OBAMA MENU: Jammu and Kashmir’s ‘Nadru Ke Goolar’; West Bengal’s ‘Mahi Sarson’; ‘Shatwar (Asparagus) Ka Shorba’; Sweet dishes ‘Gulab Jamun’, ‘Gajar ka Halwa’ and assorted fruits; ‘Shrimp Karavalli’ from coastal Karnataka; ‘Murg Neeza Kebab’ of the Mughlai cuisine; ‘Anannas Aur Paneer ka Soola’ — char-grilled cottage cheese with pineapple; ‘Nadru Ke Goolar’ (lotus stem kababs); ‘Kela Methi Nu Shaak,’ a Gujarati dish; Mixed Vegetable Kalonji; Gujarati ‘Kadhi’; ‘Matar Pulao’ and assorted breads; Bengali dish ‘Mahi Sarson’ and ‘Bhuna Gosht Boti’ — tender pieces of lamb cooked in tomato and onion masala; South Indian Coffee and herbal tea.
by N.K.A. Ballal, Retd. Sr. Vice-President, ITDC
A look at the menu served to Barack Obama, the US President, on the eve of the official lunch hosted by Modi, our Prime Minister, at the Hyderabad House, made an interesting reading. If you glance at the last item on the menu, our own South Indian coffee was served to the President. Those of you, who are not aware, Hyderabad House is a palatial heritage building near India Gate where all the official sit-down banquets of visiting heads of States is held. The catering is always exclusively handled by ITDC through its Ashok hotel outlet from ages. The service is normally handled by junior executives and not regular waiters since it is imperative that the service should be soundless.
Talking about these State banquets, the invitations are co-vetted by all. The menu is designed keeping the preferences of the host and the guest. For example, if one has a look at the recent banquets after Modi has taken over, most of the times it will have a Gujarati flavour. These menus are planned at Ashok hotel and then sent for approval to the pmo. Some PMs like Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were very particular about the menu. Rajiv Gandhi used to come to the venue half-an-hour in advance and check small details of seating etc. Even Vajpayee, who was fond of good food, used to scrutinise the menu to ensure that his choice of food was put up without fail. Otherwise it was left to some official in the pmo.
Most often the food is served once on the plate and refills are rarely asked for. On an average, two waiters serve five persons. Sometimes the meal is also served pre-plated and the entire service is strictly designed keeping in mind the preferences of the visiting head of the State. If he or she indicates that they have finished the meal, the plates of all others guests would also be removed, even if they were midway on their meal. These banquets are definitely not for foodies who relish and enjoy their food leisurely. The seating order is decided by the mea much in advance. Hence, a couple may find themselves sitting diametrically across.
Coming back to the story of coffee, it is said that coffee bean was brought to India by a Sufi mystic, Baba Budan, who smuggled seven beans from Yemen and scattered them on the hills of Chikkamagalur in around 1670 and the rest is history. The hills were later named after the saint as Bababudangiri. The history of coffee goes at least as far as the 13th century and it is said to have originated in East Africa, specifically Ethiopia. Some scriptures have indicated that the Arabs cultivated coffee in the 14th century but the earliest authenticated evidence of cultivation and drinking of coffee has originated from the Monasteries of Yemen. By 16th century, it had reached the rest of the Middle East, Persia, Turkey Balkans, Italy and the rest of Europe and finally to the Americas.
The word coffee is said to be borrowed from the Turkish “kahve,” which in turn is a derivative of the Arabic “qahwa,” which means “wine of the bean.” There are several legendary accounts of the origin of the brew itself which may or may not be true. But the story of one Omar, who was once exiled from the City of Mocha to a desert cave near Qusab, strikes a chord. Starving, Omar chewed some berries from a nearby shrub and found them to be very bitter. He then tried roasting the beans to improve their flavour and then boiled them and the resultant brew was consumed. This revitalised him so much that this brew became a miracle drug. Subsequently, it is said that he was made a saint for this discovery.
Anyway coming back to India, though there are about 30 strains of coffee all over the world, the two main varieties cultivated are arabica and robusta. As the word itself denotes, robusta is a very hardy plant and disease-resistant unlike arabica which requires a lot of attention. The robusta bean has much more caffeine but very less flavour and hence not preferred. 75 percent of the world’s production is arabica and only about 25 percent of the production is robusta. But more and more people are now cultivating robusta since it is economical, good for blending and used mainly by instant coffee producers. On an average, the productivity of arabica is about 810 kg per hectare and robusta about 1100 kg per hectare.
Why is there such a demand for Indian coffee? The reason is the monsoon-effect. Most of the crops in South India are dependent on monsoons and the beans develop a separate flavour, which is attributed to this. The bean would turn pale yellow and swell up and lose the original acidity resulting in a smoother brew, which is milder. This mellowing is called “monsooning.” Surprisingly, coffee cultivation at present is the main economic activity of many a country in the world, next to oil. Surprised?
Currently, Coorg is the largest coffee-growing district of India, an impressive 53 percent. The distinction for being the first British to start coffee cultivation at Coorg would go to Capt. Le Hardy. Many others followed him and by 1870, there were 134 British-owned estates in Kodagu. But the man who brought all the coffee estate planters together to form a consortium called Consolidated Coffee was none other than Ivor Bull.
Coffee growing is not restricted to Coorg alone. It is grown in two other regions of India, that is Kerala and Tamil Nadu too. The Coffee Board, located in Chikkamagalur town, oversees the production and marketing of all the beans cultivated in the country. But the biggest coffee grower of the world is still Brazil followed by Vietnam.
I do not want to bore my readers with much more stats but suffice to say that I felt very proud that our own South India kaapee was served to the US Prez. Many a connoisseurs swear by different combinations of beans for making of this kaapee. But the one taught by my father was 80 percent of arabica, 15 percent of robusta and 5 percent chicory, a root additive that gives an additional bitterness, which is liked by many a consumer. And one cardinal rule, never reheat the brew and the second rule, use cow’s milk. Do you agree?
[email:ananthballal@yahoo.com]
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Thursday – February 26th, 2015
