India Like This Only

The Plantations of the American South are an important aspect of her history. At the height of slavery, there were something like 46,000 plantations stretching across the southern states, according to the National Humanities center. The mild temperate climate, plentiful rainfall and fertile soil contributed to the reasons why these operations flourished. That and abundant enforced slave labor at that time. When traveling through South Carolina, a visit to a Plantation is featured on every tourist’s to do list, which is what I chose to do during my recent visit to the Palmetto state. The plantation I chose to visit was the Charleston Tea Garden; the only existing tea plantation in the United States. For some strange reason, I felt a deep connection to my heritage and my roots while I was there. The start of America’s story with Tea began around the 1770s, as an effort to meet the ever increasing British demand for tea at that time.   Tea plantations had been cultivated in large sca...

I was recently in the Palmetto State; South Carolina, attending a wedding. While I was there, it was hard to miss the signs Boiled Peanuts for Sale. They were everywhere! You couldn’t go past a Grocery store, gas station or Boardwalk without seeing a sign for it. The Boiled Peanut appears to be a South Carolina obsession, so much so that it is named the official snack of the state. There’s even an annual festival for it every September in a town called Bluffton dedicated to this hardworking legume. Seeing this brought a smile to my face, the kind of smile that’s usually associated with nostalgia and fond memories. Boiled Peanuts were one of my favorite snacks when I was a child growing up in Mumbai.   Boiled peanuts take me back to our Sunday family outings. All the Uncles and Aunties, siblings and cousins, all would meet up either at Land’s End or Carter Road for an evening out. These are the two sea facing boardwalks in our suburb town of Bandra West. Back then, before the endles...

Nothing says summer grilling better than Burgers. How can you not love sinking your teeth into a flame broiled beef patty enveloped in two slices of bun with all the fixings. However I find the American approach to burgers to be a bit too bland for my spice loving palette. Growing up in India, our version of the Burger was the Cutlet. Cutlets came to India via the Europeans, and like so many dishes, we proceeded to make it our own. This is probably the chief cause for all the confusion when you research Cutlets on the web. The rest of the world understands a Cutlet to be a very finely pounded slice of meat, either beef, veal, pork or chicken that’s dredged in egg and breadcrumbs and pan fried. We Indians understand the cutlet to be a seasoned ground beef patty that’s dredged in egg and breadcrumbs and pan fried. Something seems to have gotten lost in translation, but the end result is something quite marvelous. The Hamburger purists don’t have very nice things to say about my approach ...

Procuring fish in the modernized world has become a relatively painless process. All it takes is a walk down the fish aisle for a plastic wrapped boneless skinless filet of some poor ocean creature on a styrofoam platter. Or there’s the option of IQF products, each piece frozen and individually wrapped. It’s so far removed from the fish procurement process I grew up with in Mumbai. I come from a small coastal town of Mumbai named Bandra West, known for its thriving fishing industry. Nestled among the towering overpriced ocean facing highrises, you still can find the villages of the Kolis, the folk from the fishing communities, and the original inhabitants of the city. They live in humble shanty-like dwellings, surrounded by antiquated fishing paraphernalia and continue the practice in the ways of their ancestors using rudimentary ocean vessels powered by nothing but oars and human effort. The fishing practices used seem to be pretty similar to what you read about in the bible. Every d...

In Mumbai, everyone waits for June. It’s the start of the monsoon, giving Mumbaikars a much needed break from the sweltering summer. But for me, growing up in the coastal suburb of Bandra, June was a different experience. That’s when I would intentionally stay away from the sea facing areas, because of the stench. June is the start of Bombay Duck season, and the process of salting and drying this fish would fill the air with an aroma that could cause a fainting spell right on the spot in the middle of the street. You wouldn’t be the only one mistaken if the name Bombay Duck made you think of poultry. This name is given to a peculiar species of fish found primarily in the coastal waters of Mumbai and Gujarat. It’s quite an ugly fish with an uncharacteristically large and gaping mouth. The high water content makes the flesh rather gelatinous, almost slimy, causing it to spoil rather easily. The primary method of preserving this fish is salting and drying. Rudimentary bamboo structures ...

It will get you by surprise. There you are, walking along a random Mumbai sidewalk like any other. Humming the bollywood ditty that's stuck in your head while tap dancing around the plops of doggy poop, when it hits you out of nowhere, stopping you in your tracks. That unmistakable heady scent of spicy animal fat dripping on live charcoal. There's a kebab wala nearby, and he sure seems to know what he's doing. Street kebab vendors are an integral part of Mumbai’s landscape. You can usually find them in the muslim pockets in the city, often outside the local mosque. The setup is usually very simple. A rectangular grill very similar to a Japanese Hibachi, a couple dozen fat iron skewers and a bag of charcoal is all you need to get started. The expertise however, is another thing altogether. Mastery of the charcoal pit takes a lifetime, as it’s all done by feel and instinct, and practice, practice, practice. It is believed that kebabs came to India via the Mughal dynasty circa...

The concept of coffee is so cool these days in Mumbai. Just consider the number of Coffee houses popping up everywhere, all packed with millennials staring into laptop screens, overpaying for coffee to milk the free wifi and air conditioning. How the times have changed! Back when I was growing up in Mumbai, we had none of this. Back then, if you wanted a decent cup of coffee, that wasn't made from some instant powder, you had to go to an Udipi restaurant. Yes... the very same place where you get Idli, Vada sambar and Masala Dosa. Most of the world thinks of chai when they think Indian hot stimulating beverage. But while that may be true in the northern parts of India, the southern states beg to differ. They much prefer a refreshing cup of Filter Kaapi; which is their mangled method of pronouncing the word 'Coffee'. In the southern Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, coffee is more than just a beverage. It's pretty much a religion. There aren't any pap...