The secrets of Udupi's Madhwa Brahmin kitchen leaked!

[email protected] (News Network | KM Acharya)
August 26, 2015

Udupi, Aug 26: What connects Bisi Bele Hulianna, Saaru, Modaka, Huggi, Majjige Palidya and Drakshi Gojju? These are some of the famed dishes of the Madhwa Brahmin community of Udupi, a coastal town in Karnataka where the Krishna temple acts as a pivot in people's lives.

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Laying out the geographical expanse and scientific logic to the regions Madhwa Brahmins vegetarian food habits, culinary expert Malati Srinivasan and arts and crafts connoisseur Geetha Rao showcase the hitherto unknown vegetarian recipes from Udupi in their book "The Udupi Kitchen."

The authors straddle the traditional and modern and list what was once easily cooked in Udupi households - spice powders, salads and chutneys, savoury snacks, desserts - and elaborate on several recipes which are all-time favourites like Bisi Bele Hulianna, Saaru, Masal Dose and Modaka.

While Bisi Bele Hulianna is a dish of spicy red gram, rice and vegetables, Saaru is spicy red gram soup, Huggi is rice and green gram with black pepper and cumin and Modaka is dumplings with coconut and jiggery filling.

Majjige Palidya is ash gourd with coconut and cumin in sour yoghurt and Drakshi Gojju is raisins in sweet, sour and spicy gravy.

Split into 12 sections, the Udupi Kitchen, published by Westland Ltd, celebrates vegetarian food with aplomb from a town where food is religion as well as a complete mouth-watering experience.

At the core of Udupi cuisine is the use of indigenous vegetables and fruits, cereals and pulses special to the Parashurama Kshetra and traditional Brahmins ate only vegetarian fare without onion and garlic.

According to the authors, Udupi cuisine has a vast variety and is not limited to tiffins or snacks.

"As I began working on this project, I realised how vast and varied our family’s repertoire of Udupi (Madhwa) cuisine was. I wrote down 175 recipes, but have used about a 100 of them in the book," says Srinivasan.

"Writing a cook book for both Indian and non-Indian readers required that a comprehensive multi-lingual glossary be compiled. It also meant using internationally accepted terminology: 'henchu' or 'tava' became griddle, bandle or 'kadhai' became wok, 'tappele' or 'bartan' became saucepan," says Rao.

She says for some kitchen tools like 'eelgemane' and 'ogarane chamcha', which had no "internationally understood" words, substitute words like curved knife blade and tempering-ladle had to be coined.

The story of Udupi cuisine is the story of how a temple-based, Brahmanical culinary tradition got modernised and became a global phenomenon. Food is religion in Udupi.

Fourteen varieties of food are cooked daily and offered to the deity at different times of the day. The food offered to god is 'naivediya', and the food eaten by human beings is 'prasada', food that is blessed.

In Udupi, meals are served on banana leaves in a particular order. Many recipes and foods have also proven health benefits. For example, dishes made from the inner banana stem prevent kidney stones, pepper rasam helps with the lactation of new mothers, jackfruit seeds have high protein content and so on.

The authors also say that the original of the masal dose or the famous masala dosa is attributed to Udupi.

Before it was invented, plain dosa was served with potato playa, without onions, in a separate cup. With changing food tastes, the Udupi chefs began to saute the mashed potatoes with onions and spices.

"As onions were considered taboo food for orthodox Brahmins, it is said that the doses were stuffed with onion-laced playa, instead of served in a separate cup, so that the onion could be 'hidden'," the authors say.

Comments

Usha moorthy
 - 
Wednesday, 8 Jun 2016

I'm extremely pleased that I now have a book to refer to for genuine udupi food!!! Thanks to the authors for painstakingly bringing together these wonderful recipes!!;

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News Network
March 15,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 15: Work from home to using toilets in malls, residents of India's 'Silicon Valley' Bengaluru are exploring all options to combat the unprecedented water crisis. People across various neighbourhoods have been forced to order food from restaurants and take bath on alternate days due to the water scarcity.

Even those in high-rise apartments equipped with water harvesting systems now find themselves reliant on water tankers for basic needs, leading to stringent usage restrictions.

Eateries are mulling over use of disposable cups, glasses and plates to avoid excess use of water.

Educational institutions are also feeling the pinch. Recently, a coaching centre in the city asked its students to attend classes online due to an 'emergency' for a week. Similarly, a school on Bannerghatta Road was also closed, asking students to attend classes online just like they did during the Covid pandemic.

Residents have come with up new methods to try and conserve water. With temperature rising, it is difficult to avoid a daily shower but they are left with no option but to take bath on alternative days, said Sujatha, a resident of KR Puram.

"What to do? Clean vessels, cook food, wash clothes....so, we have started using paper plates, that way we have cut down on our water usage. And we order food twice a week. We are using the washing machine only once in a week now," she said.

Some others have resorted to visiting a mall to take a shower or use the toilet facilities.

Lakshmi V, an IT professional living in Singasandra, has been requesting her firm to allow WFH option so that she and her family can temporarily shift to her native place in Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu until the situation becomes better.

"If the situation persists, we are thinking of seeking a work from home option. We are planning to move to our native place in Tamil Nadu temporarily till rain arrives here," she said.

Bengaluru primarily gets its water supply from two sources - Cauvery river and groundwater. For most non-drinking uses, recycled water processed by sewage treatment plants is used. With no rain for a while now, the primary sources have been stretched to their limits. Bengaluru needs 2,600-2,800 million litres of water daily, and the current supply is half of what's required. The result is a daily struggle for the city's residents.

The brunt is also being borne by people living in the outskirts of Bengaluru, especially in 110 villages that were merged with the city in 2007.

The crisis has also turned into a political battle between the state's ruling Congress government and the opposition BJP with Lok Sabha just weeks away. While the BJP has held several protests blaming the government, the Congress has accused the BJP-ruled federal government of not providing financial assistance to drought-hit Karnataka.

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News Network
March 15,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 15: Former Karnataka chief minister and senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor at his residence in Bengaluru last month.

Yediyurappa, 81, was booked after a woman lodged a complaint saying that she visited his residence on February 2 seeking justice in a rape case against her daughter and sought that a special investigation team (SIT) be formed to look into the case.

According to the first information report (FIR), Yediyurappa allegedly took the minor to a room, closed the door and sexually assaulted her. The woman further alleged in the FIR that when she confronted Yediyurappa, he said that he was checking if the girl was raped or not. Yediyurappa later allegedly apologised and asked the woman not to reveal the matter to anyone.

The Sadashivanagar police in Bengaluru have registered a case under Section 8 (commit sexual assault) of the Pocso Act and Section 354 (a) (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Reacting to the allegations, the former CM said that around one-and-a-half months ago, they (the victim and her mother) had come to his house seeking help and he had taken them inside. 

“After listening to her, I called the city police commissioner B Dayananda over phone seeking to address her problem. Later, they spoke against me and I then suspected that there is some health problem with her. I sent them to city police commissioner’s office. I even gave her some money as they were in distress. I came to know that an FIR has been registered and will look into it. But this is what I get for helping someone,” he added.

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March 27,2024

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Gokarna (Uttara Kannada): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday said the Congress will decide about making him the Chief Minister in future, bringing to the fore again the issue of leadership change.

There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the Chief Minister's post after the Assembly election results in May last year, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy Chief Minister.

There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational Chief Minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.

During a temple visit here, a priest prayed that God's blessings may be showered on Shivakumar, and he became the Chief Minister.

Speaking to reporters here in Uttara Kannada district, Shivakumar, who has in the past made no secret of his ambition to become Chief Minister, amid speculations of change in guard mid-way of the Assembly term, responded to talk in some political circles about the leadership issue.

"What's wrong if a priest expresses his desire before God while praying? The priest has expressed his desire. Now Siddaramaiah is the Chief Minister, I'm working as Deputy Chief Minister under him, also as party's state President. People speak about it and desiring it (Shivakumar should become CM) is a different matter, it will be decided by our party," Shivakumar said.

"Now we are all working under the leadership of Siddaramaiah, and our desire is that the state should progress further under his leadership," he said.

"There will be people including supporters and priests, who pray for us, they will express their opinion. Can we stop them from doing it? At the temple it is between God and his disciple, they have expressed their feelings to God," Shivakumar added. 

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