India on My Platter (20 page)

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5 October/ Vishakhapatnam

I decided to drive east, to the coast of Andhra Pradesh, to Vishakhapatnam (also called Vizag for those of you who don’t enjoy spelling). Over a distance of 625 km from Hyderabad, one does have to go a little out of the way to reach here. For those of you who enjoyed the movie
Avatar,
you will be intrigued to learn that life-size models of the character Neytiri and her ‘Mountain Banshee’ have been built in the new Municipal Corporation park, to spread the message of preserving the environment. Vizag is famous for its different tourist destinations, be it caves, beaches, valleys, hills or lakes, the city has it all. Vishakhapatnam has also been recognised as a Global City of the Future. Being near to the harbour, I decided to discover the fish market early in the morning.

At 6:30 a.m. I arrived at the Vishakhapatnam fishing harbour where the fish market opens from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. On the way to the harbour, I saw a lot of wooden boats being built by hand. As the harbour came into view, my eyes took in the chaos, and the simile ‘like a fish market’ made a lot more sense. There were many boats docked along the harbour, and each boat owner had set up shop on the dock itself. They were unloading their fish straight onto their little makeshift tables and selling the fish fresh to the customers. It didn’t feel like six in the morning; it felt like the stock market at midday! Amidst all this I was feeling a little lost. I found Mr. Panda who would be my tour guide for the day, to talk to some of the fishermen and translate for me.

My first stop was at Shakti Babu’s boat. He was definitely an interesting man; his name had the addition ‘
babu
’ which meant he had an important role to play. I found out that he was the vice president of the fishermen’s union. He told me that the fishermen usually go out to sea for a period of 20-30 days and bring back all the catch. They carry ice for preserving the fish, oil for their boats, and food to survive for those days. Shakti Babu told me that they avoid exposing the fish to oil, food stuff and edible items to help preserve the fish till they reach the shore. There were about 500 boats in Vishakhapatnam and each could carry up to three tonnes of fish at a time. On an average, 30 tonnes of fresh fish was available everyday. River fish were sold separately on the roadsides in the city. I saw a few varieties of fish, the most popular of their catch being the Indian Mackerel, which is also sold in Kerala. I also saw shrimp, scampi, Bombay duck, and pomfret. By now, I was accustomed to the smell and chaos, and I began to notice the system in place and the order in which fish was being bought and sold. As a chef, it is very important for me to understand how to buy and select fresh fish. More so for lovers of seafood who live in landlocked places, like Delhi, a trip to the fish market is a must.

After an early morning start, Mr. Panda decided to show me a few historical sites and introduce me to the cultural heritage of Vishakhapatnam. First stop was Bhimli beach, believed to have originated in the third century. The first to land here were the Dutch, even before the British. The beach is named after the figure from Hindu mythology, Bheem, who is said have rested here. The entire coastline is speckled with historical elements like the Dutch cemetery, the Buddha statue and the lighthouse. The Bhimli Beach is where the Gaushthani river joins the Bay of Bengal. If your smartphone has the panorama camera function, then this is the best place to use it.

Not far from the beach is a temple that dates back 500 years. This temple is called Sri Sri Naukamakali, and holds an idol of Kali, that the local fishermen pray to. She is said to be the mother goddess of the 14 fishermen communities. They believe that she needs to be placated if anything bad happens at sea.

After a long morning I got ready to meet Mr. V.V.N. Subhramaniam, a partner at Vijayawada Ramaiah Andhra Vegetarian Meals at Daba Gardens. They had been serving Andhra meals for 24 years, purely vegetarian as the name suggested. For a mere sum of Rs. 100, you could eat 32 traditional Andhra items, including accompaniments and condiments. It was one of those places that always fascinates a chef. Why? For a place with such a high turnover rate with such a complex regional menu, this restaurant’s operation was smooth and well planned.

The restaurant was based on the
thali
concept; either steel or the traditional banana leaf, the choice was yours. At this point, even before I was served my food, my happiness had grown many times over. I noticed the blood red colour of the dishes that were served to me on my plantain leaf. This reflected the heavy use of spices in the food, very typical of Andhra Pradesh. I would describe the cuisine here as complex and multilayered, rather than subtle and simple like other parts of the country. The concept of Andhra
thalis
is popular all over the country, but experiencing it in the heart of the state was a great feeling. My favourite dish, among the many, was the
dal,
which had
gongura
leaves in it. The leaves are like wild spinach and are from the hibiscus family. They are slightly tangy and bitter.
Gongura
chutney is popular all over India. The North Indians like making
dal palak,
similar to
dal gongura
in Andhra. Another favourite was the
aratkaya,
a raw banana stir-fry. There were other authentic dishes like the
pacchadi,
the
mulgapodi masala, vada,
curd rice. I did count the 32 dishes that were on my plate and imagine my luck, Mr. Subhramaniam came up with another dish: tamarind or lemon rice, called
Pulihora,
in Telugu. The rice was not a simple dish, quite complex but easy to make. I proceeded to learn from Mr. Subhramanium. Extremely tangy and bursting with flavours this dish was made at every festival and auspicious occasion as an offering to God. I learnt here that even savoury items are served to the Gods!

P
ULIHORA

(Traditional sour rice preparation.)

Ingredients

Method

1.  Cook the soaked rice with apt amount of salt; add sesame oil to it and keep it aside. Mix mustard powder and turmeric powder with rice, with your hands or a spatula to ensure rice doesn’t break.

2.  Soak the tamarind in half-cup warm water for 30 minutes.

3.  Roast and coarsely grind the coriander seeds. Keep aside.

4.  Heat the sesame oil in a pan and let the mustard seeds splutter, add the black gram and split Bengal gram, grated ginger, peanuts, curry leaves, green chillies and red chillies. Once they turn golden brown in colour, add coriander seeds and tamarind water.

5.  Let it reduce for 10 minutes. Once this mix becomes a thick paste add this to the turmeric mustard rice. Mix gently with a spatula or spoon.

6.  Serve hot with
papad.

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After a long eventful day as usual, I couldn’t wait to get a good night’s sleep, to digest my food, and be ready for a new day and all the new food experiences that were yet to come.

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6 October / Vishakhapatnam

Mr. Panda, who very graciously showed me around Vishakhapatnam the previous day, was taking me to see his very own labour of love. He worked in a pickle company that gave employment to rural-based communities. Mr. Panda managed the daily operations. He took me to see the factory and the line of products being manufactured there. The company made spices and pickles, out of which the powder of Guntoor chillies was the most popular. Guntoor chillies are from the Guntoor district in Andhra Pradesh and are also known as Andhra chillies; very popular because of their deep red colour that they induce into the food, and their high capsaicin level. The capsaicin level describes the intensity, or the heat, of a chilly. No wonder Andhra food is really spicy. If you recall, the lunch I had the previous day featured a member of the hibiscus family. ‘
Gongura’
was also present today at the factory. Being processed into relish and pickle, the versatility of this leaf was amplified by its many medicinal properties.

Besides
gongura,
there were many lines of pickles being made, out of which the emu pickle caught my attention. Mr. Panda told me that it is a very popular condiment that has caught on recently with the Andhra public. At first, I felt a little strange, as I had never eaten emu before, and this was probably be one of the only times I ate it. He then told me how various ailments could be cured by eating this pickle. Maybe I will eat it again after all! Apart from the emu pickle, I saw tomato pickle and chutney, ginger-garlic paste, and a wide range of other preserves that were being made and packaged.

I really pushed my luck and managed to squeeze out the
Gongura
Chutney
recipe from them. So, if any of you manage to get your hands on some
gongura,
here is a recipe you can follow.

G
ONGURA
C
HUTNEY

(Red sorrel leaves dip.)

Ingredients

Method:

1.  Clean and chop the
gongura
leaves. Heat one tablespoon oil in a pan. Add the mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard starts spluttering, add black gram, split Bengal gram and coriander seeds.

2.  Sauté this mix until the grams are golden. Add garlic, green chillies and the chopped
gongura
leaves. In a few minutes the
gongura
leaves will be cooked. Switch off the flame and let it cool.

3.  Grind these ingredients while adding the tamarind pulp and salt to make a coarse paste. Take it out in a bowl. Heat half a tablespoon of oil in a pan to make tempering. Add one-fourth teaspoon of mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida. Add this tempering to the chutney.
Gongura
chutney is ready.

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I bid farewell to Mr. Panda and thanked him for being so kind. I had a long journey ahead of me from Vishakhapatnam to Bhubaneshwar. I said goodbye and got back on the road. It would be 12 a.m. before I reach my destination.

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7 October/ Bhubaneshwar

A new day. A new state. I was now in Odisha, originally known as Orissa, I was in the capital, Bhubaneshwar. Called the Temple City of India, Bhubaneshwar was home to more than 1000 temples, most of which were built in the Kalinga architectural style. The state was famous for many art forms, handicrafts, sand artistry, sculptures and the classical Odissi dance. Out of all these I found the dance form Odissi most fascinating. I am a bit of a dancer myself and I have a special admiration in my heart for classical dance forms. What I find fascinating is the get-up and the pre-preparation that goes into the Indian classical dance forms. One of the eight classical dance forms in India, Odissi, is among the oldest. I happened to meet a classical dancer, Mamta, who ran her own school, where she had been teaching for almost 33 years. She had been dancing since she was seven years old.

Mamta explained that it was difficult to follow one’s dreams when you were a classical dancer. She claimed that dedicating self to this art form and perfecting each movement took many years and the number of people who appreciated these classical dance forms were also dwindling. Being a classical dancer was not the most lucrative job she had, but the devotion to the dance form, and in turn, the devotion to God was rewarding. Odissi has evolved over the years. What separated this dance form from the others was the independent movement of the head, the chest and the pelvis. Much harder than it looks, this dance form is divided into five parts. The dance starts with a hymn invoking the God or Goddess. It then progresses into the dancers posing like sculptures, in tune to the music. From there, the dancers move into the actual dance form. I had the pleasure of watching a batch of Mamta’s students perform a short recital for me. The dance finishes with
moksha
(In Hinduism and Jainism, release from the cycle of rebirth impelled by the law of karma), which is when the dancers declare complete devotion to the Gods through their movements. After watching them, I understood what Mamta meant about hard work, determination and precision. The dance performance was beautiful and was an outcome of the many years the dancers had spent mastering each movement and pose.

After this cultural stop at Bhubaneshwar, I began the longest stretch of my journey—850 km from Bhubaneshwar to the central-most point of India, Nagpur. It would take me a day and a half to reach this city via Raipur.