Authentic and Traditional Brews of India

“If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.”

This is an old quote that has often been attributed to Abraham Lincoln, although many doubt its authenticity. Some consider it to be just an old joke where a customer says this to the waiter on being served a questionable beverage.

However, there is no danger of that happening in India! We have such distinct and diverse brews of tea and coffee, that there is simply no question of asking which is which. And it’s not surprising, considering that India is one of the largest tea producers of the world, consuming 70% of its produce within the country itself!

The Indian Tea Story began when the British converted large areas of land into tea gardens with the purpose of breaking the Chinese monopoly on tea. However, it was much later that tea achieved such cult status in India, with a chai wallah setting up shop every few kilometers across the length and breadth of the country! Famous Indian tea varieties are Assam, Darjeeling and Nilgiri teas.

Coffee in India is concentrated in the southern states, and this is probably due to the fact that coffee was introduced first in Chikmaglur, by coffee beans brought by Baba Budan from Yemen. With the popularity of instant versions on the rise, coffee is no longer restricted to the south of India! Modern varieties aside, here are some of the traditional authentic brews of India, including both coffee and tea.

1. Masala Chai

 

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Paired with hot, spicy snacks, this is probably the most popular brew during the rains! Masala Chai comprises of the ingredients for regular tea, but with the important addition of spices. All kinds of spice combinations are used, though the most common ones are cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and black pepper. The spices are ground and stored in airtight containers to be used when required. A cup of tea usually uses a teaspoon of tea leaves and ¼ teaspoon of chai masala brewed in milk.

2. Filter Coffee

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No visit to a South Indian vegetarian restaurant is complete without a round of filter coffees! The brew, served in a humble looking steel tumbler, can pack quite a punch and a small quantity is enough to keep you going through the day. Arabica or Robusta beans are ground, and placed in the top of the steel coffee filter and then pressed down with a handled disc. This is then placed as is on the bottom part of the coffee filter and boiling water is poured on top of the disc. The filter is covered with a lid and left to brew the coffee which slowly drips through the perforations in the filter. Adequate amounts of milk and sugar are added and served in a steel tumbler placed inside a Davarah.

3. Sulaimani Chai

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Like many other things, the Sulaimani Chai of Malabar has Arab origins. Called ghava in other places, this black tea has become a mainstay of Malabar weddings and Eid feasts, usually following a heavy meal like biryani. Made newly popular by the movie, “Ustad Hotel’, this is a very refreshing beverage. It is made by adding slightly less tea leaves than for regular tea, combined with a few spices (optional) and a squeeze of lime, resulting in a beautiful reddish color.

4. Chukku Kaapi

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Many traditional Indian recipes also have medicinal benefits and a good example of this is chukku kaapi. Roughly translated as ‘Dry Ginger Coffee’, this is a very common brew in Kerala, often served to people suffering from cough, cold, fever and congestion. Chukku kaapi also uses spices like pepper, cumin and tulsi leaves in addition to dry ginger, resulting in a brew that is so strong and spicy, you can literally feel your illness going up in smoke!

5. Kahwa

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You can’t have a list of traditional Indian brews without mentioning Kahwa! This popular Kashmiri breakfast tea is a beautiful aromatic beverage that has a high position during feasts and celebrations. It is traditionally made in a large brass kettle, called a Samovar. The tea is made of green tea leaves brewed with saffron, cinnamon and cardamom and sweetened with sugar or honey. Occasionally roses are also added to the brew and it is sometimes served with crushed nuts.

At the end of the day, even if we have instant and ‘3-in-1’ coffees and teas, nothing beats the flavor and warmth of a traditional filter kaapi or masala chai. This coming winter, be sure to enjoy the weather with a steaming hot cuppa!

Don’t forget to buy authentic Indian teas and spices from uIndia!

5 Distinct Rice Delicacies to Pamper Your Food Palette

Rice is more than a simple accompaniment in Indian cuisine. A staple in almost all states of India, this tiny white cereal grain is used in varied forms in households. Right from simple khichri to exotic biryanis and delicate idlis to yummy kheer, there are several dishes you can cook with rice. To add variety to your cuisine, we bring you five distinctive recipes from different corners of India.  Enjoy the rice trail!

Murgh Kofta Ki Biryani

Starting with the land of staunch non-vegetarians, basic rice delicacies from North India are biriyanis, peas pulao and jeera rice where rice is cooked in variety of spices with or without chicken or mutton pieces. A choicest recipe is of Murgh Kofta Ki Biriyani which has a unique palatable taste. Boneless chicken is used to make koftas blanched in mutton stock after mincing it with onion, ginger, eggs, mutton kidney fat and nutmeg powder. Rice is cooked in biriyani style in ghee, cream, milk, mint and brown onions with a dash of saffron and served with the chicken koftas.

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White Dhoklas

Coming towards the west, where rice is mostly savoured as steamed rice or khichri, White Dhoklas from Gujarat is something you may definitely want to try making in your kitchen. Popular as an anytime snack, White Dhoklas are steam cooked which make them a healthier meal option too.  For preparing this, rice and urad dal needs to be soaked, drained and grinded with ginger and green chillies. Sour yoghurt and salt needed to be added to the paste and kept to ferment overnight. After adding oil and baking soda to the batter, it needs to be poured into an oil greased pan sprinkled with black pepper, red chilli powder and roasted sesame seeds. The pan needs to be steamed for about half an hour or till a toothpick comes out clean from the batter which indicates that the dhoklas are done. The slightly sour tasting dhokla can be enjoyed with spicy coriander chutney.

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Dehrori

A lesser known rice dish, Dehrori is a rice dessert that has its roots in Chhattisgarh.  Savoured mostly in central states of India, Dehrori is basically a rice dumpling dipped in sugar syrup. Rice is soaked for hours and drained completely and blended into a smooth paste. Curd is added and the same is kept to ferment overnight. Next day, sugar syrup is prepared by continuously boiling sugar with water. Then rice dumplings are made by frying small portions of the batter in ghee and then soaked in the syrup. It can be garnished with nuts to enhance the taste.

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Jadoh with Pork

Want a taste of eastern Indian cuisine on your plate? Then Jadoh with Pork or Pork Biryani from Meghalaya may tempt your taste buds. For this dish, red hill rice is fried for some time with pork pieces tossed in onion, ginger paste, turmeric powder, black pepper and bay leaves. Then the entire mixture is simmered till cooked by adding water as and when required. It is served with condiments like fermented soya paste with cilantro garnishing.

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Vendakkai Saddam

Here is a pick from Chettinad region, which is known for its extensive use of aromatic spices in almost all recipes. Vendakkai Saddam uses lady’s finger as a core ingredient, a rather very unusual combination. To make this, lady’s fingers are slit through the centre and then sauted in oil along with salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder and tamarind paste. In another pan, boiled rice is added to crackling mustard seeds, cinnamon, red chillies, turmeric powder, curry leaves, cashews and chana dal. To this mixture, the fried lady’s fingers are added and then simmered for a few minutes.

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Do you have a unique rice recipe to share with our readers?

5 Unique Handicrafts from India

'India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition.' - Mark Twain

Some of the words that are most commonly associated with India are 'culture' and 'tradition'. And it's not surprising, considering the sheer number of handicrafts and festivals we have! No tourist worth her salt will leave India without a souvenir that represents our rich culture and heritage. Here is a list of 5 such unique products that are not to be missed when one visits India.

1. Kathputli (Puppet) Dolls from Rajasthan

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When one thinks of Rajasthan, a lot of color comes to mind instantly! This is also reflected in their various traditional crafts, especially clothes and jewelry. But one unique manifestation of Rajasthan’s rich cultural heritage is their puppet show that draws crowds even today. Due to the popularity of the show, the puppet dolls are in high demand by tourists. The dolls are made of soft wood and are extremely detailed, with finely made clothes and jewelry. They are available in a variety of themes too, depicting gods, kings and commoners.

2. Sohmarih (Pineapple) Fiber Crafts from Meghalaya

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Did you know that pineapple leaves can be used to extract fiber? An amazing use of pineapples, beyond fruit salads!! The headquarters for pineapple craft in India is a small village called Tynrong in Meghalaya. Fiber is extracted from the leaves, then dried and dyed in several colors. The pineapple fiber is hardy enough to be used in fishing nets, and dainty enough to make bracelets, bags, coasters and the like.

3. Aranmula Kannadi (Mirror) from Kerala

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With an Aranmula kannadi, you don’t have to fear the seven years of bad luck ascribed to breaking a mirror, since you can rest assured that your kannadi will never break!! Made from a metal alloy and polished for days on end, the Aranmula Kannadi is a well kept secret within the only family known to make them in the village of Aranmula in Kerala. It is considered an auspicious part of a bride’s trousseau and other festivals.

4. Sankha (Conch Shell) Crafts from West Bengal

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Being close to the sea has many advantages, among which is an abundant supply of conch shells. This advantage has been exploited by Bengali craftsmen who’ve been crafting intricate patterns on conch shells for ages. Some have a simple pattern running across them, while others have entire stories depicted on the surface. Another authentic Bengali tradition is of brides wearing conch shell bangles to advertise their newly changed status.

5. Kashida Embroidery from Kashmir

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India has many textile related crafts, but few are as well known as the distinct style of Kashmiri embroidery. Consisting mainly of paisley and floral patterns, this style of embroidery is visible on clothes, shawls, bags, purses and the like. All the beauty of paradise on earth is captured in this style of embroidery, where light thread is used on dark fabric and vice versa.

With the advent of commercialization and globalization, age old crafts like these are fast disappearing, especially since the artisans and craftsmen receive very little support. But it is heartening to know that they are slowly getting the exposure they deserve, mainly through online stores which retail their authentic products directly to the customers, giving every artisan his due. After all, they hold such an integral part of our culture in their skilled hands!!

What Role Teachers Can Play to Bring Authenticity in Education?

When you send your children to school today, you know they are learning something different than what you learnt at that age. Education has evolved a lot over the last few years. Some schools still cling onto the conventional educational system whereas others have adopted new age learning and international focus in their curriculum, method of teaching and assessment framework. But the debate is still on. Which educational system is more authentic – the classroom learning or the experimental learning?

When we talk about authenticity in education, it does not simply mean the old versus new teaching methods. The underlying concept of authenticity in education is much deeper and thought provoking.  It signifies that irrespective of the educational system being followed, students should be encouraged to become creative learners and good human beings. And this is where teachers can become chief enablersin building a progressive educational eco system where learning becomes inspirational and experimental rather than by rote.

Sugata Mitra, professor of educational technology at Newcastle University, and the winner of the $1m TED Prize 2013 has demonstrated through his Hole in the Wall experiment how education can be reinvented by using innovative learning tools while still preserving the basic educational concepts. In his experiment, Sugata Mitra installed a computer in a slum for children to learn through self help and by challenging their abilities. The experiment was a huge success, pointing to the fact that young minds can be taught computers without formal training and thus education can be imparted in any form for the children.

Another example is of Arvind Gupta, a science teacher who being deeply concerned about the how science is taught in a bookish way, demonstrated how to build a toy motor from waste material in 10 minutes! His teaching projectToys from Trash implicated that students should given a free hand in exploring and learning things interactively.

 

 

 

 

Judging by above examples, it is quite evident that teachers can play a vital role in bringing authenticity in education bymaking the education system ingrained with lateral thought process, out-of-box thinking and designing processes relevant to modern times.  Instead of being simply providers of information or organizers of school activities, teachers can now become learning facilitators who support students becoming autonomous learners and also help them develop key life skills. 

Also with advent of interactive learning tools and online teaching methods, teachers may not be necessarily physically present to impart education. Rather they can collaborate and exchange best practices and interact with students beyond limitations of time and location.

Today’s teachers can also contribute in designing a futuristic curriculum that impart real world, critical thinking and problem solving skills to students and foster their holistic development.

Creating learning, building strong foundation of knowledge, imparting the right discipline, mentoring in the right path, making learning fun and above all, envisioning the right value system – these are the cornerstones of the  changing role of teachers in education. This is how teachers can really make learning meaningful for children and bring the true essence of authenticity in education.

 

 

Images Courtesy: egitimteknoloji and thehindu