What a day!

Recently I gifted a drone to Pranav, my favouritest nephew as a gift for completing his degree in Aeronautics. Actually we had planned to send him away to Bangalore to live on his own and explore the city and opportunities there since we were accused of being over protective. You see all our children in the family have studied in Mumbai itself. He however landed a job almost immediately with Airport Authority of India and got busy. Had enrolled him to learn driving so that we could go on road trips. All our plans to travel together had to be pushed back.

This particular day was planned to be a poignant one. We had gone to scatter the ashes of my Baba in the Arabian sea. We also did an asti visarjan in the Managanga at Gondavale as wished by him. The sea and Gondavale have been the constants in his life as a born to a Koli family and latter his place of faith.

However after that the day flipped for us. As my nephew said unplanned days make the best memories. We took the ferry to Mandwa and decided to fly the drone on the beach. My nephew is the more careful one but I was pushing him to go to far distance. Suddenly he realised we were loosing network. He panicked and gave the return home command. Now when we do that the AI maps a straight line which is the shortest route for return. After a while we lost complete connection. If you watched URI you know the feeling. GPS was showing last location. So we walked towards it, a good 1.5 kms. Pranav told the mali of the bungalow where it had crashed that his toy has crashed in. Sweet guy allowed him to pick it up. I was far behind. He checked the drone it had a crack on the body. One blade had broken but was still able to take flight. So he flew it right back located me still treading along. I waved to him and signalled to land. Then we walked back to the jetty. Our legs aching and Pranav's health watch showing 14000 steps. Gosh we were ravenous by then. So this was our grand lunch to celebrate our adventures. We ate the watermelon and feta salad so no pic. Then he ate Chicken Hakka noodles and I enjoyed a superb veggie delight wood-fired pizza. He enjoyed a Alphonso mocktail and me a Peach ice tea. The food and drinks were really good at The Boardwalk. Rode the ferry and were back home by 4pm. What a day!

So here is Pranav’s channel. He plans to share his experience and footage about flying the drone DJI mini 2. Some joyrides from a helicopter from his aeronautics college days. Additionally clicks of aircrafts that he is doing maintenance on. It’s going to be fun to see him grow!

What Makes The Quality Of My Life Rich?

I have lived a life where what I wanted in life is priority. I had a single minded focus on travel. Travel is expensive and you cannot do it if your pockets are empty. Travel of the kind I like not as as a nomad. Nomads can live n travel without money.

I never had the pressure of earning money for a living. My father never ever put it on me. I am blessed I earned enough to travel in luxury once a year and on budget whenever I wanted to. If you ask me what I did with 18 years of salary, well it was enough for me to run my every day life and have a small investment. Above all freedom to travel the way I like. The way I have lived it is not possible for a person whose goals in life are to own a home, car etc. I have a car which my organisation made it easy to own. I used it for all my travels until a few years ago. I used to drive every morning to work in BLR through mad traffic and scenic roads n villages of rural BLR that were on my route to Electronic city. This even though I had a full time driver. I stopped driving after I dashed into an auto. My dream of driving cross country was never fulfilled. I do wish to get back to driving now that my nephew Pranav has learnt driving.

I got married to Arvi at an age when I felt the need for a partner and fortunately I found the sweetest husband. Even in our marriage travel was the most important thing. Our year was planned around where we would want to be in what season? So it was cool months in Udwada, Summers in Thal, Rainy season in Panchgani and Our anniversary month of Dec at a new destination. Arvi had spent a life building two businesses and due to health and the responsibility of his ailing sister had not travelled like I did. Arvi loved luxury so we chose that in our travels mainly because of his health restrictions. I ensured we had access to a Doctor at all times. Thinking of it now, I feel I was a tough nut all that time. I risked it but made beautiful memories with Arvi.

Besides travel I have built parallel economy for myself through several hobbies. I continue to blog after 15 yrs. Even before the blog I loved needlework and used to embroider, stitch, knit and crochet etc. Creativity was my thing. Blogging gave my creativity a new outlet. I got into photography a big way. My food photography also gave me money for a short while. I was writing for India food network too. That’s when they offered me the rearchitecting project of their website. The website has undergone 2 more cycles after it. Currently done by someone else.

Then came along Deepa Krishnan who brought me into demo and dining experiences for Magic tours. Though they have been sporadic. I did few on my own. I have conducted few baking classes too.

However I was doing all this while Arvi was my top priority. My hobbies gave me sanity in the challenging times. My Baba was very independent till the lockdown started. He lived on his own and cooked for himself. He spent a lot of time in Gondavale and pursuing his goals in spirituality and religion. He has been my rock all my life. It is only in the last year I had to take care of him. I have never ever seen my father frustrated with life. I learnt that acceptance of life the way it is doled out to us from him. We had lost my Aai when she was just 44.

I get my bounce from my parents. I get my outlook to life from both of them too.

In the current scenario I never feel lonely because I have built relationships that are loving with family and friends. Some new who hold me dear. I connect easily with youngsters. They brighten my life. Just to mention few things they say to me that make my day.

1. A friend’s 8 yr old daughter, “Anjali aunty you talk like a bird!”

2. Another family friend’s teenaged daughter, “Aunty what’s your skin routine?” None I reply. “Your skin is so smooth, I want to lick it!” I push her back, the drama queen that she is. Just keep washing your face with water as often as you can I tell her. Guess I am vain and I can’t forget this love

3. Cut to now… a young set of boys want to have a potluck at my place, dishes that they will cook themselves because I cannot be offered anything less. They don’t want me to have the pressure of cooking for a gang. They find me cool. Ahem! I am flattered

My loves are my nephews and nieces. I am very much into them. I must not become a helicopter mom to them I remind myself.

Grateful to Shree Gondavalekar Maharaj for this life.

How To Bypass Amygdala Hijack

That is me. Lately I have started posting pictures of me on the blog without hesitation. I am 51. Still young at heart. Looking forward to living a happy contented life. I enjoy my freedom more now. There are so many things I wan to do in life and I do not need anyone to tell me what I should and should not. 

Today I came to post here something I wrote on Facebook about my favourite Amygdala and decision making. So I searched the blog to see what I have written before and found this post. I laughed at the memory. How I wanted to be in love and wanted to be swept away by Mr. Charming. Twelve years ago I was single and looking forward to a partnership in life. That is not the case now. I am still the level headed person but I have learnt the hard way not to risk the after effects of the Amygdala hijack. 

So here is what I wrote... 

16 Dec 2021 on Facebook.

I was barely 35 when I got into a leadership role in my corporate career. I remember my then project manager telling me that I was getting into a big role. It was also something new so a lot of risk was involved. It involved convincing the senior line of leaders to start doing things that were not part of their top line nor bottom line. Why would they do it then? So weaving in altruism was the best way.

I started work with 1 vertical head and grew to working with 14. The line of leaders just below the CEO. The CXOs.

My approach was humility, showcasing them in good light and adding value to their work by hand holding with social technology which was just about emerging then and they were clueless about it. Once the leader was won over, he made sure the officers fell in order.

My GM a very sweet man established that team that I was part of and groomed many of the new managers like me. He sent us for leadership trainings.

Now the leadership training as you are aware are always about winning people and enable to work with all types of workforce. We were 1 lac strong workforce by the time I left from that Organization.

It is 8 years since that I am out of the Corporate world I think leadership skill programs are manipulative. They teach you many things about behaviour, psychology, physiology and using it to your advantage. This I feel because I have chosen to live a more natural way of life. Let things happen, allow people freedom to be. Accept the difference in thought and let go if it comes to that.

One lesson in leadership that I love personally is about 'Amygdala hijack'. I have mentioned it a few times in my conversations and writings before. So what is it? It's the two almond shaped bunch of cells at the base of the brain that are related to spontaneity. When the blood supply to the frontal lobes (the decision makers) of the brain is cut off. The amigdala acts in fear so either it tells the brain to fight or flee. Very good instant response in a situation of accident or bodily harm. However decisions are not based on saved historic data n emotions in the brain. Where as the frontal lobes in the cerebral cortex are all about fine decisions based on data, memories, emotions and they are not voluntary but infact strong decisions. The frontal lobes are what rationalize the spontaneity of the amygdala.

Emotional intelligence comes from first understanding one's own emotions so that we can help others or use others if that's the goal like in the Corporate scenario.

RamCharitManas

In September 2021 RamCharitManas came into my life. I was mourning the loss of my father who had passed away in June. It was very hard for me to float through life without the love and warmth of my cousins. Besides them there were few people from my Shree Gondavalekar Maharaj's followers who were by my side through thought and phone calls. People who for me are very important today. They spoke to me and gave me strength through my father's illness and when he was gone nursed my soul back to good health. Among them is Sir. After my father he is my guiding light. When I told him grief stricken that my days feel empty, there is nothing left for me to do and I felt no purpose to live. In this short span of three years I had lost my husband Arvi and my Baba. Sir sent me this RamCharitManas.

I started reading it and found Awadhi difficult to read forget understand it. This is a Marathi translation so I got the meaning but I struggled through the original. Sir suggested that I read only the Marathi translation but I was persistent. Yet the lyrical nature of the original Awadhi soothed my mind. I read aloud and it made me happy. It was the day of Ganesh Chaturthi when I started reading it in my father's home in Nerul. I was alone yet I felt my heart lighten a bit. The Mangalmaya vibes of its words was beginning to heal my soul. I started reading it critically but within few weeks gave it up and just started enjoying the love that oozes from its reading. 

I would leave the book on the dining table and read it whenever I felt like reading it. The magnetic pull of the words. It is something one must experience. Then I started reading about 10 pages everyday. Sometimes I read more and sometimes I felt fatigued and would stop at 5 pages but that was rare. 

It took me about 3.5 months to complete my first reading. Sometimes understood it and tried to absorb the essence. At times my modern mind found it hard to accept certain incidents and thoughts which feel socially outdated. When I read I was so into the story that I felt the emotions. I got angry with Kaikayee, was furious with Ram for being so obedient and Dashrath for being so helpless. Laxman was me. There is none like Bharat. Hanuman is so intelligent and entertaining. Kaakbhushundi is so evolved that he became my idol.

If I have to choose my favourite Kaand it would be Aranya kaand filled with beauty. Layers and layers of human nature explained thru it. Each Kaand is enjoyable in its own way. Baal Kaand and the conversations between Shiv Parvati was a new learning for me. Ayodhya kaand demolishes the Raghukul as the united and peaceful family. Kishkinda kaand became more enjoyable for me as I have visited the place near Hampi. In my mind's eye I referenced all the locations as I enjoyed the building up of the army of the monkeys. Sundar Kaand is all about Hanuman and his trailer of events to follow. A warning to Ravan.  Lanka kaand the victory over evil. The essence of Ramayan. Uttar Kaand the return of Ram to Ayodhya his accent to the throne of Raghukul. Also the amazing story of Kaakbhushundi is part of this concluding part. It will take many reading to appreciate RamCharitManas. Hope I continue reading it and studying it.

I want to jot down here that I finished reading it exactly on 28 Dec and on 29th I read the brief on Tulsidas's life which is at the end, 29th was Shree Gondavalekar Maharaj's 108th Punyatithi. This is no coincidence!

Shree Ram 🙏💮

Year End 2021 Salad

Lets begin blogging this year on a healthy note. This salad I made at home on New Year's Eve. All the other food was ordered from a bakery on Swiggy. For evening tea we had deliciously filled crisp veg puffs. So fresh that it was as if they were made for us.  Dinner was a creamy and lipsmacking Spinach and corn Lasagne. Dessert consisted of Dutch truffle pastry and German chocolate cake. To set off that richness in the evening I thought a salad would be lovely. Here is how I put it together. 

Ingredients

few large leaves of Iceberg lettuce

1 cup colourful cherry tomatoes

5-6 dried apricots

5-6 walnut halves

2 tablespoons mixed seeds

a splash of honey and 

a splash of Balsamic vinegar

Take a salad plate. Layer the iceberg lettuce. In the centre pile the cherry tomatoes. Layout the walnuts and dried apricots. Sprinkle the mixed seeds. Splash the balsamic and honey. Serve the beauty at the table.

Toss it up before serving a portion to eat or just pick it up from the shared plate with a fork and dip the veggies in the juices and enjoy the mouthful of freshness.

My cousin sister was there with me for the New Years eve though we had expected more people. Yet the two of us enjoyed our evening together. 

After dinner we watched Atrangi Re. Here is our brief review.

Watched Atrangi re on Disney hotstar with Charu. The name is frivolous. It sends out a wrong expectation. We expected some hilarious time. That it wasn’t. But the movie does not disappoint. The twist n turns kept us engaged. Loved Sara, Dhanush and actually the Atrangi in the movie in Akshay kumar. The direction is over the top at times. The main subject is edgy. I could not find anything comedy except some little light heartedness. When you have lived around a person with mental disorder you cannot laugh at the switches between the reality and hallucinations. Nevertheless loved the movie’s handling because only popular culture can drive awareness. Like today we saw a girl tapping her heart few times and mumbling. I pointed out to Charu that this was the “All iz well” effect.

Hi 2022 !

Happy New Year Friends!

Promising regular posts here. Hope to see you.

My Baba's year 2021

💮💮💮💮💮💮💮💮

The year is in its last month. I came to revive this blog and saw that my last post was in Jan 2021.

I think you must have guessed it already seeing my Baba's picture here. He has moved on in his soul's journey. He fell ill with an urinary tract infection in Jan and after a fall in Feb had to undergo spine surgery in Mar. His recovery looked promising inspite of the complications. However his body finally gave up. 

During this pandemic atleast I could convince him to stay with me. In the 6 months he was in bed we had several conversations, he was very happy that I was looking after him but he worried too much about how I would be alone after him. We talked about all things that we had skirted about before in our life. All answers were sought and given. Then on 18 June 2021 in the early morning as I went to say good morning to him, he just turned towards me and breathed his last. 

I informed my extended family and his relationships that he had fostered. He was cremated in the electric furnace as was his wish and no rituals. I offered a trimming of my hair with him. On the 13th day we had a shanti homa. Post which I was waiting until the lockdown opened up so I could do his Asthi visarjan. I did it in two places in the Arabian sea and at Gondavale in the Managanga river. He had wished to breath his last in Gondavale all his life however he had a plan B. So that is what I fulfilled. I am very sure he is in the lap of Shree Gondavalekar Maharaj.

The longest relationship in my life has come to an end. 🙏Shree Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram 🙏

P. S: 

I had planned a SahastraChandra for him and we postponed it as he had a fall. Sharing here the video I had made for the celebration of his 80 years on Earth. He was an amazing father and a very sucessful man in life. 

Preserve Preserve and Preserve.

We have such a wealth and we must value it. 

Everytime I watch a reaction on OSR for those who don't know, it is Our Stupid Reactions. It has been a two way process we learn so much about appreciation of art especially films and music from Rick and Korbin. However I love how it revives the interest of Indians in their own culture while the stupid babies teach them about our Indian heritage. The Benarasi saree video triggered yet again for me a need of immersion into our weaves.

I recollect going to Belur Chennakesava temple and chatting with the Pujari. He patiently told me the story of how Shantala Devi the queen of the Hoysala danced for her Vishnu here. He also told me, "Like you my son also works for an IT company. Visits us but does not live here." I had suggested to him that he must tell his son to make a video recording of him narrating the stories of the entire temple and the densely decorative sculptures adorning the temple. The pic here is of Indra on his Airavat, just one small sample of the rich sculpture in Belur.

Only if each family recorded their heritage like this. I feel a sense of loss when I think of our own Koli culture. We sold our fishing business when I was 13-14 yrs. It has taken me couple of decades to realize what a loss that is. The knowledge of the sea, the lunar phases, the weather is lost. My younger cousins don't even know what they have lost. My father and his bros lived their lives in the city and gave us a good life by working in good jobs. 

I think this value for heritage shows up in alternative generations. If you are like me do document what you can. Your generations to come will bless you.

I know my blogs both AnnaParaBrahma and Swachchanda are loved by many. I am hoping I continue to do it through my Youtube  channel TalkativeAnjali.

Sharing links here for those who need them.

https://annaparabrahma.blogspot.com

http://swachchanda.blogspot.com

https://www.youtube.com/c/TalkativeAnjali

Heeng, Asafoetida

Spice no. 17 

Heeng! is a beloved spice in the Indian household. We don't grow the plants which are from the parsley family and leaves look similar to fennel leaves and Dill. I cannot imagine my life without asafoetida as children we grow up hating the sulphuric smell but learn to appreciate the benefits in our tadka. Eating Dal  everyday without heeng would have caused bloating. In the scenario of limited access to water and unclean habits prevalent across India asafetida was always kept aside in the kitchen as an antidote to indigestion. 

Strange that this clump like thing sold in tiny cubes or rocks are light to hand. This makes one wonder what it is? Well it is the sap that comes out of the the rhizomes and solidifies into brown lumps. A 4-5 year old tree of the Ferula asafeotida having a decent sized tap root is ideal, the rhizome are exposed and slashed to let the sap ooze out and form the resin lumps. The fresh resin smells very strongly sulphurous. This is exactly what is desired flavouring in our Indian food. The best quality comes from Iran and Afghanistan. Lahaul valley in Himachal is now being used for cultivation. One single plant gives only 500 gms of Heeng hence the cultivation and production makes it an expensive spice. Since Heeng is very strong in flavour and aroma it needs to be used with care and hence commercially it is sold as compound with wheat or rice in the form of powder. This compound also make asafoetida economical for home use.

While most spices came via the sea brought by the Merchant ships asafoetida is credit to be brought to Indian via land over the Hindu Kush mountains by the army of Alexandar. 

We have now reached the end of the Masala trail. We have gathered all the spices that are desired and now let us make Koli masala with these. Yes all these 17 spices are included in my community's masala including Agri and East Indian bottle Masala. Our masalas are similar with slight variation and preferences from family to family. 

After grinding the masala and filling the jars and bottles don't forget to drop a small lump of heeng. The Masala has to last a year on the shelf!

ShahJeera, Caraway Seeds

Spice no. 16 

ShahJeera by the name you might feel we have jeera then what is this Shahjeera why is it used in a blend that has jeera already? To add to the confusion the name causes they even look similar but they are not the same. Look close Jeera is lighter brown where as Shah jeera is darker in color. The seeds when held closer will reveal that Shahjeera is a delicate slightly curved seed. This gives it the biological name Carum curvi. Whereas Jeera is Cuminum cyminum.

Jeera or Cumin as we know imparts a very strong flavour and aroma for more subtle uses Shahjeera is prefered choice. Shahjeera is used in Mughlai dishes and Persian influenced cuisine in India. This Shahjeera is cultivated in Middle Eastern countries and Europe. Finland alone grows 25 % of the worlds Caraway seeds. These are used in Germany, France and Russia to flavour breads, casseroles and desserts too. 

In India however the use is limited to savouries and pickling. It is tastes similar to licorice and feels like a cross of cumin and fennel. It works as a carminative and hence important in folk medicine.

Shahjeera grows wild in the upper north region of India like Leh and Kashmir.

JASHN e DASTAAN e MUMBAI 18-20 Dec2020

The Mumbai Research Centre is pleased to announce that its three day festival Jashn e Dastaan e Mumbai starting TODAY will now be free for all citizens. We have received generous sponsorship and that has made it possible for us to remove the paywall.

We are thankful to our sponsors and ready to welcome all Mumbaikars to the festival of the stories of the city. Respective Zoom links for the three days are attached alongside. Voluntary contributions towars conservation and digitization of the library will be highly appreciated.

18 December — https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85068219267...

19 December — https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86830188456...

20 December — https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86517781780...

Lavang, Ruang, Krambu, Cloves

Spice no. 15 

Lavang in Marathi and sonically variant names in others states. In English Cloves, which traces the origin of the name to nail. It does look like one and it has fascinated the whole world with this shape and everyone fell short of creativity, so all names refer to the nail. Well if the shape was so fascinating so were the properties of this spice. Its ayurvedic properties as an anti-bacterial, anti-septic, anti-fungal and analgesic makes is much sought after across the world.

Cloves are synonymous as tooth ache reliever. Since ancient times mothers have told their children to hold a clove on to the tooth that is aching. Cloves have  a very high concentration of essential oil in it. While a whole clove is ok to be used. Clove oil if used directly can give a burn it is therefore always used diluted with other oils and the quantities used are tiny. Cloves in India and China have always been used as mouth freshner in royal courts. In India one of the components of paan is clove. It has many poetic references too in our literature. 

Yet again this spice is not native to India but comes from the island of Maluku. The sweet smell of this spice growing in the islands attracted seafaring traders. Yet again it was the Arabs and then the Europeans that were attracted to this region. The Dutch controlled this spice for long time just like they did the nutmeg. In a  sad turn of fate Maluku lost its top producer title to the Mozambique islands and now it is Mozambique that exports cloves to Indonesia for the manufacturing of clove flavored cigarettes that their population is addicted to. 

Clove tree is an evergreen tree and the spice that we see is the flower bud. Picking cloves is fascinating and high skilled. The flower buds goes through color changes from pale yellow, pink to bright red when ready to be plucked and only the red ones is the bunch have to be plucked for best quality. 

Cloves are considered heat causing spice and therefore a component of garam masala. The fragrance of the spice and its tenderizing property sees its use in meat preparations. I have also seen cloves used as an aromatic spice in desserts especially in the South. Bengal has a dedicated sweet to this spice the Labango latika, a type of khaja with the clove nailed into it!

Tamal patra, Tej Patta, Karuvaela, Birinji Ilai, Indian Bay leaf

Spice no. 14

Tamal Patra is a Sanskrit name of the fragrant leaf derived from the Cinnamomum species. In English is called Indian bay leaf and that causes confusion. Both are different species. Tamal Patra is reminiscent of Cinnamon and clove while Bay leaf which is botanically Laurus nobilis is pine like with bitter notes. This happened due to the colonizers rediscovering these spices and naming them as spices they knew from old records. 

Bay leaf is found in Sikkim and north east area and the Himalayan region of Nepal and parts Burma. However is is collected from wild trees than systematically grown trees. Hence the quality is random. 

Tamal patra is associated in a big way with garam masala and therefore meat. No wonder that it features so much in Mughal culinary whether it is the biryani, qorma or the pulaos. The Bengali, Mithila and North and North Eastern used these leaves since ever but the West of India was introduced to it only recently. 

Tej patta while it is popular as a spice it is extremely popular as a perfume. So a large percentage of the world's production of Tej patta is used for perfumery.

Yet again we know that Mumbai's strategic location as a port is what made spices available in this region.

Badian, Chakraphool, Anashuppu, Takkolam, Star Anise

Spice no. 13

Star anise is the prettiest of all spices. A favorite of the food-stylists. The spice is a dried fruit with 7-8 pronged shape. Each of those petal like shapes has a smooth seed. The whole fruit is used in flavouring alcohol like mulling wine. The flavour of star anise is similar to fennel and therefore used to substitute its flavour many times. 

Star anise acts as a tenderizer for meats hence used mostly in non vegetarian dishes. Star anise is rich in Shikimic acid and therefore 90% of it is used to extract it. This shikimic acid is the base ingredient for making the anti influenza drug Tamiflu.

This species of Illicium Verum is grown in North East Vietnam and South West China. It has a very limited cultivation in Arunachal pradesh. This spice is popular across the world and via spice trade has landed in use in Mumbai and Koli cuisine. Since it is used in powder form and never whole in curries it adds to the body of flavours.

Nagkesar, Cobra Saffron

Spice no. 12

Nagkesar or Cobra Saffron is a strange name but indispensable in Ayurveda due to its large range of use in ailments related to the gut such as vomiting, fever, migraines and even urinary tract infections. It is an important component of Chyavanprash. Strangely it is a very popular ornamental evergreen tree in Srilanka and is therefor also the national tree.

Nagkesar is ground along with other spices to get blends but never used singularly. The Nagkesar tree is commonly found across South East Asia and is used in local medicine beside the hard word is also sought after.

The taste of Nagkesar is like all spice. It is not to be confused with tailed pepper or Kabab chini which looks similar but varies in flavor.

Masala Velchi, Badi Elaichi, Doda. Black Cardamom

Spice no. 11

My first introduction to Masala velchi was when my mother bought a packet of whole garam masala for making biryani. Biryani is not a Koli dish at all not even a fish Biryani but certainly it is from our Koli-Arab neighbor's repertoire who are known as Konkani muslims. I recollect due to this Velchi being so huge my mother always used a potli to tie the masalas. The resultant Biryani was mildly fragrant and it never got shunned. Masala Velchi has a truly notorious reputation of overpowering the flavours and unappealing physical appearance too. It is overpowering as it is very smoky due to the drying process that blackens and lends smokiness to the spice. It is dried in chambers of woodfire for long hours over days. This Badi elaichi is grown only in Sikkim in India. Sikkim however does never use it in its traditional cuisine. The spice is traded by Marwaris and so no wonder that Rajasthani cuisine uses it liberally and calls it lovingly Doda. This spice however has an association with meats and hence rarely will you find it used in Sattavik food. 

For the Sweets and Sattavik food it is the green Cardamom and even though they belong to the same Zingiber­aceae family the flavor profiles are different. Black cardamon tastes smoky and camphor like while green cardamom is sweet and minty cool. Green cardamom is  grown in Kerala in the hilly regions and is the predominant spice in their sweets. While the green cardamon grows in alternative alignment on the rhizomes Black cardamom is seen in red drupes. The taste of fresh plucked black cardamom is unlike its dried version whereas fresh green cardamom tastes similar.

Black Cardamom has a singular medicinal property, it used for digestive disorders in Ayurved and Chinese traditional medicine.

Mirchi, Mensinkai, Milagai, Mulaku, Lonka, Chili

Byadgi

Spice no. 10

India is synonymous with Chili, was it always like this? Was our food always this spicy? I think credit to a lot of articles in the media and television shows we have got to know that Chili came to India only less than 500 yrs ago.

So colonization and spice trade completely got India addicted to Chilies so much so replacing the Miri and Pippli. Our heat giving Black pepper and Long pepper. How incredible is this replacement. The Portuguese are credited to bringing chilies to Goa and the cultivation and propagation has been so rapid that today India grows 25 types of Mirchi. If that is impressive you would guess how this easy growing crop has covered the entire world and there exists 4000 varieties of chilies today. 

Chili heat is due to Capsaicin a chemical that send the signal of pain to the brain it therefore is different from Piperine in Black pepper. The measure of the strength of Capsaicin in Chili is measured by dilution in sugar solution and the unit of measure is Scovilles or Scoville Heat Units. The higher the dilution higher the strength. India's Naga chilies from the North boasts the honor of being one of the hottest chilies in the world. There are competitions held in the North East to celebrate Naga chilis or Bhut Jhalokia as it is known locally. Here the participants rub the chilies on their eyes! Talk of subjecting oneself to torture.

Chili though became popular Southwards from Goa it travelled to the North of India only 250 years after with the Maratha Empire. No wonder the Northern food is milder than Southern food when it comes to chilies.

Chili gives color, heat and has a lot of benefits for blood circulation and as much as it gives pain it counters pain in the body hence its use as an analgesic. Infact in rural communities applying chili powder on bruises is a common first aid. 

The famous Chilies however are from Guntur, Byadgi, Kashmiri. Andhra Pradesh produces 75% of India's chilies, so the reputation of the hottest food in the state.

Kolis use 2-3 types of chilies in their masala and here you see the Byadgi and Kashmiri.

Kashmiri

My Father and The Mexican farmer

Baba and Me in the sugarcane field in 2013 on the highway in Kolhapur

Baba is aging now. He has been the leader of our joint family. We were a small family of three. My mother and me made so many compromises well I did not have a choice but my mother did. Yet she chose to take care of the family. In a joint family everyone makes sacrifices big or small.

Dad always wanted everyone to study well. He would come back from work and teach us. He was working 3 jobs at his peak yet he made time to sit with us to study. There were 8 children in the family. What made him choose to do this? Parenting is such a thankless job. Only when you become parents you learn or do you?

The reason I put a pic of us in the field is because the Mexican corn farmer's story is playing on my mind. The story goes that this particular farmer grew the best corn. So several researchers were curious to know his secret. He divulged it after probing much and it was simple, sharing his seeds was his secret. Since corn requires cross pollination to give a good harvest and best quality it is a must that the pollen should be good. So for miles he shared his seed with other farmers whose seed wasn't of high quality. That ensured that his corn was the best. I see my Dad as that farmer. He shared his resources, effort and knowledge with everyone. Hoping that the pollination was good. When some one makes progress he is the happiest in the knowledge that now there is no dependency of the neighboring farmer for seed. They have their own seed. Flourish you all!

🙏 Gratitude 🙏

Cassia and Cinnamon, Dalchini, Tuj, Karuvapatta

Spice no. 9

Let me start with Cassia because that is what we use in Indian cuisine. Dalchini which means a branch or twig from China. That is where the first uses of Cassia are seen. Cassia is used as a medicine for respiratory and circulatory and antibacterial effect. The flavour of the aldehydes in Cassia are sharp and pungent. This is the external bark of the Cinnamomum cassia. In the Indian cuisine meat and poultry dishes use Cassia. It is a garam spice so a component of garam masala. It helps make meat better for consumption as it is a blood thinner and lowers cholesterol. 

So since the Cassia belongs to genus Cinnamomum, it is confused with Cinnamon, the sweet spice that makes all baked goodies nice. However the use of sweet Cinnamon is mainly in the West. In India it is never used in sweets. This sweet Cinnamon is grown and harvested only in SriLanka. Those beautiful quills or sticks of Cinnamon perfectly cut into international standards of 4.2 inches long are painstakingly done by Cinnamon harvesters by hand. A horseshoe shaped blade is used to first scrape the hard exo bark and then get to the smooth layers of bark which is hand quilled and dried. Due to this process the Ceylon Cinnamon in much more expensive than the Cassia that Indians are used to. However for all commercial bakeries they use Cassia. Indonesia is also a producer of cassia cultivars.

So there now you know that Dalchini is not Cinnamon.

Dhana, Coriander

Spice no. 8

What you see here in the picture looks like a seed that we call Dhana or Coriander. That however is a fruit and almost always mistaken to be the seed. I learnt this when I started growing Coriander in my Window box. The first time they did not sprout inspite of soaking them overnight. On research and talking to my agriculturist friend Nilesh Malekar I learnt that the seed is inside the hard ovoid fruit. So he told me to use a rolling pin to lightly crush the fruits and bare the seeds inside to aid germination. This makes us realize the effort in propogation of this plant that we love so much across India. 

Dhana is grown majorly in two states in India one is Rajasthan and the other MP. However Dhana is not a dessert crop. It needs a well hydrated soil but nevertheless is intense in this dessert land like no where. While Dhana is used widely in the Northern and Southern states it is agreed that everyone like a bite of  dhana in their bhajias and kababs but in curries we love the mellow woody fragrance from the powder. Fresh ground is always better. 

While the seeds are so popular nothing beats like hara dhaniya showered over everything in our Indian cuisine. Our sole pan Indian garnish! The leaves have that loving aroma but actually the aroma intensifies in the stem and roots. While in India we don't see much of the root being used. I was surprised to see it used in Thai cuisine. 

When I have tourists who come for my cooking sessions. Most declare they hate Coriander leaves even before they reach my home. They complain about the soapy taste blame it on their extra gene that is sensitive to aldehydes. However I trick them and show them how the cilantro that they desist when added in the tadka can flavor the dish so subtly. 

Our Indian cooking is truly alchemy. We use spices to give heat and then we use coriander to reduce that heat. Coriander soaked in water is a digestive. In pickles dhana is the one that balances heat and also acts as preservative. The Egyptians knew this in 1500 BCE but then this is one spice which finds presence is Greek history records as old as 7000 BCE. Coriander seeds are found across the world and it doe give a feeling that this grew really wild.

My favorite uses of Coriander are rough crushed that lends beautiful aroma to the dish while the powder gives body to curries and sambar. Cilantro is Spanish word but the Portuguese are the bigger user of it after India.

The most unique usage of Dhana is its dal as a mouth freshner and we must thank Gujarat for processing it and making it popular.