Sulaimani 168, Thrissur - An Absolute Must Visit!

Thrissur is not too well known in the Kerala tourist circuit. There are places to see aplenty, sure, but it's not, thank god, attained a certain arty farty wannabe level. Yet, while one may lap up the small town ambience and sweet smiles of the locals, it is still highly rewarding to find, in such an unpretentious town, an eatery fit to charm the gods and win the blase heart of any globe trotter.

Almost every night we'd surf the Net for where to dine. That night we first set out on foot to Hotel Sapphire. It was nearby and reviews led us to think that we might have a tasty dinner there. Alas, they mainly had chicken/egg dishes. Nothing out of the way and snooty waiters. So we made our way out.

As we tried to hail an auto to take us some place else, we recalled a couple of rave reviews of Sulaimani.  My partner gave the automan some general directions and started telling me about the man after whom the place is named. I was sold on the place before even setting eyes on it!

As soon as you enter, you'll see a small but elegant display of Vaikom books. Vaikom Muhammad Basheer was a good friend of my partner's father. I look forwards to finding some translations of his writings, given how my partner described them: honest writing, vibrant...

The decor, the sultry Hindustani strains wafting unobtrusively in and out of consciousness, the service with the sweetest smile, the food, the whole package and, most of all, the food! 

I'm afraid I can only show you what we had: a meat dish and the most divine nool puttu. Because we're small eaters but I can assure you that I drooled over all the dishes being served to others and over how they were served. It's a must have experience.

But I'm getting ahead of myself! Let me first introduce you to the walls, the ceiling, the washbasin area, the restroom, this side and that, the place engulfs you in waves of art and literature - what is to the local the most exquisite nostalgia.

Though the place is small, it's accommodative, with a couple of the most exotic little private dining arrangements and there's always new customers coming in, waiting patiently for their turn.

 

Of course the very first thing we ordered was the Winey Sulaimani of which we'd read online and here's what it was!

beaded bubbles winking at the brim

 

A very gentle and refreshing glass of grape juice! Non alcoholic, of course, but, nonetheless very evocative of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat and all that jazz.

Let me leave you with a short stroll through the premises. As you enter to your right...

Go wash your hands before you dine...

After the Winey, you might like to visit the restroom...

Early in our visit to Thrissur, we were hanging out at the KTDC beer place and our companion was fantasising about an ideal place where creativity and good food would come together. I bit back telling him that, quite often, that of which we dream takes shape somewhere. And it does not necessarily feature us nor come to our notice.

As serendipity would have it, we got to visit Sulaimani 168 the night before we left, where art and good food wove an incredible magic over our senses.
I look forwards to more visits on future trips so's I can try out more things on their menu.

Radish Greens and Potato Stir Fry, Indian Style (Mooli Aloo Ki Bhujia)

Although there were many fine vegetables in Malaysia, I was basically homesick for Indian vegetables. When we returned to India, it was a great thrill to feast my eyes on the wares of our vegetable sellers and gorge on dishes made with what I bought from them.

Often, certain vegetables are sold with their greens. Many such greens can be used in dals (lentil stews) or in meat or chicken dishes. Radish greens do form many dishes all by themselves, too.

Fresh radish greens can also be used in salads. Normally, I'd just wash the greens really well, remove most of the stalk and keep the freshest parts. Chop really fine and toss into your everyday simple salad to jazz it up.

What I find the tastiest, though, is radish greens cooked with diced potatoes. 

INGREDIENTS

Radish leaves from 2 radishes or about 2 cups of chopped radish greens

2 potatoes, peeled and diced - about 2 cups of diced potatoes (Keep them immersed in some water to prevent them from turning black - drain well before use to avoid the oil spluttering all over you! If you're a novice, pat them dry with some paper towels).

1 large onion, sliced

1 small tomato, finely chopped

4 - 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped and half the amount of finely chopped ginger (you can also make a paste of them by grinding, if you like)

2 dry red chillies, broken into pieces (avoid or reduce if you can't take the heat)

2 tablespoons oil - whatever cooking medium you prefer. I try to choose either ghee or coconut oil, but mostly use sunflower oil, which is the cheapest.

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 or 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder (avoid or reduce if you can't take the heat)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder 

A pinch of hing (asafoetida) (to address the gas forming properties of potatoes)

Salt - 1 teaspoon or to taste

METHOD

Wash the radish leaves well and chop them finely. Try to avoid the stem and all fibrous parts. 

Heat the oil in a saucepan; add the broken dry red chilies and, when they begin to change colour, the cumin seeds. 

While they are crackling, quickly add the diced potatoes and fry well on a medium flame, stirring frequently to avoid burning, until they look a bit crisp on the outside. 

Lower the fire and continue cooking. You can add salt before you lower the flame as, apparently, it helps hasten cooking. Keep stirring now and again to prevent burning.

When the potatoes are done (check by pricking them with a fork), sprinkle the powders and stir well to coat all the potatoes. 

Add the sliced onions and the ginger and garlic. Fry till the onions look glazed or translucent. 

Add the chopped radish greens and fry on medium heat until the greens look wilted. This might take some 10 minutes or less. 

Lastly, add the chopped tomato and keep stirring until it blends in well. 

Check for seasoning. 

Serve with hot chapatis, a dal dish and some dahi or a raita.

The leftovers can be made into a delicious toasted sandwich.

Butter two slices of bread. On one slice, put some of the leftover potato-greens, a few slices of onions and tomatoes, some chopped green chilies if you like the heat, sprinkle a dash of salt and pepper and top with a slice of cheese. Toast on a tawa or in an electric toaster.

I'd used this, a Glen toaster which I'd got free when I bought a gas stove.

Azad Hind Dhaba, Salt Lake City, Kolkata

Sometime in 2013, I visited Kolkata for the first time. We were only there for a few days and dined out almost every night. 

As the Azad Hind Dhaba had been highly recommended and was almost right round the corner for us, we popped in for a dinner. 

Rather unassuming on the outside, it's the décor which is its USP. 

The food was nothing much but not so bad either. Sadly, I've only this picture of the accompaniments. 

It's a cosy, homely sort of place and, while you wait for your order, you can enjoy the wall art.

Very typical of the art that decorates the back of many an Indian lorry.

I love peeking into restaurant kitchens. But I think this was on the outside.

The staff was very friendly and made us feel very much at home.

As we emerged, replete, we rejoiced in the sight of the Azad Hind home delivery motorcycles.

I've just noticed that their website has recipes: A Paneer dish, a Kali dal, a chicken and a mutton curry! 

The website is as entertaining as a visit to one of their outlets. 

6 Ballygunge Place, Kolkata

In July 2013 we were in Kolkata and, almost every evening of our short stay, we tried out a new eatery.  6 Ballygunge Place  was reasonably near where we stayed and we were told we would find a fairly authentic Bengali thali there.

The restaurant is an unassuming area, very discreetly tucked away.  Once inside, it's a different world. Much care has been spent on the ambience.

The place is spick and span. With gleaming stainless steel thalis all laid out invitingly.

There is always someone attending to sprucing up the settings and enough waiters to hearken to your every demand.

You literally feel transported to another day and age with kind of photos that decorate the walls.

Naturally we ordered for a thali and here's how it looked:

The place mats are all enchanting and here's a sample of some of them:

I have no idea what's written on them.

There's nothing fishy, I'm sure-it might be a poem by Rabindranath Tagore?

Besides the thali, we also had some of the famous fish in mustard gravy.

The biggest surprise was when we got the finger bowls.

Apparently, this is tea for washing our fingers!

When I was a teenager, I often hung out with a Bengali friend and got a rough idea of what to expect in Bengali thali: some greens, some bodi, some fish, some dal, etc. 

Of course, at this age, I know that nothing is uniform, not even the food from one and the same region. A Bengali thali will differ depending on region, religion, and, most of all, family tastes. 

Random Snacks, Pune, October 25, 2015

India has a vast range of snack foods. That's just because it's such a huge country and, every few yards, you have diversity. 

     Pune, in particular, harbours a whole host of snack food shops and eateries, and it's not just Maharashtrian fare. There's more than adequate representation of North and South, and, obviously, of the West, but it's also not too hard to find the East, too.

     I'm a major fan of snack foods, especially the Indian ones. Most weekends, we cruise around in the afternoon, and, more often than not, return home with some goodly booty.
     Here's a random sample of one such weekend:

Clockwise from top: Kerala Meat Fry, Bakarwadis and Yam Chips

PAGES FROM THE DIARY OF A SNACK FAN

Friday, October 24: 

He returns home with Bakarwadis, a gift. I've only first eaten them here, in Pune. I can't get enough of them. 

5:30 PM: 

We find ourselves on Ambedkar Chowk, Aundh Road, Khadki, Pune. Behold, yon Sarani Kerala Fast Food. He, of the we, decides he needs some Kerala meat fry! 

5:45 PM: 

We remember that we need coffee and head for the nearby South Indian shop. Chena chips, we cannot resist. 

Kerala Meat Fry

I rarely venture to try to make this dish as it's one of those deceptively easy ones. Those are always guaranteed to end up disasters. However, long, long ago, I had a great recipe from a friend. I must remember to ask her for it again. 

Chena Varuthathu

Neither of these recipe will produce the chips we ate. I love Elephant Foot Yam. Which is bizarre since it's a pain to peel and not really possessed of character. Ah, well, my next post will probably be about this itchy root vegetable.

Bhakarwadi

This is a truly wicked treat! Spirals, layers, coconut, poppy seeds, flavour! 

A box or pack of Bhakarwadis would make a fine gift if you're visiting folks out of Pune, or anywhere else in Maharashtra. Come to think of it, I'd love to get some this Diwali.  

Patoli - A Lentil and Bean Stir-Fry

My mother used to make this dish, though without beans. It was quite delicious, especially with hot rice and ghee, some good South Indian pickle and some pappadums. Lately, I love having it with rasam as the sour soup goes well with this dry dish.

I never really learned how to make it from her but I’ve tried it out using my memory of the taste.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup chana dal or ½ cup chana dal and ¼ cup each of yellow moong and arhar.
1-2 large onions, sliced not too finely
2-6 cloves of garlic, sliced or ground
A small piece of ginger, in juliennes or ground
1-2 green chilies, chopped
Some curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
A pinch of fenugreek seeds
A pinch of hing
½ tsp or less Haldi powder
½ tsp or to taste of red chili powder
2 tbsps oil 
Some coriander leaves for garnish

Method

Soak the dal/dals for a few hours. Coarsely grind them in a mixer. 
Heat the oil on a low flame so that nothing burns. Add the mustard seeds and, when they begin to splutter, add the curry leaves, sliced onions, ginger, garlic, and green chilies. 
When the onions are translucent, add the ground dal/dals and stir well. Sprinkle the haldi, red chili powder and salt and keep stirring and scraping in case things start to stick. When the dal begins to brown a bit, your dish is ready. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve!

Note: Make sure the oil is adequate by observing if the onions appear to be more than the oil. This dish does require a little more oil than you would think.   
Variation: Add a cup of chopped, steamed beans of almost any kind: French, cluster, broad beans.
You can always try it with other vegetables such as some gourds, zucchini,  or bell peppers.

Tamatar Matters - How To Seed Bonds

Our little family, now just the two of us, always did a bit of gardening. From the time our son was a toddler and enjoyed playing in the mud, right down to today when he is very grown up indeed, we still bond over plants. 

The first thing I do when he visits is drag him into the garden to show him my latest “baby”. Today it’s a capsicum which is very bravely growing bigger every day. Near that plant, stands the Mogra I planted for my Daughter-in-law and I love to see her sparkle when it flowers.

Hubby’s a busy bee, absent minded and a workaholic to boot. But say “Garden” and he’s all agog, be it watering or pruning, pest control or composting, he’s there beside me, toiling away joyfully.

Peering at Methi

Right from my days as a young mom, I got into a habit of throwing almost all seeds from the vegetables I was cooking into pots. Now, of course, we have a garden and that’s where they go.  The amazing fact is that most of them sprout. Many of them even go so far as to flower and a few brave ones are bold enough to offer me the odd vegetable or two.

The real joy is when you can gift your freinds and relatives a bit of what you have grown. I once had some lettuce seeds that I can't find now in any shop and they grew so easily! Each time I could crop a bit and use it or present it to a guest and it would grow bountifully all over again.

The easiest of the lot are tomatoes. I love tomatoes! Just can’t get enough of them. So imagine my thrill when, long long ago, I threw a rotten tomato into a pot and plants grew!

Alas, that’s all they did for some time. Tomato plants take some amount of pampering as do other plants. They need support.

Although you can buy and plant all kinds of vegetables and enjoy family time with your dear ones, sowing, caring and harvesting, tomato still remains my favourite.

Saucy Saas! Now that I'm a mom-in-law, I get to have a lot of fun sharing snacks with my DIL. And what's a snack without some sauce? Ketchup figures prominently on my grocery list. I'll admit that, as a DIY fanatic, I've tried making tomato sauce at home and it's usually a miserable flop. That's why I remain a diehard Kissan fan. From childhood to now, in my fifties, I can't resist my favourite brand of ketchup.

Tomato Treats Not only can you make a lot of tasty dishes with tomatoes but they are also excellent for health. Hubby and I are still trying to master a tomato chutney that he once ate and loved and which we almost got right recently.

Basic Recipe

Coarsely chop a few tomatoes and onions and finely chop some ginger, garlic and green chilies.

Heat some oil and saute, first the onions, then the ginger, garlic and chilies. When the onions are translucent, add the chopped tomatoes and cook lightly.

Season with salt, a dash of haldi, some red chili powder to taste and temper. For the latter, heat a Tbsp. of oil and splutter some mustard seeds, a few pieces of broken dried red chilli, some curry leaves and some urad dal if you so desire.

Goes well with puris but also with anything else.

Jai Kissan! I was so excited, recently, when surfing for things to do with tomato sauce, I came across a website where you can not only order seeds but access a whole PDF on growing tomatoes! And that’s not all - there are a whole lot of activities for your kids! What better way to bond?!

Family apart, neighbours get engaged once you start exercising your green thumb. In modern life, who cares for neighbours? Loneliness is silently becoming a major problem for the growing numbers of the elderly in India. With a little thought, we can all address this problem by

Being aware that this issue exists.

By being discretely aware of the elderly people in our neighbourhood and of their needs.

Set a reminder to visit at least one such person per week, just to say hello. Often, a simple gesture or two will be of enormous help to them - ask them if you can get something for them when you shop, if they need a lift, etc.

Down the road from me, live an elderly couple. They have a lovely, neat garden and, earlier, they grew a lot of vegetables. But these days they are lonely and getting on in years and gardening can be a major exertion at that age. They are very dear to me and pop in now and then and always head straight to the garden to see how my plants are growing. As we chat, the old lady plucks a flower or two for her puja and, of course, some curry patta.

A little kitchen garden can build the best bonds within a family and even beyond. Somehow, food growing is a blessed sight to all.

In the West, today, unused public spaces are being used to grow food. What if, in some of our condominiums, we initiate a small kitchen garden? Of course, there would be many problems. But start small, with the help of kids and the elderly and try to avoid ego and possessiveness and you will plant the seeds of a better tomorrow for all.

Hotel Veg and Nonveg, Aundh, Pune

This little place is one of many - all over India - but most especially in Pune where eating out is a ritual obediently followed by many. 

Tall Order They serve Breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. The cuisines they claim to serve are Punjabi, Chinese, Indian and Biryanis. My husband always laughs when he reads this - as if Punjabi is not Indian and Biryani is a nationality!
It is a delight to see this kind of place hold its own when, on the opposite side of the road there are many fancy places. Though those are also small and most of them also have outdoor seating, they all cater to the upper middle class. Youths with guitars love such hangouts.
The Verdict Judging by the poha, I feel that it is honest home made food. Simple fare. The dish was not too spicy and the groundnuts were fresh. The poha was served with a small sprinkling of sev on top and a small side dish of sweet sambhar.
Poha may seem simple to prepare but I’ve had some truly awful ones and, since I also tried to make it, I find it’s not that easy. Good poha is light and easy to digest. There is relish in eating honest food served without fuss in a clean setting. 
Though it is difficult, it is good to find such places wherever one goes. Especially in Pune such joints are usually run by a family. Since there are not many hired hands, one is a bit more sure that the food will be untainted by the mood of the server whereas, in many places, the workers are treated badly or are unhappy for some other reason. I always find that I’m suspicious when it is like that.

With a Pashankar Honda Authorized 2 Wheeler Service Centre to its right and Croma to the left, this cute little place is usually busy feeding employees from these places. But it also attracts other passersby like us.

This Sunday we decided to give it a try for a late breakfast as Croma which we had come to visit was not yet open.

There is indoor as well as outdoor seating and though the restaurant is tiny and humble, the place is very clean.
Cheap, Clean, Wholesome Hubby had Misal pav and I had poha. Both were quite light and fresh and tasty and filling. It was very pleasurable to sit in the open and eat together. Sarjaa Road is very beautiful, tree lined and leisurely.
The bill came to Rs. 58.

Onam, Pune, August 2015

I'll admit that he and I have become all too complacent. Everyday we feast. We cook together and produce a meal that smells divine, tastes wickedly good and, mostly, does us more good than harm. We turn our noses up at what is served in restaurants, however fancy, however expensive. But, I'll admit, it's a bit of work.
And that is what constitutes its major plus point. Today, all you hear is people whining about how much weight they've put on. And you feel like walloping them over the head with an iron saucepan as they sit there, talking of diets, and "Oh, do you eat like this everyday? or "I make papads in the oven, without oil." Or "We use low fat milk only." And, of course, they all eat brown bread, brown rice, multigrain tofu and quaff quantities of zucchini and broccoli instead of the humble tori or gobi.
Well, we eat everything we desire, both of us and I haven't heard anyone tell us we need to lose weight. We do stay active: I do my own household chores as it's Bye Bye Bai for me and he is rarely one to let his bum be glued to a chair. He takes the stairs more often than a lift and we swim as we've access to a pool at present. When there's money to be had we join a gym. But, more importantly, we both are involved in whatever we eat.  
To cook you need to move. You're mostly on your feet, washing, chopping, stirring and all. And then there's the washing up too. Though it's not a huge calorie burning enterprise, it's the habit of all these small movements that counts towards keeping fit. And it's healthy to see what goes into you.
It scares me no end to imagine restaurant kitchens and, often, I smell that a dish is slightly off. Yet, my companions, some of whom, sometimes, make sweet remarks on my habit of using left-overs, merrily munch away-so long as you pay for it, it must be good!
Anyway, ranting apart, our son had mentioned that we should all go out for an Onam Sadhya. And so we found ourselves at the nearest one: hosted by Kerala Fast Food and served at a venue opposite the Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Natyagrah at Aundh.

It was quite tasty but cost Rs. 350 per meal, I feel they were a tad stingy with servings. Of course, the people serving were moving up and down, serving. But one had to catch their eye to ask for more. It was ok for me, given I have bad digestion but it must have been frustrating for most.
All in all, it was quite a nice initiative and a lot of folks seem to have opted for it.

It was fun because it was so very makeshift! A real banana leaf meal, a feast shared with strangers, all of us wrapt in the phenomenon of a Menon Land festival: Onam! 
The food came from a little table at the other end.

 All in all, hats off to our brave little Kerala Fast Food for providing us with a sumptuous feast- a real Sadhya!
Else, for all my self-praise about our cooking our own meals, it would have been a real pain to trot out a feast like this. 

Some Eateries around Ponekkara, Kochi, Kerala

Starting with the canteens within the Amrita Hospital complex, down to the eateries around the entrance, all the way up to the ones across the railway tracks in front of the hospital, this area is a place for tasty, low cost food. In fact, hordes of patients, their families, hospital staff, students of the Medical College and other medical course taught there and other people who either work for the hospital or run a business in that area, all seem to be on an endless eating spree. As if the meals and snacks provided in all those eateries were not enough, there are enough shops and stalls selling snacks, fruit and other eatables. 

 The hospital has two canteens, one vegetarian and the other, non-vegetarian but serving mainly fish and eggs, I think. They are extremely clean and efficient and the food is quite varied and tasty. It's a real sight to see it all functioning so fast! Tea and some other things were available from 5:30 in the morning onwards. Some of the foods we had were nool puttu, appams, pooris, bhaturas, chapati, idli/vada/dosa, meals, kanji and even the infamous "Gopi Manjurian".
As if this is not enough, there is a small canteen inside one of the main buildings which serves South Indian coffee, Assam tea, cheese toast, chapati rolls and other snacks. There is another small stall outside near a line of benches in the gardens and an Annapoorna cafeteria which also serves meals, and a nice outdoor type coffee shop. The last two are very near the entrance.
Sometimes, we went out the back gate and that is how we discovered an eatery run by Biharis-mainly for the migrant labour, the bulk of whom seem to be from Orissa. It serves North Indian samosas, kachoris, and even mooli parathas. And jalebis!

He makes amazing samosas!

The New Malabar Restaurant is nearest the hospital and has an AC room. This was our dinner there. They have a good and varied menu and lots of people from the Middle East eat there as the staff is very multilingual.

On the opposite side of the road there are a number of restaurants and we had dinner at one of those: Fish curry and tapioca. I do not remember it's name, alas. It is more like a bakery cum restaurant and is probably called Krishna Bakery. One can get many local and foreign snacks here.

Facing the hospital are some railway tracks and across them are more eateries. 

Meenu's hotel is a real winner! Service might be slow as I think it's a family run show but the food is out of this world!

The highlight of our stay was the little toddy shop at Ponekkara-such divine toddy! And the little plates of "lickings" (snacks for booze) are devilishly spicy and tasty: fatty pork, prawns, fish curry, veggies, and tapioca.
Of course the two Malls I visited, Lulu and Oberon, both have food courts but I didn't have anything besides South Indian coffee.

We'd looked forwards to attacking the Kochi airport  canteen but it was a minor disappointment as it's only serving chicken in the non veg section. However, their meals are tasty and generous.
The airport itself had some good South Indian coffee.
Before I forget: I also had a very reasonably priced fish curry meal at Mattancherry.

A grand salute to all the lovely and smart lady cops in Kochi! They're helpful, well informed and very able. This is a snap on the ferry on the way back from Mattancherry.

IDDOS-Idlis and Dosas

On my husband's birthday, last year, I wanted to take him to IDDOS based on a review on Pune Eats Out's FaceBook Page.

Located at Malti Complex, Paud Road,Kothrud, Pune, IDDOS is yet another South Indian eatery. 

Unfortunately, that day we were told that it only opens later and so we had breakfast at another place nearby. 

We finally ate there many months later.

As fussy South Indians, we were neither of us really impressed. To say the truth, I'm only half a South Indian but spent much of my growing up years in the South. To be even more truthful, it's not easy to find good South Indian food anywhere North and a die hard fan would have to visit Coimbatore for the real thing.

What you see on the photo are vadas. All three varieties were so so. The sambhar and chutneys were equally forgettable.

But it's a nice place to hang out and presents an air of efficiency and hygiene.  

The filter coffee set up is also pleasant to behold but I can't recall the coffee which means it was not spectacular.

At the end of the day, we none of us want authenticity. We'd rather have our version of alien cuisines and this happens all over the world. So IDDOS is, probably, a Pune version of South Indian. 

So I'd give IDDOS a 4 out of 5 for ambience, service and food.