thecookscottage

India's prime farm product ?

The stepmotherly treatment meted out to dairy farming needs to change for the further growth of India's biggest 'crop.......milk !

Varicha Tandul, Bhagar, Jungle Rice- More fasting foods

Several years ago a rather pompous woman from the Ministry of Agriculture said to me, and I quote: "Agriculture is our Big Success Story." At that time, as is the case now, the farmer with less than 2 acres had a hard time surviving, people in rain dry areas had no access to irrigation (and no plans were being made to improve the situation), rural debt was shocking while the government was subsidizing rich farmers in Punjab who had lost (or were presumed to have lost) their crops because of untimely rains, and other injustices of life in the rural areas continued. I guess the lady concerned considered her success in the ministry enough to call the whole business wonderful. I suspect that she never ventured too far from her white Ambassador when on duty in the districts, and probably made her assumptions by toting up statistics in her office in New Delhi - where the really hot issue being debated was the number of chairs allotted to one official's room at the cost of another.

Venturing to put forward another view, based on my own experiences in rural areas - which by then had spanned several states - I said several things to the contrary, but her broad jaw set, and her loud pronouncements made me realise the hopelessness of discussion. I decided to let her keep her fantasy. What was touching was the mutual admiration society she and her husband, another babu, made.They looked so lovingly and admiringly at each other (a la Nancy and Ronald Reagan) whenever either of them took the floor. He must have been living another Success Story in yet another government department.

It seems to me that survival as an agriculturist or a tribal in India is a matter of ingenuity, and this, at least, is not lacking in our rural poor.They have found many edible plants and seeds that grow in adverse conditions, and which form part of their diet. As a result, these plants are now actually cultivated in places where they do not grow wild or in abundance. In several other countries these grasses and plants are mowed down and destroyed as weeds. In India the discovery of their edibility has led, happily, to the preservation of a biodiversity - one that often seems threatened by the vast plans and prophecies of our men and women in the armchairs of power.

One such food is known here in Marathi as Vari Tandul, Bhagar or Kodri. It is the seed of a grass  ( Echinochloa Colonum) which frequently grows amongst the rice paddy as it requires damp, or even waterlogged, soil. Instead of removing it with weedkiller, farmers harvest it. When cooked, it makes a tasty and filling meal. Tandul means rice and though Vari is not a grain it provides the nourishment and energy that rice does. In the west it is called 'Samo' or 'jungle rice'.

Traditionally it is eaten during fasts because grains are taboo during that time. So Rajgira - another type of grass seed - and Bhagar are cooked instead of rice or wheat, as they are just as filling.

I am against fasts on principle as they are so gender-based. Women are the ones who fast and they do so for the good of the family, to ward off bad times and difficulties. So they are blamed for what happens and what could happen too - as long as it is bad. If it's good, then by god, it must be a man's work. I mean, what about events brought on by the stupidity of some men? So, no.... fasting is just not up my street. Especially when it has been scientifically proven that in rural areas around Pune, women have a significantly lower body weight than men. This is to the detriment of their health and usually occurs because they fast, too stringently and too often.

That said, Varicha Tandul is quite delicious, and the following recipe will prove it. Don't fast - just eat it.

Ingredients

Makes 2 servings

• 1/2 cups Vari Tandul, Bhagar, Samo
• 1 tbsp. ghee or vegetable oil
• 1/2 tbsp. jeera / cumin
• 3 green chillies, chopped fine
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1 small potato or sweet potato, grated
• 1 tsp. grated gur / jaggery or 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, broken into fine bits
• 2 tsps. lime juice
• 1 tbsp. grated coconut ( optional)
• 2 tbsp. chopped green coriander.

Heat the ghee in a kadhai. When hot put on the cumin and green chillies. Saute for a few seconds while the cumin splutters. Now add the seeds and saute for a minute stirring frequently. Add boiling water, the grated potato (or sweet potato) sugar and salt. Stir well. Cover tight and cook on low heat till the water has almost been completely absorbed . Add the lime juice and stir. Now add the ground peanuts and stir well. Cook for another minute or two . Garnish with coconut and green coriander and serve. Delicious with dahi / yogurt and any green vegetable.

 

Indian makes a great wine in California

How is this for a great story.One day, an oenologist and an anesthesiologist.....

Cookbooks for Children

For years I have looked for a colourful, attractive cookbook for children in India, with easy to follow recipes that any child from about 7 years up could follow. Without luck.

I just came across a little book published by Puffin in India called, simply, "Cookbook". and it is an example of all that is wrong with a kids cookbook. Written by Sonia Mansata and published in 2003 , it is illustrated by Sudeepa Ghosh. Strangely enough it has very few Indian recipes. You have Lassi, Aloo Chaat, how to make cumin powder, and a glossary of a few ingredients in Hindi. For the rest most of the recipes are standard chocolate cake, gazpacho soup and such. The illustrations should be larger and should be perfectly clear in their purpose. The ones in the book are more for decorative reasons, looking cute without clarifying any of the steps . The writing can do with an editor ....can you imagine telling a beginner cook to 'slice the eggs neatly"? Puts you off the whole enterprise pretty quickly.
I'm not sure what age group this book is intended for. Several instructions need an adult to interpret them and an adult's help with other fiddly things. The point of a cookbook for children is that they can produce something edible and attractive with  minimum intervention by an adult.

This book by Mary Alden was my very first cook book. It was perfect. I could follow it without referring to any adult. It opened my eyes to the magic of baking and I spent many a happy afternoon making delicious corn bread which, with the addition of lashings of butter, was polished off at teatime by my hungry siblings. Thanks for the photo Hillary. I remember the book with fondness. Published in 1955...yes!...it was a gift from my mother who knew how valuable it was to me. Books for children were not thick on the ground in the India of my childhood.
Meanwhile  the search for a good cookbook for children  in India continues. Any cook book writer listening?

An interview with Jiggs Kalra

An insight into the heart of a great chef.

Kerala Cuisine

Ammini has been working on this book for some time. Good to see it is finally out.

The Politics of Food

I thought weed was outlawed in the US. It turns out it's ok in wheat. Read Sunita Narain's perspective on food for the poor.

India the most popular destination for Celebrity Chefs

And now the likeable Gary Rhodes makes his journey to the India. Hope he doesn't botch up his recipes like someone else we've seen on TV.

One Smart Boy

Have his taste buds fed his intellect? Perhaps Altamash is proof of my theories.

Blog Camp Pune

Recently I received an interesting mail at Flickr which , till recently, hosted most of my pictures. Tarun Chandel , who, along with other friends, is organising Blog Camp Pune asked for permission to use some of my photographs. Delighted I said and proceeded to find out what it was all about.

Among other things, they propose to discuss some of the following subjects:

• The changing face/future of web applications/services in India
• Making a Better Blogosphere
• I Blog for Me
• Regulation over the blogosphere...to be or not to be?
• State of Indian language blogs and way ahead
• Blog: a MASS and MASS's media !
• Blogging: A media for citizen journalism
• Blogging: A change in mindset
• Blogospere a reflection of our society
• How much Blogosphere worth???
• Monitizing your blog
• Ethics of Blogosphere
• Blog as your Resume
• Photo Blogging, a better form of expression!
• A pic is worth 100 words... hmm... Does that mean Photo Bloggers are 100 times better than the Bloggers who just write???
• Photo Blogging as a first step towards professional photography

To be held in June looks like this is one event not to be missed!

Keep updated at their website Blog Camp Pune and add yourself to the list of participants.