A box of sweetmeats, was it just that?

The Khapti has sparked up our lives with memories flooding us everyday.

Today as Dad stepped out to go to Chembur, I sheepishly requested him to get a mixed sweet box. Dad smiled and asked, what was on my mind? Further to arouse some guilt he said, "You have been indulging since Diwali".

Unperturbed I said I want a खावाल्याचं पेटलं  

That made Dad smile, I use Koli dailect only for effect, he knows it.

He returned with a box of the mixed sweetmeats form Jhama. I was so thrilled because you can expect my Dad to return empty handed saying the shop was closed! Mainly due to the health concerns I have. However I think he understood this was for the blog and not for me and so he obliged.

You will be wondering what is so great about this box, its the memories associated with it. When we visited Thal our treats were Khapti, NaraLi Pak, Badampak er Shengdanepak, Pithachi Bore, Kejyarcha Kairi Lonche etc. These are treats that are slowly being forgotten in the slew of modern sweets, chocolates and treats. 

You might wonder what was the treat we took back for our cousins and relatives from Mumbai. It was this खावाल्याचं पेटलं .  It means a box of sweat meats. In the entire Raigad region or even beyond this box was much desired. Whether it was the Khapnar the staff working on the boats or the Nakhwa, the owner were going back to their villages from Mumbai after selling their catch and pockets full; they always took back this box of treats, so colorful and enticing.

It is known that seafarers are always at high risk and when they return to family after even a few days at sea, it is always a celebration for the family. Just as the wife would cook the specials for her man, he reciprocated by taking back the sweetmeat box for his family, especially the children. Even if it meant he took back the smallest pack of 250 gms.

The status of the seafarer was determined based on where the sweet treats were bought? Was it from the nameless Guptaji's dairy or from Chandu Halwai or Kailash Parbat? It was always North Indian sweets especially Sindhi sweets because besides the Kolis, the second largest community in Colaba was the Sindhi. Their sweets were much loved. Made from Khoya in different flavours, chocolate, rose, pista. The motichoor ladoos that would make Fanta shy away in faded color. The yellow or white sheets of Mahim halwa. The sticky chewy Karachi halwa / Badam halwa. Now when a khapnar went to buy he would have just a few Rupees in his pocket and taking only one type of sweet in higher weight meant not being able to afford too many varieties. So they would always ask for a piece of each of the sweetmeats. That way they would be able to taste everything the shop had to offer and also spend less. Soon this was something the shopkeepers got used to and they started offering a mixed sweetmeats box at a fixed price. Another thing, the box definitely looked festive and more colorful with the variety. I sometimes wonder if this was the legacy of Tasting menus that we see in restaurants today.

Chandu's box used to be covered in yellow cellophane paper and peeling it off was a source of excitement and entertainment for the kids back in the villages. Kailash Parbat had Lord Shivji on the box and the wrapper was a thick paper with pink and blue prints tied up with a thin cotton ribbon. Their sweets were the best and quite a status symbol for the seafarers. 

(Psst once we moved to Fort our family status symbol was sweets from American Dryfruits and Fountain Dry fruit stores, I don't remember my Dad  ever got mixed sweetmeat box from them)

On the occasions when Anwar Sheth (nickname Anwarya) from Chiplun visited Thal to conduct business and settle payments for the dry fish that he bought from the Koli people. He would get a similar box of sweets from Suleman Mithaiwala  for every family with whom he had contacts. It would be a green tombstone shaped box associated with the Muslim symbolism. Covered in another layer of green cellophane. 

I do not know what was this thing with Cellophane the crackling, the color or transparency that made it such a favorite wrapper for sweet boxes with Mithaiwallas.

The cellophane covers were always peeled off carefully to be used to cover Diwali kandeels or light bulbs for Ganapati decorations. The Kailash Parbat wrapper would be laid out in the little temples or Devhara in homes.

Once the staff were united with the family at teatime the box of sweet would be ceremoniously opened with all children surrounding him. Either the kids picked up a piece of their choice or the father cut out chips of the larger piece so everyone could get a taste of the mixed sweets in the box.

So anyone who went to the village from Mumbai was asked if they had got the box of sweet meats?

If a kid was running past neighbors and relatives in a rush with something in his/ her hands to share with friends at their favorite play spot they would get asked, "बापासनी काय हानलं?" (What did your father get?) The answer was always and always खावाल्याचं पेटलं !

Khapti for Four ānā

Chaar ānyā chi Khapti~ ~

Shouted out the seller. This was music to the children's ears. This call generated a scene in every home of its reach, of the children tugging at their Aaji's or Aai's paishachi pishvi or money bag tucked at the waist demanding 4 ānā.

Those were the days when 4 ānā or 25 paise could fetch you a delicious treat. Actually they were the days of the Rupaya and paisa but the seller was stuck in the ānā age. Irrespective of the confusion in the currency you bet the treat was something we looked forward to every evening exactly at 5 pm.

Those were the days when the Thal bazaar was in the space near the Bhikari and Bundake family homes. I remember there were a few Wanis or grocers who sold them. Anita Vade used to sit against the wall of the Bhikari home and sell khapti along with other stuff. But one would buy from her only when you missed buying from the guy who would go around the village with a Taat full of khapti. Sadly I don't remember the name of the seller. Dad however tells me khapti was sold by Sitaram Jage when they were kids. So I guess the recipe is a Jage family heirloom that spread wide.

If we stopped the seller to buy some, he would place one foot on the OTi and chip off a little piece from the Taat and hand it out to us. We loved khapti for it gave us a sugar rush which had the goodness of jaggery.

Khapti was never eaten all at once. It quietened the neighborhood for a while as the kids would nibble on the chewy khapti. This was however long forgotten, until...

Fast forward, I was at the music class and mentioned that I was going to Thal over the weekend and D Kaka, My music teacher's husband requested me to look for Khapti. I was surprised he knew about it. Then I came to know that he infact studied at Alibag and hence all the memories came flooding the conversation that followed. I was so amused that on returning home from class I mentioned it to Dad and could not imagine hearing the wonderful memories associated with this little treat. Our home was purchased from a Wani by my great great grandfather and so the nickname stuck and so whether it was Dad's generation or mine, we got teased, "Wani chi khapti". Infact, I remember couple of years ago, I went to Alibag by ST bus. It was already late in the evening around 7.00 ish. A senior autowallah came up to me and agreed to take me to Thal. On that ride he shyly mentioned that he was Vijay Bhendkar and I immediately recollected and spurted out "You used to tease us Wani chi Khapti!" such fun memories, you can imagine the rest of the conversation was about how I spent some wonderful holidays in Thal. While I was googling found this mention of Khapti on A spoonfull of ideas.

Khapti is now commercially made and packed in plastic pockets. To describe the taste and texture it is nutty, chewy coconut, jaggery and cardamom flavored toffee and yet all natural. The making of khapti is tricky and not everyone's cup of tea as this is made with the sticky type of jaggery that is called chikki cha gul but it is not made into a brittle like chikki but more like a caramel toffee.

I bought it from Shivdas Patil's store in Thal but you also get it in any of the Alibag's sweet shops. Ask for Khapti, its priced at 3 Rs. a piece. I bought all the pieces that he had in the big jar almost a hundred pieces to share with friends at the music class and for my family to enjoy. The ladies at the music class started pestering me for the recipe, so now I have a task at hand. Most of all it delighted D kaka, his Mum who is in her 90s and my Dad.  I am sending some for my Aruna Kaki too for she adores it.

Going by how even today's kids enjoy it, I think it deserves the return of the popularity it once enjoyed.

Bhure Vatane ani Tendla

Today is Lakshmi Puja.

In the evening I will worship the Goddess that brings wealth. She has blessed me always. I am grateful to her.

I wonder if there is a deity that grants everlasting love. Is there such a thing as everlasting love? Love between partners, brothers and sisters, parents and child. It is the festive season and it has to be a happy one. So we go about making sweets, distributing it to the whole world. Hey but where are the people who I was born to, who I grew up with, for whom I have cared as a sister, as a mother and as a lover?

My home is empty, my hearth is not as busy as it used to be. My mother passed away 20yrs ago, my aunt Devaki who was a better friend than an aunt passed away 18yrs ago. I did whatever I could for her children even though it was not my responsibility. Then the birds flew away leaving my nest empty. 

In all this I did not have the time or may be I was not destined to meet a person who can tolerate me day in and day out and night and day. Sure it takes more than an ordinary person to be able to live with me. Till you don't live with me, you will not know what an amazing person I am! I am saying this in all humility :D The kind of person I am will either make you look at me in awe or scare you away. Jealousy can also be at the base of it. People who have stuck around me are the great people who can deal with these intense emotions and are people of substance in their own right!

Just incase the readers think that this is a rant, it is not. If you think I am sad, I am not. Yes I am in a reflective mood. I have a lot of love filled in me. After spending it on a lot of people who took their share and moved ahead, I still have a lot of love to give. I want to spread it through the activities I do, through the people who value my love.  I am determined to give it to the deserving. My AnnaParaBrahma team, the Patrons, my readers and friends. I want to improve the user experience of shopping for my patrons so keep watching.

While everyone is indulging in sweet meats and lip smacking savories, I am posting here a recipe of a classic combination of Bhure vatane and tendla. The white peas with ivy gourd is as rustic as it can get, a totally Koli style bhaaji with kada dhanya / dried pulses or beans and fresh vegetable made saucy with coconut masala. Scooped up in a small cone of rice roti can be so soul satisfying.

Ingredients

1 cup Bhure Vatane/ Dried white peas (soaked overnight)

1/2 kg tendli/ Ivy gourd

1 large onion chopped lengthwise

2 chopped tomatoes

2 tablespoon oil or more

salt to taste

For the masala

4-5 inch triangle of fresh coconut

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon Koli Masala (buy it here)

1 handful fresh cilantro

2 green chilies

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

4-5 cloves garlic

Clean the soaked Bhure vatane/  white peas. Cut up the tendli lengthwise or into small bits. 

In a pressure cooker add the Bhure Vatane, tendli and onions. Add the oil. Mix well to give it a nice coat. Add water, enough to cover the peas. Close the lid and pressure cook for 5-6 whistles. This will ensure the peas are well cooked.

Meanwhile grind the masala and save.

Once the peas are pressure cooked. Open the lid and add the ground masala to it. Add a glass of water to it. Add the chopped tomatoes. Mix well and bring it to a rolling boil. Salt the bhaaji as per taste.

Cover and leave the bhaaji aside and let the flavors meld.

Serve with rice roti and a cracked white onion from Alibag on the side. Enjoy the simplicity of the meal an antidote to the Diwali indulgence.

In the din of the Diwali crackers and the glitzy light I am trying to find my peace...

Happy Diwali To Each One Of You!

Warm Wishes On DhanaTrayodashi!

Dear Readers, Patrons and Friends of AnnaParaBrahma

Wishing you a very warm and prosperous DhanaTrayodashi!

Thanking all Patrons for doing business with us year on year and helping us climb the stairs of success slowly and steadily.

We have shipped all orders and completed all takeaways. My team has put in 15 days of hard work to deliver the Faral on time for you to enjoy the Diwali with family and friends. They have earned a much deserved holiday for a week before work starts again.

Along with your order of Diwali Faral we have sent you a taster pack of our masalas. Hope you enjoy the taste from AnnaParaBrahma.

Love

Anjali & The AnnaParaBrahma Team

Diwali Faral 2014, Place your order now!

 

Namaskar Patrons!

Hope you had a great Vijayadashmi. 

We are back to serving you again. This is the third year we are making Diwali Faral for you. It is your blessings and good wishes that has brought this day to us. Thank you!

We are extremely happy to announce the three hampers we have put together just for you.

Faral Item	Single	Couple	Family
	Qty	Qty	Qty
Rava ladu	6 nos.	12 nos.	24 nos.
Besan ladu	6 nos.	12 nos.	24 nos.
Karanji	6 nos.	12 nos.	24 nos.
Anarasa	6 nos.	12 nos.	24 nos.
Bhajani Chakali	250 gms	500 gms	1 kg
Shankarpali	250 gms	500 gms	1 kg
Chivda	250 gms	500 gms	1 kg
Uttana	50 gm	50 gm	50 gm
Rangoli sticker	1 no.	1 no.	1 no.
Diya	2 nos.	2 nos.	2 nos.
Handmade soap	1 no.	1no.	1no.
Kandeel	1 no.	1no.	1no.
Price in Rs.	2000	3100	5500
Approx. Weight	3 kgs	5 kgs	10 kgs

Free Deliveries all over Navi Mumbai.

How to Order

Step 1

Send us a mail at annaparabrahma@gmail.com 

in the following format ...

Subject : Single/ Couple/ Family Diwali hamper

Body of email:

Name  To Deliver: Ex. Sujal Mandavkar
Delivery address:  Ex. Flat no.  / Wing, Area, Landmark, Pin Code

Delivery contact no: Ex.  +91 990 000 0000

Date of delivery: We will try to deliver on the date you mention but request your understanding that this is peak business season. To avoid delay book your order asap 

Packing and Shipping is at actual. 

Step 2

Once we confirm the receipt of the order we will send you the bill amount.

Step 3

You need to pay the bill amount to

For all India :
Anjali Koli
a/c no. 08922010001520
IFSC code: ORBC0100892
Name of bank: ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE, NERUL.

Type of a/c : Saving

For US/ UK/ Middle East/ Rest of the world

Thru paypal to id : annaparabrahma@gmail.com

Note: 5% service tax + Invoice transaction fee of 0.30 $ is charged on you by paypal for every transaction.

Step 4
On receipt of payment we will ship the product/s and email you the token for tracking your delivery.

Step 5

Once you receive the delivery confirm the receipt of goods to complete transaction.

Thank you, we look forward to your new order!

Where is the Limbachi Phod?

In my growing up years I remember my mother giving me the last minute order of cutting the lime just before the meal was served. Every single meal along with the salt sat the piece of lime at the 12 o'clock position in the taaT or at the pointed tip of a Banana leaf. See below, is a picture from the cookbook "Annapoorna" by Mangala Barve. It illustrates how to serve food on the banana leaf as per Marathi traditions. See the seat of lime, right at the top where it cannot be missed.

Recently I received a mail forward which is credited to Dr. Vikas Baba Amte. Let me try to translate contents of the mail into English.

अतिथंड केलेल्या लिंबाचे आश्चर्यकारक परिणाम...

स्वच्छ धुतलेले लिंबु फ्रिजच्या फ्रिजर मध्ये ठेवा.. ...

ते लिंबु पुर्णपणे थंड आणि बर्फासारखे कडल झाल्यावर, साधारणत: 8 ते 10 तासानी, एक किसनी घेउन ते सर्व लिंबु सालासकट किसुन घ्या.. नंतर तुम्ही जे काही खाल त्यावर ते किसलेले लिंबु टाकुन खा.. भाज्यांवर, सॅलड वर, आईसक्रीम, सुप, डाळी, कडधान्य, नुडल्स, स्पेगेटी, पास्ता, पिझ्झा, साॅस, भात, सुशी, मासे, मट्ण, या आणि अश्या अनेक पदार्थांवर टाकुन खाता येईन..      सर्व अन्नाला एक अनपेक्षीत अशी छान चव येईल..
सगळ्यात महत्वाचे, आपल्याला फक्त लिंबाच्या रसातील व्हिटॅमिन सी चे गुणधर्म फक्त माहिती आहेत.. त्यापेक्षा अधिक गुणधर्म माहिती नाहीत.. सालासह संपुर्ण गोठलेले लिंबु कोणताही भाग वाया न जाता वापरल्यास एक वेगळी चव तर मिळतेच, परंतु त्याचे अजुन काय फायदे आहेत?? लिंबाच्या सालीत लिंबाच्या रसापेक्षा 5 ते 10 पट जास्त व्हिटॅमिन सी असते.. आणि हाच भाग आपण वाया घालवतो.. लिंबाची साल आरोग्य वर्धक आहे कारण त्यामुळे शरिरातील सर्व विषद्रव्ये शरिराबाहेर काढुन टाकायला मदत होते.. लिंबाच्या सालीचा एक आश्चर्य कारक फायदा म्हणजे त्याच्यामध्ये असलेली एक चमत्कारीक अशी क्षमता की ज्यामुळे शरिरातील सर्व कॅन्सरच्या पेशींचा नाश होतो.. केमोथेरपी पेक्षा ही लिंबाची साल 10,000 पट जास्त प्रभावी आहे.. मग आपल्याला हे सर्व का माहिती नाही?? कारण आज जगात अश्या प्रयोगशाळा आहेत की ज्या त्याचे कृत्रिम पद्धतीने निर्मीती करण्यात गुंतल्या आहेत कारण त्यापासुन त्याना भरपुर नफा मिळतो.. तुम्ही आता तुमच्या गरजू मित्र / मैत्रिनीना सांगु शकता की कॅन्सर सारखा असाध्य आजार दुर ठेवण्यासाठी किंवा झाल्यास बरा करण्यासाठी लिंबाचा रस आणि साल किती फायदेशीर आहे.. त्याची चव पण खुप छान असते आणि केमोथेरपी प्रमाणे त्याचे भयानक साईड इफेक्ट पण नाही आहेत.. विचार करा, हा अतिशय साधा, सोपा, परंतु अत्यंत प्रभावी असा उपाय माहिती नसल्याने आज पर्यंत किती लोकाना आपले आयुष्य गमवावे लागले असेल आणि इथुन पुढे आपण किती लोकांचे प्राण वाचवू शकतो??? लिंबाच्या वनस्पतीत सर्व प्रकारचे कॅन्सर बरे करण्याची एक चमत्कारीक अशी क्षमता आहे.. याचा वापर बॅक्टेरीअल इन्फेक्षन आणि फंगस वर सुद्धा होउ शकतो.. शरिराअंतर्गत परोपजीवी आणि विषाणु वरही प्रभावी आहे..
लिंबाचा रस आणि विशेषत: साल रक्तदाब आणि मानसिक दबाव नियमीत करते.. मानसिक ताण आणि मज्जासंस्थेचे आजार नियंत्रीत करते.. या माहितीचा स्त्रोत अतिशय थक्क करणारा आहे : जगातल्या सगळ्यात मोठ्या औषध निर्मिती कंपनी पैकी एक असलेल्या कंपनीने हे प्रसिद्ध केले आहे.. ते म्हणतात की 1970 पासुन 20 पेक्षा जास्त प्रयोगशाळानमध्ये संशोधन केल्यानंतर असे निदर्शनात आले आहे की, लिंबाची साल 12 पेक्षा जास्त कॅन्सरच्या घातक पेशी नष्ट करतात.. लिंबाच्या झाडाचे औषधी गुणधर्म कॅन्सरवरील ॲड्रामायसीन या केमेथेरपीसाठी सामान्यपणे वापरल्या जाणा-या औषधापेक्षा 10,000 पट जास्त प्रभावी ठरले आहे.. लिंबाची साल कॅन्सरच्या पेशींची वाढ मंदावते.. आणि अधिक आश्चर्याची गोष्ट म्हणजे या लिंबाच्या औषधामुळेच फक्त कॅन्सरच्याच पेशींचा नाश होतो, त्याचा निरोगी पेशिंवर कोणताही विपरीत परिणाम होत नाही.. म्हणुन चांगल्या पिकलेल्या लिंबाना स्वच्छ धुवा, त्याना गोठवा आणि किसनीवर किसुन रोजच्या आहारात वापरा.. 

तुमचे संपुर्ण शरिर त्याबद्दल तुम्हाला धन्यवाद देईल.. 

डॉ. विकास बाबा आमटे..
आनंदवन.. 

The wondrous effects of Frozen Lime/ lemon.

Freeze whole lime/ lemon in the freezer till it is hard and frozen like ice, about 8-10 hrs. Grate the whole lime including the skin. Use this grated lime over everything that you eat. Salads, soups, vegetables, ice cream, pizza, noodles, dal, rice, spaghetti, sauce, sushi, mutton, fish etc. can be all enjoyed with a bit of grated frozen lime. The lime perks up the taste of the dish in an unusual way.

Most importantly, we know only the benefits of Vitamin C in lime but we are not aware about other benefits. The lime definitely enhance the taste of food with its citrusy flavors but what are the other benefits? 

Lime skin has 5 to 10 times more Vitamin C than in its juice and this is the exact part of lime we discard. The lime skin has a lot of health benefits as it helps to purge the toxins in our body. Lime skin is miraculous in the way it helps to destroy cancerous cells in the body. It is 10, 000 times more powerful than chemotherapy. Then why are we not educated about it?

The reason being, there are many labs across the world that are engaged in creating these benefits by artificial means from which they are earning huge profits. 

You can now tell your needy friends about the benefits of lime juice and skin to prevent and cure an insurmountable disease such as cancer. It tastes wonderful and does not even have the side effects of chemotherapy. Give it a thought, this is such a simple, easy yet effective treatment that we have not been aware about and so many people have lost their lives and now from here on how many lives can be saved?

The lime/ lemon plant is potent to cure all kinds of cancers, it can act on bacterial and fungal infections, it is also effective on parasites and viruses. 

Lime juice and especially the skin helps to regulate mental stress. It helps to alleviate stress and control nervous system problems. The source of this information is amazing. One of the worlds largest pharma company has published this. They mention that since 1970 there are more than 20 labs across the world that have established that lime skin can cure more than 12 types of fatal cancers. Lime/ lemon plants curative benefits are 10,000 times stronger than the commonly used Anthramycin a Chemotherapy drug. Plus the lime skin acts only on cancerous cells and does not harm healthy cells. Therefore wash a nicely ripe lime/ lemon and freeze it, grate it and use the grated whole lime in your diet.

Your whole body will thank you for it.

Dr. Vikas Baba Amte

Anandvan

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Disclaimer : I have not verified the source of this mail but looking at the harmless natural treatment suggested I am sharing it here. Yet I have read up more on lime and its properties and atleast the contents of the mail are authentic in my opinion. It is so easy to adopt this as preventive care than curative. Ofcourse someone who is affected by cancer should go by one's own will and the doctors advice.

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After reading this mail, I realized that for convenience sake we have moved back to eating single carb meals like only rice and veggies or only roti and veggies meals. There is rarely any paraphernalia around it. The taaT is full only on the weekends. The Limbachi phod has disappeared. Very rarely it is seen in the plate. I recollect how the little piece of  lime was so ubiquitous while growing up. The little 1/8 piece of a lime sat atop a kande pohe plate, a sunday non veg meal was incomplete without lime as much as an everyday varan bhat with limbu, toop, dahi, sakhar. A pav-bhaaji meal is never complete without a squeeze of lime and nor a splash of it can be missed on my chaat. 

I hated messing my hands while squeezing the lime juice as a kid and at times would beg my mother to do it for me. When it was my turn to mother my cousin brothers I squeezed the lime right into the pohe or any dish that demanded a dash of the citrus. Finally what's not visible on the plate was out of the mind most times. But now...

If I see it left in your taaT, at the end of the meal like my Aai you will hear me say, "pop that lime in your mouth."

Bring back the Limbachi phod, people. In a new avatar, add frozen then grated whole lime to every single meal. It's good for you!

Kokum Chitranna

We love Puliogare, and when you have eaten the best at Melkote you crave for the authentic once in awhile. However everyone keeps telling tamarind is not good for the bones and muscles, especially if you do not want to aggravate arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. Unlike Tamarind, Kokum is safe and has a lot of medicinal properties without any harmful effects.

I wanted to try Kanda Lasun masala in an unusual recipe. Also the Kokum agal was up in my mind just because Nupur found it so irresistable. So here is an original creation from My Kitchen Lab.

Ingredients

4 cups steam cooked Kolam rice

2 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

handful of curry leaves

2-3 tablespoons Kanda Lasun Masala(Buy it here)

1/4 cup lightly crushed shelled peanuts

1/4 cup Kokum agal or home made extract

1 teaspoon of sugar for balancing the sourness (optional)

Heat oil in a wok. Splutter the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add the shelled crushed peanuts and fry till golden. Fluff up the steam cooked Kolam rice. Add it to the wok. Sprinkle the Kanda lasun masala over it. Mix well. Cover and cook for 5 mins.

Lastly drizzle Kokum agal over the rice. Give it a nice stir with a delicate hand. Ensure you are not breaking the grains of rice. Sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar to balance the sourness of Kokum only if you must. Cover and cook for another 5 mins so the rice gets the faint pink color of Kokum. Switch of the heat and give a single stir.

Enjoy the Kokum Chitranna hot or cold either way it tastes delicious.

Notes:

1. Strength of agal varies with brand so add tablespoon by tablespoon at a time and check for souring quotient in the rice. Mine is quite a sour agal.

2. We are wimps when it comes to spice, you can hike up the spice level with as much as Kanda lasun masala you want or less. Again same trick add a teaspoon at a time and keep tasting as you mix.

How to make Kokum extract at home:

Soak the required quantity of kokum in boiling hot water and leave it for 30 mins. Squeeze out the extract. Sieve it to remove any fruit skin in the extract. Use as required.

Malvani Vade

Mumbai's immigrants during the textile boom came from Malvan, Kokan. They came to the city in hordes to work in the textile mills. Most mills were located in the Parel, Lalbaug and BhaikhaLa/ Byculla areas. That is where the chawl culture came into being. Pigeon holes for living, cramping groups of 10 men in the kholis. The Malvani workers came to Mumbai as bachelors or left behind their families in the villages if they were married. The Chakarmaani as the workers were known earned meager wages for back breaking work of 12 hours in the mills. At the end of the day making their own meals was a huge task. So women who had accompanied their Chakarmaani to Mumbai came up with an enterprising idea of feeding these workers in their own homes. Thus Parel, Lalbaug and BhaikhaLa saw the mushrooming of Khanavali, simply put places to eat.

The Khanaval was a blessing for the workers, for a small sum paid monthly, they got good home cooked food to sustain them in this city. The women who ran them were loving called Kaku/ Maushi/ Vahini by these men. The atmosphere was homely and men were made to sit in rows on the floor or pangats just like in joint families and served lovingly. There would be a fixed menu each day rotating through the weeks. The workers could request for a certain dish of their liking and depending on the majority vote it would be made for them mostly on Sundays. Oh yes and like any family Sunday meals were special in the Khanaval. The Khanavalwali Kaku would ensure that there was mutton or chicken cooked in onion coconut masala in the traditional Malvani style. These had to be accompanied by a fried bread made from rice and lentils and made aromatic with spices, the Vade. The combo of Kombdi Vade were bliss for the Chakarmaani, after which I am sure he went back to his kholi and had a siesta dreaming about life back home in Malvan and even doing a Pandu Hawaldar sequence with his wife.

Later these same areas saw the rising of little Malvani eateries and Kombi vade became popular beyond the Chakarmaani. People from other communities started patronizing these places too. This combo became so famous that many people who had not tasted it wondered what Kombdi Vade was? Is it a single dish? Are the Vade stuffed with chicken? So let me deconstruct it for you, the Kombdi in the name stands for the chicken gravy which is mopped up with the fried bread or Vade, which is the second part of the name.

Many a times I received requests from readers for a recipe of Malvani Vade and I have taken it a step further to give you a wonderful product from AnnaParaBrahma. So here's to the launch of Malvani Vade peeth!

Procedure :

1. All you have to do is snip the packet open. 
2. For 1 cup of Peeth/ Flour add 3/4 cup of boiling water to it.
3. Knead the dough.
4. Cover and keep aside for 30 mins.
5. After this oil your palm and fingers. 
6. Pinch out lemon sized balls of the dough and make a smooth one.
7. Pat out the dough ball into a round disc thicker than you would for a puri. You can also use a plastic paper to pat out the vade if you find the dough is sticking to your hands.
8. Heat oil and on medium heat fry until golden.
9. Remove and drain on a paper napkin.

Serve the Vade with a chicken curry in the traditional Malvani style or for the vegetarians like me any gravy dish with your favorite veggies. I made Suran bhaaji on this day as a mock chicken curry that works really well with the Vade.

A self respecting Malvani swears by Kombi Vade his Mum makes. Now you can have the same magic in your own hands too. It's on the E-shop check it out. Send me a mail to annaparabrahma@gmail.com to buy it now. 

A Recognition In Femina, page 66, Oct 2014 Issue

This is the cover of the Oct 2014 Issue in which the article 'Life beyond curry' by Kalyan Karmakar of Finelychopped is published. He does a regular feature called Belly crawl in Femina on all things food.

In this article he talks about how the Indian food representation in restaurants across the world and for that matter even in India is so singularly Punjabi.

He has wonderfully explained with references from his own Bengali cuisine how everything Indian is not a curry. Kalyan shares the stories of five bloggers who document their unique regional cuisines and traditions. He spans the Bengali, Parsee, Koli, Assamese and Tamil cuisines in this article highlighting the rich variation across the country.  Along with me are Sandeepa (Bong Mom's cook book) , Nandita (Saffron Trail), Perzen (Bawi Bride) and Gitika (Gitika's Pakghor). 

I got a copy for myself that's going to be treasured. I have been a reader of Femina since teenage and it feels awesome to see my name printed in it along with all the other lovely bloggers.

A special edition of 'Koli yet Veg' class for Nupur

Thanks for a fantastic time Anjali! Your Dad is wonderful n Gauri was superb company. Will write again from the US.
Hugs
Nupur

As soon as Nupur went back home she wrote this note to me. A testimonial of the wonderful time we had together.

We have known Nupur for almost 9 years through her blog, One Hot Stove. Her A-Z Maharashtrian cooking series was a hit, it ran from Sep 2005 till Mar 2006. The blogs have bound us through shared stories of our pets, families, hobbies, passions and life. So meeting her was a natural extension of our online friendship.

She was here in India after almost 5yrs to be with family. I feel honored that she planned in advance with me for this class. As I write this she would be on her way back to the US.

She had requested me to do a short version of the class and so we decided on 4 dishes to be taught. I suggested the dishes and she chose the menu from it.

Here is what we cooked ...

1. Valacha Birda
2. Rice Roti
3. Kokum saar
4. Potato onion bhaaji

5. Vali Lasun chutney

What's a meal without...

6. Rice
7. Badampak er Shengdanepak
8. Rice Papad and Mirgund

So these completed the lunch menu but not in the picture.

My architect friend Gauri joined us for the class and her daughter Srishti gave company for lunch.

We talked so much that the time just flew by and before we knew we were saying good byes and farewells. Partings are incomplete without gifts isn't it? So we exchanged food gifts what else do you expect food bloggers to do. Nupur gifted me spicy mango, chipotles and Habanero pepper seeds quite a lovely chili theme in addition to Basil seeds and her favorite oatmeal soap and like a true voracious reader that she is an Agatha Christie. 

My gifts to her, Vaal, rice papads, Badampak er Shengdanepak and my chai masala.

As always people who attend my class always ask for my masalas, Nupur too bought my Koli Masala and can't wait to see what she churns up with it.

Updated : Read here Nupur's post about her experience of this session of the 'Koli yet Veg' class.

Delicious and Healthy that's Soulfull for you!

It was a day of running around and I do it only on the weekends when the driver is available. It aint easy traveling from Navi Mumbai to Kalyan to meet our friend's family who had just lost his father then to Chembur to see my Mothe Baba and Mothi Aai who are homebound and as we were passing by we popped in at another friend's. By the time I was home I was dead tired. These days I do not have much stamina, I realize that I cannot go on like I used to in my younger days. 

My friend had packed some stuffed brinjals for us and all I needed to make is something to go with it. Roti was out of question. Just in time I remembered I had a pouch of Adai mix from Soulfull from the goody bag which we received at IFBM2014.

I had one look at the nutrition panel and felt happy that this was something that fits my criteria of healthy. Here is a link on how to read the Nutrition panel that you may find useful.

Now was the taste test. For me the first thing is smell. I have a sharp sense of it and I do depend on it to tell me if the packaged food is good or bad. I cut open the Adai mix packet and it smelt of fresh toasted dals that reminded me of chutney pudi. I love chutney pudi BTW and this was promising.

I followed the instructions on the package and made the batter. Spreading out the batter on a heated nonstick griddle, drizzled some ghee and cooked it until brown on both sides. It tasted lovely but since the batter is not fermented I did not like much the thick pancake style adai. I am talking texture here.

Instead I thinned down the mix by adding additional amount of water almost 2 cups plus more to an almost buttermilk like consistency. It was the rava dosa that was dancing in my head, I wanted something crisp, lacy and delicious to boot. 

So on a hot non stick girddle I sprinkled little cold water and it sizzled some more as the water drops danced on it. Then with a deft hand I poured the batter quickly to form a nice lacy coat on the griddle. It looked so beautiful, just what I wanted and as it cooked I drizzled some ghee. The dals in the mix and the chili made my taste buds all so ready to taste. It was perfect! 

You could actually eat it without any chutney but we had stuffed brinjal so we ate with it. Unusual combo but tasty and Soulfull nevertheless.

Adai is a traditional breakfast dish but I think its a perfect mini meal when you are hungry anytime of the day. A Soulfull packet makes it an instant meal, cut open, add water and make in 5 mins.

On another day. After my pranayam which I do for 45 mins I was feeling starved. I had no patience to put together a breakfast and I am not a person who can start a day with a glass of milk. I found another tiny pack of Chocofills from Soulfull. I muched on them while I watched my tea boil on the stove almost meditatively. I could not believe that the cover was delicious ragi and it was filled with silky chocolate. Yum, you can give it to kids too.

I know for sure Soulfull has ingredients packed into pouches just like I would do it myself. You know it that I am a person who cooks from scratch and for me to like this brand they surely must be working well on their product.

This is not a paid review. Though the products reviewed here were given complimentary to us at IFBM2014.  I genuinely found them good so had to share it with you. We all like to have some products in our pantry that make our life easy, this is definitely one brand that you can depend on. They have an online shop for your convenient ordering.

Storage and Handling of Dried Fish

Detailing here the procedure for storage of dried fish.

The increasing fascination for exotic foods has led people to try cooking with dried fish. You spend a handsome amount on buying or importing it. However many are not aware about how to store and care for it. So here are some tips.

1. Always ensure that you are handling dried fish with absolutely dry hands. 
2. Always measure out quantity of dried fish you need for a recipe and keep back the rest while your hands are still dry.
3. Ensure that you wrap the dried fish in newspaper.  It helps to keep it dry.
4. Store in airtight container.
5. Once in a fortnight zap the dried fish in a microwave for 30secs; 250 gms at a time. Mircowaving helps disinfection and increases shelf life. Always spread it on a tray and do not pile up. Let is cool completely and put it back in the airtight container.

Remember dried fish you buy from AnnaParaBrahma is sundried in natural form. We do not use any preservatives, we do not do sulphurization. Hence as a natural process it undergoes degradation just like any of your pantry staples like grains, pulses, flours, pickles etc. If you take proper care you will enjoy the stock of dried fish for a longer time.

Enjoy the natural goodness!

What was the Day 2 like at the #IFBM2014?

 A corner piece at Aloft Cessna Park, Bangalore our venue for IFBM2014

Day 2 Started with raised expectations from the previous day.

From our horrid experience of getting stuck in the Marathahalli traffic for 2hrs the previous night we decided to first reach Aloft Cessna Park and have breakfast at their restaurant, The Nook. The breakfast buffet was really large and varied with Indian as well as continental items. I enjoyed the croissant with my coffee a lot and was all set for a full day like the schedule promised.

I am glad to share that I won a two day bed and breakfast plan at Four Point Sheraton, Vashi for reviewing Aloft Cessna Park in my last post on Day 1 at IFBM2014. Thank you! Starwood Hotels, looking forward to enjoying your hospitality once again.

The day began with a professional guidance session on Search engine optimization (SEO) by Ashish Verma. It was one session that the bloggers totally focused on like they were in a classroom in college. There was lots to learn for everyone, from tools to analytics and tips. Hoping to use them well to market the blog and tune well with my audience.

Following it was a session by Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal on Good food writing. She had structured the contents well and gave some good tips for writing. She pointed out how crucial it is to be able to describe a flavor and that the experience around food is only secondary. Not just that she was the only one of the speakers to hand out notes. Just as we were looking into the brown paper envelops to refer to the notes as she begun; the room was filled with squeals of joy. Rushina had gifted each one of us 4 of her foodles, yes those food doodles that she is famous for. I plan to get them laminated and use them as table-mats and recipe cards too.

After these two lovely learning heavy sessions we were moved to the Refuel corner, its supposed to be Aloft's grab and go offering but by now we were slowly getting used to the lingering. Once again an elaborate spread of freshly made apple crumble, blue berry cheesecake, passion fruit almond financier, Pineapple cake, Rum and raisin fruit cake, sandwiches etc. were laid out for the bloggers. We were learning the trick now of trying to taste more than to eat more. So we picked a few things we liked and shared a few morsels of different items from others plates to avoid wastage.

Post tea was a session by Aparna Jain of Partrige Publishing. This turned out to be my most favorite session. Aparna's honest experience sharing on publishing her own 'The Sood Family Cookbook' and the travails and (not so many) tribulations of a cookbook writer. Her hilarious style of presentation got the audiences engaged and involved too in her stories on self publishing vs finding a publisher. OK and she also busted some myths, like I could become rich by writing a cook book. My dream, my poor dream, I heard a voice hum continuously in my head somewhere. Ha! but I will still write even if I publish or don't. Readers I am asking you, would you buy my book?

We carried this light mood into The Nook. All the aspiring cookbook writers in the avatar of food bloggers had got a reality check and yet our energies were high. High enough to devour the lavish buffet. Aloft Cessna Park yet again was sweeping us off with their hospitality. These here are just the starters...



Thank god! after lunch it was an interactive panel discussion with food bloggers from within the community. They were up there at center stage to discuss the scene beyond blogging. It was interesting to hear how Sanjeeta KK of Lite Bite has blossomed into a professional food stylist, Kalyan Karmakar is now full time into food walks and how his market research background still helps him get some other assignments.

There was Harini Prakash, who made us privy to her dream which is soon to be a reality.  The Tadka Pasta girls who shared their story on getting their book published and they are already onto their second one!  Then ofcourse there was Rushina again this time to share her story of setting up the A perfect bite cook studio. A totally inspiring session as most bloggers are trying to go professional with avenues thrown open by blogging.

I would like to mention here, if you have missed my past posts on my Experience with me sessions. Check them out. I do Koli food and culture events and if you are in Mumbai I'd be glad to do it for you. 

Also hope you have already noticed the E-Shop tab on top of this page. There are some truely authentic ingredients there that you will die to have in your pantry. If you haven't ordered yet you must now!

The final was with a Master class by Aloft Cessna Park's own Executive chef Sameer Luthra. The set up for this masterclass was very well thought out. Unlike the last one bloggers did not have to clamber to get a view of what was cooking. Bloggers were seated at a level higher than the workstation for the chef. The camera projected a view of the work area and so we could watch larger than life display. Chef Sameer created two dishes Eggs baked in hash browns with glazed bacon and Sole en pappillote. Pappilote is a techinque to cook in paper. The bloggers requested me to explain to them what Sole fish (follow my #knowyourseafood on Fb and twitter) was, so I spoke on how to identify, its habitat and availability. This was my moment of respect from the bloggers as a expert on Fish, felt chuffed about it!

It was time for the team that took care of the food fests at Aloft to take a bow.

With that ended the 2 days of Indian Food Bloggers Meet. We were loaded with gifts from our 24 sponsors and this is how my friend displays it before we packed it into my check-in luggage.

This entire event was excellently organized by our Fab4. Take a bow ladies...

Finally we hugged and parted with promises to do it again and again. So long farewell, until the next time.