Meal 64. Bengaluru (Bangalore - South Indian) masala dosa, sambar & potato palya

Consummate foodie Shyam

 Shyam, my host tonight, has convincingly argued that it is completely reasonable to have more than one Indian meal for this blog, as the huge country has significant regional variations. He does not need to twist my arm too much, as the Bengaluru masala dosas he promises sound delicious, and many other have said the same before.

Though I have eaten in dozens of Indian restaurants all over the world, I have only seen (and eaten) the characteristic dosa (a fermented pancake) in one. This was in 2007, in the Wimbledon neighbourhood of London, not only known for its tennis but also for the great selection of South Indian restaurants. Not coincidentally, this was also the only Indian restaurant I was ever taken to by a (South) Indian friend.

Dosa, a thick pancake made with rice and lentil flour, is a shining representative of this region. You would not find it in North Indian cooking like the Bihari feast that was prepared for this blog by the lovely Anjana many years ago.

Funnily enough, I did recently watch a whole YouTube video of dosa being prepared by Mindy Kaling and Kamala Harris, who are both of South Indian descent. Shyam knows exactly what I am talking about when I mention the video. However, Mindy Kaling has taken a bit of shortcut for convenience, buying ready made dosa batter. Shyam has prepared his 48 hours in advance, so that is has had a chance to ferment properly in the cold German climate. Any self respecting Bengaluru family will have a batch of dosa or idli (similar but with less rice) batter on standby. 

Dosa batter, fermented for 48 hours

The batter (at left) is made with one part dal (lentils) and three parts dosa rice. When I mention that this seems to be a dish that I would not be confident making myself at home, Shyam persuasively manages to pull me back in by telling me about a shop right around the corner from where I live, TS Foods, which sells ready made batter. He also recommends their freshly made samosas (as do a few of their 800 Google reviews!).

South Indian Kodubale snacks

Shyam is a real foodie, who learned how to cook from his father, who often makes the family meals, as well as from his mother. However, he has mainly had to put this skill to use after moving abroad, having lived in Singapore, Plymouth and Manchester (UK) before moving to Berlin. He studied Business Management in Plymouth and has fond memories of cooking for his fellow international students. He has less fond memories of venturing into town and hearing mutterings at least once of week of "go back where you came from" or "brown bastard"...and being told by fellow students not to venture out alone after dark to avoid agression from (drunk) Plymothians. I am genuinely shocked by such a high frequency of overt racism. Shyam does offer, as a kind of reassurance, that this type of behaviour was almost absent in Manchester and London. We discuss how the same people who felt the need to spout abuse at him might also regularly enjoy a curry (now apparently Britain's most favourite dish). Though food does open doors to new cultures, it does not always open them very wide. 

Dosa in crêpe pan, with dal and potato palya

The dish I am having tonight consists of four elements. The thick dosa pancake itself is spread with two different sauces, one with a lentil base, the other with a potato base (the palya), then folded double and dipped into an aubergine and courgette stew (the sambar). These are enhanced by a selection of the typical South Indian flavours: cumin, chilli powder plus dried whole chillies, garam masala, asafoetida, mustard seeds, fenugreek, ginger, garlic, turmeric, curry leaves, coconut, and tamarind paste. Shyam has kindly dialed down the chilli content somewhat. He has learned from his mistake after a friend tried a truly genuine Bengaluru meal and almost passed out. Bengaluru is the less familiar (to me) spelling of Bangalore, but much closer to how the name of the city is actually pronounced. However, this spelling was only officially implemented relatively recently, locally in 2006 and nationally in 2014. It is similar to Bombay now being spelled Mumbai. I joke that the huge Indian film industry, Bollywood, was never renamed Mollywood to reflect this change, and share my recent 'discovery' with Shyam that a third of the global top YouTube channels are Bollywood companies. Of course, this makes some sense with India having more than a billion inhabitants, and the government not blocking YouTube like in China! 

Shyam in now studying Internation Marketing, and I take advantage of this background to ask him what he thinks of the controversial but sadly commonplace marketing of lightening skin creams in India by international brands like Unilever and L'Oreal. He agrees that the source of the problem is the widespread 'colourism' within India, with a strong preference for 'fair' skin tones. However, the huge budgets that go into tv, print and billboard advertising by conglomerates clearly exacerbates existing prejudices. He shares the news that only last year the Indian government has moved to ban these type of commercials. Unilever has already made a small step recently by renaming their top Indian skin care brand from 'Fair and Lovely' to 'Glow and Lovely,' and removing the so-called 'shade card' from their advertising. However, 'fairness' is still highly valued in marriage partners, as was also recently highlighted by the popular Netflix reality series 'Indian Matchmaking'...a guilty pleasure in which both Shyam and I have indulged.

The main meal - folded dosa with filling, to be dipped in the bowl of sambar

After two dosas I am stuffed. They are very filling, though it might not have helped that I snacked on the appropriately regional Kodubale snacks while Shyam was preparing the main meal. He is touchingly evangelical about his region's kitchen, making sure I take home some extra sambar in a tupperware container. As I am putting on my coat, he even presents me with two special culinary presents to help me have some authentic South Indian breakfast at home; directly imported by him from Bengaluru, and not even available for sale at TS Foods!

 

Meal 63. Ukrainian varenyky

 I'm quite excited to have another meal for my blog after an extended hiatus (due to working in an isolated
rainforest location). My charming host is Dima, who grew up and still lives in a small town 30 km from Kiev/Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. I have been told weeks ago (by the friend who introduced me to Dima) that the country is now referred to simply as Ukraine and not the Ukraine (since independence in 1991). I find it surprisingly difficult to remember. You can imagine there are many occasions to practice this evening! It is reassuring to find out that even Obama has slipped up a few times in the past. Though using the pre-independence 'the' can be politically sensitive, Dima kindly never corrects me...because he knows I am aware of the issue, and he prefers not to interrupt!

During the preparation of the varenyky, which is quite a lenghty process, we do get into some historical and political issues, including the gruesome Holodomor, a mass famine which killed millions of Ukrainians in 1932-33. I only had a very vague knowlege of this when Dima mentioned it, but will not forget it again soon. Especially after hearing Dima's grandmother could recount stories of a neighbour so crazed by hunger that he killed and ate several children in the village. Turning to cannibalism actually was widespread during this year of terror, incredible as it may seem. The Soviet central government was the direct cause of the famine, setting unrealistic quotas for the kolkhozes (communal farms) and enforcing them brutally. It is not hard to imagine anti-Russian sentiments linger, compounded again and again by more recent events.

I actually have ancestors from Ukraine myself. My Jewish-American grandmother's parents both grew up there (in Zhitomir, then 35% Jewish) but came to the US in the 1910s, long before the Holodomor. They left Ukraine due to the unpleasant atmosphere for Jews in those days. We still have photos of my great-grandfather Jacob painting pottery in a Ukrainian workshop. Apart from pottery skills, he and his wife also brought a love of the local cuisine with them, which was passed to their daughter who then taught my father how to cook. Unsurprisingly, his 'Jewish-American' meal for this blog actually features dishes which are all familiar to Dima. Though I love borsht, I am quite happy not to have a repeat of it; apart from my dad's version, it has also been featured in the Belarusian and Lithuanian entries already!

Lucky for me, Dima has chosen for the labour intensive varenyky dumplings. He has prepared the dough (flour, water, egg and a tiny bit of oil) in advance, to let it 'rest' for a bit. As quite a few other hosts for this blog, he has called his mother beforehand to check a few details to make it truly authentic. She has advised him that the consistency of the dough should be supple; "it should feel like your earlobe between your fingers!" I love this description. 

For this version, we have two different fillings: diced chicken and mushrooms, both fried up with onions.

The shaped dumplings ready to be boiled

Ideally, the mushrooms would be wild ones, collected in the woods, but due to matters of convenience, Dima has opted for storebought chestnut mushrooms. Once the filling is prepped, the dough is rolled out and circles are formed with a glass. A spoonful of chicken or mushroom mix is dropped in the middle and the sides are simply squeezed together to shut firmly. I help out and my first attempt looks like a malformed triceratops (you might be able to spot it in the photo at the right). Thankfully progress is quick, and my subsequent efforts are deemed acceptable. 

The dumplings are boiled for a few minutes, then fried up in butter, and served with lashings of sour cream and crispy fried garlic. Dima proudly sends a quick pic of the final results to his mom, and within seconds receives the joking reply:"And it only took you five hours!" We share a laugh and quickly dig in before the varenyky get cold. Very hearty, and true comfort food. Having seen that the amount of work involved is intimidating, I might try to get some frozen ones to create an easier approximation at home. Dima has done this often as well, though the taste is obviously not quite as good. The one thing you definitely cannot skimp on is the amount of sour cream, an important element of Ukrainian cuisine in general and crucial for the success of this dish!

The boiled and fried dumplins with crispy garlic, sour cream and a side salad.