Gentleman, an Elegant Canned Corn, for a More Civilized Age

I don't eat canned corn often, but when I do, it's gentleman.

BBQ Winner!

How do you make a name for yourself when you first arrive at Post? WIN THE BBQ COMPETITION at (and bring a teeny tiny baby to) the Hail/Farewell. This weekend we had a big party/pot luck/BBQ competition. I submitted a BBQ brisket and grilled mushrooms, and won both the Beef and Side categories. I'd be very proud of myself... except... I was the only competitor in the Beef category... and since the weather had been cold and rainy all week, I was the only person to use a smoker or grill. Either way, we had a good time and there was plenty of great food. Kudos to the CLO for a fun party.

PS: I totally forgot to get pictures before the food was all eaten... so here's a picture of my winnings!

The South Indian Breakfast

The following was (shamelessly) ripped from the Community Liaison Office's newsletter (you know, with permission).

"The South Indian Breakfast

It’s not surprising that multicultural India has various culinary traditions. The differences are evident from the first meal of the day. South Indian breakfasts are considered to be one of the healthiest, as they provide a well-balanced diet full of nutrients giving us a good dose of carbs, proteins, and fats - despite being light on the stomach.

The preferred breakfast option in Chennai is the humble idli. Idlis — along with their mandatory side dish, Sambar — have won the place of pride as the healthiest of all the Indian breakfast menus. This is the finding of the “India breakfast habits study” sponsored by Kellogs. Steamed fermented lentil and rice flour batter, the idli is like the anti-hero in movies with the surrounding cast bringing in glamour like chutney, sambar, and what South Indians call “gunpowder” — pounded chilli powder floating in oil — but one cannot do without the main character. Somewhat bland by itself, the idli can be eaten by those in the pink of health as well as those recuperating; it can be had at any time of the day and night.

Dosa - a thin, crispy crêpe-like food made from the same fermented rice and lentil batter as idli. When served with spicy potato folded inside, it is known as masala dosa. Methu Vadai – this savory donut is made of lentil flour and spices. Venn Pongal – a savory lentil and rice pudding. Mandatory sweet rava kesari – dessert made out of semolina and sugar.

The ubiquitous Thaali – a Thaali is nothing but a sampling presented on a single plate: a great way to taste all that is on offer. All items in the thaali differ in the way they are cooked, apart from the ingredients used.

The perfect ending to a South Indian breakfast is a cup of steaming hot filter coffee! "



As a bonus, here is a picture of my son playing at a restaurant, shortly after filling up on mini-idli. He's quite the hit with the wait staff.

Actually a Diplomat, Part 3: Now I'm just Cheating.

It kind of seems like I'm cheating at this point. I mean, I'm not sure it counts as "successful diplomacy" when I "score" a mention in the Consulate's facebook feed... but you know what, I'll take it anyway. You know how many government agencies put me on their social media before taking this job? Zero (At least... as far as I know?)

"If I had to pick my favorite thing about living in Chennai, it would have to be the food. I’m a bit of a fanatic when...
Posted by U.S. Consulate General Chennai on Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Sounds of Chennai

Living in India is definitely an experience for all of your senses. Everything is more colorful, there are active spice mills on side of the street (and other less savory smells, from time to time), the food has more flavor, and, of course, there are a lot of sounds. 

Our house is situated on the corner of a medium-sized intersection (busy, but no street light), and we have a constant barrage of sound 24 hours a day. Horns, calls from chaiwallas (tea sellers), and other passing bike-based vendors (think cardboard recyclers, vegetable carts, or tailors) comprise the bulk of the cacophony. Add in the random parades, political drive-bys such as the one in the video, and religious processions... and things can be quite noisy. Sometimes fireworks go off, because "Hey, we had some fireworks and [maybe even] something to celebrate."

Around Chennai: Koyambedu Market

Koyambedu Market is an enormous wholesale/retail market about 10 km from the heart of Chennai. All of the markets and street stands we see in town are, in one way or another, getting their goods from this market. The market is split into three sections: Vegetable, Fruit, and Flower. The prices vary, but are incredibly cheap. They're listed in rupees and at the time of writing the exchange rate is approximately 62rs per $1. 

While walking through the market, we were stunned that so many people wanted us to take their picture. For example, this first picture is of a man who solicited a 'snap.' Not all were so insistent, but most were happy to pose or smile (or were good naturedly prodded to by their friends!)

While carrying a giant sack of potatoes!

Coconuts

The big root vegetables in the bottom left are yams (nothing like sweet potatoes).

Sometimes you need a LOT of garlic.

I think one of the most impressive things about this market was the sheer amount of produce that each vendor had. I have to wonder what kind of spoilage rate the guy in the picture above has, for example. I know gourds last a long time, but that's a LOT of gourds. This is something we frequently see in Chennai; even a street vendor selling watermelons will have 200 plus watermelons stacked up. I always wonder if they sell them all... 

The walkways are covered with discarded vegetable parts, sometimes reaching more than a foot deep before being cleared.

We decided to buy some mint... this was 10rs (or $0.18) worth.

Please excuse the beard...

Plenty of room for that cargo bike.

There were a surprising number of cows wandering around in, what I can only assume is, cow heaven. Definitely a good reminder to clean your veggies before eating!

One of the food stands.

After seeing the vegetable market, we hopped back in the car to head home, but fortunately our driver pointed out that there were two more markets to see. We got back out and headed across the street (below) to the fruit market.

Who knew there were that many types of bananas.

Our final stop was the flower market. Flowers are a pretty big deal in Chennai; street peddlers sell them all over town for draping around shrines or door ways, use in puja, or just for tying in ladies' hair. 

The man standing behind them (in the blue lungi) was prodding them with a stick, which is why they're laughing.

These pictures (barely) convey the massive quantities of flowers available for purchase. Each market has a "prime time" of day, where they're most busy. First Vegetable, then Fruit, then Flower. We were there during the flower time. Although the flowers were breath taking by themselves, it was even more impressive just watching the 'action.' I generally hate to include videos in posts, but this one gives you a better idea of the commotion going on as thousands of people buy millions of flowers. Make sure your sound is on...

Chennai Holidays: Thai Pongal

Pongal! Although technically beginning yesterday, the State Government of Tamil Nadu recognizes the holiday on Thursday to allow for a 4 day weekend (spoiler alert, there's another holiday tomorrow!)

Pongal is a Tamil celebration dedicated to the harvest and abundance, not unlike American Thanksgiving. It is symbolized by a ritual of heating milk until it boils over and spills out of the pot. The word Pongal is actually Tamil for "overflowing."  On a colorful note, the normally white rice flour kolams were replaced with more colorful rangoli (a subset of Kolam) today! Pongal is also dish consisting mainly of rice sweetened with a dense cane sugar named "Jaggery." We had Pongal for breakfast earlier this week and it was delicious... though about as "breakfasty" as eating the Thai dessert "Sticky Rice with Mango."

Around Chennai: Mylapore Festival

This weekend marked the start of the four day Mylapore Festival. Since arriving in Chennai, we've been told this is the "can't miss" event in the city. In the middle of the winter, the temperatures are mostly pleasant (lows in the 70s and highs in the 80s), so it's generally a nice time to be outside. We took a trip with CLO to check it out. We started by watching the hard working Kolam competition contestants. There were almost as many techniques as people and the submissions ranged from simple clean patterns to very complex.

A Kolam is a line drawing with geometric repetition made of rice flour (or occasionally other white powders). Kolams are thought to bring good fortune to the house and are an invitation and welcome to all living creatures. We've even heard (jokingly) that they're made of rice flour so the ants won't have to walk too far to get food... and will find no need to actually enter your house. I can't speak to that, since we have both Kolams outside our house and ants inside, but they are still pleasant additions to the street sides. 

I bet that guy has a great view!

After checking out the Kolam competition, we took a stroll down a couple alleys with vendors. We also saw a large number of people selling colored powder, likely in preparation for Pongal.

The CLO trip ended (as many of them do) with a stop for some delicious vadai and filter coffee. Since we had walked, we started our trip home and stumbled on the street food alley.

Miniature fair rides

We were debating if we wanted food, but were practically dragged (verbally) by a local telling us to "see some traditional Madras culture!" I don't know about all that, but the food was good.

On our way out, we saw the most plantain chips I've ever seen in my life. Unfortunately my picture doesn't really show off the fact that the guy is frying them right there, on the other side of the chip mountain.

On the rest of our walk home, we noticed that there were a huge number of produce vendors around. There were many more than we normally see, but figured it was due to the upcoming Pongal festival. It is also possibly because we're rarely walking around temples on Sunday evenings.

That's some good looking produce.