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yummraj · 4 years

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A delivery pop up (delhi NCR) of fusion onam sadya , bengali dishes by Pritha sen & Malayali dishes by Prima Kurien)

This is a series about how eating out is, post COVID lockdown. Read about the previous dining out / takeaway / home delivery experiences after the COVID pandemic lockdown here – amar Jyoti tres spectra threesixtyone Tenali bagundi potbelly divine cafe lungta

In a NUtshell

An OUT OF THE WORLD experience – food (heaven), everything else (hell) – meeting expectations, items promised in the menu missing, logistics, packaging. Lunch arrived at 3.30 pm!!! No expectation setting, no warnings, no proactive updates.

Address & other details: onam pronam

Meal for 2: ₹ 2600

Cuisine type : vegetarian

Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he has paid for the full Bill & tips also. http://www.yummraj.com does not have even one featured / sponsored reviews. YUMMRAJ believes in going to a restaurant in anonymity, as a normal guest, experience everything & give a honest account of the same to you.

I rate all the food items & then give a final overall rating which is a simple average of the individual item ratings. What the ratings stand for: 5 = Excellent, 4 = Very Good, 3 = Good, 2 = Fair, 1 = Disaster

Short description- in case u r in a hurry

Our first onam sadya was at our friend Dilip Jayaram’s house in mumbai 5 years back. We were floored the the amazing food that we had that day. The standards were set just too high. We’ve had many more sadyas since then – some great, some good.

Kerala has a more plural religious mix than most other states of India – slightly more than 50% is the hindus & 45% is Muslims & Christians put together. Onam is a harvest festival (originally based on Hindu mythology) that is celebrated by people from all religions. Interestingly sadya is eaten during this festival by malayalis from all religions & the food is vegetarian for all.

Traditionally this multi dish meal is served on a banana leaf. There is a certain logic to which curry / item is served in which part of the banana leaf. A ripe small banana is also served along with the rice & Curries. Sadya has a sweet dish as well. We were told that most people eat the Curries / chutneys in a certain sequence.

We have been to many pop ups by food historian, journalist & food artist Pritha Sen & have always loved them. Each of her pop ups are unique & totally different from the past ones. We vividly remember food that we had a 7 years back, by Prima Kurien, at Dastkar haat, Delhi. She runs a catering business, serving some great Kerala food in Delhi NCR.

So when we heard about the collaboration by these two ladies for onam, we were super excited. The idea was to have onam sadya with Kerala dishes & bengali dishes that go with the theme.

When we read the social media post further, we got to know that the event is being organised by THE SOUL FOOD COMPANY. We had a slightly strange experience with them few weeks back. Nevertheless onam pronam seemed to be way more interesting, to avoid.

We paid the full amount for onam lunch (Sunday 30th August) in advance 6 days before the lunch. Payment options were google pay or bank transfer. The guy from SOUL FOOD told us that he will send details of delivery on Sunday.

On Sunday morning we checked. We were told that lunch will reach by 1.30 pm. At 1.05 pm, we were told that the lunch will arrive between 2-2.15 pm due to ‘extreme delay in kitchen’. When we connected with them at 2.20 pm, we were told ‘delivery guy got caught in rain. He will reach really soon’. The really soon of course did not happen. We thought at that point – Even the best in the hospitality industry make mistakes, but the best ones make up for it (I always admire TAJ hotels on this front).

We were thinking of calling friends to share the food. Thanking our luck that we did not do – else we wud have had to keep our guests waiting till 3.30!!!

The food came in a torn paper bag. Inside the bag were two kinds of paper/papier-mâché containers. The paper ones were un-sealed (2 of them were closed using cello tapes).

Many liquid items had spilled out. In a situation where restaurants are going the extra mile to deliver safe food, I don’t even know if someone has drank some of the sambhar onway, or ate some curry, before delivering to us.

There were 6 items for which we paid but did not receive – Payasam, Pachadi , Aumbole, Samandhi podi (totally unacceptable), Mango pickle (ok, don’t mind that much), Ripe Banana (no worries). The courier boy either ate lunch from those or he just threw them away to reduce weight of the bag.

SOUL FOOD company’s actions led to us getting FOUL MOOD on an otherwise lovely Sunday . Second time in a row!!!

The way I see it is SHIT HAPPENS. But what one does in such situation, (‘to set expectations’ / update / proactively communicate/ make it up / apologize etc) differentiates the serious long term players vs. the non serious/ inexperienced players. The guys in question here did not bother to do any such thing – it’s the worst thing to do, to keep people sitting & waiting for food. An intimation & expectation setting would have led to arranging alternative options.

The heavenly food made up for all the torture. We were speechless after eating the food.

Detailed description – in case u hv the time to njoy reading:

The choice of bengali dishes was stunning. It blended beautifully with the concept. For someone who did not know this was fusion, he/she might not have understood that this is a marriage of two different cuisines from two places 2400 km apart, with almost everything different but for the love for CPIM & literacy (Ha Ha).

All bengali Curries except malai curry were cooked without onion & garlic.

Teetar daal (daal with karela, this making it bitter – meaning teeta in bengali) – it was outstanding, the grains of daal cud be felt, grated coconut gave it texture, ginger made its presence felt – we just cud not stop raving about it. Rate it 4.75/5

Inji curry (Kerala) was made from ginger juliennes, tamarind & jaggery. It was neither too sweet nor too sour. Infact the ginger pieces, when chewed, tasted a bit bitter. Very different from the ones we have had before. Enjoyable. Rate it 3.5/5

Chenchki (Bengal) was made from stem of banana plant (called thore in bengali). This was mind blowing. Juicy, crunchy, minimally spiced. Flavors of methi made its presence felt. Grated coconut added texture & flavor. Absolutely stellar. Rate it 4.95/5

Sambhar (Kerala) was thick (maybe due to leakage as well). It hit the perfect spot when it came to the balance of taste & flavors. Absolutely loved the vegetables – they were able to retain their texture well. Rate it 4.75/5

Thoran (Kerala) was made with French beans, topped with grated coconut. This was good but we have surely had much better. The beans were crunchy, on the borderline of being sub optimally cooked. Rate it 3/5.

Morich jhol (Bengal) – I guess the thin gravy from this had leaked away too. What remained was a thick dry gravy that climbed to the vegetable – jhinga tori/ ridge gourd. The split yellow pea dumplings were daanedaar & absolutely wonderful. Loved it. Rate it 4.75/5

Theeyil (kerala) was whole shallots in thick gravy of roasted coconut, dhania & tamarind. This one was one of the few dishes which had more spices. The texture was grainy. The taste was a medley of sweet, sour & salt. Very enjoyable. Rate it 4.5/5

Chorchori (Bengal) – this is a melange of vegetables, bori (vadi/ lentil dumplings) & a saag. Pumpkin, gourd, brinjal etc were the veggies, pui shaak (Malabar spinach) was the saag. Spicing was apt. The vegetables retained their main texture, yet mixed beautifully with other vegetables. It was like the best of orchestra. Rate it 4.5/5

Pachidi (Kerala) – we did not receive.

Chhokka (Bengal) – pumpkin & Bengal gram curry. Slow cooked. Lovely texture. The Bengal grams & pumpkin had become soft, yet retained their texture. Methi flavor made its presence felt. Rate it 4.5/5

Okan (Kerala) – this was a curry of cow peas (a kind of lentil) & ashgourd. Two distinct textures. Two distinct mouthfeel. They came together very well. Rate it 4.5/5

Malai curry (Bengal) – this was bottle gourd cooked in coconut milk & with onions. This was very good on its own. Coconut milk flavor or texture did not make its presence felt. Never had this earlier. Always have tasted chingri malai curry (prawns) or evening crab. Rate it 3.5/5

Kootu (Kerala) – this was a dry curry of green banana & full moong dal, cooked in coconut oil. Fabulous. The robust flavors of curry leaf & coconut, the fantastic texture of both the main ingredients & the beyond perfect taste. Rate it 4.95/5

Rice (Kerala) was outstanding. Never had this as good outside Kerala. Perfectly cooked. Did not leave a grain of it. Rate it 4.95/5

Aumbole (Bengal) – we did not receive

Sambharam (Kerala) – this had a thin raita kind of base, with raw onions, ginger in it. Ginger made its presence felt.

Absolutely loved the jujube pickle (Bengal). Could not stop eating that. Sticky. Sweet & sour. Flavor of ginger. Perfect. Rate it 4.95/5

Til badam jhuri (Bengal) – very interesting, like podi. Loved having it with rice.

Payasam (Kerala) – did not receive.

Samandhi podi, mango pickle – did not receive.

Overall rating of food at this pop up averages out to 4.43/5

A phenomenal score for such a long menu.

Rating of the organisers – 0/5

Wud be wary to order again from SOUL FOOD, fearing FOUL MOOD. Hope they learn from their mistakes.

Onam pronam (SOUL FOOD COMPANY) A delivery pop up (delhi NCR) of fusion onam sadya , bengali dishes by Pritha sen & Malayali dishes by Prima Kurien)

#bengali traditional food #food pop up #onam #onam pronam #prima kurien #Pritha sen #sadya #soul food company

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vidhyasfood · 5 years

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White Pumpkin Coconut Milk Stew | Instant Pot White Pumpkin Kootu

White Pumpkin Coconut Milk Stew or White Pumpkin / Ashgourd kootu is my vegan take on the classic white pumpkin milk stew or vellai poosanikai paal kootu as we say in Tamil. Make this white pumpkin kootu in less than 30 minutes in your Instant Pot. A quick vegan & gluten-free recipe for those busy weekdays!

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#instant pot south indian recipes #south indian kootu varieties

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shamehill56-blog · 6 years

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Pongal celebration, Pongal shopping list

What is Pongal festival? Pongal festival is celebrated widely among Tamil nadu people, devoted to Sun god. It is also celebrated in the places where ever Tamil people are living - like Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, Sri Lanka, US, UK etc;.

Wishing all my reader and follower friends a Happy Pongal! I am not going to write the basic details about pongal festival, please check wikipedia if you want to know about the basics of the festival. Even Though it is celebrated by all the tamils, it's not the same way it is celebrated by every family. Each family, each household have different way, traditions that is followed. I did not even realize my in-laws family had a different way of celebrating from the way at my mom's place.

After I got married, I haven't been there to celebrate pongal with them. So every year, my mami ask me to visit them when it's pongal. But usually Aj will have cyclic test and won't be able to make it. Last time when they visited, I requested them to come here to Singapore to celebrate the festival. So last year (2018), my mama, mami came here for celebration along with my two other brothers-in-law family🙂. Last year, I could learn a bit from my mami what is our custom and traditions to be followed. First I was little nervous on how I would manage all the things, Vj gave me confidence and told since many people are there, they will all do their part and no need to worry. As he said, While I concentrated only in the cooking part, I got all the help from my co-sisters, mami to prepare for the poojai. I just concentrated on cooking for the entire family along with pongal keeping. Before I go through the way we celebrate pongal, if you are looking for pongal recipes, click here for the pongal recipes. Disclaimer: This is just how we celebrate pongal festival at our household. Please check with your respective family elders to follow your traditions. I just wanted to share and keep a record of how we celebrate pongal festival. Though the customs and traditions are changing according to our convenience, availability, I just wanted to keep it written for my future reference. Let me also share the pongal shopping list/ checklist.

Shopping list for pongal:

Poojai items

Kungumam

Sandal

Flowers

wick (thiri nool)

Betel leaves, nuts

Banana

Agarbathi, sambrani

Camphor

Sesame oil/ vilakku yennai

Mango leaves/ maavilai

Kaapu kattu if applicable / available (kind of a bouquet with white flowers and yellow flower sarakkondrai, etc,)

Vegetables:

Fresh ginger

Fresh turmeric

Sugarcane

Mochai

Broad beans

Raw banana/ plantain

White pumpkin

Yellow pumpkin

Sweet potato

Colocasia/ arbi/ seppankizhangu

Karunai kizhangu/ yam

Banana leaf

Coconut

Grocery checklist

Moong dal

Raw rice

Jaggery (preferably paagu vellam)

Ghee

Oil

Cashews

Cardamom

Nutmeg, edible camphor

Milk

Let's start with how we celebrate pongal. First and foremost, they figure out when is the Tamil month 'Thai' exactly born, by referring panjangam. We use paambu panjangam (பாம்பு பஞ்சாங்கம்) for referring all such timings for festivals etc. Whenever the month is born, my FIL or MIL takes bath and lit's lamp. The lamp is also not the usual ones, its called madakku (மடக்கு) - large lamp made out of mud. So let me start how we celebrate pongal festival: Soak 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup raw rice, grind to a smooth paste in liquid form to draw maakolam (மாக்கோலம்). Draw a kolam at entrance of the house. You can refer my parents blog learnkolam.net for pongal kolams. Here's what my mami drew last year.

Draw kolam as shown below in three places. One at the regular pooja place, one for veetu deivam and one for Surya bagavan. So total three places. My mami drew these kolams last year.

Here are the lamps cleaned and kept ready for the poojai. The brass vilakku is my paati's and the other are respective from our mom's house.

In the pooja place wall, using avarai ilai (broad beans leaf or pungai ilai) crush and make a rectangle using the dye from the leaf. 7 rows of 7 dots are kept each in one different item and colour.

Black - kan mai (kaajal) or sago saandhu

Red - kum kum

White - kola maavu (rice we ground)

Green - Same leaf but darker shade

Viboodhi

Sandhanam

Manjal

We use cardboard to do as we do not have white wall at pooja place. So either we can keep the cardboard for the upcoming festivals or can also create new ones. I already tried to check with my family why we do it and the reason behind to understand better, but there's no much information available. So I have to check with other elders when I visit India and enlighten myself.

This setup is for two places- one at regular pooja place and one for veetu deivam. Last year, my co-sister helped me drawing this and cleaning pooja vessels with me. Prepare one wooden plank - wash and dry. Draw kolam over it too and let all kolams dry. A big agal vilakku (madakku - large lamp made out of mud) is tied around decoratively with a white thread. It is called thaai vilakku (தாய் விளக்கு) Which represents the late daughter-in-law of the house (here, my father-in-law's mom).

In the wooden plank, raw rice is spread preferably new fresh harvest rice (புது அரிசி). Keep the thaai vilakku in the middle. Keep one lamp (brought by the daughters-in-law during their marriage) each for the daughters-in-law around the thaai vilakku. So here, one for my mom-in-law, one for me, two more - one each for my co-sisters, as I have two co-sisters. So total 5. After my Mom-in-law, I have to take all these traditions and follow it. That time, the thaai vilakku will be for my Mom-in-law. And the tradition goes on.

The wick (thiri nool) for these vilakku is not the regular cotton wick we use. There is a thread called ''paavu thiri" (பாவு திரி) and we have to count in 50s or 100s. Take required length of the thread and cut. first tied a knot on the top. Then like we plait our hair, divide into three and make a plait. End it and tie a knot to secure. This is used same way for all the lamps. My grandfather used to run this thread 108 times in Padi, and it is then taken out, plaited to wick. But my father-in-law takes counts of thread, measures length and plaits the wick as these days padi is not available at homes as well as madakku. So this wooden plank is kept in front of the regular pooja place, over the kolam we drawn earlier. In front of this arrangement, a thalai vazhai ilai (Full banana leaf) is spread. Over which, 5 or 7 betel nuts & leaves, coconut, flower on top of the leaf, vegetables like raw banana, broad beans, sweet potato, arbi (seppankizhangu), yam (pidi karanai) are kept in sets, the same count as above.

So once the lamp is lit by the eldest in the family (take bath and lit with wet veshti/ towel), Make ready the pongal pot by decorating it. Viboodhi pattai, kunguma pottu is kept. Manjal and ginger is tied around the neck of the brass pot (vengala panai). One panai, each for sweet pongal and ven pongal. The pongal pot should be full, so buy the pot accordingly. My mom in law used a thread and inserted a piece of manjal and ginger in it, tied around the pot. So you might not see much. Seems she does this usually to avoid the leaves catching fire while cooking.

The stove should be clean and can be decorated with kolam. The whole day, everyone in the family should do fasting. Only after pongal, we can have food. Menu to be cooked :

Payatham paruppu (South Indian style moong dal)

A thayir pachadi

A sweet pachadi

2 poriyals - I made vazhakkai poriyal, avarakkai poriyal

7 kari kootu

Pongal sambar with payatham paruppu (moong dal)

Apart from ven pongal (to be consumed instead of regular rice) and sweet pongal.

All the menu prepared uses fresh turmeric, fresh ground spices and no onion or tomato, using only the 7 vegetables.

After the above cooking part is done, including the pongals, we start poojai. At each place (3 places) - a pair of kuthu vilakku is lit. In front of it, over the kolam drawn, keep a plate with a pair of vethalai, paaku, coconut, a pair of banana.

In front of main pooja place, 5 banana leaves (One thalai vazhai ilai and 4 edu) is spread. Usually 7 is done, but now a days, we cannot consume all these as the family is smaller than the earlier days. So we did 3 at each place according to the number of family members.

In each leaf, ven pongal, sweet pongal are kept, patted using water and made dent in the middle. Add a slice of banana, a small piece of jaggery over it. Pour a tsp of ghee.

Keep all the cooked items too in order.

First the regular place is done with poojai. Later, veetu deivam and surya bahavan should be offered at the same time, so me and Mom in law did together simultaneously.

Once the pooja is done, offered to crow, we all enjoy the food. We all sat on the floor and had food together. It was great experience last year and I was just imagining how the festival would have been celebrated those days earlier in our households where they had their own cultivation lands, cattles, cows and a very large (joint) family😃.

Source: https://www.rakskitchen.net/2019/01/pongal-celebration-pongal-shopping-list.html

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south-indian-recipes-blog · 6 years

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Make Your Dishes Tasty & Yummy

South Indian cuisine includes the cuisines of the five southern states of India—Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana—and the union territories of Lakshadweep, Pondicherry, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Typical dishes include rice, dal, vegetables, roti, papad, dahi (yogurt), small amounts of chutney or pickle, and a sweet dish to top it off. ... However, in South India, rice is the only staple served with thalis.

Idli is a steamed dish made with a hitter of rice and urad. Healthy and satisfying, idlis can be had for breakfast, supper, or as a night nibble. Presented with sambhar and chutneys, it is a standout amongst the most loved snacks in South India . The fundamental idli player can be upgraded by including millets, vegetables, coconut drain, et cetera, to make countless variations of this famous dish, for example, the Vegetable Idlis.

South Indian Dals and curries are as a rule soupier than their North Indian partners. The South Indian sustenance strikes a decent adjust of straightforwardness, nourishment, season, scent, taste, and is outwardly engaging. Idli is considered as outstanding amongst other breakfast on the planet. Idli has a decent blend of starches from rice , protein and minerals from urad dal. Advance the maturation procedure makes it wealthy in great microorganisms and as it is steamed there is no loss of supplements and no additional calories are included as it isn't singed in oil.

Sambar

Typical Indian masala dosa (Kerala style), is a combination of shredded, cooked, and fried vegetables with Indian sauce and several spices as the basic stuffing, enveloped by a thick brown dosa made out of a dal and rice batter. To embellish this unique preparation, it is served with hot sambhar and coconut chutney.

Sambar is a customary South Indian Recipe made with lentils and vegetable, much the same as a stew. This dish overflows with the integrity of lauki (bottle gourd), cooked lentils, dried entire red chilies, fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds, crisp curry leaves and a blend of vegetables and so on.

A customary South Indian primary course comprises of Sambar blended with rice and eaten with a type of vegetable side dish, trailed by yogurt blended with rice. Other than being presented with steamed rice as one of the principle courses, Sambar likewise goes with Idli, Dosa, Vada, Upma, Uttapam and other South Indian tidbits.

Jug Gourd Sambar or Lauki Sambar is flexible, nutritious and part of regular cooking in South India. Including vegetables like Bottle gourd (Lauki or Surakai) in Sambar makes it more delicious and sound.

Eating of Bottle Gourd has a great deal of medical advantages. ly every path as scrumptious and delightful as the one cooked in customary way.

One-pot suppers have an exceptional place and are a most loved among families and singles alike as they concoct very quick and need less exertion. Additionally like numerous other Indian one pot suppers this dish is delicious and sound as well.

VEG BIRYANI

The conventional style of making Veg Dum Biryani calls for moderate cooking of rice with vegetables and flavors for a long time, along these lines mixing their flavors in the rice. In any case, it isn't practical to cook this dish at home often because of the vast measure of time it takes.

Biryani is a dish which is cherished by most Indian individuals. You can make this delectable dish effectively with this formula, since cooking the vegetables and rice together fundamentally lessens the measure of time it takes for cooking. Veg Biryani tastes best when delighted in alongside Mint Raita or Onion Tomato Raita

Veg Biryani is a blended rice dish well known in whole Indian subcontinent and among the Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi individuals around the world. Vegetable Biryani is made with rice, avariety of flavors, lentils and vegetables. Contrasted with another blended rice dishes and its associate Vegetable Pulao, Biryani has a more grounded taste of curried rice because of a higher measure of flavors.

Bread Upma

Bread Upma is a customary South Indian formula. It is an appetizing and tart dish which can be filled in as a Breakfast or as a convenient solution supper.

Bread Upma is made by cooking Bread pieces in a fiery treating made of chillies, onions, tomatoes, crisp curry leaves and mellow zest powders. The dish tastes extremely scrumptious as the bread pieces douse up all the masala.

While Bread Upma is initially a south Indian dish, in most recent couple of decades, it has increased more extensive acknowledgment and preferring in different parts as well. It is generally filled in as breakfast however there is no bar getting a charge out of it at some other time.

Bread Upma is every now and again arranged as a breakfast in India.

Onion Rava Dosa

The most effective method to Make Onion Rava Dosa

1.Mix the rice flour and rava with some water and blend till its a smooth hitter.

2.Add the asafoetida, cumin seeds and salt.

3.Cover and keep it in a warm place for a couple of hours to age.

4.Mix the cleaved onions, green chillies, ginger, cashew nuts and dark pepper in a bowl and keep it aside.

5.Heat a level container (tawa) and oil it with a spoon of oil. Include some water in the dosa player and make it into a thin hitter.

6.Pour 1/2 measure of the player in focal point of the skillet and rapidly spread with outward winding movement to shape a thin hotcake of around 8 crawls in distance across.

7.Sprinkle some onion-green bean stew blend over it. Speck the edges with little oil and cook until brilliant dark colored.

8.Using a spatula deliberately overlap the dosa and expel from the container. Serve hot with chutneys or sambhar.

Rice and Coconut Pancake

Douse rice and dessicated coconut in water for around 6 hours

2.Check for rice to turn delicate.

3.Add of every a blender alongside sugar and salt and granulate for no less than 7 minutes4.Add yeast and mix for an additional 2 minutes.

5.Let the player rest in a warm zone for the hitter to rise or refrigerate medium-term.

6.Heat a dish and pour a spoon brimming with hitter at the inside

7.Twist the dish to get the coveted shape, close the cover and cook for around 3 minutes till the closures turn light dark colored.

MANY SOUTH INDIAN DISHES

Coconut Rice

Curd Rice

Tamarind Rice

Masala Dosa

Idli Sambhar

Vada Sambhar

Vermicelli Upma

Rava Dosai

Bagala Baath

White Pumpkin Kootu

Blended Vegetables In Coconut Milk

Vankaya Pachadi

Vadiyalu

Ugadi Pachadi

Pesarapappu Payasam

Sorakaya

Nuvvula Podi

Panasapattu Curry

Mamidikaya Pulihora

Cucumber Pachadi

Vegetable Rava Uppuma

Olan

Paruppu Usili With Green Beans

Neer More

Jackfruit Puzhukku

Sambar

Tomato Rasam

Moru Curry

Buddy Payasam

Koottu Curry

Parippu Curry

Semiya Payasam

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