Of flavours and Long forgotten Humble cooking methods!!

I am kind of a traditionalist when it comes to food. I dislike compromising on the authenticity of a dish simply just to make it more acceptable to the crowd. Be it any cuisine, it is more important for me that it is true to its origins rather than modified in any modern way possible.

These ideas of mine are usually reflected in the food I cook and the processes I use to cook them as well. Pasta cooked will usually be with authentic homemade pesto sauce rather than the store bought variant or the traditional Biryani will be cooked in “Dum” in a clay pot with the authentic spice mix as opposed to dunking in any spice I find handy.

This wasn’t always the case however. Just like everyone in their normal state of mind, I used to purchase bottled pesto, ready spice mix for something like Chole or Biryani, use short cuts to grind chutneys etc.

But in recent times, I suddenly started giving things a thought. Thinking logically about flavours and the effect on foods, I realised that all the traditional processes used by people in the earlier times for cooking – such as grinding, slow cooking, roasting, marinating etc. had a strong reason to it. These weren’t just random processes developed but used with careful thought for maximum flavour release of the ingredients.

With this thought, I set out to reset my cooking style with a “Back to basics” approach. Now, I know this may sound a bit extreme to many but come on, give it a thought. Scientifically, it all makes sense. Slow cooking or grinding spices fresh, or roasting – all of these contribute vastly to flavour release and maintaining them. The core spice combinations developed worked in pure synergy with each other and this worked to uplift the flavours of dishes. On a scientific level, it like molecular gastronomy. The individual constituents in all the spices or ingredients worked in a mutually beneficial association each other thus greatly uplifting the flavour of the dish.

With this newfound inspiration, I set out and my first experiment was the evergreen Indian “Chutney”. Now many would ask what is the big deal about chutney. It is usually a combination of coriander, green chillies, lemon, ginger and garlic. Some add other ingredients such as peanuts or coconut to add a new dimension to the flavour but that being said, it is a traditional Indian origin creation. The trick, my friends, lies in how it is made. The age-old tradition of making chutney was using a grinding stone or a “sil-batta” that has now been replaced with the electric blender or mixer.

The Sil-batta is a grinding stone that is used for grinding chutneys, dal (lentils) or anything to get a coarse paste. The stone was widely used in olden times for make chutneys, fresh spice mixes, batter for vadas (fried or steamed dumplings and more. Surprisingly, when I set out to hunt for this stone, it was one of the most difficult tasks. It seems the concept of grinding using a sil-batta is so outdated in current times as no store stocked it. When I did find it however, I paid almost thrice the amount for what one would have usually bought. The things one does for the love of food. 

Highly enthusiastic, I set out the following Sunday to make my first batch of Chutney using this wonderful creation. The exercise of grinding fresh green chutney on the sil-batta is a treat for the visual and olfactory senses and taste buds I would say.

The aromas released during the grinding process are heavenly. The earthiness of the coriander, the heat released by the garlic, the fresh citrusy notes of lemon, the herbal characters contributed by fresh mint and the punch given by garlic are something that cannot be experienced using the electric grinder. The olfactory senses seem to all get alive when you try and focus on each and every ingredient gradually releasing the aromas during the grinding process. 

Taste-wise, while it is true that the ingredients used will determine the flavours released – the different concentrations and their freshness, the flavours obtained by the traditional stone grinding process are incomparable to those using an electric blender.

Scientifically, Grinding helps release the volatile oils in the herbs and ingredients due to which the smell and taste factors are much more enhanced and pronounced. It is these oils that create the aromatic aura that liven by the senses.

While I admit it is a wonderful experience for the visual and olfactory senses, the exercise did test my arm muscles. However, the pain is worth having a bowl of beautiful freshly ground chutney that is robust in its flavour, colour and smell.

While everyone would have different takes on their chutney compositions, I have outlined a simple but abundant with flavour version of my chutney. Some people may like adding sugar to this blend but believe me, its best to have the ingredients shine in their natural flavour.

Spicy Coriander and Mint Chutney

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh coriander - leaves with stalks as the stalks are the main parts having the beautiful earthy flavour (it wouldn’t hut to grow some coriander on the window sill to be able to harvest it fresh whenever the need arises..Its pretty simple)

1 cup Fresh Mint leaves (Again, best when harvested from the window sill)

4-5 green chillies (the hot variety- believe me, it delivers the best flavour punch)

Juice of 1 large lemon

5-6 cloves freshly peeled garlic

Salt – just enough to enhance the taste (not drown the individual flavours)

                                             

Using the grinding stone, crush all the ingredients well except the lemon and salt. Add them at the end of the grinding process. A little sprinkling of water may be needed just to bring everything together as a paste but do not add more water (as one would normally do in a electric blender to make a smooth paste) to make a smooth paste. The whole idea is to have a rustic, a bit coarse blend to be able to experience the all the ingredients. Adding too much water will dilute the flavours and also, the chutney will blacken after a couple of days.  

Some versions also add freshly grated coconut to this mixture while others may add some roasted peanuts to add a nutty character but frankly, its best to have the fresh herbs speak for themselves in such a simple creation.

The above should give you one bowl of spicy Green chutney. 

  

While I do agree that the process may sound time consuming and tedious to some, its worth every bit of effort put into it. Many more variants of pastes, chutneys, dry spice mixes can be created using this humble tool.

Look forward to sharing more such traditional, high on flavour recipes in my further posts.

For the love of Vada Pav's..

Food is my first love. It is like a soul connection I have. Anything remotely related to food, be it eating, creation, designing, books etc. will find its way in my world.

I have been intrigued by the concept of food from the time I was a little kid. Both my parents are great cooks and I seem to have inherited their passion and innovativeness in cooking. My bookshelf is filled with books on various topics related to the culinary art and science ranging from cooking, to designing to scientific experiments in cooking. [My latest addition is the Molecular Gastronomy book by Heston Blumental].

Considering my love for food, I thought it apt to write my first blog addition related to the topic and specifically, one of my favorite dish “The Vada pav”.

Anyone living in Bombay would definitely be a fan of this simple snack. For the others unaware of this dish, its simply a bread coupled with a fried potato patty.

In simple terms, it is better known as the Indian or rather as I put it, the “ Mumbai” burger.

Of course, the composition isn’t that simple. There are the various additions ranging from coriander chutney or the fierce red chilli and garlic chutney or the tangy tamarind chutney. Every area, vendor will have his own version.

Don’t go looking for vadapav’s in swanky, high - end places. The best of the lot are available from street sellers who seem to have their own twists to making the vada [The potato patty], which even after a zillion attempts to replicate in your kitchen are pointless. 

On the price front, it is one of the cheapest foods available. With prices as low as Rs. 6 to 7 per Vada pav [Approx USD 15 cents], a simple man can easily afford 2 to 3 of this delicious snack and manage his one time meal in a city wherein, prices for all commodities are sky rocketing.

Every area in Bombay has a vada pav seller. But there are a few which stand out amongst the lot. I am sure many of the readers will have their own favorites and are welcome to contribute their findings, but here are my favorites in the city –

1.     1. Amulakh Amichand School [Matunga]:

The love for vada pav’s originated in my school. The canteen here serves the best vada pav’s till date along with spicy red garlic chutney. I always make it a point to get a couple of these when I get a chance of visiting the school. Plus the teachers feel happy as well when past students visit.

2. Prakash Hotel [At Shivaji Park, Next to Shiv Sena Bhavan]

A small typical Maharashtrian restaurant, been around for more than 40 years, it has been our recent discovery. This place serves only the vada with a finger licking peanut and coconut chutney. Of course, it is impossible to find this place without people at any time of the day, it is much easier to order a take away. The service is pretty quick and expect the delivery of your take away within 10- 15 minutes. Not to be missed here along with the Vada are the Misal, Sabudana vada, kothambir wadi and other delicacies.

2.     Near Standard Chartered bank, [At Fountain]:

The best of the lot, the vendor is a small street seller. The batch’s is freshly made all the time. The vada pav is accompanied with a fiery red chilli garlic chutney and green chilies. Of course, you would start gasping for water after one bite of the chutney sprinkled vada pav, but that is the fun part of it.  Falling en route from work to home, we usually stop by this seller in the evenings for a snack. Being regulars at this place, the person has become friendly and he always makes sure we get a piping hot batch of the vadas which are to die for.

There are a few others explored in Bombay, but the above 3 top my list in Bombay. The hunt is till on.

Just the other day, I read about a place that serves variants of vada pav with sauces like mint and mayo, schezuan sauce etc. I am waiting to get my hands on these are write up my views.

In other cities around Bombay, Lonavala has the best vada pav maker of all of the above. Next to A 1 Chikki and opposite Avion hotel, there is a small store managed by a Rajasthani person, which makes hot vada pavs, samosas and dal vada’s. But the best part here is the spicy chutney that the person makes fresh every morning. It is not the usual garlic chutney served. The chutney is made from spicy green chilies and ginger. Being regulars at this place, the storeowner has become good friends with us and shared with us the recipe of the chutney. We do make it at home, but of course, nothing can beat the chutney made by this guy. All attempts to make him open a shop in Bombay have been in vain.

Moving onto another city – Ahmedabad. I have been to one eatery in this city located in an area called “Vijay Char rasta” which serves a completely different take on the vada pav. The pav’s are smothered in butter and garlic chutney and roasted on a griddle. The vada is then stuffed and passed on to the customer. The flavor profile is awesome with the buttery flavor mingling with the spicy garlic and the potato mixture.  They consider this a rich man’s vada pav. There is also a variant in this eatery called the “ Bombay vada pav”. On inquiring the difference, I was told that this was without any butter – just a plaing vada and pav. Well, so much for the origin of the vada pav.

All areas have their own takes of this simple snack. In basic terms, it is nothing but a bread with a potato patty, but I guess “ simple can be really complex” at times, with so many different variants and flavors possible.

It is possible to make this dish at home without any effort but again, the fun lies in buying it from a street corner and tucking it in along with a bottle of cold drink in the company of a few good friends.

The hunt of more vada pav innovation continues…