TASTY MANTRA - Definition and Meaning of TASTE

TASTY MANTRA

The Definition and Meaning of TASTE and TASTY

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Long back I had a maid who used to cook quite well.

One day I invited some colleagues and their families (including my boss and his family) over for dinner and I decided to ask the maid to cook the food.

Apart from the usual fare of daal, rice, roti and a vegetable dish, I asked to her make chicken curry (which was her “signature dish”).

She cooked delicious chicken curry for us every Sunday and we really loved it.

At office, I often boasted about how lucky I was to get a good maid who cooked delicious food and I especially praised her chicken curry. So everyone was quite keen to taste this much hyped inimitable chicken curry.

“These guests are very special and they especially are looking forward to eating your chicken curry,” I told the maid, “so make it tasty. Please make the chicken curry really tasty.”

Now I did not know one thing – the definition of “taste” and “tasty” in my maid’s dictionary.

As far as my maid was concerned, “taste” meant rich (oily) and spicy and making food “tasty” meant adding plenty of oil and lots of chilly powder.

So when she cooked the chicken curry she made sure that she added generous amounts of oil and chilly powder. In fact, she had prepared the dish in copious amounts of oil and “richly” spiced (especially chilly powder).

The guests arrived.

Everyone was eagerly waiting in anticipation for the chicken curry.

The dish arrived and it looked very appealing and mouthwatering – yes, the chicken curry looked sumptuous, succulent pieces of chicken floating in rich opulent gravy.

The moment we started eating the chicken curry our tongues were instantly on fire. 

Yes, our tongues, our mouths, our whole insides were blazing and we all broke out into a sweat. 

Never before had we ever tasted something so hot and fiery. 

The rich greasy gravy further added to the pungency and the “kick.

Everyone kept drinking glass after glass of water to cool down their insides which had been set on fire by the red-hot chicken curry.

Had it not been for the “bland” vegetable dish and daal, which saved the day, the meal would have been a complete unmitigated disaster.

Next morning, surveying the leftovers, our maid was surprised to see that that there was plenty of chicken curry left over in the fridge, whereas the daal and vegetables were wiped out clean.

This was exactly the opposite of what she had expected.

I told her what had happened and asked her: “why did you put so much oil and chillies in the chicken curry?”

She said, “but you told me to make the chicken curry tasty. And how can a dish be tasty unless it is rich and spicy?”

“But what about the vegetables and daal – they were quite okay,” I said.

“You didn’t tell me to make the vegetables and daal tasty, so I made them normal,” she said.

‘Okay,’ I said, ‘from now on make everything “normal”. Please don’t make anything “tasty”.’

Epilogue

A few days ago I ordered Biryani at a local restaurant in Wakad near Pune.

Now, to the best of my knowledge and experience, Biryani is supposed to be mildly spiced.

But the Biryani served to me was so highly spiced, terribly red-hot and greasy that for me it was impossible for me to eat.

So I called the manager and told him not to make the Biryani so spicy and greasy and that he should tell the cook to put less oil and chilly powder in the Biryani.

Do you know what he said?

He said: “Sir, how can food be tasty unless you put oil and chillies? And most customers like “tasty” food.”

I instantly remembered the words of my erstwhile maid.

Well, they were the culinary “experts” and maybe I am out of sync.

Now I know the meaning and definition of the terms “taste” and “tasty”:

“Taste” means rich (oily) and spicy and making food “tasty” means adding plenty of oil and lots of chilly powder.

HAPPY EATING (and Happy Cooking)

May you always enjoy “Tasty” Food

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2013

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Did you like this foodie story?

I am sure you will like the 27 short stories from my recently published anthology of Short Fiction COCKTAIL
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COCKTAIL ebook

If you prefer reading ebooks on Kindle or your ebook reader, please order Cocktail E-book by clicking the links below:
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http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925

Foodie Book:  Appetite for a Stroll
If your are a Foodie you will like my book of Food Adventures APPETITE FOR A STROLL. Do order a copy from FLIPKART:
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional  and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramwamankarve@gmail.com

      

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

KHAU GALLI - EATING OUT IN INDIA - STREET FOOD

EATING OUT IN INDIA - STREET FOOD

KHAU GALLI 

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Youngsters, like my own kids, may prefer eating in Food Courts in Malls but old timers like me prefer Khau Gallis - yes, I still prefer the yummy value-for-money street food in a Khau Galli rather than the insipid expensive fare served at most Food Courts in the ubiquitous Malls and so-called Fast Food Joints that are proliferating like hobgoblins all over Pune.

Khau Galli

What does this mean?

Well, in Marathi, Khau means Treat, a Food Treat.

And Galli means lane, or street.

So Khau Galli means Treat Street, or Food Lane, or Foodie Lane, call it what you like.

(Lovers go to the Lovers Lane but Foodies go to the Foodie Lane aka Khau Galli)

Every city, town, neighbourhood, locality, and person, has a favourite Khau Galli.

When I used to stay near Churchgate in Mumbai, my favorite Khau Galli was the one near Cross Maidan, off Marine Lines, on the lane connecting SNDT University Sunderbai Hall to Fashion Street.

Here amidst the teeming crowd, I used to relish to my hearts content, the choicest of street food like Pav Bhaji at Lenin Pav Bhaji stall, Vada Pav, Misal, Juices, Milk Shakes and juicy syrupy hot Jilebis, and even non-veg delicacies like chicken curry and delicious gravies at the dhaba-like shack towards the Cross Maidan.

In any good Khau Galli, the variety of street food is awesome - you name it and it will be there – all types of cuisine, snacks and fast food.

But if you are one of those high-falutin snobbish hygiene-maniacs please stay away from Khau Gallis, for Khau Gallis are meant for the Trencherman with a cast iron stomach.

Mumbai has so many Khau Gallis, maybe hundreds of them, at least one in each neighbourhood. 

Apart from the Cross Maidan Khau Galli near Churchgate I mentioned above, another favourite Khau Galli of mine was the Khau Galli near Strand Book Store in the lane connecting PM Road with Fort Market. 

In Mumbai, even the Navy had opened two Khau Gallis - one in Navy Nagar and one in NOFRA, both of which served delicious value-for-money food.

And I am sure that every city and town in India has delicious Khau Gallis.

In Mumbai, during Ramzan, every evening, the entire lane near Minara Masjid off Mohammed Ali Road, transforms itself into a spectacular Khau Galli with mouthwatering aromas wafting through the air and exotic foods, ranging from lip smacking kababs, meats and chicken, nourishing malpuas, refreshing phirnis and cool soothing faloodas its a magnificent gastronomic experience.

In Delhi, I can never forget the fantastic inimitable Khau Gallis in Old Delhi - the kababs, the biryani, the nihari, the meats and the sweets and the lip smacking food around Chandni Chowk. 

I am sure you have been to the inimitable Parathe Wali Galli and also relished the unmatched incomparable finger licking syrup dripping lip smacking rich sweet succulent pure ghee Jalebi at Dariba Lane, nearby. 

The Khau Gallis of Old Delhi are the best of all and I am going crazy just thinking about all the delicious food I have relished there, so before I go into gastronomic raptures I will control my foodie thoughts and come back to Pune. 

In Pune, where I now live, there are a number of terrific Khau Gallis in the heart of the city, and in Pune Camp, but now let me tell you of some Khau Gallis I visited recently.

On Karve Road, as you walk towards Deccan, on the opposite side of Garware College, right opposite Café Paradise and the Railway Booking Office, you cannot miss a food stall called BIPIN Snacks. 

This is one of the few places in Pune where you can have your fill within fifty bucks. I love the Khichadi Kakadi, the Pav Patties, the Shira and even the Misal 

(I personally prefer Bipin’s Misal to the nearby highly hyped Katakir Misal [since closed down] which I find a bit too spicy for my palate – of course, you cannot match the Misal served at Vinay Lunch Home in Girgaum Mumbai). 

The Batata Wada and other snacks like Pohe at Bipin are quite tasty too. 

You can wash down your meal with Mango Panha or Tea, as you please. 

If you are still hungry, you’ve got a Paratha stall nearby which serves a variety of wholesome stuffed parathas and I love the fluffy buttery Dosas at the Dakshin Davangiri Dosa Stall too, best washed down with cool sugarcane juice from the stall next door.

Treasure Park, near Bibwewadi, too has a number of decent eating joints ranging from a Biryani place, to the ubiquitous bhel, pani-puri and chaat stalls, a good veg food place, an ice cream and mastani parlour, a soda fountain, a Dosa shop which serves excellent dosas, pizza joints and the best of all, a café called Delicia which serves yummy chicken momos, burgers and sandwiches. The steamed momos at Delicia are really good. I love the fruit flavoured sodas at the soda fountain too.

I regularly visit the Khau Galli opposite the Vivekananda Memorial on the Pune Satara Road near Bibwewadi especially for the Bhel, Pav Bhaji and the lip smacking Dosa and Uttapam at Shri Durga Dosa Stall. 

The heart of the Pune City and Pune Camp too have some excellent Khau Gallis like the one opposite the University at the beginning of Senapati Bapat Road and the famous “Chowpatty” Khau Galli in Camp near the GPO.

Restaurants in Pune are becoming expensive day by day, and the quality of the food they serve is certainly not commensurate with the high prices they charge. 

Thanks to Liberalization, the IT Boom and the huge influx of multicultural population, even heritage places like Good Luck, George and Blue Nile (with the new air-conditioned ambiance and hiked up prices) are trying to solicit new “high falutin” customers with plenty of money in their pockets.

And the food served in malls, multiplexes, most restaurants and star hotels is certainly not value-for-money food.

Sadly, most new eateries in Pune cater to the so-called connoisseur and not the earthy trencherman. 

So, Dear Reader, if you want value-for-money lip-smacking food you better start exploring the streets of Pune. 

And if you discover some good Khau Gallis in Pune, or in your city, do tell us all about your eating experience.

Dear Fellow Foodie Traveller, Dear Earthy Trencherman -  Which are your favorite Khau Gallis? 

Do tell us about the Khau Gallis you have discovered during your travels all over.

 

I eagerly wait to read about your mouthwatering experiences at your favorite Khau Gallis so that I too can relish the lip smacking yummy food, of course in my mind’s eye!

Happy Eating

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2013

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Did you like reading this article? 
I am sure you will like all the 27 stories in my recently published book of short stories COCKTAIL
To order your COCKTAIL please click any of the links below:
http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme
http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm
http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/short-stories/cocktail-by-vikram-karve.html
COCKTAIL ebook
If you prefer reading ebooks on Kindle or your ebook reader, please order Cocktail E-book by clicking the links below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925

Foodie Book:  Appetite for a Stroll (a Book of Foodie Adventures)
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a large number of fiction short stories, creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramwamankarve@gmail.com

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

  

EATING OUT IN WAKAD

LIVING IN WAKAD

Eating Out in Wakad

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Eating out in Wakad – that’s a real joke. There is nowhere to eat out in Wakad. Yes, you don’t even get a decent Vada Pav or Bhel or Pani Puri or Misal or Dosa or Idli or Utthapam or Chola Bhatura or Pav Bhaji or a pastry or ice cream or a quality hygienic affordable value-for-money meal in Wakad.

Last evening I felt hungry and a craving for a Dosa. Now there is no place you can get a Dosa or a decent affordable value for money food in Wakad. So I had to go all the way to Shivsagar in Aundh to have a dosa.

A few years ago, when I lived near Aundh, I regularly patronised Shivsagar, which used to be a reasonable eatery for vegetarian food and snacks, but sadly now, maybe owing to the monopoly situation as there is no other competition around, it is quite expensive and the quality of food and service has gone down. Maybe it is due to the proliferating IT Pros with loads of money at such a young age who don’t bother too much about the affordability or value-for-money aspects.

For a foodie like me, it’s really sad – you can’t eat out in Wakad – for eating you have to go out of Wakad.

There is my old favourite Sadanand, still going strong, down the Katraj bypass road at the corner of the diversion to Baner. And across the flyover towards Hinjewadi there are a few high falutin places which serve good but expensive food like Café MoMo at the Marriot, Mezzanine and Admiralty and on the road towards Mumbai there is Sayaji, strongly recommended by my son, which I am planning to visit soon, especially for a feast at Barbeque Nation, and I believe there is Ginger nearby too, and I have seen a few “Dhabas” and “Garden Restaurants” dotting the road, and Soul Curry quite a distance away, and the solitary Dominoes Pizza which is the only place which provides home delivery.

Here, in Wakad, there is not even a single decent clean and well-lighted place where you can sit down in comfort with your family to relish a simple snack or meal, like the ubiquitous Udipi restaurants you have all over Pune. There is no street food either, for there are no streets!

I was fortunate to have lived at the best of locations in the heart of the best of the cities – like Churchgate in Mumbai and near CP in New Delhi, which afforded an excellent quality of life, and sometimes I wish we should have chosen a smaller place in the heart of Pune. But then the main reason we came out here to Wakad is for the convenience of my darling wife who works in Hinjewadi just five minutes away. Maybe my wife knew about the food scene out here and wants me to reduce my weight so that’s why she chose Rohan Tarang in Wakad.

On a positive note, my apartment is real good – plenty of light, plenty of air, plenty of room, an excellent view, all of which generate cheerful vibes. The connectivity is good too – it takes less time to reach Navi Mumbai than to reach the other end of Pune. The air is relatively unpolluted and the  place is not congested (at least the place where I stay) unlike some other concrete jungles of Pune and, of course, I would any day prefer to stay towards the Mumbai side of Pune than towards the Ahmednagar, Solapur, Saswad, Satara, Sinhagad or Nasik sides of Pune.

It is early days yet and let’s hope things start looking up. The road is being widened, the public transportation may improve, and hopefully in case BRTS comes on the main road, there may be pedestrian pavements and cycle tracks too like on Satara Road which is delight for walkers and cyclists though it narrows down the road for cars and motorcycles, and of course the convenience of travel in BRTS buses.

Here, seeing the speed at which buildings are coming up all over, it looks like they have put the cart before the horse in the expectation that as the burgeoning townships in Wakad start getting occupied and the population multiplies, demand will create supply, and hopefully various amenities will come up – Malls, Multiplexes, Banks, Shopping Centres, Bookstores, Parks and Playgrounds, Joggers Tracks, places to hang out, the various things that enhance the quality of life, and most importantly good affordable value for money restaurants and eateries to enjoy good food.

We never plan, we hope, hope for the best, and sometimes hopes come true! Let’s hope for the best, be optimistic, pray with our hearts that the quality of life will improve, and maybe Wakad may soon become the best place in Pune to live in.

Before I end, let me tell you something you probably may not believe, incredible but true. Just before I relocated, I made a request via internet to BSNL for a landline and broadband connection at my new apartment in Rohan Tarang and promptly got an SMS that their staff would visit my place and give the connection immediately.  I waited for a few days and when no one from BSNL turned up, I enquired with BSNL. I was shocked when BSNL informed me that it was not possible to give me landline telephone or broadband internet connection as there was no optical fibre cable in that area. Well, I don’t live in an uninhabited desolate mofussil area in the back of beyond or deep within remote uncharted forests and jungles – I live in a most modern township just a stone’s throw away from the much hyped “state-of-the-art” Infotech Park at Hinjewadi in Pune, which is being flaunted as the IT Capital of India. And, by the way, most of the persons living out here are IT Pros. That’s “Cart before Horse” infrastructure development for you!

So I make do with my cell phone and Reliance USB Netconnect. It may surprise you but the very same BSNL did provide me with landline and broadband in the jungles of Girinagar! Yes, sometimes rural is better than urban!

Hey, I have digressed. We started off with “Eating Out in Wakad” and look where we have reached! Can’t help it – there is nowhere to eat out in Wakad. Like I said: You can’t eat out in Wakad – for eating, you have to go out of Wakad.

I am hungry. So off I go – where to – I will tell you tomorrow. And I’ll also tell you my long walks with my pet dog Sherry, her fun and frolic chasing early morning creatures defecating in the fields, the friendly souls I meet every day, the pure air and beautiful view from my balcony of refreshing sunrise, breathtaking sunsets, the alluring lights at nightand much more about living in Wakad.

Till then, Happy Eating!

Meanwhile, if you haven’t, do read Part 1 of Living In Wakad – Stay Inside Stay Cool.

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/post/2011/02/stay-inside-stay-cool-living-in-pune.htm

http://karvediat.blogspot.com/2011/02/stay-inside-stay-cool-living-in-pune.html

VIKRAM KARVE 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.