Features

18

Apr

By The Press Editor

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Features, Lifestyle

How well do you know Kerala’s native mangoes?

Kadukkachi, a native mango variety | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT The Mallissery mango, found exclusively in the Nedumbassery region of Ernakulam district is the one that goes into the famous tangy Angamaly mango curry. The aromatic Kotturkonam varikka is Thiruvananthapuram’s pride, the Kuttiatoor mango from Kannur is the first native variety to get a GI tag and the Olor mango common in Vadakara region is loved for its size and sweetness. As much as we relish our Alphonsos and Banganapallis, this summer, let us get to know Kerala’s native varieties better. If one were to navigate through this fascinating mangoscape, one…

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11

Apr

By The Press Editor

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Features, Lifestyle

Food start-up Tocco connects home chefs from across the country with people looking for healthy snack options

Remember that craving for homemade pickle, mulagu podi, chammanthi podi, poha, cookies and chivdawhen you were away from home? If you live or have lived away from home — either as a student or for work — you know it. And it was something Mumbai-based engineer Reshma Suresh felt intensely when she moved away from home in Kochi to work in Mumbai. Those care packets from home, with pickles, mulagu podi, chammanthi podi (chutney powder) and banana and jackfruit chips were eagerly looked forward to.  Although some of these or their iterations would be available in supermarkets and online e-commerce platforms,…

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11

Apr

By The Press Editor

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Features, Lifestyle

Indian restaurants host food festivals for Thingyan, Songkran, Aluth Avurudda, and Nepal Sambat

This month, a number of Thai, Nepalese, Burmese, and Sri Lankan restaurants across the country will kickstart festivities to mark their respective new years. We have seen the boom of small-seater restaurants, foraged ingredients dotting menus, and the celebration of traditional Indian cuisine courtesy of pop-ups and food festivals. Now, we are seeing the latter evolve into a larger trend of Indian restaurants commemorating traditional festivities across Asia and Southeast Asia with menus backed by intensive research and field trips. This not just spotlights the growing popularity of authentic regional food from Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal, among others, but also…

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10

Apr

By The Press Editor

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Features, Lifestyle

Looking back at the culinary legacy of Anandam Home Caterers in Thiruvananthapuram as it turns 50

Cooking in progress at Anandam Home Caterers’ kitchen | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT A legacy built on trust and goodwill. That is how Raji Gopalakrishnan summarises the 50-year-old journey of Anandam Home Caterers in Thiruvananthapuram, started by her late mother, L Anandavalli or Anandam G Nair. The golden jubilee year is special for 60-year-old Raji in that the third generation, her children Lakshmy R Suresh and Vishnu R Suresh, is helping her run the business. Anandam G Nair, founder of Anandam Home Caterers | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT “Amma was a remarkable person in many ways. She was socially very…

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03

Apr

By The Press Editor

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Features, Lifestyle

Tamil Nadu’s oldest ice cream spots

Apple milk, Madurai Apple mix or apple milk, an ice cream-like dessert served at Amsavalli Bhavan in Madurai. | Photo Credit: G. Moorthy Nothing much has changed at Amsavalli Bhavan on Madurai’s East Veli Street ever since it was started 75 years ago. The hand-painted signboard, mosaic flooring, a narrow flight of stairs that leads one to the dim-lit air-conditioned dining room upstairs… In the 1970s, a new dish was added to its strictly non-vegetarian menu: apple mix, popularly known as apple milk or apple ice cream. Since then, it has become a ritual for anyone who eats their seeraga…

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28

Mar

By The Press Editor

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Features, Lifestyle

How community staples are inspiring Mumbai menus

“It’s written in the wind.” The saying holds significance to the Kolis. This ancient fishing community, endemic to Mumbai and its neighbouring coastal villages, calibrates the various characteristics of the sea breeze — its speed and direction to even its smell and salty taste — as harbingers. Crucial decisions are made based on it: when to head out into the Arabian sea in their colourful wooden boats; and when to return to shore, fishing nets laden with a bounty of lobsters, tiger prawns, squids, and, if lucky, iridescent silver pomfrets. The last one is the star of the Koli mejwani (feast).With Kolis…

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27

Mar

By The Press Editor

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Features, Lifestyle

Thiruvananthapuram’s Eateries put their spin on idlis

Growing up, Athira J was not a big fan of idlis. “If someone at home said we have idli for breakfast, my whole mood would be spoiled,” she says. However, now, Chaikaari, the eatery she runs with her cousin Arun Kumar BS, sells around 2.5 lakhs idlis a day, through its five outlets in the city. The brand serves varieties such as ghee podi (a lentil-based spice seasoning) idli, kariveppila (curry leaf) podi idli, butter podi idli, ellu (sesame) podi idli, cilantro podi idli and peri peri idli. Athira J and Arun Kumar BS, founders of Chaikaari. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL…

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27

Mar

By The Press Editor

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Features, Lifestyle

Julius Fiedler on ‘Hermann’, plant-based food and his new book ‘Naturally Vegan’

In a world of reels and shorts, where edgy, dramatic recipes stand out, Julius Fiedler aka Hermann — a German who now calls the U.K. home — is an outlier. He makes a sincere attempt to pronounce the names of dishes correctly (the Tamil paniyaaram, for one) and cracks open a coconut expertly, much to the admiration of an audience far removed from where he lives.Fiedler, a filmmaker-turned-food creator, who has 2.4 million followers on Instagram and 7.73 lakh subscribers on YouTube, has been popularising plant-based food for some years now. He speaks of the homes he has visited, makes idli/dosa batter from…

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26

Mar

By The Press Editor

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Features, Lifestyle

A pani puri spot in Thiruvananthapuram run by four women grabs attention

Manjusha Das (third from left) and her friends at their pani puri cart, Chashu Mumbai Pani Puri at Paruthippara in Thiruvananthapuram | Photo Credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN It is half past seven on a Saturday evening. The stretch near MG College at Paruthippara in Thiruvananthapuram has come alive with vehicles stopping by the row of food stalls. Among them is Chashu Mumbai Pani Puri, where two women are at work. Soon two others join them. They are Manjusha Das, P Niwetha, John Crishma Mole and Asiya D. Chashu was opened early this year on this stretch, which is fast emerging as…

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20

Mar

By The Press Editor

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Features, Lifestyle

Exploring Bengaluru’s Iftar hotspots: Shivaji Nagar, Frazer Town, and Koramangala

Bengaluru, for all its tech-driven energy, is not exactly a city that never sleeps. Unlike Mumbai’s 3 am vada pav stalls or Delhi’s all-night paratha joints, most of Bengaluru winds down before midnight. Late at night, the roads empty, streetlights hum in solitude, and even the city’s famous cafés shut their doors. But during Ramzan, a few pockets of the city defy this drowsy routine.The air is thick with the scent of grilled meats, the streets hum with chatter, and every corner has something sizzling, smoking, or being stirred in a giant pot. On the evening of March 14, we…

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