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Mmmmm mangosteens! In Bangkok
When you travel a lot, little extras in places you rest your weary head start to make a difference. Like a luscious exotic fruit plate.
What is even nicer is when there is a little help to navigate the delicacies offered… like this hotel from a stay in Bangkok in 2013 that had a menu card with explanation, how to eat and what you could expect trying the fruit.
The SukhoThai’s fruit plate
Me? I sooooo knew what I was diving into! From that tempting bowl, I went straight for the mangosteens.
Mangosteens have been a favourite since I first strolled with a friend in Singapore through a market in China Town. She made me buy a full bag – warning me that I would never be able to stop with just one.
She was completely right!
That sweet, tangy, juicy oh so yummy fruit… I’m craving it right now just looking at these photos, imagining that plump white pulp bursting into flavour in my mouth.
Mangosteen demolished
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Aakash Odedra – Rising in Mumbai
Living with an actor means our lives are full of lots theatre, music but less of dance. Growing up in Winnipeg we had the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers… where I studied as a child. I love watching the art form and when there is someone truly talented taking to the stage, you can be completely transported.
While there are opportunities to see traditional forms of Indian dance, and Bollywood aplenty, the kind of modern dance I knew growing up rarely makes it to these shores.
Thanks to British Council, Sunday changed that. My friends and I reached St Andrews and wondered what we were about to get in to… the entire auditorium foyer was running amok with students from local dance schools. It felt like we were about to step into an amateur school show.
We were wrong. Completely wrong.
Held as a tribute performance for Aakash Odedra’s two dance guru’s, the show had four pieces – each unique, each remarkable in a distinctive way. (more…)
Big B in Bandra
India’s greatest superstar of all time remains the “Big B.”
For those who never heard of Bollywood (is that possible?), Amitabh Bachchan, is the ‘angry young man’ who took Hindi films by storm in the 1970s and 80s. Who made “Kaun Banega Crorepati” (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?) the ONLY show you heard blaring from every single home, with streets deserted so all and sundry could be glued to the TV set. Who remains film royalty even in his 70s.
Part of the Bollywood Art Project, this image can be found strolling along the bi-lanes of Bandra.
Other Sunday Snaps:
“When is duck not duck?” In Bombay
So… when is duck not duck?
It could be a fish if you live in Mumbai!
I first had ‘Bombay Duck‘ in New York when visiting a Parsi friend from Mumbai. It was masala dried – stinky, chewy, very different but also quite good.
Then I moved to Bombay and discovered fresh bombil, deep-fried is beyond yum! If ever asked what goes superbly with a chilled beer? The answer is ‘Bombil Fry‘ aka ‘Bombay Duck.’
When a duck ain’t a duck
Bombil is actually a lizardfish… uh yeah… this duck is now actually a lizard? What is it with the misleading names and this fish?
It is rather popular with folks from Maharashtra… and the dried form is privately ‘smuggled’ across borders – hence my tasting contraband ‘Bombay Duck’ in New York back in the early 90s.
Any food in your ‘hood’ with a misleading name?
I’ve also come across :
- 水煮鱼 aka Shanghai “water boiled fish” that is actually drowning in oil!
- Or “prairie oysters” that are… ahem… fried baby bull balls
Other Sunday Snaps:
Punjabi khaana in Delhi!
When traveling, a gal has got to eat! In 2015, I had several trips to Delhi. Normally I keep it a quick ‘grab and go’ kinda meal unless it is a sit down business lunch or dinner.
However during my December trip, with the chill in the air and a little time on my hands between meetings I had a ‘proper’ sit down Punjabi lunch with chole (chickpeas), laccha parantha, pickles and salad. It was simple and completely satisfying!
Punjabi lunch
Now I’ve ordered hot chole bhatura from a local dhaba in Bandra and have even been known to make it at home from time to time… however it is just not the same as the spicy tangy incredibly delicious version most joints make in Delhi.
There are lots of other amazing Punjabi dishes… any other favourites out there? Ones that are simply not quite the same outside of either someone’s home or a particular location?
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Toasted roasted ‘go to’ green beans
Most of us have ‘go to’ recipes… something quick and delicious that you can make on an instance without even thinking.
This one is so crazy simple, you can literally make it in minutes. Makes a great side dish, cold you can jazz up any salad throwing some of these green beans in too!
And today, I mixed it up a little substituting one ingredient – super yum!
Interested?
Everyday French Beans
Here goes:
- Green beans, sliced roughly in 3 inch bits – can parboil first but not required
Then in a non-stick pan
- Heat a dollop of oil on high
- Drop in 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin seeds, yellow or brown mustard seeds and sesame or sunflower seeds
- They should start to pop and sizzle almost immediately
- Thrown in the green beans
- Then a dash of salt and cayenne pepper
- Just keep tossing around for a few minutes until everything gets nice and toasty – it is best when the green beans get a bit ‘singed’ to bring out a roasted flavour
Today I substituted sunflower for sesame seeds – wow! Will definitely do a repeat of that… maybe experiment with other seeds too…
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Confessions of a recovering academic
Once upon a time I flirted with becoming an academic. Perhaps a serious affair is a better way to describe it… but after a decade I had commitment issues.
Sure I loved teaching, I could even handle the hours of meticulously marking papers, gobbling up thick heavy tomes? No problem! Regurgitating papers and essays? Well… I would start by procrastinating then spew out content – sometimes with passion and sometimes merely intellectual curiosity.
You need to understand, the University of Manitoba (U of M) environment was where I grew up. I was a professor’s brat which meant the University was where I went to nursery school, where I learned to swim, where we went each summer to Mini University for ‘camp’, where I used to hop a bus from school to attend piano lessons… in short it was always home.
Photo: UManitoba.ca
“It’s the coconut man!” in Delhi
One of the delights about living in Asia is access to an array of fresh food. Pure and unadulterated.
In Canada if you want coconut water? You get it from a can or a drink box imported from Asia.
In India, if you want coconut water? The coconut man brings it fresh to your door.
You can sip it with a straw or even have it in a glass if you prefer (why?).
He’ll then ask if you want the ‘meat’ and proceed to take part of the coconut shell to scoop out and roughly chop all that good stuff so it is easy to eat as is or store to have later.
Practically everything from the coconut can be used.
Related posts:
Karwari khaana
It is hard not to be a bit of a foodie in India – there is such amazing choice and range of flavours, cooking styles and combinations.
The passion and pride folks have in ‘their‘ cuisine is unmistakable!
The danger of hanging out with true foodies is that as you are enjoying one meal, plans are afoot for the next!
No surprise then that a brunch of Karwari cuisine was born out of conversations at an earlier meal.
For those not familiar with the region or its cuisines, ‘Karwar‘ is a coastal area in Karnataka, just south from Goa. A distinctive element is that though predominantly Hindu, even brahmins eat seafood and meat.
Linguistically, most speak Konkani like Goans though the official language is Kannada yet there are also strong Marathi and Hindi influences too.
As you would expect from coastal cuisine, seafood is king! Also you won’t find wheat rotis here. Instead rice is the staple starch. Plus generous reliance on coconut (including the oil for cooking) and spicy masalas.
Karwari Khanna
- Mutton sukke – a dry mutton curry
- Chicken sagoti (like Goan xacuti but without vinegar) – cooked in coconut gravy with ‘sagoti’ masala
- Prawn gassi – another coconut dish
- Batata song – surprisingly simple and amazingly delicious potato with red chillies
- Usal watana – peas with cashew
- Dali toi – yum daal made with chilies, ginger, asafoetida
- Bhakri – a kind of steamed ‘chapati’ made with rice flour, great for sopping up gravy
- Bhinda kadi – a refreshing kokum drink
Trust me… I’m now ravinous just writing about it.
Any community cuisine that captured your culinary fancy recently?
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Fringes of fame aka star selfie ‘autograph’
A few months ago on my trip back from Kolkata, I was sitting in the lounge hunkered over my laptop furiously dashing off a few ideas and responding to emails… I heard the dulcet tones of a vaguely familiar voice however ignored, absorbed instead with processing the packed three days spent with my client and team.
As I boarded, our eyes met and she exclaimed “Hey! I know you!” Even I took a second to make the connect via mutual friends’ of my partner… Sweetly she commented “Such a different context! So sorry I didn’t recognise you earlier!”
Honestly, I looked quite different from when we last met and while we certainly socially connected several times, we don’t really know each other so well. Both of us can be forgiven for not immediately recognising.
But here is the kicker – there are a lot of people out there that think they know her.
As I walked out of the airport, there was a full bank of paparazzi. Egads?! Was that for her? Could that be possible??
And it struck me how we’ve always met within the closed ranks of an ‘inner circle’ of our mutual friends’ homes, in relaxed known environments where you can simply be yourself.
Paparazzi at the Flash Point book launch
I’m lucky. My partner is known but primarily within certain circles and environments. He has a chameleon like quality… many roles he does are so completely contrasting that recognition doesn’t get in the way of every day life.
Not so for some folks we know. With a few, I’ve learned to pick certain restaurants or places to meet where there will be less of the “Sir! Can I just have a photo with you?” In most cases, socialising happens either in homes or closed events.
Because selfies with someone famous is the new ‘autograph’. And I’ve unfortunately witnessed the mobbing that can take place with demands for brushes with fame.
Saif Ali Khan + Carissa Hickling, circa 2004
So do I fall prey to this malady? Generally no… at least not with folks I genuinely know.
However, don’t laugh, I will confess to one ‘star pose’ taken more than a decade ago when we both were dashing late for the Mumbai – Delhi flight, sharing the bus across the tarmac together…. Emboldened by the fact I knew folks that worked in New York and India on his recent (then) hit film (Kal Ho Naa Ho), asked for a pic together. My little annoying ‘fan’ moment was never to be revisited. I assumed.
Except a funny little thing happened a couple months back. We met again… He was chatting with my partner as they were in a film together and we spent a most enjoyable evening at the opening of the Prithvi Festival. This time, I took the photo and spared us both a repeat of a star-struck selfie!
Lilette, Denzil & Saif at the 2015 Prithvi Festival
Clearly this isn’t just an Indian phenomenon. When Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister of Canada, all over Facebook popped pics with the new PM to the extent that it seemed that practically everyone I know in Canada has ‘met’ him!
What do you think? Is the ‘star selfie’ the new ‘autograph’?
Related posts:
Everyday Asia 