My Indian food experience tour: patra

Genuine Indian restaurants outside India, serving more than curries and samosas, are quite a rarity in Germany, maybe because the need to adapt to the local tastes. Besides the knowledge of people bred and growing up there, there is also a chance to have a taste of special Indian foods through the special stores delivering original dishes, even though only in a box. At the recommendation of my friend, one of the many boxes purchased the last time was also the mysterious - for me - patra that I was courageous enough to finally try a couple of days ago.

Patra, patrode or alu vadi is a vegetarian dish specific to Maharashtra, India. Patra means leaf in several Indian dialects. It is made of colocasia or banana leaves stuffed with rice flours and various flavourings such as spices and tamarind. In the box, it is stored as a long roll batch that I cut into small buns.

The recommendation is to fry it in coconut oil or ghee - in both cases I still haven't give them a try - but I preferred to used some thymian oil. My patra has the following composition: aloo leaves, chickpea flour, green chilli, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, nutmeg, mustard seeds, coriander, turmeric, coconad shreds. I fried in the oven at 250C for around 10 minutes.

My first bit of patra was a real explosion for my palate. Such a diverse full of contrasts mixture was an extraordinary encounter, hard to describe. My first slice was consumed without any side dish as I was not sure what to expect. The sweetness and perfumed notes - added by the nutmeg, for instance - melts into the chilli notes, but what you feel at the end is just a strong spicy taste, I personally never experienced before. A couple of slices later, I still did not know how to match it, and didn't want to alter the original taste either, but most probably some simple sticky rice or some fresh tomato and cucumber slices would have been a good choice for the second bit after the patra.
I am happy to have tried this dish: it created a special food experience and brought new tastes and spices to my palate. One day, maybe I will be able to prepare my own, preferably in India.

Trying Dates Rice Pudding

Puddings are such a delicious treat but my skills are not very advanced in this respect. Therefore, I am trying intensively to improve, including by introducing new tastes to my palate. As a couple of months ago I made a very interesting trip to an Indian store with my friend acknowledgeable in everything meaning Oriental spices and taste matches, I brought home, among many other treats I will feature in my next posts, a mixture of Dates Rice Pudding. Initially, I wanted to try it for Tu B'Shvat, but took over by the preparations fever I completely forgot about, until a couple of days after.

But it is never too late for a Kheer pudding, so I prepared it the last week.

Inside the colourful box, there was a small plastic bag - 155 gr. - of the mixture made of sugar, treated rice - which looks like small salty crumbs - dried dates, pistacchio and cardamom. The kitchen was instantly invaded by the pleasant cardamom smell, which seems to be the strongest ingredients, which gives the special smell and taste to the composition.

In addition, you also need 1 liter of milk. I added the mixture to the milk, at moderate cooking temperature and slowly mix together for 15-20 minutes. If you are familiar with oriental foods - rice, for instance - you may already know that one of its specific features is the careful (read OCD-like) attention to stirring over and over again. This time, I got easily distracted by the strong sweet spices aroma which made the chores much much easier. 

After the pudding was ready, I poured the composition into a bowl and waited for another couple of hours until was ready. Actually, to be honest, I had a little bit to be sure that everything is fine, and was instantly charmed by the aromated, rich and pleasant taste and a fine, silky texture. Usually, it can serve four, but in this case, I wanted to keep it all mine. For foodie blogging reasons, of course. The next stop will be to learn how to do it myself...

New British food discoveries

Travel is always an opportunity to get closer to new recipes and food habits. During my last trip to England and Wales, I discovered a few new traditional recipes and fruits. 

I am always excited to taste new fruits and flavours that I cannot find easily in Germany. There it is also an exquisite selection of quality fruits. Such as, the seedless Egyptian grapes. Grapes are in Egypt the second fruit crops after citrus. Due to the religious restrictions, there are no world known brands of Egyptian wines. There are several table grapes available, but the one I tried were a ruby seedless type, very delicious, with a balanced taste: not too sweet but not too sour either. A delicious choice for ending up in a healthy way a summer meal. It also confers a very good hydration.

I have a lot to learn about food and types of food and thus, no wonder that I was not familiar with fish and chips. Berlin has currywurst and the States the hamburger, and the Brits do like the fish and chips. As in all cases, this fast food meal was the result of the rapid industrialization being aimed to offer to the developing middle classes a fast meal between shifts. In entered the British world in the 19th century and remains a popular food whose preparation can go beyond the simple and fast recipes. Compared with similar 'fast foods', it require a bit of style, especially the battered fish. A little bit of vinegar, added to the water and flour mix of the batter brings more savoury to the fish. Creating the delicate slices of potatoes also requires a lot of patience and exercise. A delicious healthy tomato salad is a fresh add to a rich meal. 

If asked one month ago what the name ''Pukka' suggests, I would immediately mention a very boring computer game I used once to play for the sake of filling my time while thinking at something else. I was completely ignorant about what Pukka pies mean and how much they are part of the British eating vocabulary. The company created in 1963 produced nowadays around 60 millions pies pro year. The company has its onsite beef butchery, and the pies are free of hydrogenated fats, preservatives or artificial flavourings. The most frequent recipes include: steak and kidneys, beef and onion, potato cheese and onion, chicken and mushroom. A successful business and branding story.

Interview of the week: Vijay Rajendran, from the Hungry Globetrotter

When I saw that the Hungry Globetrotter was created in 2010, I wondered where have I been all this time. I discovered the concept through a guest post of the founder, Vijay Rajendran, hosted by Monica Bhide. A couple of months after I have my own interview with Vijay and I am very thankful for this opportunity!

The interview was also published on my travel blog: ilanaontheroad.wordpress.com

Source: http://www.hungryglobetrotter.com/

When food and customs meet!

- What does Hungry Globetrotter mean?  

The company name is derived from my many years of traveling and exploring the world’s cultures, in which food and the customs surrounding it play a major role.  We strive to offer subscribers the opportunity to experience these countries via their taste buds, if they cannot board a plane and visit for themselves.

- Who was your first customer?  

After friends and family, our first customers were folks who stumbled upon us online while searching for a better way to experience delicious foods from around the world.

Southeast Asian food is on sought

- What are the most wanted products right now?  

We see a lot of excitement for Southeast Asian food, this requires many sauces and spices and requires a balance of salt and sweet and spicy.

- How it is possible to order?  

Our monthly World Dinner Club subscription plan offers members one box representing a different destination each month. The boxes are meant to serve 4 people and include ingredients, detailed instructions, photos and background on the food and locale.  People can visit our website to join very easily.

- What is the minimal amount requested?  

People can also request individual boxes if they do not want to join the monthly club.

 - Are there any geographical restrictions? 

 No. We strive to offer an extremely diverse selection of cuisine and destinations highlighted.

- Do the program operate together with other systems, such as Miles and More, Dinner Club etc.? 

 Not at this time.

A big network of partnerships 

- What partnerships do you want to conclude for the next 12 months?  

We work with a variety of partners, a collection of which is always expanding.  Here are a couple of partners that we’ve highlighted recently: http://www.hungryglobetrotter.com/blogs/hungry-globetrotter/7327422-azalina-s-malaysian-products, http://www.hungryglobetrotter.com/blogs/hungry-globetrotter/7530368-featured-flavor-partner-sabrosa-salts

- Do you plan to have any kosher and vegan products in the future?  

We aren't actively designing a kosher or vegan or gluten free subscription box, but many products on our web store can be enjoyed by people with very specific dietary regimens.