Food Glorious Food, in Udaipur

When I was in Udaipur, we spent most of our evenings in Chandpole which is the older part of town on the banks of The Pichola Lake and the City Palace. This is the Udaipur that they advertise to the world. It's colorful, bursting to the seams with teeny weeny alleys and houses which seems like it's made for miniature sized people. These alleyways have tinier stores selling lamps, books, silver jewelry, fake antiques, henna tattoos, gaily colored cotton apparel, leather goods, silk paintings, mosaics, the ever-present Rajasthani jutti (pointy shoes) and even lessons in Marwari/Mewari cuisine. Scattered among these are several eateries which vary from downright seedy (by which I mean stomach revolting) to the utter posh cafe like the Greek/French/German Bakeries. But we didn't go to any of these during first few days, NOPE...we were taken to the FC Restaurant (a.k.a Friends Club). Now do not go ahead and assume it was something like the palace in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani! This seedy corner in a very beautiful part of Udaipur's Old Town is neither a Club, nor should it be called a restaurant. I have mentioned seedy once already right, so am gonna call it shabby next, with shoddy service and crappy food (If it should be called food!). The only saving grace, it's right on the banks of the lake, which IS prime real estate, if you ask me and even better the view of the City Palace bathed in golden light (artificial, but very clever lighting). The staff comprises of one very harassed waiter who will inform you that half the stuff printed in the menu is unavailable and the bar offers only beer (The cheap variety) and really cheap rum! As if Udaipur is in Barbados or some other fancy tropical setting, Rum indeed! Am gonna go on a limb and say there is a cook in their teeny, weeny kitchen, coz the thought of that sad faced waiter managing the kitchen/bar and the till is just depressing. And to top it, the restaurant (lets call it that for now) has poor lighting and lives off the 'Golden Glow' from the palace on the opposite side of the lake (Scrooge much!). The reason am telling you this is coz none of our faces are visible in any of the pictures. The restaurant has a beautiful doorway though (Okay another plus point, I agree I can't count...but it's deceiving, okay), it's intricately carved wood which I'd bet my last penny is antique, but don't be fooled by this...It really is an awful place. Which says something about us for going back again! Not all us wanted to, but a group always has some penny-pinching dumbshit who won't even consider an alternative. 

Speaking of the alternative, there are two places (for those on a budget) that is definitely not to be missed. First lets talk about Ambrai in Ameth haveli, coz am just in love with this place (also proves I have brilliant taste coz I wanted to go there first, and the rest said no assuming it would tear a hole in their pockets). It's a Haveli Hotel (no surprises why I love those) again, on the banks of the lake, but even better their restaurant area not only shows you the City Palace, but also the Taj Lake Palace (remember Octopussy, if you don't know...go watch it now idiot!), Gangaur Ghat which is right next to it and if you would just turn your neck all swan-like just a bit, you can see the Oberoi Udaivilas (from Yeh Jawaani hai deewani). Ambiance: beautiful subtle lighting, mood music and warm staff (as in plural). Food & Drink: Amazing, do try the Dhungri Maas (comes with a lump of coal sizzling on top). I liked the Margarita (or maybe it tasted good coz I'd been craving some as mentioned in my previous post). Cost: I felt moderate (more along the lines of that bloody FC with better everything). The pool is to die for...it's right opposite the garden, but hidden in the shade of fragrant Frangipani trees (makes you itch to take a dip). Mind you, the restaurant here serves lunch only in peak season ( October-February) and anyway dinnertime is more exciting, so no bother.

View of Taj Lake Palace from Ambrai

The City Palace

Mohit, Shraddha and I in Ambrai

Next place, The Lake Picchola Hotel, which by the way is right next to that awful FC! This is another Haveli Hotel, on the banks of the lake, they even have a jetty and the wrought iron staircase has bougainvillea!  As you enter, you find a cobblestone pathway with a beautiful garden and leafy palm fronds (mystifying...I felt it looked right out of an Arabian Palace) which leads to the concierge and restaurant. The chandeliers, lamps and mirrors in this place I tell you are just breathtakingly beautiful. My eyes popped at the opulence. Highly polished antique wood furniture and antique fans whirring over my head (woohoo, I was in heaven for a while). The staff, warm and welcoming. I've just told you about the ambiance. Food & Drink: Excellent, we loved the Laal Maas and Ker Sangri. I had a Grey Goose Martini which was really good. Cost: Moderate and again that stupid FC cost almost the same. They do have a rooftop Pool and restaurant called 'Upre', but we didn't go there. This place has the most amazing washrooms, Shraddha and I just loved it, the mirrors, fancy antique-y faucets and all! By the way, this place has been around a really long time, it was built in 1559 A.D.

Laal Maas and ker Sangri

Told you we fell in love with the washroom

Yeah well, if you had to stay in KVK for 10 days you'd be excited too when you saw all those fancy stuff!

And for those who want something cheaper still, you have the German Bakery or Cafe Edelweiss as it's known. Do not step into the French or Greek Bakeries, these places just have fancy names and nothing else to offer, though the cold coffee in the French Bakery is not all that bad (or that was just because Jahnavi and I were really tired and thirsty). The Greek bakery does not have a single Greek pastry to save their name, and I went in expecting to eat Baklava! Although the German Bakery doesn't have any German cuisine, you still can get a lovely apple pie, chocolate almond tart, decent sandwiches/ burgers and a lovely refreshing lemonade. There were several other things on display, but I didn't try them. This cafe is really a hole in the wall kind of place, tucked in between two shops selling artwork near the lake.

Chocolate almond tart, or whats left of it

It's cute how they serve lemonade

There is another place called 'Savage Garden' which I wanted to visit solely because they featured it on a TV show 'Highway on my plate with Rocky and Mayur' on NDTV Goodtimes. Rocky and Mayur had some nice things to say, but my friend Mohit said it was 'Bakwaas'! They serve Italian food with an Indian twist, if you're interested. 

Then there is 'Millets of Mewar' for those of you who want or are interested in experimenting with vegan (I like to call it pretend vegan, they serve egg) food. We did go there, and I found it too Bleh! They cater mainly to the foreign clientele and am sure most of them go back disappointed. The food is ok, and for Gods sake do not try their juice, so not worth the grimace that they induce upon tasting! The ambiance is decent and quite interesting actually, but it is expensive. 

See Shraddha's expression after a sip of that God-awful juice.

Finally, for those with a sweet tooth like me, Udaipur is your haven. Really, from kulfi on the street, steaming Gulab Jamuns in tiny sweet stalls to Malai Ghevar in Jodhpur mishtan Bhandar. It's a sweet paradise. But for heaven's sake do not miss out on that Malai Ghevar, unfortunately I do not have a picture to show...we ate it up so fast. It's the devils incarnate itself and I better stop typing right now, or am gonna end up cleaning drool from my keyboard. Sigh! I am strengthening my resolve to go back sometime in the near future. After all, I still haven't seen the Lake Palace or Udaivilas or Sajjangarh Fort!

And the next time I'll tell you all about my experiments with that Chocolate Almond Tart from Udaipur.

Until then, Loads of love...

Chaitanya 

I hate Udaipur Airport!

As I've already mentioned in the heading I hate, hate, HATE the airport in Udaipur, which is exactly why it's taken me so long to write about it. I had to leave unexpectedly and booked a last minute flight out of that godforsaken airport. I left the guest house bags packed neatly (I have OCD) and trundled in a shaky Tuk Tuk (auto rickshaw) on a road which shouldn't be called a road! Those woes aside, the skies open up and decides to pour down buckets on us poor travelers. As I was tearing up a little at the thought of leaving Udaipur so soon, without even completing the things on my itinerary, the melodramatic me decided to take the rains as a sign of the city crying at my departure. (I told you I was melodramatic). What with all this, I managed to reach Maharana Pratap Airport with my bones rattled and a growling tummy, but still in one piece. Little did I know that my troubles were just beginning.

At the check-in counter this heartless Airline official coolly informs me that my baggage is overweight! Not by any small amount, 5 kilos overweight and also puts in saying I have to pay an extra 6000 Rs/. I spat back saying I wouldn't. He then asks me to discard a bit to make it lighter, which I then proceeded to do. I looked like a crazy old bat with my luggage gaping like someone's guts spilled over! You can imagine how my OCD self reacted. Removed a few non-essentials and he says still 3 kilos overweight, and then says wait at the end of the check-in line and he'll think up something. Finally after ages, he informs me I can carry some of my stuff as hand luggage....in wait for it...Polythene bags! Desperate as I was, I did just that! I ran around Udaipur Airport with my luggage gaping open for anyone to peek in and stuffed in polythene bags like an uncivilized idiot. Lord, I looked like a Kabadiwallah about to catch a flight! Hilarious for others, torturous for me. The dumass official said the flight was full, which was why I resembled a Kabadiwallah. Finally managed to stow all my crap in and dumped myself in my seat (thankfully that idiot saw fit to give me one next to the window). As the flight prepared for take-off I realised the flight was not "full" as that lyching, cheating, no-good airline official had told me earlier! As if that wasn't traumatic enough. I had to repeat the whole procedure in Mumbai airport too (note that I didn't say I hate Mumbai airport...am in love with that place. If I was allowed, which sadly I know I won't be, I would dance all around the runway. It is sooo beautiful, right out of my fairy-tale dreams...Wait! do they allow weddings on runways, that'd be awesome! Note to self: check up on 'runway weddings'.). And to top it all, I made the Bangalore flight wait. 

But sometimes the troubles you face are totally worth it. I sat next to this amazing person on the Udaipur flight, Cyrus Ilavia your words will always stay with me, they were educational and inspiring. On the Bangalore flight I or rather she chose to sit next to me and then on me...She was 4 and beautiful and entertaining. 

She's cute isn't she? And a drama queen like me :)

What more could one ask for! I know...kinder, decent airline officials who aren't liars and increased weight on the baggage limit. I mean 15 kilos is like peanuts...why would you do that to us? You can't even shop for anything with that limit, you dumbshit!

Love from a very harassed,

Chaitanya

Fun in the Sun: Good times in Udaipur

Hi all,

Please don't say Oh Lord! she's back!...I've been in Udaipur for the past few weeks. And it's not like my trip to Jodhpur earlier for my friends wedding. I am here as part of a fellowship. Yes! I am not unintelligent as I had assumed. Or were the fellowship people looking for wacky, not right in the head kinda people? Ok don't answer that!

Well, it all started with a very funny interview. After which I was very sure I wouldn't get into the damn fellowship. Damn! those people can ask questions! And you will leave with your bubble burst. It felt like they asked the same question a million different ways...even when I told them very explicitly that I had no answer to their questions. And your private life which you want to stay that way...will NOT stay that way! He asked me if I was in a relationship! For Gods sake, who does that? I wasn't cowed, just lost all hopes on the interview and ricocheted back...How does my being in a relationship affect your fellowship? what does it have to do with your fellowship? Ha! sometimes you need to throw these buggers on their patooties! The man had no answer and I was satisfied with my pettyishness. Anyway I left Koramangala saying it was a stupid waste of time, but I did have fun. And as fate would have it (or rather the fellowship people were unintelligent) I received an email saying I was accepted into the fellowship (Proof of my intelligence!). Well, they do say some things turn up unexpected in life.

After much wheedling and persuasion, ranting and raving (both mum and I participated), begging and howling, throwing shitty tantrums and making puppy eyes at my dad...my folks agreed to send me! (mind you, mum tried to stop me at the airport too).  Flight change in Delhi was a traumatic experience...even with the air-conditioning on the terminal was like an oven (in all this imagine me running around like a duck with two bags in hand!). Next part...AMAZING...I flew business class to Udaipur! ooh nice! Landed in Udaipur and waited and waited and read a very boring current affairs book! (Yup...I finished and understood it!). Finally hitched a ride with a friend to Krish Vigyan Kendra (KVK)...this was where we fellows spent our carefree training days. First look...slightly disappointed, but manageable. After all I was back in the same place as Dad after forty years! Next, met fellows and decided to roam around the city doing some sight-seeing. I went to city palace. For those of you who don't know me...I love anything historical, and I would give my right arm (not really...metaphorically used, please note) to be part of princely India. I hopped, skipped and danced all around the palace...forced others with better cameras to take pictures of very beautiful me! (I am conceited okay...deal with it!) And then had a very disgusting lunch I'd rather forget but don't have the good fortune to have selective amnesia! Shopped, shopped and shopped some more. Saw two beautiful lakes, went boating in one (I curse the others who didn't want to go boating in Lake Picchola! But then I got to go again...so it's alright). Went to a temple and struck up a conversation with some random old lady...she was nice though! And finally at 8:30 P.M went back to KVK to meet the rest of the gang. And that was just the 1st day.

Shraddha and I were fascinated with the fancy washrooms in The Lake Picchola Hotel :)

A Rolls-Royce Phantom II, who can resist that, especially if Roger Moore drove around town in it!

Bhargav Mistry with the Sarode at Hulchul cafe

Hulchul Cafe at Shikshantar

The drum circle in Hulchul cafe...the frenzied pace of the music and the beats pulse in your blood

Shraddha and I spending a lazy sunday afternoon on Gangaur Ghat

Now I wish I could've done that...though I hate those who treat the pristine waters as a bathhouse, it was fun to watch the kids cool off in the heat

Silk Bound Books

Normally I am not the sort who would eat Gulab Jamun, But this one Sweet Stall in Old town got me hooked...anyone would drool at the sight of the steaming Gulab Jamun

Fascinated as I was with this doll house like structure, I wonder how the residents manage in such cramped quarters...I'd get claustrophobic.

Lights on at Lake Pichhola...looks like it's out of a fairytale

When I ran around the City palace and Lake Picchola waving my arms and screaming 'Bats in my hair!' Gawd, emabarassing!

Now am more like a localite, I sit at Gangaur Ghat waiting for the sunset and the palace lights to come on and the bats (how can I forget them!) to fly haphazardly in every direction. I eat malai ghevar at Jodhpur mishtan bhandar, dal baati choorma at Santosh Bhojanalaya and sit in the seedy FC Restaurant with amazing views but horrible food! We even walked 12kms in the middle of the night to get back to KVK...all thanks to Guruji Rahul Nainwal, who told us it was only 5 or 6kms at most! My feet were torn, I was sleep deprived (as was Lucky for 4 days and wanted to sleep on the footpath!) and it was 4 in the morning, but I was in great spirits! By the way the Guruji left Udaipur without treating me to the margarita that he owed me! Next time I drag him to Ambrai! (Evil genius me!) Early morning dips in Badi lake, where one particular fellow tested the water displacement theory and almost emptied the damn lake! (what the hell was he thinking? that he was as light as Gai?) Trek to Nimaj mata temple where I got 'Prashad' (Cow dung) on my clothes! (Mom, I felt like Cheppudira Raju uncle!) Got freaked by some stoner dude, almost got gored by some stampeding cow, ate loads and loads of kulfi (coming back from lunch, I would almost look like a dog with it's tongue hanging out). Met my margarita sis, Pooja Warrier! Designed a funky sleeping bag and got an awfully designed dress in return! Shopped on the roadsides for clothes and anklets. Ate street food! Basically did everything I normally wouldn't dream of doing. It was a good few days of fun and sun (more sun though!). Made some wonderful friends for life! Lots more to do still...have to check out the vintage car collection, some restaurant called savage garden, Kumbalgarh, Chittorgarh, Sajjangarh, the lake palaces and Udaivilas Palace, Nathdwara, shikshantar's hulchul cafe, Jodhpur (again, am in love with this place) Jaisalmer...so much to do in so little time!

All this while I had only one prayer, please rain a little bit, it's way too sunny for someone from Coorg! And after days and days the rain gods have obliged. But dear rain gods, I asked for little rain not enough to build a dam! Cool down a little dudes! We'll take it slow...a little rain per day is not much to ask is it (preferably in the nights). Ok.

Now if you're looking for a recipe, I haven't got one. I am here for a fellowship, not recipe testing! But I will be good and post an easy recipe sometime. Until then, you just have to listen to my adventures in Udaipur or wherever I happen to go.

Love,
Chaitanya

Sweet Potato Bundt Cake with Rum-Spiked Dates

This was one of those cakes that I wanted to try for a long, long time...but never got around to making it. Either for lack of the main ingredient, sweet potato or just plain laziness. One evening, sitting out in the verandah with mum, I happened to mention something about this cake. Mum was intrigued and the very next day she got some sweet potatoes for me. Even then, it took me a few more days to get myself together and go bake. The cake is definitely on the boozier side, and that got my dad's and my vote. The original recipe called for rum plumped golden raisins. And since I had run out of raisins, I used dates instead.

any cake that has rum and dates makes for a brilliant treat... don't you think?

All you have to do is....

Sieve the dry ingredients...set aside
Grease the bundt tin and dust with flour...

Beat some eggs and sugar till light and frothy and nearly doubled in volume.

The electricity in our house decide to go on a long vacation when I put the eggs in the bowl and I had to do the whole thing by hand. Entirely feasible, but kills your arms with all that exercise. Make this cake regularly, and you'll definitely have beefy, mom arms! But don't let that stop you, do try it once.

Add the rest of the wet ingredients and then...

Fold in the mashed and boiled sweet potato alternating with the dry ingredients and combine.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake...

Ok...now you have to remember that we had no electricity at home because the transformer blew up in flames. And the cake had to be baked in a gas oven that definitely belongs in the Victorian era! It's temperamental and dysfunctional. Enough to give any baker the heebie-jeebies! But still, my mum wouldn't give up, she said lets give it a try and allow the cake to bake at a lower temperature but for slightly longer than the time specified by the recipe. The lower temperature is because the oven refuses to go beyond 150-165 degrees Celcius. And after all that explanation I present to you the slightly burnt cake...but don't hold it against me, blame the neanderthal gas oven!

Here's a slice...

This recipe makes a very large cake, so there's plenty for everyone. Share a slice of the cake with family and friends on a cold evening with a cup of steaming coffee!

Sweet Potato Bundt Cake with Rum-Spiked Dates

makes a very large cake, serves 16-20

recipe adapted from Mary Allen at http://whisktogether.wordpress.com/

Ingredients

3/4 cup dates, chopped into bits
1/3 cup dark rum, plus more if needed ( I always need more)
3 cups flour, plus more for the pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for salting the water ( I used flaked sea salt, you can use table salt if you don't have it)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 large sweet potatoes (I didn't use 3, I find that 2 large ones are more than enough)
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk (make your own by adding 3/4 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 3/4 cup of milk and allow to stand for 5 minutes before using in your recipe).

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan.
2. For 30 minutes or so, soak the dates in the rum. Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices.
3. Prep the sweet potatoes while the dates are soaking: peel and cut into 1″ pieces. Boil in a large pot of water until tender. Pour them into a colander to drain. Next, mash them and measure out 2 cups. I would suggest passing the pulp through a fine mesh strainer, so you don't get any of the fibers in your cake.
4. With your mixer (use a whisk attachment if available), beat eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy – about 2 minutes. Add vegetable oil and vanilla.
5. Drain dates BUT keep the liquid!!! Add 1/4 cup of that drained liquid to the batter (I added all of it). Add the 2 cups of sweet potato mash to the batter. Mix to combine.
6. Next, you are going to do the alternating method. This is when you add about one third of the flour. Then, half the buttermilk. Another 1/3 of the flour. The other half of the buttermilk. Finally, end with the rest of the flour.
7. Fold in the soaked dates. Pour into your bundt pan and bake for 80 minutes (about 50 minutes into the baking time, cover he top of the cake with aluminum foil to prevent the top from burning) . Cool 10 minutes and then turn upside down onto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving the cake.

Glaze

The recipe does call for a glaze, but I did not make it. Firstly because I was so tired from all the mixing by hand and watching out so the Victorian era gas oven didn't burn my cake ( which it managed to do anyway!) and mainly because I felt the cake was quite sweet on it's own and didn't need any more help from the glaze, or it'd be overpoweringly sweet and will put most anybody in a Diabetic Coma!!! But if you still feel you need it here's the recipe...

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1 tablespoon reserved rum from cake recipe

To make the Glaze: In a saucepan mix the sugar, butter and cream. Bring to a boil and then let it boil another 3 minutes. Take the pan off of the heat. Add 1 Tbsp. of the reserved rum or fresh if you ran out.

Using a toothpick (or skewers because they are longer), poke a bunch of holes into the cake. Drizzle 1/3 of the glaze on the warm cake. Now wait 15 minutes. Add the rest of the glaze. Now, let the cake cool completely.

*The glaze should be poured on a warm cake, not a cooled cake.

Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee!

Until next time,

Happy Baking!!!