Agar agar plucked from the sea

Did you know where the agar-agar in your favourite dessert comes from? The answer lies in Rameswaram, where we join women divers on their quest for seaweed

 collecting seaweed. Used for making agar-agar, the marikolundhuvariety is sought after, and the women of Rameswaram go to great lengths to collect a sackful, which will probably end up in a bowl of payasam hundreds of kilometres away. Agar-agar or kadal paasi, as it is known in Tamil, is ironically not part of the local cuisine. “I rarely use it; it’s too expensive,” says Devi, removing her gloves. “But when I do get a packet, I make halwa with coconut milk as the base. It’s delicious.”  A kilogram of dried seaweed fetches them ₹50. “We give it to the dealer in Chinnapalam,”

Tender coconut pudding with agar-agar (OPOS technique)

Ingredients

7 grams Agar-agar strands

1 cup Tender coconut water

1/2 cup Condensed milk

1 cup Thick milk

1/4 cup Fresh cream

1/2 cup Tender coconut flesh

Method

In a two-litre cooker, layer soaked and drained agar-agar strands, tender coconut water and close. Cook on high for two whistles for three minutes. Release pressure, and open. Add the condensed milk, milk, fresh cream, tender coconut flesh and mix. Pour into a mould and allow to set in room temperature. Serve chilled.

Recipe and photo: Tazin Faiz, co-author of e-book Non-Veg Delicacies: OPOS Cookbook

Mangaluru steaming breakfast

Ever wondered how the Mangaluru moode is made? We give you a glimpse at the behind-the-shelf scenes

The streets of Mangaluru at 4.30 am on a Sunday morning are usually very quiet. As I march purposefully down the road, sleepy street dogs eye me balefully and yap in a bored fashion. The reason I am out at this ungodly hour is because I want to see how a particular local idli, the moode, is made. The gruff proprietor of the iconic Taj Mahal Hotel had warned me that all the prepping and cooking would be over by 5.30 am. So, here I am, pounding the pavements at the crack of dawn, not wanting to miss the making of the Mangalorean moode.

By 5 am, I am at the hotel and can see the kitchen is bustling with activity. Water for coffee and tea is boiling away in a gigantic copper pot. Milk is also on the boil. Nearly 30 fat vadas are sizzling in a cauldron. Two men are kneading, tearing and shaping the dough that will soon be transformed into the famous Mangalore bun.

A chef tips out steaming hot upma into a bain-marie. The large dosa tava is so hot that when water is poured on it to clean it, a gigantic cloud of steam immediately engulfs the cook. In another corner, a man is rinsing the screwpine leaf moulds that are integral to moode-making.

Prabhu Swami neatly arranges 50 of the tall moulds on a large tray. Scooping fistfuls of pre-soaked, gritty rice rava, he adds it to a deep vessel that already contains bubbly, fermented idli maavu. Using his fingers like a balloon whisk, he proceeds to incorporate the grains into the smooth batter with his hand. Then, taking a mould, he gently drops the batter in. Once the moulds are filled, the tray is placed in a commercial steamer for 30 minutes.

If you walk along the little lanes of Car Street, you will find many women on the pavement busy chatting, while rolling thick, long leaves into moode moulds. The oli leaf usually grows in paddy fields and mangroves just outside Mangaluru. They are difficult to harvest because they grow in snake-infested areas, and if that was not enough, the edge of the leaf is thorny, so bloodied fingers are an occupational hazard for those who collect them. The stiff leaf is then softened over a fire and the thorns are removed. Seeing a two-foot-long oli leaf transform into a water-tight mould is fascinating. At dizzying speeds, a base for the cylinder is twisted into shape and stapled in place with a little coconut stick. Then it is rapidly wound into a cylinder that is a foot long and stapled at the top with another little stick so it cannot unravel. Many of the ladies sell these perfectly-rolled moulds to hotels and restaurants in the city early in the morning by 9 am. They set up shop on the pavements, selling each mould at ₹10.

Balakrishna Pai is a walking-talking encyclopaedia on Mangalorean history and culture. He has literally seen the place transform from a fishing to a business hub right before his eyes. But if there is one thing that still connects him to the past, it is his Konkani community’s formidable culinary display that happens during festivals.

Many foods in Karnataka come wrapped in leaves. Blessed with abundant rains and an even more abundant variety of soppu or greens, it’s no wonder they are used as wrappings. Bottle gourd leaves are a favourite for wrapping and cooking fish. Turmeric and banana leaves are used to make gatti (steamed parcels of rice paste with all sorts of sweet and savoury stuffings), and one of the most iconic dishes of Mangaluru is pathrode, where several colocasia leaves are smeared with spicy rice paste, rolled and steamed.

It is 6 am and the tables at Taj Mahal Hotel are filling up with regulars. A harried waiter balancing many dishes, skilfully plonks my order before me. A dark green cylinder rolls across the plate. I start to unravel the long leaf. Aromatic steam escapes and I can see that the moode is infused with the heady smell of screwpine, and a light green tint from the leaf has rubbed off onto the white surface.

After a long spell in the steamer, it now rests on my plate, gently releasing little tendrils of steam. The texture is dense and grainy, thanks to the rice rava, but as soon as I bite into it, it seems to magically disappear in my mouth. The moode comes with a little bowl of coconut chutney, one of sambar and another of scalding hot dal. While munching on my moode, Mangaluru slowly wakes up.

saba canteens

Mylapore Fine Arts Academy

Highlights: Sevai, sardaar vada, ammini kozhukattai, and kuli paniyaram.Timings: Breakfast: 6am-9amLunch: 11am-2pmTiffin/Dinner: 3pm9 pmAddress: 45, Musiri Subramaniam Road, Kattukoil Garden, Mylapore 21 Dec 2018

chow kootu, kaasi halwa ashoka halwa. appam, kadalai kozhaikattais sardaar vada, mor kali Chow semiya payasam, rasamalai,

A board outside Mylapore Fine Arts Academy announces the day’s menu. radish sambar, and various sweets like and

In the canteen, decorated in maroon and gold, V Mahalingam, an organiser at Mylapore Fine Arts Academy, says “Our caterer is well-renowned”. K Baskaran of Meenambiga Caterers comes from a legacy of culinary giants. His uncles are the famous ‘Gnanambiga’ Jayaraman, and ‘Arusuvai’ Natarajan. As for Baskaran himself, he has been in the catering field for more than 10 years.

“We generally do a traditional (₹170) and change the menu everyday, but our speciality is tiffin,” he says, adding with a grin, “We frequently have to turn down outsiders, but that doesn’t seem to stop them.”

The menu features a range of and including — lemon, tamarind, vegetable and coconut. Make a note to visit the section and try the made with potato and sago. To keep things interesting, they experiment with different styles of cooking. For example the curry and are made Kerala style.

kalyana saapad sevais vada

It’s Marghazi, the season of music and excellent filter coffee. As always the kutcheris spill over into the lively sabha canteens. Drop in any time of day, and watch women draped in vibrant Kanjivarams and diamonds sharing tables with curious backpackers. Or elderly concert veterans explaining the intricacies of a raga to young music students.

Because if it’s December and you live in Chennai, you must sabha hop. Both for the music and the city’s unique sabha canteens. As the wedding season draws to a close, cooks and caterers move into concert venues. This was originally to fuel audiences, but the cheerful atmosphere and fresh, home-style cooking now draw everyone from early morning joggers craving crisp masala dosas to party-hoppers in the mood for a hot Horlicks sundowner.

For seasoned concert goers, this is the time to close down their kitchens, so they can try different canteens and the season’s ever-changing menus. (Most canteens close by January 1, 2019). By the end of week one, which is where we are now, the favourites emerge. Where can you eat a full-fledged kalyana saapad? Which celebrity cooks are featured this year? Who is cooking where? And what should you order?

We have meticulously done the rounds (fuelled by copious amounts of kesari) to bring you this primer. Here is this year’s list of must-visit canteens.

Narada Gana Sabha

Ravi Chandran, a member of Narada Gana Sabha, says he realises that, “Not everybody comes just for the kutcheri. So we ensure that our food is memorable.” For the past three years, Sri Sasthalaya Catering has been cooking at this sabha, popular for it’s large airy pop-up canteen set at the back of the building.

“During Margazhi season, we have a lot of visitors, and if the performer is well-known then our canteen is filled with people, who come in to grab a quick bite or two,” says K Ramesh of Sri Sasthalaya Catering.

The menu here changes everyday. With 50 people to manage the cooking and cleaning duties, the service is quick, polite and efficient. Yet, during weekends, they say they can’t keep up with the demand, as people come pouring out from the hall straight into the canteen after each concert.

To ensure that rasikas don’t miss the opening notes of any concert because of a tardy medhu vada, the staff have thoughtfully arranged separate stations, and ensured there are people manning each counter. “People who want only coffee don’t like to wait too long,” explains Ramesh.

Look out for the special counter which rustles up puttu and appams, served with coconut milk, kurma or kadalai curry. The dosa station serves up more than 10 different dosas. For lunch there’s a mini meal which features, a sweet, a chapati and sabzi along with vegetable biryani, bisibela baath and potato curry, along with appalam, thayir saadam and pickle.

Highlights:Elaneer payasam, khoa jangiri, vazhapoo vadai, idiyappam with coconut milk, Kanchipuram idli

Timings: Breakfast: 6 - 9 a.m. Lunch: 11:30 - 2 p.m. Evening: 3:30 - 11 p.m.

Address: No 314, Ttk Road, Alwarpet

The Music Academy

This year LV Pattappa takes over from Mint Padmanabhan at the Music Academy. Both are celebrated cooks, with well established catering services.

Set under a white canopy, the space looks calm in the morning. Pattappa’s son, Balaji says “Give it half an hour, and you will barely have space to move your chair.” The long tables, bedecked in clean white cloth, have a few lingerers still discussing the morning’s concert over cups of filter coffee. Between a heated debate on the raga and how the artist presented it, plates of upma descend and all talks cease.

At the Music Academy, Pattappa focusses on traditional lunches served on banana leaves (₹ 300). The menu, changes everyday but always features a crowd pleaser, like the seppankizhangu (taro) roast. “People keep asking when they will see that on the menu again, but we like to keep things interesting,” says Balaji.

Curd rice served with puli inji is a hit. Also try their healthy tiffin menu featuring dosas, upma and payasam made with millets and ragi.

“People from neighbouring offices phone and ask for table reservations. I have to remind them it is first-come first-serve basis,” smiles Balaji as customers begin to pour in

Highlights:Artikeerai vadai, nellikai chutney, akkaravadisal and shreeannam which comes dripping in ghee, nuts.

Timings: Morning : 7:30 - 10 a.m Lunch: 11 - 2:30 p.m. Evening: 3:30 -10 p.m.

Address: No.168,TT Krishnamachari Road,Royapettah

Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha

While most sabhas rotate caterers every three years, the Mountbatten Mani Catering Service has retained this venue for the ninth year, making this a consecutive triple of their triple-year contract.

As they host artists from different states, K Srinivasan, who represents the catering service, says they keep the menu diverse. “All the greats want variety,” says Jagan, who supervises the canteen. Some of the most popular dishes here are karupatti paniyaram, thinnai paniyaram, jackfruit payasam, red rice kulaputtu and cashew mysorepak.

Picking up a menu and running his fingers down, as though in evidence, Jagan says, “We have many, many dishes. You will not find this variety even in five-star hotels.”

Backed by a staff of 100, with 30 cooks and 70 helpers, the quality of the food is impressive. There is a live counter and the entire landscape of the tent is based on a theme every year. This year, it is inspired by agriculture. Despite the experimental watermelon rasam, chocolate dosa and apple bajjis, the traditional banana leaf lunch (₹400), comprising at least 17 different dishes, is what this canteen is best known for.

Highlights: Chocolate Dosa, jackfruit payasam, cashew and badam halwa, red rice kulaputtu

Timings: Morning : 7:30- 10:30 a.m. Lunch: 11 - 2 p.m.Evening: 5 - 9 p.m.

Address: Vidya Bharathi, 55, Bheemasena Garden Road, Mylapore

Sweet, smoky seaside indian pizza

At bustling Kasimedu market, fisherfolk make spongy atlappam , following a recipe that’s been in their families for decades

“It’s like pizza, but a sweet version,” says K Menaka, covering her eyes with her sari’s pallu as smoke puffs up from her makeshift oven. It’s 7 am and the Sunday morning madness at Kasimedu fish market is at its peak.

Menaka sells atlappam by the road that leads to the New Market. A small crowd has formed around the stall she has put together out of dried coconut fronds. It’s an unusual sight, even for Kasimedu’s standards, what with its mammoth stingray and dramatic fish sashaying past on loaded tricycles.

Menaka has set up three ovens — each comprises two earthen cooking pots stacked one atop the other on a wood-fired stove. One pot, that holds a palm-sized plate filled with batter, is placed on the stove; another pot with hot coals is on top of it. Menaka lifts a pot with the coals to check if theatlappamis done. It is; she lifts the plate with the dish — it has risen nicely — and slides it on to a makeshift table inside the stall using a spatula. She slices it into quarters and hands it to us on a newspaper.

The sunshine yellow atlappam is soft and fragrant; it’s mildly sweet with a crunchy crust. Priced at Rs. 40, one piece is filling enough to be made into a meal by itself.

“It is a Kasimedu speciality,” says S Nayagam, Menaka’s mother-in-law. She is seated on a low plastic stool nearby, ladling batter into the plates while Menaka does the baking.

Born and raised in North Chennai, Nayagam says that the dish is a regular at fisherfolk households in the area. “My grandmother taught me the recipe,” she recalls, sprinkling coconut slivers, cashews, and raisins on the ladled batter. “It consists of 12 ingredients — ground rice, rava , fried and ground gram dal , egg, ghee, oil, fennel seeds, cardamom, sugar, and vanaspati , and coconut and dried fruit to be sprinkled on top.”

Nayagam makes the batter at home; she adds the egg and toppings just before the dish is baked. “I’ve been making this for 24 years,” she adds.Atlappamcan be had at any time of the day. “But it is not an everyday thing at home,” explains Nayagam. “We have to set up the oven and it has to be done outdoors because of the smoke.”

As the morning wears on, and more people stop by for a bite; Nayagam adds that there are two other people selling it in Kasimedu. “We sell only on Wednesdays and Sundays when there’s a good crowd,” she adds.

We walk on, munching on the spongy treat, merging with the crowd and the multitude of fish, we make a careful note of her location — the next time we want atlappam , we will have to come to Kasimedu — it’s not available anywhere else in the city.