Chronicles Of The Sassy Fork

We celebrated Masala Day (20th May) at the Sodabottleopenerwala at Phoenix Mills,the creative brainchild of Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal who has formed a calendar of Indian Food Observance Days.Masalas are a reflection of our culture and our values.I am not just talking of the myriad ingredients that go into each spice blend that make each community's signature masala unique.I am talking about the way we are, as Indians.A mix of various states and diverse cultures yet the focus of all is more on the family rather than the individual,on togetherness and not the self.Somewhere one's identity may get a bit blurred in the greater mosaic but it's well worth it.Like our masalas.They are about a whole lot of spices and herbs together, in contrast to the simple spices of Western cuisine (which are nice in their own subtle way). We create a whole new dimension of flavors,colors and textures with our Masalas.We are like this only!! The evening was exciting.Rushina set the b

It was our Sourdough Bread class with Sujit Sumitran that got us thinking on the possibility of a class on Kerala cuisine.The lunch was prepared by his wife Sudha and was so different and flavorsome that many of us wanted to learn how to make the dishes.So one fine day,we embarked on our journey of making appams and some wonderful dishes to accompany them at the Eighth Studio by Anurita Ghoshal at Bandra.Fish curry-rice is the staple of most Kerala homes while some have sambhar and rasam.Appam and Istew and Puttu-kadala (rice cake with coconut with chickpea curry) are also commonly eaten. To make appams,rice has to be soaked and fermented (with yeast and sugar) and made into a batter.Some people add toddy.Appams have a soft thick centre and a thin periphery.My first one was at the Konkan Cafe at Taj President which used to have an excellent Seafood Thali.for just Rs 500! Haven't been there in years.They have an open kitchen and we would watch the chef make appams w

Food fascinates me and a whole lot of people!! No wonder then that the University of Mumbai had its first All India Conference on Food as Culture "Archaebroma".The United Nations recognizes three cuisines for their cultural significance: French,Mexican and Japanese.Why not Indian? We do have a really long food history.Exactly what the conference seemed to stress upon.We need to take food more seriously,have more research and more literature.The traditional of oral history is not enough.We need to document, else it will be lost forever!            The India Study Centre (Instucen) and Centre for Extra Mural Studies (University of Mumbai) organized a two day event which started off with an introduction by Ms Mugdha Karnik who is Managing Trustee of Instucen and one of the organizers along with Kurush Dalal and Raamesh G.R.She pointed out that food needs to have an academic touch and is an important tool for global unity. The first day of the conference was on  Co