To Clairify - Curry

This posting is for Momma Dolce.

Curry is a misunderstood food. The original word, kari means sauce and refers to a sauce that was poured over rice, lentils or any other food to give it a flavour. However, it was only a relish rather than the bulk of the dish. Also it was not hot and spicy. Chilis are now an integral part of the dish but did not appear in India until the 1500s when they were introduced by the Yanks.

During the era of the East India Company, the Europeans devised a forumla for the spice mixtures, and in 1889 at the Universal Paris Exhibition the composition of curry powder was fixed at

• 34g tamarind


• 44g onion


• 20g coriander


• 5g chili pepper


• 3g tumeric


• 2g cumin


• 3g fenugreek


• 2g pepper


• 2g mustard

However in India and in any home that makes curry the ingredients vary wildly (I omit the cumin as I don't like it much). Many people in India vary according to their regional customs, caste and spices available - just like the Italians do with their pastas and sauces. That is what makes curry great, it comes in so many different variations depending on the chef. I especially like the coconut versions.

I think a trip to the Amin household is in order!

Fico d'India

Some yummy prickly pears we had this past weekend. They were probably shipped in from Sicily so are a little faded and not as tasty as they would be if they came fresh from the plant-but still great.

They are a Sicilian favorite and are always around at parties and special occasions. The taste is very sweet depending on how ripe they are but many people find them hard to eat due to their texture and the difficulty to peel them without getting very fine needles in your fingers.

Their insides are not fleshly like a peach but are harder and full of seeds which need to be massaged around the mouth and swallowed whole. As a child, I would spit out each one (which took ages) but now I can savor the seeds and texture as part of the whole experience.

It is hard to explain the food experience - it is very unique, my only suggestion is to get one, be very careful peeling it and try it for yourself.

In Sicily they are called fico d’India or fichi d’India – depending on who is saying it, in which dialect and in which region of Sicily. Yes, it is that diverse from town to town.

In scientific terms Wikipedia tells us that prickly pears, also called Opuntia is a genus in the cactus family Cactaceae.

They have two kinds of spines; large, smooth, fixed spines and small, hairlike spines called glochids that easily penetrate skin and detach from the plant.

A true Sicilian can cut these without getting any needles in them. There are different ways to slice and dice these to avoid the needles but it is mostly done the way your father or grandfather cut it. Some people use dishwashing gloves, newspaper, brown paper bags and more… but they are usually laughed at.

Another interesting tidbit:
Charles Darwin was the first to note that these cacti have thigmotactic anthers. This means that as its anthers are touched they curl over, depositing their pollen. This movement can be seen by gently poking the anthers of an open Opuntia flower. Am going to try this next time I am in Sicily.

Cold Remedy
What is your cold remedy?
Do you feed your cold, starve it, give it a shot of vodka, or do you just eat comfort foods?

While in India we met some girls from the Czech Republic who had this moonshine concoction made from plums grown in their gardens which was a cure all. It tasted like absinthe and was super strong. They used it for travellers diarrhea, when they felt tired, when they felt good and whenever they were sick with colds and flu. Basically they swore by it for everything.

A lot of people are getting sick and am wondering what works, people swear by o.j. but the acid makes me sick thinking about drinking more than a glass. Send me your oddities of cold remedies. My grandmother would boil water and add bay leaves or some kind of funny smelling leaf -I think she called it 'dragomilla' it sounded scary like a dragon and didn't taste nice either.

Thought you would like the pic - when you pay for entry at various monuments in India they will keep your camera for 7 years in case you forget it there -so nice! My Czech friends and I enjoyed many of the entertaining signs in India - maybe we laughed too hard after our shot of this drink in the morning - it's supposed to be good for digestion too!

:)

Fichi d'IndiaFreshly picked, peeled and eaten right on the Puzzo farm. Prickly pears, opuntia or as the Sicilians call them fichi d'India are delicious. You must peel them carefully otherwise you get the spini (spines) from the cactus plant in your skin and it is painful (I got one stuck somehow). I ate about 4 of these in a row and thought that was my limit although I haven't had one since that sunny day and now wish I'd had more. I think they will be around at Christmas so looking forward to some imported ones. I also like the red ones as I like the way they stain your fingers and lips.

The best way to eat them is as is - freshly peeled - when they are chilled they give a fresh sensation to your mouth, along with all of the seeds. A must try.

Happy Diwali Or as my nephew says, Happy Dee-wally!
Deepika's Diwali party extravaganza was filled with fun, laughter, fireworks and Bollywood dancing in her living room.

Now it wasn't fireworks like her brother in law did last year in India, those are illegal in the UK and probably only used at Olympic ceremonies (they were enormous! And we set them off on a rooftop terrace with no bucket of water or anything to protect us if any of them went awry! He also thought as I was a guest, that I should be the one to light them with a teeny match - as you can imagine I gave him a big thanks but NO thanks) it was fireworks from the surrounding neighbors in St. Johns Wood. Perhaps Paul McCartney was having a little Diwali party in his garden...

The Indian food was also slightly unlike her mother's feast in Delhi... Mexican fajitas were served, she is into the Mexican fajita thing lately! She served Indian street mix (Bombay mix) in newspaper - as it is served in India, made the chick pea dish in the pic which she described as, 'chick peas with Indian stuff' and some Indian potato balls (not sure what they were called).

The cookies on the top of the tiered tray (see pic) are Indian sweets (but she didn't make those) she did bake the chocolate ones on the second tier which aren't Indian :)

It was a great Diwali celebration and I teased her all night about how great her mother's food was last year compared to her hybrid-Mexican-British-Indian one this year. But that's what friends are for right?

The wine was flowing, the Bollywood music going, Nab was putting beautiful bindi designs on our foreheads and there was a great mix of people so it didn't really matter in the end...
Happy Diwali and Happy New Year

;)

A Mamma Amma hug and an apple juice
Got back late last night from Alexandra Palace (you get great views of London from there) where I got a hug from Mamma Amma - the famous Hindu leader, lover, saint, woman of India, celebrity and more... (not sure what her proper description really is? she is likened to the Dalai Lama too). It was a long wait with chanting, meditation, music and speeches before the ultimate hug session starts. She does hug you into her bosom like the picture above and she is heavily perfumed with Jasmine so when she hugs you and murmurs sweet nothings into your ear (she said to me, 'my darling, my darling, my darling') all you can do is scrunch your face into some spot in her breast and inhale the jasmine and try to find enlightenment / enjoy it as much as possible as it is over in a few seconds. After our hug, she gave me a rose petal and a candy and her people quickly ushered me off so the next few thousand people behind us in the queue could get a big, warm, jasmine-scented embrace too.

No photographs were allowed so I couldn't take a picture of the vegetarian Indian meal being served in the restaurant, nor could I take pics of the freshly pressed and frothy, green apple juice that Andrea bought us. The juice break killed a few minutes of the long wait and was tangy, sour and refreshing in a nice Yogic kinda way. There had to be food relevance to this posting, non?

Get onto her site Amma.org to hear about all her charitable projects around the world, her next hug dates, her ashrams in India (Andrea's brother peeled potatoes there a few times in the past few years) and look at or purchase one of her many books that she has written. She is a truly powerful woman who is spreading love around the world one hug at a time. She has been honoured by the Nobel society, the UN and more so it is all very warm and fuzzy seeing her cherub like face smiling at you.

Every time I have a freshly squeezed green apple juice I will remember my hug with Mamma Amma!

Farewell India

Farewell snake charmers, crazy bus drivers, elephants, camels, smiling faces, spicy food, the busy city and drivers who are honk-a holics.

Back to England where all is a little more orderly and the assault on my senses is a little less. It was a great time and I will miss my lovely hosts the Gils and the Chawlas (below) Thx for a great time and a brief glimpse at life in India.
Mrs. Chawla taught me some Pranayama breathing exercises which help mind, body and soul to become focused, stronger, centered and to bring peace to mind and body.

Do this first thing in the morning...
Sit in a quiet place on the floor in the lotus position (legs crossed and arms resting gently on your knees)
1. Pranayan -breathe in deeply raising the chest and exhaling through the mouth -do this 10 times (Mrs . C does this like 100-but you can slowly build up to that)

2. Kaban Bhati - breathe in and out flexing the stomach for 5 min (or do as much as you can to start)

3. Anulome Vilome -I like this one - take a deep breath holding down one nostril then exhale holding the other nostril. All breath should be inhaled and released from the nostrils. This is good for balancing and bringing oxygen to the brain and for hormones.

4. Bhramari - hold your hands out flat-palms facing inwards, take the middle three fingers and cover your eyes with them, put your pinkys on your chin, and your pointer finger on your forehead, with your thumbs gently plug your ears and take deep breaths (100 reps = Mrs Chawla or 10+ for us beginners) this one is very good as you hear all the sounds your body makes.

5. Om -take a deep breath and do the OMmmmmmm sound as you exhale, feel the vibration in your mouth, tongue etc.. 10 times

http://www.amazon.ca/Light-Pranayama-B-K-S-Iyengar/dp/0824506863
You can buy the book that Mr. C got me from the master and learn more.

Then you are ready for your day with lots more oxygen and peace in the body. This doesn't relate to cooking or the cookbook but thought it would come in handy for any one experiencing stress...

Thx to my new Indian family for being so kind and loving. They are a true example of a loving family with their actions, words, life and passions - they work on some wonderful charity projects www.giveindia.org and a dispensary for poor people to give them access to medical attention that they would otherwise not have.


(pic of Mr. & Mrs. Chawla at his birthday dinner celebration at Punjabi by Nature restaurant)

Spicy in India

We didn't get to Kasa Gelato today in the market to scope out the ice cream but am sure it was spicy! Actually everything here is spicy, even our Chinese food dinner tonight was mouth burning, nostril cleansing hot! (except for the locals Mr & Mrs. Gill who ate it all without flinching)

Have seen some great sights like the Taj Mahal and the colorful city of Jaipur in Rajastan along with several others. All were stunning and filled with fascinating histories. India has such a wide variety of sights, smells and tastes -it can be overwhelming at times but it needs to be taken in quite quickly as there is so much happening all at once. The country is filled with many religions, the roads filled with many travelers (horses, donkeys, camels, cars, trucks, bikes, rickshaws, mopeds, scooters, old men walking across motorways at a slow pace, elephants, people, monkeys, dogs and more!) and the restaurants are filled with several types of food -Indian food from all areas; north, south and more and other foods that all seem to have an Indian twist.

I have tasted some great and v.interesting food but all very spicy enough to make a man's moustache curl!
Namaste...and Happy Divali for tomorrow.

Adventures of Food
As in the title of my blog, I speak of adventures of food. Well I am in India and the adventures have begun! Starting from Richard Branson's great idea to have food on flights to India half western (ham and cheese sandwich) and half Indian (a full Indian meal) which was tres spicy! Even my Indian travelling companion said the cauliflower was super spicy -thx Richard!

So far my Indian hosts have made me Italian pizza, and luckily they just returned from 2 weeks in Italy so they know that Italian food is not as spicy as theirs, samosas with a twist, a vegetarian kebab on the grill with tofu (yum) but also very spicy and that's it so far...will have a proper lunch today and let you know the scoop...(oh and they bought ice-cream and croissants for their guests-so nice) Indian hospitality is superb.
Namaste.

Hue, Vietnam
Now some countries may think we are horrible for eating cows (as they are sacred in India) but we may look at this pic and think it is equally horrible. It was taken by Trond who is in Vietnam, just one of the stops on his world tour, and yes it is a dog. I may take this pic down tomorrow as am not sure I can look at it for too long either.

Music & food don't mix
Dinner at the 1940s themed Pigalle Club for PM's bday. Food was nothing to write home about but the atmosphere and music was great. You feel like you have been transported back in time and the details from the decor to the staff's uniforms make you think Fred Astaire would soon come waltzing on the stage to perform. There is a great calendar of events ranging from burlesque shows to the house band performing.Miso and sesame tuna starterI had the lime and asparagus risotto with rocket, which had a strange taste/spice that I couldn't put my finger on. Why is rocket added to everything now? It used to be a weed that we were forced to eat as kids and now it is so cool and chic and found on top of everything from pizza to risotto. I forgot what we call it in Sicily -arugula? will have to ask Momma Dolce - it is just so sour!

And the Pigalle does not have side plates, which I always think is weird as when you are served bread and butter - where do you butter it, directly on the table? And if you want to put it down to have a sip of wine - do you put it on the table? That is what we had to do which I think is gross.

Some places can't do food and music well, case in point - went to Ronnie Scott's famous jazz bar in Soho the other night and Zeff who is a jazz freak said that you go to these places to ONLY enjoy the music, not the food. He said the only people that eat there are tourists or people who don't know that the food is sh*t. Music is the focus, which I guess could be said for the Pigalle, which is fair enough but give a diner somewhere to put their bread!
Rob just came back from a few weeks in India with some sickness that killed his taste buds so it was only Dan the Builder and PM who enjoyed their food. I ate when I got home.

Land of the Hot Dog

Back in T.O. which is the land of the hot dog stands or as my nephew calls out each time we pass one...'Haaaamburrrrgers... like papa makes!' in the cutest 2 yr old voice ever. Well these hot dog stands are everywhere and are a part of Toronto culture. I saw several people today at lunch grabbing a dog and then walking around on their lunch hour. We opted for an indoor establishment in Yorkville called Tony Bulonis, which was good but they serve portions that I am not used to -super size!

Coming from the smaller portions in India to the regular European sizes in London, Toronto now is going to be my winter fat accumulation time. This is where shopping for a big bulky sweater comes in then...

Anyhow, I will def have street meat (a veggie dog) soon from the street vendors perhaps even toinight. The pic is of Ernie the hot dog vendor who sold hot dogs for over 30years at Ryerson University in the same spot rain or shine, cold or scorching hot. I think someone from the business school did a business case on him and found out that he made over 100K a year!
Not bad for doing a job you love -they even did a mini musical on his life http://www.ryerson.ca/news/news/General_Public/20061004_hd.html as he was a fixture at Ryerson for all those years. He was a jolly smiling man each time you saw him. I wonder where he is today -maybe selling hot dogs in Florida...enjoying his retirement.

What are you thankful for?
Today is Canadian Thanksgiving and I will be hosting a dinner party at mine tonight. The question is do I try out some Sicilian recipes or do the traditional bird which everyone is expecting. I think I may do a mixture of both as there are some vegetarians coming so they will have to have pasta, non? Anyhow will let you know how it goes. Am going to India on Friday so there will be few posts posted, unless a) my lovely sister posts for me or b) I have net access at Shruti's house in Delhi. Not sure of either but stay tuned. Will post this week and tell you more about Sicily as it has been scant info so far. Above is a photo of one of my favorite foods, fennel. (pics from Pasquale's farm in Sicily) Now before it became popular with Jamie Oliver bbqing it and using it in all sorts of recipes http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/fennel-and-radish-salad-with-lemon-dressing it is normally eaten just freshly washed after dinner.

It has a celery-like texture and crunchiness and has a slight taste of sambuca and licorice. Look how beautiful it is when it grows, like a gentle and delicate grass (see pic).

From wikipedia's insight, fennel is considered to be a weed in the US and Australia (?!) It is one of the three main herbs used in the poisonous and highly drunkenness-inducing drink absinthe (do not ever have a shot on your birthday!), Indians often chew fennel seed (or saunf) as a mouth-freshener. Fennel is also used as a flavoring in some natural toothpastes. Some people employ it as a diuretic, while others use it to improve the milk supply of breastfeeding mothers.

This is the way to eat it Sicilian style:

-wash and slice into small pieces and use in a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and beans with olive oil, oregano and lemon/vinegar -or any fresh summer salad

-cut it into large chunks and put it in a roasting pan when roasting a chicken with potatoes and carrots on the side

or

-just wash and eat after dinner as a refreshing desert. (the most popular way!)

and call it by its Italian name -finocchio -just like Pinocchio with an f!

Well Happy Thanksgiving to those over the pond...for all others try and reflect today on all the things you are thankful for. Am sure you will see that they far outweigh the other minutiae of life that annoy you...

x

Request for Recipes!!

Since this is all about writing a cookbook, I have been asked if there are recipes on my blog? The answer is no, so far. But since I am going to be collecting recipes from family in Sicily, I will only get some recipes online in September. But in the meantime I think I will start a secondary mini project and that is of collecting recipes from my freinds who come from all ends of the planet. So to all my lovely friends around the globe please send me your recipes and I will post them on this site. Who knows maybe they will be in a seperate cookbook?!

(my sis and my fave brother-in-law with their home made pizza- yum, yum!)

So I will write a mini list of the people and countries that I hope to get recipes from:

• Rana -Lebanon
• Bun/Mads/Janet -New Zealand
• Nat/DL/JLo -Britain
• Jen -China
• Clara/Alex/Lara/Paolo /Susan/Anamaria/Juizy & all my Italian friends-Italy
• Johan-Sweden
• Hellen-Greece
• Kshama/Deepika - India
• Victor -Nigeria
• Julie -Croatia
• Mish/Bettina -Denmark
• Jono/Tanya -South Africa
• Barbara-Netherlands
• Alex/PGuy -Canada/Halifax
• Emilie -Canada/French-Canadian

and more...as you send them to me will post them!

x