Upma,Vadai in South Indian Breakfast onboard Shatabdi Express |
“I love to take the Rajdhani just for the food”.
That’s something I’ve heard from many who’ve booked
themselves on one of the many Rajdhani trains that connect important cities in India as
they criss cross many others. What the fully airconditioned, fully
serviced-- all meals served, bedding
thrown in -- Rajdhani Express trains are to long distance or overnight trains,
the Shatabdi Express is to short distances, generally involving about five to
six hours travel at most.
If Rajdhani serves all meals, the Shatabdi ride has just
enough time for a bed tea—yes, you read it right—breakfast, or tea, or tea and
dinner, depending on the duration and timing of the journey.
It is not about great food really. But it is about the
relief of eating a decent meal without having to take the trouble –or enjoy the
pleasure –of planning, preparing and
packing a meal or may be two or three. The task becomes a bit more than routine
because such food has to have a shelf life when out of the fridge!
I take the Shatabdi very often, particularly the New Delhi-Chandigarh-Kalka train, and of
course the return.
At one time, the menu used to be changed frequently. Now
they’ve done away with that. Instead you get a choice --- parathas with pickle, or potato cutlets with fried peas
thrown in, or omlette with potato fries and fried peas. Or
what the waiters call a South Indian breakfast.
Whatever you take, you get a tetrapack of juice, generally
mango; two slices of break, a bubbleburst of butter and jam, tea bags/coffee
sache,sugar,creamer and hot water. I suspect most people prefer to make their
tea or coffee to their own taste.
Last weekend, when I took the train, I opted for the South
Indian breakfast. Some hot upma , a vadai,
what was meant to be coconut chutney, and what is supposed to be sambar,
is what they served.
The upma was ok, the vadai had more maida than urad, perhaps
because the caterers have begun to feel the pinch of its price.
Sambar was
always watery arhar with some veggies thrown in, but with most vegetables very
costly, it had some orange carrots and onions.
And in place of chutney was some buttermilk with a bit of coconut,
churned together, almost no salt!
The size of the vadai had also so shrunk that not long from now, it may be ring sized. One would have to eat the not South Indian component--bread,butter,jam-- for the breakfast to be filling enough, in terms of quantity.
They would have done well to dispense with bread,butter ,jam
in the South Indian breakfast, and served a decent upma-vada platter, proper
sambar and chutney. I also recommend some Bru coffee to go with this.
Upma is the most basic of South Indian breakfasts, easy and quick to make, almost a never-fail-you
dish.It can be totally no-frills affair, or rich, drizzled with ghee, garnished
with a lot of cashews. Mid-way it can be a healthy meal with an array of
vegetables adding to nutrition and visual appeal.
Here goes the recipe for the basic upma:
Sooji /Rawa/Semolina –1 cup
Water-2 cups
Refined oil—two teaspoons
Mustard seeds-half a teaspoon
Urad dhuli split-1
teaspoon
Hing-a pinch
Salt to tast
Green chillies-three or four
Ginger –optional
Curry leaves—a few
Roast the sooji till a lovely aroma surrounds you. Keep
aside.
In a frying pan, add the oil, when it is hot, add the
mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the urad and the hing. When urad turns
golden, add the curry leaves, chopped green chillies and giner. Stir for half a minute.
Now add the water,
and salt. When the water comes to boil, reduce the gas to sim, and slowly and continuously, add the roasted rawa from
the plate or pan, with one hand, stirring
with the other hand, so that no lumps are formed.
Once all the rawa and water have blended, place a lid on the
frying pan, and let it cook in low flame for another four minutes.
The upma is ready to be moved into a serving plate and
garnished., with coriander,cashew nuts or roasted peanuts, curry leaves etc
For great presentation, and taste, I recommend greasing
small bowls with ghee, packing the upma in this, and then turning it upside
down on the plate. Now you may garnish it any way…
I have often reduced the water and added leftover rasam,
with great results.
And of course, a master chef has won $100,000, making a dish inspired by the humble puma. To know more about that, keep checking this blog.
For now,enjoy the basic puma.
(Photo taken on my Nokia E5, photoshopped a bit)
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