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Namaskar
Arun

Dill Idli: A Konkani Delicacy

During this summer, we had parents, siblings and their families visiting. In addition to catching up on gossip, we were constantly eating various dishes that the women conjured up.

And they made one of my favorites, Dill Idlis (Dill is called Shaepi in Konkani). These idlis represent the marriage of the South Indian staple idli with the aromatic Dill, popular in coastal Maharashtra. Dill Idlis are primarily made along the northern coastal Karnataka (Konkan).

In making these idlis, the key is to retain the subtle taste and gentle aroma of dill, which is later complemented by warm tuup and honey while eating. So here is the brief recipe and a few pics.

Fresh Dill


Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped fresh dill
• 1 cup jaggery
• 1 cup beaten rice
• 1 cup grated coconut
• 1 cup cream of wheat
• 1 tsp salt

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Method
Blend Dill, jaggery, beaten rice and coconut with ~ half cup water to yield a thick atta dough.
Transfer to mixing bowl, mix in the cream of wheat and salt and leave aside, covered on the counter top for 15 -30 minutes.
Spoon dough to small idli bowls and steam for 15 -20 minutes till set.

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To Serve:
Plate warm idlis with a dab of home made tuup (clarified butter) and a dribble of honey. Yumm!

Recipe courtesy of Aditi and Kamakshi

Virupaksha Temple, Hampi

Faith
From our visit a few years ago, to the Virupaksha Temple in Hampi, Karnataka.


click image for larger version

Saraswati, Lakshmi and Ganapati

Growing up, I remember seeing this in every home, either as a calendar or a picture frame. I bought this poster in Mumbai on my last trip. Love the bright colors!
Beautiful, no?

click pic for a larger version

Dhanya in Honavar

My cousin brother is a bhat-maam (priest) in the small konkan town of Honavar, 15 miles south of Kumta. His parents had insisted he get a college degree - so after his BA in Economics he still decided to follow their priestly traditions. They live in spartan accommodations beside the temple. I have fond memories of visiting them during my school summer vacations. Every morning we herded cows to a distant pasture. There we would bathe in a local stream! :-) O, what joys for a city brat. Now I only visit during my India trips and don't herd cows. Can't forget my roots, which need constant nourishing!


His daughter, Dhanya is the cutest girl I have seen. Here I had to interrupt her doodling on the kitchen floor. The beam of light is from a makeshift skylight. A couple of terracotta tiles in the roof are replaced with a sheet of glass. Wisps of smoke are from the burning wood embers used for cooking. They have a gas cooking range, but my aunt grew up using a wood fire and rarely uses the range. The old-style door has a sliding latch and the open pantry is lined with steel dabbas.

What do you need to be happy? You'd be right if you guessed - a divine daughter and a row of mithai-filled dabbas! :-) I am currently batting zero for a million!

One more of Dhanya

Portuguese Inquisition and Revisionism

Due to my interest in Konkani Temples in Goa, I have been researching books on the Portuguese occupation in Goa. During the Portuguese Inquisition lasting more than 150 years (1560 - 1812), the Jesuits made a systematic attempt at wiping out the Konkani heritage in Goa. Konkanis were either tortured and killed, forced to convert, or give up their lands and migrate. And all our temples in the older Goa were destroyed. It was many other men-of-the-cloth, particularly Anglicans who spread the horrors of the Inquisition, and put political pressure on the Portuguese forcing it to end the Inquisition.

I have tracked scores of such books from the 18th and 19th century which shed a grim light on the atrocities of the Portuguese. In the midst of an enormous amount of historical literature, there are always the revisionists, trying to cast a softer glow on the Portuguese Inquisition. This one by an ordained priest takes the cake.

A few lines from his work and my related comments.
An Historical Sketch of Goa, Rev. Denis L. Cottineau de Kloguen (DK)
Gazette Press, Madras (1831), Reprinted pp 44-45
Also available digitized from the Library at Harvard College, Cambridge, MA; Pg 69 – 70.

Original text in italics is contiguous in one paragraph; my comments are in regular text.

Background: In this particular paragraph, Denis de Kloguen is trying to defend the Archbishop D Alexins de Menezes.
DK - … Some acts of violence by the Portuguese agents may have been committed, both before and after him, but they are not to be imputed to him.
AS - Really! Everyone else is to blame, but not the Archbishop.

DK - It is equally false, that, followed by the officers of the Inquisition, he went armed with fire and sword, to compel the inhabitants of Salsette to embrace the Christian religion. The Jesuits converted a great part of them by the usual and most laudable means;
AS - Reminded me of the recent controversial remarks by Pope Benedict 16th: (from the NY Times) "... in Brazil, ... native populations had been “silently longing” for the Christian faith brought to South America by colonizers." The Rev is probably alluding to such an "innate longing" for torture and death.

DK - but in order as they thought, the better to detach the remainder of the inhabitants from worship of idols, they destroyed all the temples and pagodas.
AS - Much to the embarrassment of the Jesuits, many forced converts continued to visit temples and kept to their traditional Hindu ways. The only way to prevent this was to destroy the temples. How many is “all”?

DK - This however, had the contrary effect; and the Pagans, exasperated at this circumstance, rose up in arms, murdered five jesuits, and several Portuguese.
AS - Did the Jesuits really expect anything else? Note the choice of the word “murdered” when associated with the Jesuits and the Portuguese. BTW, when “all temples and pagodas” were destroyed, how many of the locals were killed? Smoothly overlooked.

DK - The Governor then felt himself obliged to use arms likewise to reduce the rebels; and of course did not after wards permit the temples to be rebuilt.
AS - “reduce the rebels” here is an euphemism for “massacring the population”! And since when did the locals become the “rebels” in their own lands?

DK - But in all this, the Archbishop had nothing to do, and what is certainly better proved, are the good works and the pious establishments of Goa, of which he is the founder.
AS - Surprised he has not been nominated to be made a Saint!

Kamat's Yatri Nivas, Bangalore: Lunch on a Banana Leaf

Our recent visit to Bangalore was M's first, and she wanted to tour the city. My cousin was kind enough to let his driver take us around for the entire day. After a busy morning, we visited Kamat's Yatri Nivas in Gandhinagar to explore the Northern Karnataka cuisine. The northern part of Karnataka is home to hard working farmers and their hardier cuisine. The staple diet includes Jolada Roti (leavened bread made from jowar flour), served with butter, spicy curries and chutneys.

In the fourth floor restaurant, lunch is served on a clean banana leaf, and waiters in the traditional garb of a dhoti, kurta and topi, decorate the leaf with a dazzling array of multicoloured vegeterian dishes. The scallion, a few sprigs of methi (fenugreek), roasted papad, orange coloured spicy garlic and onion chutney, a tomato cucumber raita; lentil cucumber pachhadi, spicy brinjal (eggplant) curry, a greens dish and another lentil curry. Phew! Home made yogurt (or curd) is set and served in an earthern cup (see top right of pic). Fluffy rotis come straight from the outdoor cooking area (see next pic). I cautiously apply the butter, tear off a piece of the roti and use it to scoop each dish in turn. Finger licking yummy! As we finished each roti or curry, servers magically appeared with more of what we just finished. There was also a glass of buttermilk spiced with crushed ginger, chopped peppers, curry leaves and hing. After a few rounds I can barely chew a morsel, and as waiters lined up to serve more, I had to cover my leaf with my hands and insist on not being served any more. Of course, they also had rice and Kolambo, which I just could not partake of. Then they bring out the best ... fruit salad with mango ice-cream! However full I am, I can always eat dessert!

All this for Rs 100. Yes, its about 2 US dollars!!! (That is how much a cup of coffee alone will cost you at one of those Western-styled Coffee shops in Bangalore or Mumbai).

We were so full, we could barely walk down the stairs and ... *don't roll your eyes* we actually took a room at the hotel for a two hour nap. ;-) After freshening up and a nice cup of 'Kapi' we continued on our bangalore city tour (pics in next post)

Making of Jolada Roti:
At three such stations, workers continually kneaded, rolled and roasted the bread on the pan over a charcoal hearth. The roti stays soft when roasted on the pan alone; if it is flipped over the open hearth, it roasts to a nice crisp. They serve both varieties.


Full Disclosure: Our relative owns the restaurant and I did not have to pay for lunch! :-)