrack was opened in 2004 for exclusive use of car travellers. This had a food court and AC restaurant.

Being on main connecting route of mumbai pune many VIPs made a halt, celebrities of film prem chopra, ashok saraf, sadashiv amrapurkar, TV crews, TV stars to name few were regulars.

From 2002 till date the quality is still maintained though hygiene standards have lowered. Even the grooming and smile of food counter service boy is missing.

I still recommend both these spots for halt on expressway and yes it takes a maximum of 20 minutes to have your snack and get in car back….still a stiff competition to MNC food chains.

Enjoy the batatawada, misal, kanda bhajiya, idly dosa, samosa, kothimbirwadi, chole bhature...all are yummy and not oily.

decreasing trend of home cooking

Decreasing trend of home cooking

There was a time going out to eat used to be an occasion for the family or friends group. Today it’s a necessity for working people and essential for careers oriented for networking. The role of a housewife 👩 has not decreased but from cooking the focus is shifting to children education, extra curriculam activities, chats on mobile thereby leaving them drained by end of day.

The eating out trend is catching on due to numerous choices in food outlets, from junk food to restaurants to fine diners. The brands, international and local are churning out foods with quality and variety. The availability of food courts in Shopping Malls has made it easier to source food & beverage as per individual choice at one place....groups and families find it convenient.

The food habits due to these have changed drastically from home food to fast food to junk food to fine diners & lounges. The extra spendable income with couples working, families having more earning members, credit cards use habit that allows spending without having moolah in pocket !!

The younger generation of housewives are not very adept at home cooking and not really interested in daily chores of cooking. The mothers of mother-in-laws too are becoming flexible (or given up ?) towards this genxt daughters and daughter-in-laws, not forcing the cooking routine on them. Still there are en number of households upholding the tradition of cooking & eating at home irrespective of the changes around. We love home food BUT the times have changed are changing fast.

The traditional home cooking still happens but the experiments are taking a back seat as foods are easily available, though there is a whole lot of experimenting housewife chefs at home toiling to make their family happy through the stomach. Very contradicting.

The eating out class is increasing and the number of time the food eaten outside is more and that’s the impacting “Eating at Home”.

Home delivery of all types of food has made it convenient for a member of family to order what he likes if the home food is not to his liking. For occasions, one can order food & beverage at the click of a button and avoid all the hassle of cooking. Now with Recipe Food Packet ‘cook you own food’ types are in market giving housewives chance to experiment without having skills, different cuisines at lower cost and also avoid the routine home food.

The ready to serve or eat foods available off the shelf have added to the reduction of home cooking....open packet, heat, serve and eat in 5 minutes. The brands like ITC, Parampara and Vadila’s Quick Treat make great food (curries,snacks, Indian breads) so why not take a break from home cooking and give rest to the most precious member of the family....your mother or wife or daughter-in-law ?

The decreasing trend in home cooking is not healthy though. We are exposed to junk food, oily foods, cheese n pastas etc. Calories go for a toss, sometimes hygiene is compromised with street food, freshness could be a problem for digestive system. In today’s trend one needs to balance the food habits, exercise regularly and stay away from junk food. You can splurge on junk-fashion foods with a calculated eating out sessions in a month.

Home food is nutritious, hygienic, made with love and care. That’s the reason people do miss Home Food time and again. The decreasing trend in home cooking is sad but one cant burden the lady of the house with household duty and career targets. The males 🙏 need to chip in more in the household duties if they want Home Food otherwise this decreasing trend of home cooking will continue and Home Cooking will remain a Nostalgia for many !! 💑