Silly Saturdays: Arabian Desert

As a pre-requisite to get Oman visa, one needs to follow certain procedures. To complete the formalities we undertook a little road trip back to Dubai to cancel our old visa and finish other paperworks.

The drive from Oman to Dubai is real scenic one especially if the weather is not too hot. You would pass through hilly terrain, see some very refreshing greenery and large spans of the deserts. The nature is amazing, even the dry and lifeless desert looks picturesque. As if someone beautifully carved and landscaped it with great effort.

The very sleepy Smera got up halfway through the drive to see the symbolic Arabian Desert. She stared at the view for a while, spotted a few camels too and then curiously asked us.

Mamma: Is this is a desert?

Me: Yes Smera, that’s the Arabian Desert!

Mamma: Are we going to eat it after dinner Mamma?
Me: (Taken aback, took a minute to think of an answer and then said) No darling this desert is made of sand and we cannot eat sand right? The Dessert we eat is made of nice stuff and is yummy for our tummy. 

An Onam to rembember

Onam Sadya

Yesterday was special. Festive, friends, food, friday, fun, fantastic – I can go on and on.  It was certainly a big day for me. Challenge of making 12 dishes completely from scratch, pressure of friends coming over and to top it all it was my daughters first Onam. I had to make it special.

Preparations started a few days back with our big shopping – we had kept some stuff for last minute though. Top of the last minute shopping list was the banana leaf on which the lunch is traditionally served. After a long wait and braving the company of impatient last minute shoppers at Lulu, my Mr. Reliable managed to secure the goods, the previous night.

While Saju was out shopping, I was in the kitchen chopping. Yam, Cucumber, Pumpkin, Potato, Drum-stick, Okra, Cabbage, Carrot, Coconut, Beetroot you name it – they went under the knife. By midnight, every ingredient was ready to cook. They spent rest of the night in our refrigerator - waiting their turn to transform into mouth-watering dishes the following morning.

0400am – Smera woke up earlier than usual this morning which meant a shortened wait for the vegetables. I arranged the kitchen –neatly laid out the veggies, spice jars, pots and pans and got to work. 

1030am – Most of the dishes, Paripu, Sambar, Pacha moru, Avial, Toran, Pachadi, Stew, Errisary, Injipuli, Kalan were ready. Payasam and papadam were next.

1200pm – Three of us got ready in the traditional malayali gear to receive our guests and our friends arrived soon after that.

1330pm – It was lunch time. We got everyone to sit down. Then the banana leaves were laid. Dishes arrived one by one in their order (there is a hierarchy!). Saju gave a running commentary on history and ingredients of each of the delicacies.

Back home in olden days, food was eaten on the banana leaf, sitting down on the floor. Even today, it is customary to uphold this tradition during Onam. Many of us had some adjusting to do before we could master the technique.

Round one was rice with paripu (dal) and butter, then came sambar, after that butter milk (pacha moru), each of the courses were accompanied by a selection of side-dishes.

1430pm - Several servings later, the lunch was concluded with a generous helping of palada payasam (sweet dish made of milk and rice pasta)

During our post lunch analysis, someone asked the origins of this big a spread for Onam. No one knows the exact answer why, but it is quite possible that it is meant to signify life.

It’s got a bit of everything - sweet, sour, salty, spicy, bitter, hot, cold, crispy!

Onam – the fable, feast and my daughter’s first

Onam is here and I am feeling nostalgic. It's Smera's first and has triggered many a childhood memories for me. Growing up, Onam was the biggest celebration of the year, much like Eid here or Christmas in the west. The foodie that I am, most of my childhood Onam memories are around the sumptuous ‘sadya’ (feast) on the Onam day.

Many of you know the story of Onam, but those who don't and for those who need a refresher, here is a summary.

My home state of Kerala used to be ruled by a demon named Mahabali. Yeah you read it right, demon - they are supposed to be bad people but Mahabali was an exception. Kerala was prosperous, peaceful and harmonious under his rule. His regime was so good that even Gods, felt threatened by the growing popularity of this ruler from the dark side. So much so, they devised a cunning plan to overthrow him.

They send the master of disguise, Vishnu dressed up as a sage. Being the generous person Mahabali was, he played straight into their hands. The story goes, Mahabali agreed to a request of 3 feet of land for the ‘sage’ to meditate.  Soon sage turned to a mega-monster and covered sea and land in 2 steps and had nowhere to take the third step.

Mahabali wasn’t one to go back on his word. He asked the sage to take the next step on his head and in no time he was pushed underground, forever. Gods though, showed some mercy on him and granted permission to return to his homeland once every year to check on his people. And that day is Onam when the whole place gets decked up to welcome him.

And this Onam, I will be putting my culinary skills to test. We have invited a bunch of our friends for lunch and to celebrate Onam with us. I have been busy preparing for the task and will let you know how it goes. Here is the planned menu

Paripu

Sambar

Pacha moru

Avial

Toran

Pachadi

Stew

Errisary

Injipuli

Kalan

Payasam,

Rice

Pickle

Papad

Banana Chips

Sharkaravarty

Fried molagu

PS: My 30 Day walking challenge had been progressing well; here are the stats for the last 3 days

Day	Date	Steps	Kms	Time
2	6th Sept, 2011	7616	5.8	1.5 hrs
3	7th Sept, 2011	4826	3.6	30 mins
4	8th Sept, 2011	5226	4.0	40 mins

Picture courtesy: www.commons.wikimedia.org