Palmiers from a Soul Ranchikud

This is a real soul cocina, that's soul kitchen, or soul rasoi in Hindi, or in Konkani soul ranchikud. Ranchi means to cook, kud means room. Jila Bakery in Raia, South Goa near Margao has a real soul ranchikud. They make everything by hand, the old fashioned way with real ingredients. No commercial mixes, no dough sheeters, no kitchen aid mixers, no hobart mixers, no thermometers, no substitutes, no joke.Everything is made by hand, as you can see from the photos of these two happy bakers who happen to be brothers. The pots are all handmade copper pots that the family made. They built their own wood burning, coal oven. There are no temperature gauges, they know when the temperature is right for there eclaires, macaroons (melt aways), and palmiers. They cook sugar for fondant by eye. The gas and electric company came to the bakery to ask how they could provide so many tastey treats to Goan households and restaurants with such a low energy bill. The bakers showed them their tools. Wooden spoons, copper pots, hand whisks, and a brick wood fired oven. Electricity is only used for a few fans and lightbulbs in the bakery and a few common electrical things in the home part of the home-bakery. The bakery was started 30 years ago by a trained and accomplished baker and his family. The baker was a top pastry chef at the Taj Hotel in Bombay before returning to Goa to open his shop, Jila bakery. When the chef passed away his sons continued to carry on the tradition with the same love and skill. I just happened to find Jila bakery on my way to meet with the famous Goan Chef Fernando of Nostalgia Restaurant, also in Raia, South Goa. I stopped, on my way to Nostalgia, at a jam shop to see if I could learn how they make and package the jams. I was hoping for another lesson in jams and canning to add to what I learned last year at June Taylor's marmelade class, where we learned to extract pectin from lemons. Or maybe pick up some canning secrets to add to what I have learned with Sara Ko. Unfortunately, they didn't let me in behind the scenes (the owner was not there), but they directed me to "Goa's most famous bakery", which was just around the corner on a peaceful road behind some flowering trees. I was welcomed in as soon as I arrived and the lady who greeted me gave me some samples of some sweets. They were happy to show me the bakery and they even showed me how to make their famous palmiers. I made a little video of the palmier demo with Konkani music for the soundtrack. One of the two brothers is also a musician and he gives music lessons at the home bakery. They showed me a video of a news piece about Goan food that was hosted by legendary cartoonist and comedian Mario Miranda. Mario visited the bakery on the show and interviewed the family. He even got some footage of the musician brother teaching violin. I do not remember the bakers'names, but I will be bake to Jila bakery soon. Slow cooking in Goa.
Video: Palmier Demo at Jila BakeryA Soulcocina Motion Picture Presentation

Tune: bakershop Boogie by Willie Nix

Mapusa Market

The Friday market in Mapusa is the best market I have found in Goa. The Panjim Market is great for everyday shopping, but the Mapusa market has everything the Panjim market has and more. The market also caters to farmers with agricultural products like seeds and farm tools. There is lots of dried fish, dried shrimp, makarel, and Bombay duck (bombil or bummalo). The first time I tried Bombay duck was when Major Marfatia took us to a Parsi restaurant last year in Mumbai called Britanias. Ever since then, Bombay duck has been my favorite lizardfish. You can also find fresh Bombay duck at the Mapusa market, as well as pomfret, rockfish, kingfish, clams, and lots of other fresh and dried seafood.
The long thin dried fish on the left is Bombay duck
Tune: Bombay duck by The Ventures

Mapusa comes from the Konkani words maap, meaning "measurement", and sa, meaning "to fill". The market dates back to as early as 1850. There are some curious antique shoppes near the market. I saw some old gramaphones for sale so I started my hunt for old Konkani and Hindi records. There was one shopkeeper that kept some old records in a pile on the ground under an antique cabinet. They were Portuguese and Hindi records that seemed interesting (some Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar 78's) but they were all scratched and cracked. The Indian climate really takes its toll on old records. Although I didn't score any film scores on vinyl in Mapusa, I did get some great tracks back at home in Dona Paula. Instead of the old fashioned way, these songs came to me via bluetooth from a friend's cell phone to my laptop. Cell phones are used in India even more than in the US, if you can believe that. SMS (text message) is one of the most common forms of communication in India. So here are some Hindi film classics that were bluetoothed to my computer.

Tune: Khoya Khoya Chaand by Mohammed Rafi

Tune: Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si by Kishore Kumar

The best bread in Goa is baked the old fashioned way. Without any preservatives or dough conditioners. Artisian pao is everywhere in Goa and is prefered to the commercially packaged bread. There are many pao bakeries scattered across Goa and guys ride around on bicycles with big baskets selling poa door to door and on the street. There are a few bakeries that bring their fresh baked goods to the Mapusa market.

More dried fish.
Kokum and tamarind (two ingredients in Ambot Tik.

Avacados in India are much larger than the hass avacados we eat in California. They are even bigger than the Florida avacados. Quiet frankly I have never tasted an avacado in India (yet) that was nearly as good as any avacado I have tried in US or Mexico. This guy said these avacados came from Tamil Nadu.

here is some Konkani music from the 1960's and 70's

Tune: Cathrina by Helen D'Cruz and Henry D'Soaza

Tune: Corun Cantaram by Lorna

Tune: Sezari by Helen D'Cruz and Henry D'Soaza

Tune: sorga Rajeant also by Lorna

Tune: Swapan Go Fantyechem by Hemant kumar and Helen D'Cruz

Tune: Taxiwala by Jerome Desouza and chorus

Tune: Yeo Baile Yeo also by Lorna

Tune: Nach maga nach by Jerome Desouza and Lourdes Colaco
Tune: Love Mi Hafi Get (Nannygoat) by Cutty Rands and Beres Hammond
The easygoan lifestyle reminds me of the caribbean. Goat is used in many Indian kitchens, and it is often served on festive occassions. After slavery was abolished in Jamaica in the 1830's Indian and Chinese workers were brought to the island to work the sugar cane fields under the indentured labor system. The India laborers brought the recipe for goat curry to Jamaica where it is now a popular festive dish, they also brought ganja and dreadlocks.
Tune: Dreadlocks inna tenament by Jacob Miller
You can see young Jacob Miller sing this song in the film The Rockers You can also see him pull a knife on a guy over a chicken leg in the film. If it was Goan chicken cafreal, I would have done the same thing.

Snow Flower

We have been working on a lot of frozen desserts and chocolate desserts at ACE and Cidade de Goa. While studying chocolate, the students at ACE were interested in the way that the Aztecs and Mayans first consumed chocolate as a beverage with cilies and spice. We made a baked Alaska with chile flavored chocolate on a chocolate cake covered with cinnamon meringue. The chocolate used in India is very sweet. I wanted to introduce the students to a more bitter, pure chocolate flavor to use for our creation. I brought some chocolates from San Francisco to Goa for the purpose of holding chocolate tastings for Indian chefs, culinary students and gastronomic enthusiasts. I brought mostly plain dark chocolate and a few flavored chocolates like chocolate and chile pepper, chocolate with coffee and cocoa nibs, and chocolate flavored with absinthe. I brought Scharffen Berger Jamaica ā l'ancienne and 68% Cacao Kumasi Sambirano chocolate bars, some estate grown, vintage Valhrona chocolates, some chocolate I picked up in Paris, and a few more kilos of different types of chocolate. We used a combination of some of these chocolates for our Baked Aztec. We came up with a few different names for this creation that was modeled after something I once made that was called the Taj Mahal. We finally came up with Snow Flower.


tune: Snow Flower by Ananda Shankar from his 1971 self titled album.

Utterly Butterly Delicious

Dabeli and "Indian Pizzas" in Mumbai. These Indian 'za's and subs are way tastier than these and these. Probably because this cook grills his tomatoes for a long time before adding the rest of the ingredients, then tops off his Bombay hoaggies and pies with more chopped tomatoes, this time uncooked. Not to mention the fresh bread that is delivered to his stall every morning by the bicycle pao wala. He also said he uses a good dabeli masala he gets from his brother. Also, he grills the bread w/ Amul butter. The filling is like a slightly sweet version of Pao Bhaji.


Here is a recipe I adapted from a great little cookbook I picked up in Bombay called "Street Foods of India" to create the dabeli filling.
1 KG Potatoes, boiled,peeled, diced
1 C Desi Ghee
20 g Sugar
25 ml Tamarind pulp
25 g Pomegranate seed
25 g Chopped roasted peanuts
400 g Tomatoes, diced
120 g Onion, finely chopped
6 Green chiles, chopped fine
1 1/2 T Ginger, minced
1 1/2 t Tumeric powder
1 t Red chile powder
2t Garlic paste
2t Ginger paste
1 C Water
3/4 C Amul butter (or annato butter)
3t Pao Bhaji Masala (recipe below)
1 C Cilantro, chopped
3 T Lemon Juice
12 Bread Rolls (Pao), cut horizontally
-Heat ghee in a tawa or heavy bottomed frying pan. Fry tomatoes for 3-4 minutes over med heat until the juices reduce and flavors concentrate. Add onions, green chiles, minced ginger and tumeric powder. Stir fry for 4-5 minutes over medium heat.
-Add Potatoes, red chile powder and plenty of salt. Continue to cook over low heat mashing and stirring for 6-7 minutes.
-Add the garlic and ginger pastes, diluted in 1 C water.
-Add masala powder, cilantro and lemon juice. Stir well.
- Coat the bread roll halves with Amul butter and a little garlic paste and place, face down on the griddle to lightly brown.
*Pao Bhaji Masala
Red chili powder 1.5 tsp
Coriander powder 2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
Garam masala 1 tsp
Cumin (jeera)seeds 1/2 tsp
Amchur (mango powder) 1 tsp
Cloves, 5
Hing (Asafoateda), 1 small grain or powder
Black Salt pinch
Salt to taste
Toast Cumin seeds and grind to powder with cloves. Mix together all spices
Tomatoes grilling for pao bhaji at Chowpatty Beach, Mumbai



Meet Amul's mascot, the Utterly Butterly Amul Girl, famous for her witty comments on current affairs across the globe.

The Amul company started as a cooperative of dairy farmers from the Kheda District of Gujrat in 1946 in an attempt to eliminate the middleman and ensure that profits go directly to the farmers. The co-op is now owned by over 2 million individual dairy farmers in Gujrat. This system ensures small scale production while enabling the farmers to market and distribute collectively.

Tune: Butter by A Tribe Called Quest

Aloo Anarkali

Aloo Anarkali

Potato Cups:
500g potatoes, peeled and cut into little potato cups, then boiled in turmeric water

Filling:
250 g mashed potatoes, inluding the holes of the potato cups
125 g chaana dal, soaked overnight, boiled until al dente
2 Tablespoons shai jeera (royal or black cumin seeds)
1 Tablespoon mustard seeds
150g fresh pomegranate seeds
50 ml lemon juice
2 teaspoons chaat masala
2 green chillis, finely chopped
salt to taste
1/2 bunch fresh mint
1/2 bunch fresh coriander (cilantro)
50 g dried candied cherries, chopped fine

Toast cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Combine all filling ingredients and stuff into potato cups. Roast until hot and enjoy as a snack with tamarind chutney, or finish with a red chile gravy and yogurt to serve as a side dish.

Anarkali means pomegranate blossom. The emperor Jehangir, son of Akbar, had a love affair with a slave when he was the Prince (Salim). She was called Anarkali because of her striking beauty.
A play was written by imtiaz Ali Taj in 1923 called Anarkali

Here is a translation of one of the great scenes of the play which was origionally in Urdu. In the movie Mughal-e-Azam (1960), also based on the story of Anarkali and Prince Salim, this scene was filmed in color in the Hall of Mirrors (the Shish Mahal of the Lahore Fort). The rest of the film was shot mostly in black and white so this scene is even more dramatic. It is a classic Bollywood song and dance number where Anarkali (the voice is actually 24 year old Lata Mangeshkar) sings and dances for the king. But in real life the Shish Mahal had not been built durring the king's lifetime. His grandson built the hall of mirrors in 1631. Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan sang a few songs in Mughal-e-Azam. He was one of the most renowned classical singers of his time. He charged 25,000 rupees per song when famous bollywood singers like Lata were earning less than 500 rupees per song.
Download the soundtrack to Mughal-E-Azam here.

The film Loves of a Mughal Prince (1928) was also based on the same tale

Tune: Yeh Zindagi Usiki Hai from the film Anarkali (1953) sung by Lata Mangeshkar

Tune: Aaja Ab To Aaja also from Anarkali.
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Louis Armstrong claimed to be born the same year as Imtiaz Ali Taj, 1900. But Satchmo was actually born one year later in 1901. Louis also died one year after Imtiaz Ali Taj was shot dead in 1970. Being from New Orleans, Satchmo played some festive funeral music.

Tune: Garden of Four Trees (1970) by Explosions feat. Juanita Brooks

Tune: Handa Wanda (1970) by Bo Dollis & The Wild Magnolias

Tune: Question (1971) by Bobby Powell

Tune: Baby (1971) by Os Mutantes

Tune: Purity Brigade (1900) by Edna May from the theatrical play The Belle of New York
Hear more of Little Edna May’s turn of the century recordings here.

Tune: Rocking Chair by Louis Armstrong

In the end, legend has it, Anarkali was burried alive in the walls of the palace.

Tune: Qeej Nqug Rooj (Lao Funeral Music) from The Music of the Hmong People of Laos.

Guava

When I bought a guava from this guy he sliced it up and squeezed lime over it and sprinkled it with chili powder. It was too good.
Tune: The Pessimist Valley of the Guava is a mash up of M.I.A.'s "URAQT" vs Bob Marley's "Guava Jelly" vs Mylo's "Valley of the Dolls" mixed by The Pessimisr

Saved by the Bhel

Bhel puri wrapped in a recycled paper cone from a street vender in Bombay.

Tune: Disco Belle Inna Computer Style Mix from computerstyle.org starts out with Eek a Mouse's classic tune Anarexol and then moves into Junior Gong, Bounty Killa, and present day Eek a Mouse tearing up the tune Khaki Suit. The mix continues on for more than half an hour of vintage and modern dancehall classics.

Tune: Ponton La Belle by Kékélé, a Congolese rumba band.

Tune: Belle by Al Green

Tune: Tikela Nga Mobali by Orchestre Bella Bella Pick up one of there CD's here.

I discovered two of these tunes by way of Benn Loxo Du Taccu check out the site to discover more classic and new African hits and obscurities.

Kids enjoying a packaged snack in the Bombay sun. There are so many plastic packaged snacks sold on the streets of Bombay. Lots of small tiny packages of little treats. Chai used to be served in biodegradable clay cups. Now most chai on the street is served in little plastic cups. There is plastic everywhere on the street and in the sea along the coasts.

Tune: Plastic Reggae Dancehall Mix by Black Plastic Magic with tunes by Fantan Mojah, Tall T & The Touchers, IniKamoze, Ken Boothe, Sizzla, Anthony B, Lee Perry, Bob Marley, Cedric Brooks, and Peter Tosh

Greenpeace India

Diwali

A young pastry chef in Bombay offers up a taste of some fresh badam halwa for Diwali.
After a night of non-stop, ear shattering diwali firecrackers, these Bombayites take it easy

Tune: Sweet Thang by Shuggie Otis, son of Johnny Otis from the LP Inspiration Information is a nice song to take it easy to.

Tune: Take it Easy by The Fugees

Long Dosa

Paper Sada Dosa at Legends of Bombay in Panjim, Goa the night before our trip to Bombay.

Tune: How Long Blues by Count Basie and Leroy Carr from the box set Tibute to Black Entertainers

Tune: So Long by Little Miss Cornshucks (Mildred Cummings)

Tune: Long Live The Kane by Big Daddy Kane

Tune: Long Time by Sergent Garcia

Kadhu

We bought some kadhu at the Panjim Market.
Toast toor dal and mustard seeds with ginger, garlic and curry leaves in a little oil. Add green chilies, toasted cashews and boiled kadhu. Finish with fresh coriander (cilantro) and lime juice.

Tune: Fresh Vegetable by Tony Rebel from the Beatwalla Burnt Curry compilation

Tune: Cookin'? might be the title of this song. I bought the record a long time ago in Berkeley and featured the tune on the Beatwalla Burnt Curry Comp I forget who the artist is and the name of the song. The lyrics are great. Some housewife who can't cook and burns up the curry in the kitchen. All this over a Mary J Blidge beat.

Gulab Jamun

Chena (a form of Indian cottage cheese before curd is pressed into paneer) hanging in cheese clothe to drain out the whey. Chena is used for making many Indian sweets like Ras Malai, Rasgulla, and Gulab Jamun.

To make chena, milk is boiled and an acid is added to curdle the milk. Most home cooks use vinegar or lemon juice. some professional chefs use citric acid.



The curds are strained and hung in cheesecloth to make chena. Then the chena is kneaded by hand and mixed with koya (milk reduced to a thick paste) and a tiny little bit of flour to form a dough that can be rolled into little balls and ...........


.....deep fried. The fried "jamun" balls are then soaked in a thick chini pani(sugar syrup) that is flavored with cardamom and rose.




In Hindi Gulab means Rose and Jamun is a round brown fruit.

Tune: Rose Room by Django Reinhardt with the Quintette du Hot Club de France with Stéphane Grappelli

Tune: Rose Cordial from the Cambodian Cassette Archive

Tune: Ramblin' Rose by Jerry Lee Lewis

Staff Meal

Kingfish curry, fried kingfish, rajma masala, basmati rice.

Tune: Sofa King by Danger Doom from The Mouse and the Mask album.

Tune: Anti-Matter [feat. MF Doom & Mr Fantastik] by King Geedorah

Tune: Get Out of My Life Woman by Albert King from the New Orleans Heat album. New orleans is probably one of the few places in the US that can compete with Goa's heat and humidity.

Tune: Slow and Low is a Run DMC demo for the King of Rock album

Tune: El Tren by The King Elio Boom from Champeta Criolla Vol 2:Visionary Black Music From Underground Columbiafrica

Tune: Old Yazoo by the Washboard Rythm Kings. "If you don't like beans and rice, try some rice and beans" In Belize rice and beans and beans and rice are actually two different dishes. I've never been to Old Yazoo, but I like to think that I'm on my way>

Tune: Tennesee Waltz by Pee Wee King and his Golden West Cowboys is the oldest versions of this song that I have heard.

Tune: Feeling by King Floyd from his album called Think About It

xacuti

For xacuti masala, heat a kadai over high heat and dry roast whole mace, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and black pepper until they become brittle and the aromas permeate the kitchen. Remove the spices from the kadai and add coriander, fennel, and cumin seeds. Roast over high heat until nicely toasted and remove from pan and add to the other toasted spices. Roast white poppy seeds just as the other spices. Also, roast some fresh grated coconut until it is golden brown. Next, it's time to roast the ginger and garlic. In many of the dishes prepared throughout the day the last final touch is a few handfuls of fresh coriander (cilantro) and julienned ginger. To julienne cut ginger there is a lot of scraps and skin left behind. This ginger scraps is used to make the masala for xcuti. Roast whole garlic cloves, unpeeled, with the ginger scraps until they begin to char. Remove the chared ginger and garlic and roast lots of whole dried red chiles. When the chiles re nicely toasted add some oil and fry the chiles for a few minutes. Remove the chiles and lower the heat to medium low and caramelize some sliced onions in the oil that has remainded in the kadai after removing the chiles. Add tamarind pulp to the roasted spices, onion, coconut and chiles and grind to a paste with a little water.
Chef Michael specializes in Goan cuisine. He and chef Arjun have been in the Cidade de Goa kitchen since 1982, before Michael jackson released his Thriller album, but after the release of Off The Wall.

Tune: Human Nature by Michael Jackson from Thriller

Tune: Billy Jean by Shinehead

Tune: Smooth Beats Run DMC meets MJ

Tune: Michael feels like Green Onions is a Mash up of Booker T and the MG's Green Onions with MJ's The Way You make Me Feel, probably done by DJ BC

Elephant Foot Yam

Suran, sometimes known as Elephant Foot Yam is a versatile ingredient in Goa. It is like a very firm and starchy sweet potato. This yam was cubed and deep fried in a kadai before it was added to a simmering pot of vegetarian stew called khatkhatem. I enjoyed working with the Goan chefs. The two head Goan chefs Arjun and Michael have been working in the kitchens of Cidade de Goa since 1982. Soulcocina will definetly feature Arjun and Michael in future posts. The picture below is a young chef, Santosh, from nepal who has been awarded the honorable title of Employee of the Quarter Check out some interesting tubers from Central America at El Amor Por La Cocina

Last year, on the Kerala backwaters, we enjoyed a sweet and tangy suran achar as part of a South Indian thali of fried king fish and many different veg items (beets, cabbage, some kind of squash) along with dal and plain boiled rice that is served on a banana leaf. The thali is served with a little salt. The suran achar was spectacular.


Tune: Yamala by Yunasi from Kenya

Tune: Elephant Dragon from Cambodia cassette Archives

Tune: Rah Rah by Elephant Man

Tune: Scrappy Elephant is a Nuffwish bootleg remix of a Missy Elliot tune that samples Ann Peebles Can't stand the Rain with Elephant Man up in the mix.

Tune: The Elephant and the Fly (1918) by Weyert A. Moor and Benjamin Kohon from an Edison phonograph cylinder