My travels to India Mumbai

Now let me tell you about my trips to Indian or at least make a start. To tell about all my 10 visits would take a lifetime and a few more visits to refresh all my memories.

I shall start with my first trip in 1993 with one of my favourite cities: Mumbai formerly know as Bombay. 

The first time I visited the place I felt heat like I had never felt it before. Noise and chaos beyond belief.   And the smell oh and the smell I repeat!. The mix of street food of all types, rose perfume and talc worn by many women is a combination  you could never imagine combined with exhaust pollution married in with the the heat and soot. 

Coming off the plane after flying over the Mumbai slums left me feeling anxious and sad. The airport echoed almost like an under resourced hospital with more people than beds. Nevertheless, the officers in charge wearing khaki uniforms (incidentally an Indian word with the same meaning in English) were most helpful …. Helpful in the sense that they ordered you about like cattle to be fed along the tracks for registration and passport control. Last thing you need when you have just got off a plane having flown economy from Europe with an inconsolable baby. The baggage collection convey belt made more noise than the traffic out side and I could not help but notice the number of Indian men who had moustaches.

That’s was my very first flight to Mumbai and India in 1993. I have been back many times and have experienced far better journeys - including one of my best flights anywhere with Emirates. 

I  recall the  huge crowds of people waiting to meet their loved ones at airport exit and of course three-wheel rickshaws and taxis drivers wanting to take you anywhere for a “fair  price” of course. The extremities of poor and wealthy. Rickshaws zooming in and out of traffic;stray dogs lolling and snoozing  by the side of the road and the noise was incredible.It was so loud!The honking of horns by drivers in Mumbai was not simply to warn passers byers but a mere act of releasing tension from working in a tireless packed city that seemed to only give way or stop for the relaxed cows that make their way through the crowds.  The place blew my mind in and out with all it had to offer. The  extremities of the city certainly kept everyone on their toes. The whole country felt very alien to me and I felt homesick for the first time and in all sorts of ways. 

My reason for going was to meet relations that I had never seen before. I had very little preparation.  I felt emotionally drained after I realized that I had nearly 500 people to get through.  Feeling very Yorkshire/Indain I soldiered on hoping it would be OK.

Mumbai has a vast amount to offer. I guess I would have to say that the food is exciting , but it was also very neat.  The range on offer was colourful influenced by many invaders/settlers/refugees. Somehow they blended together and form the core of Indian cuisine,.

After landing I was in need of nourishment.  On the way to our lodgings I spotted a street vendor.   He sat on a stool with a burner in front of him.  It was the neatest little sandwich toasty shop if that is what I can call it.  He served me a spicy Indian toasted sandwich with a filling of my choice.  He selected the filling from a  compartmented tray with all sorts of vegetarian fillings together with spices and maslasa.  So much to choose from!  I had boiled potatoes, spiced up Indian lime ginger chilli paste and some spices he recommended with a layer of tomato and a serving of cumin cucumbers of the side.   He served all this up at 03:00 near a suburb called Andheri setting me back 14 rupees - my first spend  - about 11p to you peeps

The city of Mumbai seems to respond to any need any time of the day with all guns blazing.   You have just got to ask. http://mumbaiboss.com/2013/06/03/mumbai-food-memories/

Valentines Day

Valentine’s Day is the one day of the year when we can be really girly  and kitschy 

Its a day for champagne and this exotic Italian liqueur made out of wild strawberries.Also for sentimental ballads,chocolates hearts and of course roses.  

My Valentines day usually starts with a love brew.
That made me wonder how the day was celebrated in India. This site suggests that the day is celebrated there very much as it is here. Even in Bollywood. Surprising, really, given that we have our Kamadeva and Kama Sutra which go back even further.

I googled St Valentine and came up with a late Roman martyr . I also came up with Scott’s novel better known as “Fair Made of Perth”. 

I spent Valentines day with Stephen Fry last year.We discussed how it all may or may not have got started. We also discussed language food and culture.After our chat I served him a delightful little potato dish with the  aphrodisiac herb coriander...Unfortunately Stephen later told me that he doesn't like coriander.And he's not alone.There are a whole load of people around the globe who's think it taste like soap. There is nothing aphrodisiac about it to them....
Returning to roses the red rose was the favourite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love hence why its given to your loved one so much.
My dried rose petals come to good use to decorate and serve a byriani or even my strawberry ice cream with touch of cardamom.The queen of spice.

Although nearly every restaurants in the land has its Valentine’s Day special, it’s not the best day for eating out. It’s hard to get a table. It’s expensive. And unless you’re an item it’s not the day for dining out even with friend of the same sex. Remember that scene from “Sex and the City.”

Your best bet is probably to dine in. Now if you have a sweet tooth you will be spoilt for choice including my strawberry and cardamon ice cream which has cream sugar and fresh strawberries galour, but if your more “sweet than can eat” try the savoury alternative of potato and cashew nut with lime leaves served with cucumber raita.

Described by Kate Spice of The Times as “Better than sex” with may be a song or two.

I was sang to with this lovely song L-O-V-E  Nat King Cole by my sweet partner once and still adore the song now.  

What ever it is that your up to this year, make it a sweet treat and eat yourselves sexy from my list of aphrodisiac foods to help you to turn up the heat!  

•  Asparagus the folic acid stirs up lust in man and woman

·  Chocolate is known to touch the pleasure centre of the brain.Chocolate contains the antioxidants as does red wine.So the secret for passion is to combine the two.Try a glass of Cabernet with a bit of dark chocolate

·   Almonds the aromas thought to induce passion in females

·         Chilli is an invigorating spice, has an exotic reputation and stimulates endorphins

 ·     Aniseed has been used as a aphrodisiac since the Greeks and Romans who believed sucking on the seed increases your desire.

• Raspberries and Strawberries perfect foods for handing  to your lover.
• Figs symbolises both sexuality and modesty 
• Mustard is believed to stimulate the sexual gland and increase desire.
• Pine nuts prized for its ability to aid both male and female potency
• Arugula the herb is thought to provide  amazing energy to the body.  
• Oysters goes back hundreds of years as aphrodisiac food for more reasons than one, personally an oyster from the sea served to me, is just not for me. 

    ooh la la as the french folks of the sexy city of "Paree" would say x 

                                                                       

         

Vindaloo, Bindaloo, Tindaloo- Oh what a Stew!

The Brits love vindaloo. It was England's campaign song in the 1998 Football World Cup.
Maybe they'd have done better with Smug Roberts's "Meat Pie Sausage Roll". Another foodie song.
According to @southportgal  (Professor Rochelle Almeida of New York University) in response to one of my tweets, vindaloo derives from the Portuguese word vindaloo. The Portuguese brought the dish to Goa, their toehold in India. 

I understand vindaloo was originally a pork dish cooked in chilli, garlic and vinegar. Now all that would appeal to Brits - especially after drowning their sorrows in the pub when their team loses - but not so much to Indians and even less to those countries in the south subcontinent who see pork as unclean significantly, it does not feature on many menus in Bradford, Yorkshire where there are many people of South Asian heritage but it is available at the Maharaja in Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire where there are rather fewer
Now my friend has just asked me for a recipe for vindaloo but I just can't as I have rarely, if ever cooked it, Ok... I relent. Heres goes my dearest

• 1  tablespoonful of chilli powder. 
• 1 cup of vinegar. 
• A whole bulb of garlic. 
• Whatever spices you have at the back of the cupboard. 
• Any type of meat you fancy: bear, crocodile, kangaroo - doesn't matter because the marinade will tenderize any cut of tough, cheap meat from any animal.   

Marinade the lot for 8 hours in a brass bowl.Then cook for as long as necessary. Serve with a towel and bog roll or two and be sure to be near your loo.Don't forget the microwavable boiled rice to calm things down a degree or two.
My lawyer warns me to be careful in case the good folks of Southport, Connecticut take this post seriously. Surely Americans have a sense of humour.
Don't they? and you Brits have been warned not to try this at home!

Left overs

First, let me say that a leftover need never be left over! All food should be treated with love and respect right down to the last mouthful.  And that includes leftovers.
Let me give you an example.

 Tonight I cooked

• Chicken liver with fresh ginger and coriander  
• Basmati yoghurt rice with toasted black cumin and onion seeds together with my prawn favourite curry  
• Vegetables in a a spicy black bean sauce.
• Haddock pan fried in a delicate garamasla and tamarind paste
• Roasted green garlic papadoms
• Carrot cucumber and tomatoes wedges dressed with my special spiced olive oil
• Followed by virgin sugar cane chunks 

And here is what was left over. An edible tricolour.

When eating leftovers it is always more appetising to pack and present the excess food as though you were starting all over again. It's pleasing both to the eye and palate and far more appealing when revisiting the leftovers.
I do try not to waste food. I like to finish my plate, I take modest portions from the serving dishes rather than than the whole meal all in one go..
Spend a little time serving yourself so as to encourage eating with pace and pleasure. Judge how much you actually need. Then any leftover will be fresh and clean. Not something that has been pushed around someone's plate or even you own.