Street wise meals
India is the world’s largest democracy and the economy is growing at a rate of 9% a year.
In the 12 months since my last visit, the change is palpable. The number of new cars on the roads is increasing at a rate of 20,000 a day. In large cities like Mumbai and Delhi flyovers are being built at a frantic rate, but the traffic is fast becoming unbearable. Everywhere the roads are being dug up to make way for high tensile cables and there are acres of glitzy malls under construction.
Tuc tuc’s and rickshaws are being eased out of city centres, they don’t fit in with the new cosmopolitan image that these cities are so anxious to portray. Needless to say, I don’t go to India to visit the latest Mac Donalds or KFC. They are all there and many more besides, desperate to get a piece of the action in this fast-growing economy. I’m looking for the quintessential Indian experience.
Tourist numbers are also at an all time high but sadly many travellers never get a real taste of India; scared by the prospect of a bout of ‘Delhi Belly’ they steer well away from street food and rarely venture into the roadside dhabas where I’ve had some of my most delicious and inexpensive bites. This is simple food by Indian standards and challenging by Western hygiene standards but most is freshly prepared from food brought in the morning market. It is cooked as you wait.
The Indians love to snack, some poorer families don’t have any kitchens, few rural families have ovens. So all cooking is done over wood fires or with dried cow pats. In villages, towns and cities breakfast, lunch and evening meals come from street stalls.
Hard core foodies who want to enhance their Indian gastronomic experience need to develop a sixth sense survival strategy. First observe the stall quietly, not quite so easy when you are conspicuously white and foreign. As ever, its best to gravitate towards the busier stalls. If locals are already queuing up it’s likely to be the best choice in the area. Ask for the food to be cooked in front of you, rather than accepting an item that was cooked earlier. Much of Indian food is vegetarian. If it contains meat it will be referred to as non veg, Chicken or mutton (meaning goat) are the most usual meats. In some areas close to the sea, local fish can be very good.
As far as street foods are concerned, Calcutta or Kalcota as it is now known, was the most vibrant and varied. We headed for the office area near Dalhousie Square just before noon when the government clerks emerge.
All the ‘mise-en-place’ is done, bread dough made, vegetables chopped, pickles and chutneys at the ready. Big pots of mutton and chicken biryani are steaming hot ready to serve.
Other stalls are piled high with the ingredients for an ‘egg toast’ with chopped onion, green chilli, fresh coriander added to the beaten egg. It is fried in a little sizzling oil on a hot tava, then cut into quarters, sprinkled with pepper and coarse salt — how delicious!
The skill and speed at which they work is astounding.
Other stalls are piled high with flaky triangular Shingaras (Bengali savoury samosas) and moghlai parathas, stuffed with mince.
Cauliflower is in season so yet another has crispy little cauliflower fritters which have been dipped in a gram (chickpea flour) batter, laced with chilli powder and turmeric — so moreish. Many of the foods are served in little leaf baskets on banana leaves or in recycled newspaper bags.
There was much, much more.
Juice Wallahs have their stalls piled high with watermelons, pineapples, pomegranates and mangos. Tea shops making sweet chai and spicy marsala chai do a roaring trade.
Indians have an incredibly sweet tooth, several other stalls provide a variety of sweet meats such as Jalebas and the famous Rosagulla made from casein.
Sadly while we were there the Times of India reported that the Indian government plans to ban street food in Delhi. This may be the beginning of the end for this kind of food which provides a livelihood and inexpensive nutritious food for literally millions of Indians of every class and creed every day.
Here are a few examples of some of the street foods I enjoyed.
FROM India’s Vegetarian Cooking by Monisha Bharadwaj
Serves 4 (makes 12 samosas)
Samosas are very popular all over the world and can be served as a snack, a main meal or a picnic treat. In India they are served with tomato ketchup, sweet and sour tamarind chutney or a spicy mint relish. The potatoes in this recipe need to be cut up finely, almost the size of a fingernail. They should retain their shape but melt in the mouth. Although they are traditionally deep-fried, Monisha bakes hers.
2 tbsp sunflower oil
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
300g potatoes, peeled, cut into small cubes, boiled and drained
150g frozen green peas, cooked and drained
Salt
500g frozen ready-to-use filo pastry
Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan and fry the cumin seeds until they turn dark, for a few seconds. Reduce the heat.
Add the spice powders and stir in the potatoes at once as the spice powders will scorch easily. Add the peas and salt and cook until well blended, for a couple of minutes.
Line a baking tray with tinfoil and preheat the oven to 220C/gas 6.
Lay a sheet of pastry on a flat surface. Fill with a bit of the potato and pea mixture. Fold the pastry to make a triangle and continue similarly for the rest of the filling. (Folding technique: lift the top centre corner and fold over the filling to be in line with the bottom edge, making a triangle shape. Now lift the right bottom corner over to the top and then the top left down again. Carry on until you have a triangular parcel).
Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, turning over once to cook both sides.
Serve hot.
FROM India’s Vegetarian Cooking by Monisha Bharadwaj published by Kyle Cathie
Serves 4
150g flour
½ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp ajowan seeds
Salt
Sunflower oil for deep-frying
300g cauliflower, cut into medium-sized florettes
Make a thick batter of all the ingredients to the consistency of a thick custard.
Heat the oil in a deep kadhai or frying pan until it is nearly smoking.
Dip each cauliflower florette in the batter and gently add to the hot oil. Reduce the heat to allow the cauliflower to cook through. Do this in batches, a few at a time, frying until golden, then drain on absorbent paper.
Serve hot with Pineapple Chutney or tomato ketchup.
250ml (9fl oz) full fat milk
2-3 cardamom pods
2.5cm (1 inch) piece of cinnamon
3 peppercorns
3 tsp loose tea leaves
500ml (18fl oz) boiling water
Sugar
PUT all the ingredients except the tea leaves and the sugar into a saucepan, bring slowly to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes. Bring back to the boil, add the tea leaves, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer for 1-2 mins. Turn off the heat and allow the leaves to settle. Serve in tea cups.
Serves 4-6
1 thin aubergine cut into 3 inch (5mm) slices
1 tsp salt
2 medium courgettes, cut into 1 inch (2.5cm) slices, if they are very large cut into quarters
12 cauliflower florets
6 large mushrooms, cut in half
6 ozs (170g) chick pea or all-purpose flour
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 scant tsp salt
2 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
6-8 fl ozs (175-250ml) iced water
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Garnish: Lemon wedges and coriander or parsley
Put the aubergine slices into a colander, sprinkle with the salt, and let drain while preparing the other vegetables.
Blanch the courgettes and cauliflower florets separately in boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain, refresh under cold water, and dry well. Rinse the aubergine slices and pat dry.
Put the flour, coriander, salt and curry powder into a large bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil, lemon juice and water until the batter is the consistency of thick cream.
Heat good quality oil to 180C in a deep fryer. Lightly whisk the batter and dip the vegetables in batches of 5 or 6, slip them carefully into the hot oil. Fry the pakoras for 2-3 minutes on each side, turning them with a slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in a moderate oven (uncovered) while you cook the remainder. Allow the oil to come back to 180C between batches. When all the vegetable fritters are ready, garnish with lemon wedges and fresh or deep fried coriander or parsley. Serve at once with Mango relish.
2 fl ozs (50ml) medium sherry
2 fl ozs (50ml) water
2 fl ozs (50ml) white wine vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 star anise
2 tsp salt
Pinch of ground mace
1 mango, peeled and diced
1 small red pepper, seeded and diced
1 tbsp lemon juice
Put the sherry, water, vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, star anise, salt and mace into a small, heavy bottomed saucepan.
Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the mango, pepper, and lemon juice, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes more.
Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
Spoon into a screw top jar and refrigerate until required.
Serves 4
4 thickish slices of good white bread
3 — 4 free range eggs
1 green chilli chopped
4 tablespoons of freshly chopped coriander
1 small onion chopped
Rock or sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
First lightly toast the bread (in Calcutta it was chargrilled over charcoal). Whisk the eggs in a flattish dish; add salt, finely chopped onion, green chilli and coriander.
Dip one slice of bread into the egg, turn over to make sure it is saturated on both sides. Slap it onto a hot pan with a little sizzling oil. Cook until crispy on both sides. Cut in quarters, sprinkle with rock salt and serve.
THE launch of the Diversity Awards 2007 will take place on Monday, March 22, at the Stephen’s Green Hibernian Club.
Funded by the Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform, under the National Action Plan Against Racism (NPAR), the mission of the Diversity Awards is to recognise and celebrate the initiatives, policies and practices taken by companies and individuals who embrace diversity within the Irish Hospitality and Tourism Industry.
For more information email Helen at info@ihi.ie http://www.thediversityawards.com/
The Burrenbeo Resource Centre and Cafe Beo in Kinvara, Co Galway is now open, Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm daily.
It features a stunning collection of photographic images of the Burren’s rich heritage, multilingual fact sheets and other free Burren information.
Diploma in Speciality Food Production at University College Cork runs from April 2 to May 16, 2007. This course is for those starting a speciality food business and also for anyone else involved in this sector.
For details contact Mary McCarthy Buckley, Food Industry Training Unit, University College Cork. Tel 021-4903363 email:m.mccarthybuckley@ucc.ie
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