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Foodie Anyone ?

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Dear Bagya Ji,

As Sri Silverfox Ji said above, I highlighted the absurd notions held by our older generation - I was also taking off from what Sri Ramki Ji said. I don't hold any group based notions about any community. I was trying to point out how ridiculous it is for such a small community as us to divide and subdivide.

If I have offended your sensibilities in any way, I apologize.

Sri Silverfox Ji, thanks for the posting.

Pranams,
KRS
 
1. what is the exact english equivalent for 'kothavarangai' and 'vaazhakkai'?

2. 'vaazhakkai' though very tasty, is also gaseous. may this is why our elders restricted consumption of 'vaazhakkai' to rituals like 'devasams' which were orthodox, but not for celebrations. our elders were not 'absurd'. they were great personalities. 'vaazhakkai' is also used during 'amavasyas' i understand. but it is generally avoided by orthodox bramins on normal days.

4. the fact that bramins restrict even vegetables like 'vaazhakkai', 'kothavarangai', onions, garlic clearly proves that bramins could never have consumed meat at any point of time.
4. i still do not know the reasons behind restricting 'kothavarangai'. but i am sure, our elders being such great persons, there must be a very important reason behind this. for e.g. we all know that when we eat first vegetable is first served on the leaf. this is because, it is said Lord Rama after returning to ayodhya after completing 14 yrs. exile, assumed power and he hosted a dinner in honour of LORD HANUMAN. since hanuman was a monkey god, he gave him vegetables. this started a new tradition, whereby in all orthodox functions vegetable is served first.
 
NARAS/SURESH

1.
what is the exact english equivalent for 'kothavarangai' and 'vaazhakkai'?

I believe Kothavarangai is called "Beans" and vazhakkai is called "Raw banana" in English.

2.
'vaazhakkai' though very tasty, is also gaseous. may this is why our elders restricted consumption of 'vaazhakkai' to rituals like 'devasams' which were orthodox, but not for celebrations. our elders were not 'absurd'. they were great personalities. 'vaazhakkai' is also used during 'amavasyas' i understand. but it is generally avoided by orthodox bramins on normal days.

Who said the elders were absurd ? BTW, are you saying Orthodox brahmins ate Vazhakkai only on orthodox days and that too because it is gaseous ? (Why would they ? Oh, maybe they wanted to feel a little lighter on these days or may be Vazhakki is an orthodox vegetable to be eaten by orthodox brahmins on orthodox days :)) If that is the case why they did not do with some with other gaseous vegetables like cabbage for example ? Comeon Suresh !!

3.
the fact that bramins restrict even vegetables like 'vaazhakkai', 'kothavarangai', onions, garlic clearly proves that bramins could never have consumed meat at any point of time.

Aaha ! Yeh kya musibath hai ! Ghoom phirke isi baath pey aajaate ho !:) I thought we had a separate thread on vegetarian/non-vegetarian topic. Why bring it up in this thread ? That too with such straw arguments. Please, please take this veggie/non-veggie thing to the designated vegetarainism & alcoholism thread.

4.
i still do not know the reasons behind restricting 'kothavarangai'. but i am sure, our elders being such great persons, there must be a very important reason behind this. for e.g. we all know that when we eat first vegetable is first served on the leaf. this is because, it is said Lord Rama after returning to ayodhya after completing 14 yrs. exile, assumed power and he hosted a dinner in honour of LORD HANUMAN. since hanuman was a monkey god, he gave him vegetables. this started a new tradition, whereby in all orthodox functions vegetable is served first.

Hmm. On a different thread you said Rama was a Kshatriya and his way of doing things do not apply to Brahmins. Now you say, vegetables are served first because Rama started this tradition and Brahmins are following it !

Ramki
 
Dear Sri Ramki Ji,

Just my humble opinion. Our ancestors in general were very intuitive and godly. I am talking about the luminaries. But we also had our share of 'averaging out', who unfortunately, in my opinion did harm by actions based on 'mis-knowledge'.

Our present state as Brahmins is testamount to the critical mistakes that have been made. But on the same token the 'other side' has made some big mistakes also.

Muslim aggression, English divide and rule are all, while real, 'bogeymen' in my opinion. If we are strong as people, no outside threat could have broken us. We need to put our house in order first.

By the way 'Kothavaranghai' are beans, but they are also called 'cluster beans'.

Pranams,
KRS
 
Kothavarangai is Vaayvu

1. what is the exact english equivalent for 'kothavarangai' and 'vaazhakkai'?

2. 'vaazhakkai' though very tasty, is also gaseous. may this is why our elders restricted consumption of 'vaazhakkai' to rituals like 'devasams' which were orthodox, but not for celebrations. our elders were not 'absurd'. they were great personalities. 'vaazhakkai' is also used during 'amavasyas' i understand. but it is generally avoided by orthodox bramins on normal days.

4. the fact that bramins restrict even vegetables like 'vaazhakkai', 'kothavarangai', onions, garlic clearly proves that bramins could never have consumed meat at any point of time.
4. i still do not know the reasons behind restricting 'kothavarangai'. but i am sure, our elders being such great persons, there must be a very important reason behind this. for e.g. we all know that when we eat first vegetable is first served on the leaf. this is because, it is said Lord Rama after returning to ayodhya after completing 14 yrs. exile, assumed power and he hosted a dinner in honour of LORD HANUMAN. since hanuman was a monkey god, he gave him vegetables. this started a new tradition, whereby in all orthodox functions vegetable is served first.

Suresh sir,

Kothavarangai is also similar to vaazhakkai in disturbing the vaayvu. Feed a lot of Kothavarangai to any kid, and next day he will complain of body pain. Elders are used to it, and they wont feel much of a difference.
That is why it is cooked rarely. Even if it cooked, elders advice to filter the water after boiling. There a book by Deepak Chopra ( not ageless body-its something else, I forgot, which discusses these).

Besides, as per Ayurveda, the body is in equilibrium with the surroundings, and vegetables grown in the same climate has the same charecteristics.

People travelling abroad and eating Sprouts for the first time might have experienced waking far away from the toilet the next day after eating.

And as you rightly said, our elders are very wise people and when we just follow their instructions, all is well. Onions and Garlic are powerful stimulants and we will be busy farting when doing our prayers :-). That is why traditional brahmins avoided that. The food has to be saatvic. We are what we eat.

You may also note that there is a saying "Unave marunthu".. so the right combo of food acts as a medicine and keeps the body healthy. Over eating and incorrect eating kills more people in the world than hunger.

My grandmother preferred kathiri kaai, poosani kaai ( not parangi), manathakkali, sundai and other locally grown vegetables, and vegetables that grow above the ground only for healthy food..no doubt she lived beyond 90.

And thanks for bringing out the Hanumanji story. That was useful too.

On the funny side, there is a saying that, when a Josiyar and a maruthuvar go to the vegetable market, they come back home empty handed.
 
Dear KRS ji

Please don't take me wrong. All I was pointing out to NARAS was that no one said our elders were stupid. I do not know where he was getting that from.

I was also trying to point out the fallacy that Vazhakkai is reserved for the so called orthodox days because they are gaseous. If that were true there are so many vegetables we eat on regular days that are gaseous and they should also have been in the "reserved quota".

Any community's food habits and food traditions greatly depend on what is available locally. For example, people in kerala use a lot of coconut in their daily cooking than people in tamilnadu. It does not make one's elders absurd or intelligent for that matter, just because they use coconut or not in their regular cooking.

Thanks

Ramki


Dear Sri Ramki Ji,

Just my humble opinion. Our ancestors in general were very intuitive and godly. I am talking about the luminaries. But we also had our share of 'averaging out', who unfortunately, in my opinion did harm by actions based on 'mis-knowledge'.

Our present state as Brahmins is testamount to the critical mistakes that have been made. But on the same token the 'other side' has made some big mistakes also.

Muslim aggression, English divide and rule are all, while real, 'bogeymen' in my opinion. If we are strong as people, no outside threat could have broken us. We need to put our house in order first.

By the way 'Kothavaranghai' are beans, but they are also called 'cluster beans'.

Pranams,
KRS
 
Food!! What can I say? I love eating and cooking. I have tried many cuisines from around the world. It might not be a native cuisine, but I have tried a fair majority of cuisines: Indian, Nepalese, Afghanistan , Middle-eastern , Chinese, Thai, Malay, Japanese, Vietnamese, Russian, Mongolian , French, British, Jamaican , Mexican, American(the worst tasting food I have had), Brazilian, South African, Italian, Greek and West African. I might have missed something, but this is all I could remember off hand.

While writing this list, my mouth was watering to taste those cuisines.
smiley-tongue-out.gif



On my way to the Himalayas via Gangtok, I had the pleasure of eating momos , of course filled with cabbage and other veggies. Even though I have tried making it at home or eaten it else where, neither the momos nor the spicy tomato sauce that it came with, tastes as good as the one I had in Gangtok. Or for another example, the Vietnamese Veggie Pho , which is nothing but soup. Ah!! how a simple watery dish can not only fill you up, but also taste that good.


Don't get me wrong, I love Indian food, thats what I eat mostly, but to have a taste for other foods is also important. It widens your horizon in tastes, friends and the way one prepares food.


By the way momo is originally a Tibetan food, but since China invaded Tibet, their cuisine has flowed over to Nepal and parts of North East India a lot.


Yes, Indian food is great, but I hope there are others like me on this forum, who are not afraid to taste and try food from other parts of the world. :thumb: :hail: :love:


-GGR
 
Guys/Gals, What is going on in this Discussion thread? How can a discussion of ones' favourite foods, end up with so much controversy and fight? I know I have not been around this forum a lot, but in my opinion, I think everyone's opinion is acceptable, some might not like it, but I think we should keep the discussions light and friendly. What is the use of joining a forum? to meet other people with same or different tastes or to have heated argument going on food? Please be friendly.

Think about how many state we have in India, how many languages and dialets and how many relegions. With all those variants plus the different names and idols for GOD, each and everyone of us will have different opinions, thats what makes us Indians strong and weak.


Forum Moderator, please make sure that while discussing any subject, may it be food or politics or religion that people are civil and not taking other's words wrongly and fight over syntax and grammer.


I am proud to be a Tamilian, but prouder to be human.

-GGR
 
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Kothavarangai

Kothavarangai is CLUSTER BEANS in English. Vaazhaikkaai, i guess is PLANTAIN.

[quote=NARAS;6378]1. what is the exact english equivalent for 'kothavarangai' and 'vaazhakkai'?
 
sir- cabbage , i think must have originated many, many centuries
after 'vaazhakkai' and 'kothavarangai'. so cabbage is not found in negative list of orthodox bramins, perhaps. in any case, cabbage is certainly not in the favourite menu of orthodx bramins. the authority to include or exclude was closed when cabbage was discovered. so cabbage was not specifically banned.

2. Lord rama , though a kshatriya, is an avatar of Lord vishnu. so bramins worship and respect Lord rama. i cannot 'find out' any contradiction here. bramins are bramins. remember, bramins do not worship even Lord Brahma though it is from brahma they originated. so they will not blindly follow what Lord Rama had did. but they will follow him in areas where it is possible.

3. islamic invasion and british rule were barbaric onslaughts on indian culture, which destroyed india's resources, the after effects are felt even today.

4. the usage of words like 'may','perhaps' clearly shows that i am only surmising as to the reasons for avoiding VAAZHAKKAI & KOTHAVARANGAI.
Mr. kudumi has mentioned about why KOTHAVARANGAI is avoided by bramins.

5. no doubt at all - VAAZHAKKAI & KOTHAVARANGAI are used only on selective occasions like amavasya & devasams (on both days we commomorate memory of our elders).
 
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Dear KRS ji

Please don't take me wrong. All I was pointing out to NARAS was that no one said our elders were stupid. I do not know where he was getting that from.

I was also trying to point out the fallacy that Vazhakkai is reserved for the so called orthodox days because they are gaseous. If that were true there are so many vegetables we eat on regular days that are gaseous and they should also have been in the "reserved quota".

Any community's food habits and food traditions greatly depend on what is available locally. For example, people in kerala use a lot of coconut in their daily cooking than people in tamilnadu. It does not make one's elders absurd or intelligent for that matter, just because they use coconut or not in their regular cooking.

Thanks

Ramki

Sorry, Dear Sri Ramki Ji,

I was rambling and ruminating and not necessarily on your posting. In the process, I may have veered off the thread topic.

Hopefully this did not create any rancour or negative feelings among the Forum members.

Thank you.

Pranams,
KRS
 
SilverFox

Your folks didnt want to have anything to do with people from Tirunelveli :-) and my folks didnt want to have anything to do with people from Thanjavur !!They always felt "tanjoreans" were a wee bit cunning :-) ( as compared to us "kallam illatha Tirunevelians"!!!!!! In fact my dad wasnt too keen on getting his daughters married to boys whose ancestors were from Tanjore .. ( that his sons in law are from Tanjore is a different story altogether )!!! Like you said it was "one of those things " of those days ... and I dont think any forum member should take any comment seriously :-)
 
Please don't say sorry!

Dear Bagya Ji,

As Sri Silverfox Ji said above, I highlighted the absurd notions held by our older generation - I was also taking off from what Sri Ramki Ji said. I don't hold any group based notions about any community. I was trying to point out how ridiculous it is for such a small community as us to divide and subdivide.

If I have offended your sensibilities in any way, I apologize.

Sri Silverfox Ji, thanks for the posting.

Pranams,
KRS
Dear KRS ji
In fact I wanted to write that I object your uncle's statement, but ended up writing the other way. So I should apologise, if you are offended.
Sorry, sir!
Bagya
 
sirs - never eat chinese food in your life. it is said chinese foods lead to lot of side effects. similarly, never ever go to china - it is a vegetarian's nightmare! at the best you will get snakes for eating!!!
 
Suresh, What you say is true. China is a Vegetarian's nightmare. Not that US or france is any better, or for the fact Russia either. :whoo:

My brother went to china for a week on business and he is not as adventurous in food as I am. So he ended up packing chapati to last him for a week or more. :bump:

If you had read my previous post in this thread, you will notice that i have almost tasted all kinds of cuisines from around the world. Since I am an Indian, obviously, I love Indian food and say that none other can compare to it.

But it is to be comended for other cuisines from other parts of the world, which are as old as our country, viz Greek, Vietnamese, Tibetian or Middle-eastern. Even though their foods do not look like ours or taste like ours, it takes a little open mindedness to taste their food and a delicate tongue to appreciate their tastes. Of course, I would not dare ask anyone to eat meat or sea food. For that matter, when I travelled to Himalayas and then to North-East India, native food there didnt look anything like an Indian would eat.

Also, if any of you do end up in China and have no idea what to eat, then the best thing to eat is Konji, which is a Chinese variation of kunjhi (the rice porridge that south-indians make).

As for eating food anywhere in the world goes, if you avoid eating cold food or food with meat/egg/fish, you will be fine.

Of course not with-standing the latest scare we had in US over spinach, which had some kind of feases on it while being packaged and we were advised not to eat spinach for almost 3 to 4 months.

-GGR
 
Dear Rajiv:
Having lived in the US all my life and having traveled to different countries including Russia, I always have found ways to enjoy food that is vegetarian. I love the greek food Spanakopita, middle-eastern dishes such as tabouli, baba-ganoush (nothing but roasted eggplant with onion, garlic, lemon juice and tahini (sesame paste)), their famous falafal (like our vadais), hummus..... the russian/polish perogis (made of cheese and potato)... the list goes on. As for Chinese, I ate lots of tofu with stir-fry vegetables!
Boy! now that I have been in Chennai for the last 3 months, I long for those dishes.
So... Suresh, don't worry about going to China; you can always find something vegetarian to eat!!
 
Dear Sri Silverfox Ji,

In Taiwan, one can get mouth watering vegetarian dishes at specific places where Buddhists run the fare. In China also there are now pure vegetarian food available in the big cities, as it is also becoming a fashion there.

Pranams,
KRS
 
SilverFox,
I am not saying one cannot find Vegetarian food in other countries. I am mearly pointing out that for the squeamish, there isn't an assortment of things which one might like.

You mentioning those dishes, have me wanting those too. I love food from any country and I will not hesitate to try a new dish which is not Indian. I might not have travelled as much have you have, but have friends from various parts of the world and I get to eat their native food once in a while. I recently met a guy from Brazil, who moved to the US a few weeks ago, maybe someday I might get to eat his home made food.

For people who are used to Indian food and have not seen or dealt with foods from other countries, Cheese and potatoes dont look like food. As a matter of fact, when I first came to US, Bagget and Bre didnt look like food or snack to me either. One needs an open mind and then an interest in eating/trying those foods. But one needs to aware too about certain things that we consider non-veg maynot be considered non-veg by others. Example: mushroom or egg.

Infact, every time I go to a vietnamese restaurant, I usually ask them 2 to 3 times if the broth used in my soup is vegetable broth and not chicken or beef stock. Because for them, stock is just stock and they dont mind adding chicken stock in to a vegetable soup, as the soup has vegetables and no meat in it.

Great topic about food, I love eating and cooking food. Infact tonight is my turn to cook at home. Having talked about Greek and Vietnamese, I might think about cooking a greek dish for dinner.

-GGR
 
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The 'Adai' sold in Grand Sweets, Chennai is quite 'slim' and is served along with 'Avial' where as we were more accustomed to having it with butter and jaggery.

Q1: Is butter+jaggery accompaniment limited to Tanjore area only?

Q2: Is it correct that 'Adai' of Tanjore area has a hole in the middle (presumably for ease in pouring oil) and is slightly thicker than normal 'Adai' made in rest of TN?
 
Lagta hai panditon ne bhojan ke upar pravachan dena band kar diya hai. Bade afsos ki baat hai !
 
adai has many combinations

Hum pandith tho kaththai nahin hain.
Par apni rai batha rahe hain.

My parents are from Tanjore Side. We never combined Adai with Avial. We usually had it with Milagai Podi or Vellam.
My in-laws belong to Trichy and Rameswaram. They prefer Thengai Chutney or M.Podi.

Adai is considered to be a very heavy tiffin with lots of protein. While we usually say Dosai Vaarthal, we say Adai Thattal because in olden days they made very thick adais. Hopefully after pouring the batter on the Tawa, they flattened it with hand. Obviously it needed a lot of oil to be able to come out without breaking. So they put holes not only at the centre but in few more places too using Dosai Thiruppi.
But as we people are more diet conscious, to avoid oil, we make thin Adais if possible in Non-stick Tawas.
P.s: To avoid the gastric effect, I include Ginger while grinding and even mix chopped Pudina leaves in the batter.
 
Umm Kothai dear ...my mouth waters :-) add to the adai maavu , a generous sprinkling of "murunga ilai" and have it .... mmmmm.. its great ... but i would say its only for the ones with good digestive powers :-)

recently I had idly at a cousins' house .. and it tasted much better than what we make at home.. the secret ? she had made it in the traditional idli paathram and had poured the batter on a white muslin cloth which was spread over the "idly thattu" !!!

btw.. anybody for "aavakkai saadam" and "sutta appalam"?
 
Not avakkai saatham but I used to dig for paruppu podi saatham, especially on summer mornings.

I am still to fathom the southern addiction for sutta appalam.

we do take sutta appalam (of different variety) but it goes well more as an accompaniment to kind of liquid diet of a particular variety which is the favourite of KRS, SF, Hari and yours sincerely.
 
Shhutta Appalam

I am still to fathom the southern addiction for sutta appalam.

LQ,

For a brahmanical touch, you have call it "Shhutta appalam".

I remember an incident, which could perhaps explain why the addiction.

I was once returning back with my VP Finance from Mumbai to Bangalore. We had gone to Corporate office for Plan finalisation & we worked practically 36 hrs without a break. VP Fin was nearing retirement & naturally he couldn't take it & fell ill.

He was so sick that he even refused breakfast offered on board Jet Airways. While driving back home from Airport, he called his wife & said something like - "Shaaapudduven, nee 'sriramanavami rashamum', shuttta apppalamum pannidu".

I am weak in understanding 'Iyengar tamil' & so i thought i heard him say 'sriramanavami rasam'. My parents were in chennai at that time so i was staying with a friend who is an iyengar.

I was checking with my friend as to what 'sriramanavami rasam' means.....He laughed for a while & corrected me that it had to be "seeramolagu rasam" (cumin+pepper rasam). 'seeramolagu rasam' + 'shhutta appalam', he added could cure any illness, perhaps with the exclusion of the 4 lettered one.

So instead of looking down upon Shhutta appalam, pick up one the next time you are ill....wait a minute, how can "WE" be ill, especially since we intake "medicine" regularly......afterall "sarve rohakke sarayaa maddu" isn't it ?
 
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