The best of winter vegetables

Winter in India means great vegetables. I honestly mean that. If you are someone who shops for vegetables, you should be happy. The vegetables all look happier, greener and altogether nicer during the winter. The range of vegetables expands and by this I do not mean only the fancy `English’ vegetables, but, the `Indian’ vegetables too come into their own.

You can see wonderful peas, strangely tomato [which world over is a summer vegetable/fruit], green garlic, radish, all manner of leafy vegetables and, of course great `English’ vegetables. Exotic peppers, glorious Leek, fat luscious celery and so many more. On the matter of tomato, there were some really sweet, I mean really sweet tomato on sale in the market. These were small, about the size of a large walnut and not the usual face puckering sour cherry tomato you normally get. 

To give you an example. Winter is the time for what I consider Gujarat’s best and frankly only worthwhile dish, `Undhiyu’. For those who do not know what this is, it is a potpourri of various root vegetables [`Kand’ or Purple Yam, Potato, Yam, Sweet Potato] various beans both in their pod as well as shelled [`Tuvar’ or Cluster beans, Broad Beans, Pigeon Peas] in a green masala made with coconut, green chilli, fresh green garlic and coriander. To this you add chunks of Banana and dumplings flavoured with fresh `Methi’ or Fenugreek leaves. Most of these vegetables are available only during winter.

It is difficult to get a decent `Undhiyu’. Making `Undhiyu’ is difficult. The list of ingredients itself is daunting. Cleaning and prepping the vegetables is a task in itself. Once you have got that done you realise that the dish has at least two subcomponents that have to be made independently – the `Methi Muthiya’ or Fenugreek Dumplings and the ground coconut masala that is the key to a successful `Undhiyu’. This is daunting for most people today. Add to this, the fact that in nuclear families no one really knows how to make `Undhiyu’ and frankly `Undhiyu’ cannot be made in small quantities, so no nuclear family is going to be able to finish what is made in a single meal. Most restaurants serve slap dash efforts with ingredients missing or shortcuts employed. The best `Undhiyu’ is available from a small shop in the old part of Bombay – C P Tank. The shop is Hiralal Kashidas Bhajiawala call them reserve a kilo or two of `Undhiyu’ and have a absolutely great meal at home. Their numbers are 24223716 or 22428375. We get `Undhiyu’ from them quite a few times during the winter. It is really good and authentic.

You also get local carrots which are redder and longer and they are used to make `Gajjar Ka Halwa’. This is a dish where the results are far greater than its parts. The parts are carrot, sugar, ghee, evaporated milk and Cardamom powder for flavour. Sounds pretty plain, but let me tell you that a well made `Gajjar Ka Halwa’ is quite delicious.

Winter is also time for the classic Punjabi dish `Sarson Ka Saag’ which is made with Mustard Greens. This is another dish where the results are greater than its parts. Mustard Greens are available during winter and these are mixed with spinach and what is known as `Bhatua’ which is a sour leaf. `Sarson Ka Saag’ is supposed to be very nourishing. The best place to get `Sarson Ka Saag’ in Mumbai is The Great Punjab restaurant at Linking Road Bandra. Very nice indeed.

The Bengalis use a fresh Jaggery called `Notun Gur’ spellings may vary, to make their classic `Sandesh’ during winter. This Jaggery is tapped only during winter.   

A couple of days ago when shopping at Pali Market, Sunil, the effervescent vegetable seller whose popularity in Bandra is fairly incredible, asked me to take some Romanesco Cauliflower which he had. I was rather surprised to see this in Bandra.  Romanesco Cauliflower is fairly exotic even in the West and I was not going to turn this down. I grabbed a healthy head and took it home. Romanesco Cauliflower is a cousin of Cauliflower and Broccoli. It looks like something descended from outer space, or, something from the sea. I boiled it in salted water, shocked it in iced water and got the lovely green colour fixed. Then I cut the florets and made a salad with some Parmesan, Capers, and Olives and toasted Almonds and dressed the salad with a Vinaigrette. It was really delicious, crisp and fresh tasting. You could even make Romanesco Cauliflower with a luscious Cheese Sauce.

So, if you are so inclined, do visit the market this winter and enjoy the wonderful vegetables on offer. If not, buy the `Undhiyu’ and the next weekend the `Sarson Ka Saag’ and have the best of what our winter offers us. None of this is a large amount of money.

And, before I forget, I have not turned vegetarian.

   

Very glad and abysmally sad beginings

The first post of 2014. Happy New Year everybody.

The good news first. Readers will know that I believe that there is no, I repeat, no, Indian wine that is worth drinking. At best you could drink a glass, but beyond that it gets pretty undrinkable. Well, I have news for you. Moet Chandon the great Champagne House has developed two sparkling wines in India for India. They sell them under the brand name Chandon. We have been drinking bottles and bottles of the White Chandon, or, correctly, Chandon Brut, and, it is damn good. It costs Rs 1200/- per bottle for the white. This is the MRP. At Shah Wines you get a bottle at Rs 1000/- I have not tried the Pink Chandon or Chandon Brut Rose which is Rs 200/- more expensive, but I would assume it is also good.  

This is by far the best wine we have in India. Please do buy it, super chill it, get rid of kids and other distractions, sit down with your better half and drink this stuff. I promise you it is excellent, world class.

Now the bad news. I must confess that no one is to blame but me.

We were invited for lunch to Pizza Metro Pizza. I was reluctant to go as I cannot bear the thought of spending 2 hours for lunch. Also, a factor to be considered was being a Pizza restaurant I was sure there would be lots of noisy children, their cackling mothers and the obligatory Ayahs/maids. This is not my idea of fun. However, I was weak, I was persuaded, I was miserable.

Pizza Metro Pizza is in the same location as Club IX, the onetime competitor to Toto’s Garage. It was at the wrong end of Pali Hill right next to Barbeque Nation. The decor was odd though pleasant enough. I did not know if I was in Naples or in Mexico. Pizza Metro Pizza calls itself an authentic Neapolitan restaurant. Pizza originated in Naples. The speciality of Pizza Metro Pizza is that they offer you a one meter long pizza. This means that you get four 12 inch pizzas. Our host was most excited with this prospect [there were 4 of us so we could each order one flavour]. I was sceptical on how 4 people could each eat a 12 inch pizza but I decided to keep my mouth shut. Also, I thought how utterly gimmicky this was. By changing 4 round pizzas in one large rectangular one, how would it be any better or any different? But then, I am accused of being a cynical bastard!

We got our menus and soon the obligatory Chilli flakes, Chilli Oil and Oregano turned up. We ordered 4 pizzas. The Napoli had Anchovies, Olives, Capers and Basil and was loaded with a lot of Tomato sauce. The Indianapoli [Indian Napoli – get it?] which had Mozzarella, Onion, Olive, Mushroom and Green Chilli, and, once again, lots of Tomato sauce. Then we got two white pizza’s, which are actually a very good idea as these are served without Tomato sauce but often have a cheese base or even a White Sauce base. First up was the Club 9 [Homage to the erstwhile Club IX] which our host insisted we have. This was a white pizza with Mozzarella, Fried Potato and would you believe, Okra or Bhindi. I was aghast but, once again I kept my mouth shut. The last pizza was the Quattro Formaggi with Mozzarella, Scarmoza, Ricotta and Parmesan.

The two red pizzas i.e. the Napoli and Indianapoli were absolutely horrible. There was just too much tomato sauce on them, this may be a customer preference in India, we need `wet’ food. The result was that the pie base was simply uncooked. The base was soggy, limp and `kaccha’. The less said about the very very thick crusts the better. Uneatable. The crusts we left behind on our plates could have been used as door stoppers.

Left is the Indianapoli and right is the Napoli

The two white pizzas i.e. Club 9 and Quattro Formaggi were better. Since there was no Tomato sauce the bases were cooked thru. But the problem was the flavourless cheese in the Quattro Formaggi. Mozzarella, Scarmoza and Ricotta are similar tasting, they are bland and the Parmesan was either missing or too scant to register. The ricotta sat on top of each slice like a blob of unpleasant foam Very uninspiring and frankly a waste of stomach space. A gorgonzola or similar cheese would have gone a long way in lifting this pizza from its bland boringness. The Club 9 with its Okra or Bhindi was simply weird. The Okra or Bhindi  was crisp fried and added no taste nor visual appeal. All in all poor.

Top is the Club 9 and bottom is the Quatro Formaggi

Mind you this place is not cheap. Each pizza costs about Rs 700 - 900 plus taxes plus service charge so all in all you are looking at a pizza that costs approx Rs 1000/-. What we had ordered was in effect 4 pizzas, so the bill was suitably whopping. And the rubbish you get for that money!

As we were eating, the restaurant filled up. Mummies, some yummy many not, `baccha’ parties and the obligatory Ayahs/maids. I was totally disgusted. I had a horrible afternoon and a horrible lunch.

Need I say more?

Some more on section 377

Following the previous post on section 377, RK a long time reader and occasionally an agent provocateur, asked me why blame the Supreme Court for the legislature’s folly? Well, he does ask a legitimate question.

First, I must start by sort of summarising what I wrote earlier. All of us may have our views on homosexuality, we may be repulsed by it, be scared, be comfortable, believe it is wrong, believe it is a sin and so on and so forth. My point simply is, why should it be a crime? Someone may not like my eating beef or chicken or if he is a Jain, garlic. But, it is my choice and, as yet, I am not committing a crime eating garlic. Why should the same not be true of homosexuality? Okay, I may be drawing a rather bizarre picture, but I am sure you get the concept. Personal likes or dislikes do not mean that the matter should be a crime.

Now getting down to trying dealing with RK’s question. Here are a few points, none of which are necessarily sequiturs to each other.

1.     The Supreme Court is the highest Court in India. In 95% of cases the Supreme Court does not exercise original jurisdiction. This means that you cannot file a case directly in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is a court of appeal. This necessarily means that in 95% of cases that the Supreme Court hears, one, if not two judgements, that have previously been pronounced by a lower Court. This means that the Supreme Court has the benefit of the dispute already having being dealt with before reaching hearing. In this case too, the Supreme Court was hearing an appeal arising out of the judgement of the Delhi High Court. The Delhi High Court had by a detail judgement declared section 377 as unconstitutional. So, the Supreme Court could have merely upheld what the Delhi High Court had said. But, the Supreme Court chose not to do so.

2.    Yes of course the Supreme Court is not bound to strike down an incorrect law. It may well ask the legislature to do so, as it has done in this case. But, the point is, that the Delhi High Court had already as they say `done the needful’. So, what was the reason to overturn the Delhi High Court order and once again declare section 377 as Constitutional? I can understand the Supreme Court taking this kind of view if the Delhi High Court had taken a similar view. But, this decision of the Supreme Court is rather bizarre.

3.  The Supreme Court’s opinion that the law should be amended by Parliament would have been understandable if this was the consistent approach that the Supreme Court took. If, for example, as a matter of precedence, the Supreme Court rarely interfered and struck down laws, and asked the Parliament to modify laws, on a consistent basis, this approach of the Supreme Court would have seemed consistent and sensible. This too is not the case in this judgement. The Supreme Court has declined to intervene and strike down section 377 despite having intervened and struck down laws often in the past.

4.    As a corollary to (3) above, in several cases, as and by way of example, in the 2G scam, the Coal allotments, the Supreme Court has directly intervened and said that polices framed are incorrect, or illegal and have set aside a lot of existing functioning economic contracts, activities and investments. The losses caused by the setting aside of the 2G licenses, the cancellation of the coal allotments are all instances of direct intervention by the Supreme Court. In fact, one of the judges hearing the 377 case was part of the bench that set aside the licenses. So, intervening, striking down polices and laws is not something new or unprecedented.

5.    The most disturbing aspect for me is what appears to be the mindset of the two judges. This whole mindset issue is distressing. I understand that besides homosexuals themselves, the call for amendment of section 377 is most strident from liberals especially urban liberals. It is also true that the huge majority of Indians, probably the so called `Bharat’, are in some way largely homophobic. I may be stepping out on a limb here. This homophobia may stem from prejudices, half knowledge or just ignorance. Judges of the Supreme Court are supposed to be learned, and I mean that honestly. This judgement whereby they have declared homosexuality to be a crime, to my mind, shows a shockingly conservative and un-liberal and medieval mindset. This is deeply distressing.

So, did the Supreme Court act wrongly? Strictly speaking no. Did the Supreme Court act distressingly, unthinkingly, uncaringly, reveal a hideously conservative streak or mindset? In my view yes, yes, yes.