My Sanjeevanam Experience April 23, 2008

During my recent trip to India, I discovered this restaurant  (a family friend took us for lunch) in Chennai called “Cholayil Sanjeevanam”. The food in Sanjeevanam is cooked by the Ayurvedic principles. The meal we had was the Rajakeeyam Lunch which is a satvic meal “eaten in an organized manner as the nutrients of fruits and vegetables should be absorbed by the system prior to the grains.” (Source: Cholayil Sanjeevanam placard placed on every table detailing the order in which the meal is served and should be eaten). After you are seated and fresh banana leaves (that serve as plates on which we eat) are placed in front of you, in true south Indian style, the waiter brings you a plate with slices of ripe banana with grated coconut. I do not like banana and never even touch it…but to maintain the integrity of the experience, I gulped mine down and hoped the next rounds would be different. Next came 5 little glasses (shot glasses) of juices to be consumed in the following specific order:

1. Date Juice- which is rich in minerals
2. Nuts Milk- which is rich in fatty acids
3. Vegetable Clear soup- which acts as an appetizer
4. Harita Buttermilk- which is buttermilk with cilantro (ground coriander leaves). This is a coolant.
5. Bran Rice Water- which is rich in Vitamin - B complex

Next, we’re served sweet red aval, and a row of uncooked vegetables ( a yogurt-coconut plantain stem salad and a mixed vegetable salad with beets & carrots in a tangy lemon dressing). Then came a row of semi- cooked vegetables (runner beans mezhukuvaratti was one of them), followed by a row of fully cooked vegetable dishes. By this time, we were beginning to fill up..thats when the rice was served- Red Rice (rich in Vitamin B-Complex, fiber,thiamin, riboflavin and niacin)…the cooked grains are thick and pink in color and have a wonderful nutty flavor to them. The rice is served with dal, sambar, morkozhambu, rasam and mor (buttermilk). Desert is penultimate- it was jaggery coconut milk payasam (what we call pradhaman in kerala). The meal is finished with a handful of honey, which helps digestion.

I LOVED the food and the experience- we ate a lot but the food didn’t leave you feeling stuffed.The food was kerala style and a lot of dishes were familiar to me, as my Mom makes them at home. The cool revelation to me was the fact that they need to be eaten in a certain order to derive the full benefit.

The meal has 26 items, making a perfect blend of nutrients- for example, the Red Rice (I’ve already detailed its wealth of minerals); the plantain stem (or banana pith) salad acts as a diuretic and is helpful in preventing and treating kidney stone. The meal is rich in antioxidants as well. There are 4 Cholayil Sanjeevanam’s in Chennai and 3 in Kerala…if you’re anywhere near one of these and like healthy food. When I got back, I made a meal inspired by my Sanjeevanam experience (not with 26 items tho..that would be beyond my quick-cooking style)…will post it soon- keep watching!

Ajnabee, tum jaane pehchane lagte ho…. February 22, 2008

O Stranger, you seem familiar to me….The afternoon with fellow bloggers reminds me of this old Kishore Kumar melody. When I decided to go for the CA Bloggers meet, I saw it as an opportunity to meet new people. Having recently moved to the Bay Area, this was a great way for me to build my network. I’ve never done such a thing- go to meet complete strangers. In sharing what went through my head as the event approached, I will echo The-Cooker, Sreelu and madras2madurai- will it be awkward meeting these strangers? I am new to the blogging world and I looked at all the blogs, saw the comments and the banter, and thought to myself- Oh my god, they’ve got such a rapport…will I be the only stranger in the room? And, I have to make someone else’s recipe- will that come out the way the author intended it to? The pressure was intense…I don’t think I’ve ever felt the pressure cooking as I did the days leading up to event. I decided to make Beetroot Pulao from Chef Mythreyee- I thought it was a unique use of Beetroot! A week before the event, I reviewed the recipe, checked my pantry to see if I have the ingredients- made a trip to the desi store to get MTR Pulao Masala (I didn’t know there was such a product out there!). And, unlike me- I stuck to the recipe as the Chef detailed it. The only difference was in the equipment- I used my electric rice cooker, oh and I added some lime juice when I added to rice and vegetable mixture to the rice cooker (a family friend had given me that trick to ensure that rice doesn’t stick together). The result was this gorgeous rice delight, and it tasted…..soooooo gooood….even if it means I’m tooting my own horn (although the credit goes to the Chef- Thanks, Mythreyee!)     So, I arm myself with the pulao rice, directions to The-cooker’s abode and I’m the first one there…….we got chatting and the doorbell rings and the others start coming in….and from there the chatter never stopped- here we were, meeting for the first time, sharing our experiences, talking about our favorite grocery store (good’ol Trader Joes!), our recipes, our experiences leading up to the meet, what we can do next, how do we continue the conversations- anyone looking on wouldn’t thought we’ve known each other for our entire lives!  Two hours into chatting and munching on yummy eats that The-cooker and Sreelu had made, we  realized that we had stuff to do- Eat more!  What a fun day….thanks all for a wonderful event..can’t wait till the next one. Ok..enough of my rambling..time to let you hear from others that were there: Revathi, the torch is yours… 

Of Masala Dabbas and Spice Guns February 15, 2008

For the longest time, I was attached to my masala dabbas…..you know, the typical Indian kind- a steel container that has 6-9 steel katoras with a “cover” to keep the masalas from mixing and a lid. I used to have two- one for north indian masalas (dhaniya powder, zeera, haldi, lal mirchi powder,salt, garam masala) and another for the south indian tadka essentials (mustard seeds, asafoetida, red chillis, chana dal, urad dal, methi seeds).       No “test tube” masala rack or those wooden racks with little bottles appealed to me…till I found (or I should say, G found for me)- the magnetic spice rack. Not the kind that takes up counter space….these are little dabbas that are neatly tucked away on the inside of my cabinet door. I love my little masala dabbas…..they’re easy- just twist and tap; twist back and stick to the door (magnet on the back of the dabbas takes any work out of that too!).     And, now there’s anothe device in the market- the Spice Gun……I can only say one thing about this- I’d like to see the tool junkies cook with this thing!! You have to give it to the inventor, tho- its cool that someone of thought of using the nail gun principle to spices! Now, instead of opening dabbas, I can be trigger happy!

Poi PanCrepes January 9, 2008

G¬†and I spent a week in the Big Island, Hawaii in December’07- our long-awaited, much needed and very well deserved vacation! Big Island is idyllic- a perfect spot if you just want to chill by the pool and on the beach, enjoying the balmy weather in shorts….We did that for the most part. We also did the “sightseeing”- Kailuea volcanos and the Waipio Valley waterfalls by Helicopter, drive around the island to tropical Hilo, Aka Aka Falls, and Kona. As you might guess, I look for unique foods wherever I go and we found something very interesting in the Big Island. Its a small restaurant call U-Top-It in Kona. Their PanCrepes (which are being patented by the Chef, I believe) are unique in that they have Poi (or Taro, also called arbi or arvi in hindi, Chepankazhangu in Kerala Tamil and Sepankazhangu in Chennai). The Poi is purple in color and is traditionally made as a mash (akin to Mashed potatoes) and is a staple in Hawaiin diet. Although, they wouldn’t tell me the recipe, my guess is that the PanCrepe batter is made with buckwheat, eggs, milk, butter and then blended poi is added to it. The concept at U-Top-It is you can make your own- U top your PanCrepe with toppings of your choice. G made his own while I ordered the Garden Vegetarian PanCrepe. They both looked yummy. G’s toppings came cooked with the PanCrepe (and looked exactly like an Utthappam). My PanCrepe was stuffed with the veggies and looked like a stuffed rava dosa. They were really delicious….and was the best vegetarian meal we’d had on the island. More than anything, they reminded us of our Moms. So, here’s what we ate and we thought of you, Ammas…¬†¬†¬†¬†