Wanderberry Tales

Dubai can sometimes be a lonely place. Things took a huge turn a few weeks ago when the Malayalees of the firm which Shibin works for announced an Onam - Eid get together. That was something to look forward for. I got all the more excited when I was asked to join for Thiruvathira. Old traits seldom die:) I love dancing and this opportunity was just so perfect for me. What started off as a mundane Thiruvathira for the ladies and oppana for the kids geared up all the ladies who had let go off all the inhibitions and decided that they wanted to do more. As luck would have it Jimki Kammal Dance Challenge was going places and we decided to do our part as well. It was a simple suggestion by one of the ladies and others were more than eager to join in. The practice that started off in a single song, finally ended in a fusion of three. Despite stage fear, chances of forgetting steps and also the melodrama of having to dance in a saree - we did it! It may not have been the most perfect dance b...

Festivities seem to gain more vigour and valour when you are away from your home country. Onam is one such festival and you can find onam celebrations happening till it is time for Christmas celebrations. Every weekend for the next two months in the UAE you are sure to find atleast one person in the traditional Kerala kasavu mundu/saree heading for Onam celebration somewhere. Pookalam ( floral designs), Thiruvathira (traditional dance form),vadam vali (tug of war), sadya (the grand meal) all form a part of this rich festival. This year is no less and I am counting on 3 sadyas this year. Just like Cake is to Christmas, Payasam is to Onam! Make a sadya or not -payasam is inevitable. This year I wanted to try some milk based payasam other than the semiya payasam. That is when my cousin suggested pineapple. I googled up a few recipes but wasn't quite convinced to try it out myself. Pineapple Rava Kesaribath is one of my favorite food - that is when it struck me to incorpor...

I have lived in Karnataka most of my life exempting the last 3 years in Dubai. Back in the days most of Kerala delicacies never crossed the Kerala borders. I lived close to Mangalore and Mangalore is only an arms distance away from Kerala (not literally:P) Despite this, it was a rarity to find any of the Kerala treats in Mangalore region or any neighboring areas. May be if you hunted down, you would find it in some corner of Mangalore unlike today when Kerala food is as popular in these regions. My parents say that after every vacation, when we come back from Kerala we had to lug across cartons filled with fish pickle, mango pickle, ari unda, achappam, ethekka upperi, chakka upperi, aluva, jelebi, puttu podi anything and everything. Now almost all of these are available in Mangalore sparing them the trouble of carrying cartons. My mother even ranted on once about how we managed to put everything into the bus at Mangalore station including me and my dad but before she and my sis...

Biriyani is a feast in itself for most Indians but when it came to our PG gang ( running into the pre-wedding days for a while), biriyani was the solution to depression as well. Every emotion we could think of was followed by ordering biriyani from Mughal Empire in AECS Layout. We got a hike - its biriyani, we are tired - its biriyani, we got reprimanded by parents - its biriyani, manager gave us a earful - biriyani again, had a tiff with friends - biriyani all over again. Every emotion had a solution - Mughal Empire Biriyani. The guy taking the order at Mughal Empire need not be reminded of the address and the quantity - the only thing that varied was the type between chicken and fish. We lost count of the times we have ordered it but washed and kept intact all the 'white dabbas' they came in, only to be thrown out during every cleaning session! This is how biriyani became part of my life - we tried making biriyani couple of times when in the PG - none too succes...

Majority of my Christmas days were spent in Kerala. The routine was fixed for years as far as I can remember. Vacation for us began on the 23rd of December every year on wrapping up the annual day celebrations. Then catch the Malabar express from Mangalore (Soumya -my sister and I loved the train journey) to reach Mavelikara the 24th morning. Christmas day began with a breakfast of appam and chicken stew! A plateful of plum cake adorned the table every meal. Have you tried cake and stew combo? Do I sound crazy? My dad says so - you should probably try to believe it. A slice of cake and a spoonful of stew on it. That is the way I end my Christmas breakfast. Lunch would generally be Biriyani or rice with a lot of non veg items - chicken, beef , seafood, mutton,  name it and you have it. Dinner was more or less on the same lines. Christmas is not exactly Christmas without the lip smacking food!! I have chosen one such recipe that could form a part of your Christmas menu thi...

Vattayappam is a popular Kerala delicacy, which traditionally was made in households with left-over appam batter. However now, most of the bakeries in Kerala sell packaged Vattayappam. This can never beat the freshly prepared homemade ones.   Vattayappams are steamed soft rice cakes with a perfect blend of coconut and fermented by yeast to make it fluffy. This is definitely on my Easter Menu.You guy's better rethink yours:) Vattayapam usually has cashew nuts and raisins for richness along with a tinge of cardamom. My recipe has a whole lot of dates which gives it the sweetness and of course you may do away with the sugar that you add.  I picked this recipe from my mother-in-law :) Ingredients Dosa Rice/White Rice -1 cup Dates - 40 to 50 - you may reduce or increase as per your choice. Coconut - 3/4 cup grated Cardamom powder -1/4 tsp Boiled rice - 1/4 cup Cashew nuts and raisins -a handful Salt to taste Yeast -1tbsp Water -1 cup Method Soak t...