The Corona Conundrum

What’s a travel writer to do in this time of travel bans and self-quarantines? Give in to temptation or stay put? Continue writing or go bust?

By Raul Dias

Here’s a numerical glimpse into my current life status as a freelance travel writer. Two is the number of months since I’ve travelled anywhere farther than a 10-kilometer radius from my home in Mumbai. Five is the number of pre-planned trips that have fallen by the wayside. Two of those were to be within India, and three, internationals.
A little more than thirty thousand is the combined amount in rupees that I will never see again. Irreplaceable and lost in a gut-wrenching combination of cancelled airline, hotel and other miscellaneous booking fees. Yes, life as a ‘jet-setting’ travel writer isn’t as glamourous and envious as it is made out to be. Nor is it always about sponsored press trips as is the common belief. More often than not, I do travel on my own hard-earned dime too, you see.
Now, here’s where it really begins to hurt. Seven is the number of travel articles of mine that have either been junked or held over by the travel editors of the various publications that I contribute to. Each one of them deeming the publication of said pieces insensitive in the current scenario, which according to me is a rather sore, moot point. I mean, if people can’t travel, at least they can read about it, right? Zero is how many new travel article pitches of mine have been accepted since the last two weeks. And don’t even get me started on the figures of my projected income for the current month.
But before you accuse me of hideously exaggerating my ‘first world problems’ while carrying on with this soppy spiel, I need to let you in on something. Freelance travel writing, along with a little restaurant reviewing on the side (which again, is virtually non-existent these days) is not just the essence of my very being, but my only two sources of livelihood. Never mind the fact that both are grossly underpaid jobs here in India to begin with. Still, there’s nothing I love more. Or know to do better for that matter. So, do afford me the luxury of whining on.
It’s strange how the urge to pack my bag and head out into the vast unknown is even more heightened now, when travel is an almost forbidden temptation. Sure, I get my rocks off vicariously from my quotidien supply of the many travel vlogs that both Facebook and YouTube make sure to not-so-mysteriously send my way. But that’s not enough for me. There’s really nothing that comes close to the real deal of hitting the road and finding that elusive story along the way.
The last week’s been particularly tough, when for the first time in the last four years, I’ve been home for my birthday. I detest celebrating my birthdays with a vengeance and have consciously chosen to be on the road then to avoid any embarrassing, unnecessary hoopla. Usually, some of the first people to wish me are immigration officers and front office staff at hotels once they scan through my dog-eared bundle of stapled together passports. This year, I had to make do with soggy, early morning nose kisses from my trio of dogs. But no complaints there.
Chances are that by the time this essay is out, I would have succumbed. And no, I don’t mean to that omnipresent sense of boredom that I’m dealing with thanks to our new favourite phrase du jour aka. “social distancing”. Nor do I mean yielding to that rather virulent and surprisingly durable Chinese export that the world’s grappling with at this moment with all its might. At the risk of being conferred upon with a host of descriptors with selfish, careless and irresponsible being the top three most probable ones, I suspect that I would have fallen prey to my life’s one constant—the lure and love of a good travel story. Never mind how bonkers the process of chronicling it might seem!
Just as I was sitting down to pen this diatribe of sorts, an e-vite to be a part of India’s first ‘Isolation Getaway for Longevity’, nestled itself snugly in my inbox. “Utilise your quarantine with us,” says the Atmantan Wellness Centre that claims to be a ‘natural healing destination’ thanks to its location on the banks of the crystalline Mulshi Lake and only a 3-hour drive from virus-battling Mumbai.
As bizarrely inappropriate as it seems given its timing, I’d be lying if I said that this invite hasn’t intrigued me. Maybe I will accept it, maybe I won’t. Hopefully, time will tell.

(A differently edited version of this article first appeared in the 28th March issue of The Hindu Business Line newspaper's BLink section on page 20 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/takeaway/lockdown-and-the-travel-writer/article31180919.ece)

Bowled Over!

Known for its wholesome appeal and colourful components, the meal-in-one bowl is fast becoming one of the hottest international food trends—from its savoury to sweet avatars. Smart Life brings you a few such bowls from across the country.  

By Raul Dias

Almost instantly spelling out the words ‘Comfort Food’ in big, bold alphabets, the one bowl meal has a certain easy-going, pretence-free vibe about it and one that has achieved popularity and hipster-chic credence over the last couple of years. Not only are they a convenient and clever way to mix all of your favourite ingredients together, but for whatever reason food just seems more interesting when served from a bowl!
Be it an Asian-style Buddha bowl, a Korean bibimbap-influenced bowl or a fruit and oats-laden breakfast bowl topped with the very fashionable and au courant sliced avocado and chia seeds, the bowl meal is here to stay.
We’ve compiled a list of a few such bowls here in India that have left us, well…bowled over with their brilliance.

Hot Pot Bowl
At Pra Pra Prank, Gurugram
A hot pot is a classic Mongolian rice dish that is served with various vegetable and meat toppings which come sizzling hot in a stone pot. One gets fantastically browned brunt rice at the bottom of the pot, making this dish extra delicious. In this version of the one bowl meal, wok tossed Schezwan-sauced rice is topped with chicken, water chestnuts, roasted peanuts, sweet corn kernels, chives, mushrooms and fried garlic. What makes this dish even more special is that it gives the diner the unique experience of eating from a sizzling stone bowl into which all the ingredients are mixed in front of them. “I came up with this idea because when we were preparing for our new menu, winter was approaching. And so, I thought that I should present my guests with a memorable experience,” says Chef Aryav, the Executive Chef at Pra Pra Prank. “And I thought that there can be nothing better than a sizzling hot meat and rice dish which stays hot till the last bite!”

Morning Glory Bowl and Tokyo Pork Bowl
At Shibuii, Mumbai
Offering two distinct bowls—one vegetarian and one pork-based—this new Pan-Asian restaurant champions this food trend. To begin with, the morning glory bowl is composed of a serving of morning glory leaves tossed in garlic and chilly and then bathed in yellow bean sauce. This is complimented with steamed aromatic jasmine rice. To complete the meal, the bowl also consists of delicately hand rolled vegetable spring rolls drizzled with a tangy hoisin sauce, which gives the meal that extra something. To add to it, the bowl also includes some starch in the form of finger potatoes in a sweet and spicy sauce.
On the other hand, the Tokyo pork bowl is made up of delicious and succulent chargrilled pork belly slices glazed in a spiced curry broth made with the stock of pork, herbs and vegetables. All this is perfectly paired with steamed jasmine rice with prawn crackers and a hand-rolled spring roll adding some crunch to your meal-in-one bowl.

Chilli Tossed Tuna Poké Bowl
At Toast & Tonic  Bengaluru
Generally, this Hawaiian-origin one bowl wonder is a delicious concoction where soy- and sesame oil-marinated raw tuna cubes are served atop vinegared sushi rice. Predominantly a lunch dish, poké (pronounced poh-kay) has taken over the world as a healthy, highly nutritious and fun way to eat fish and rice. Dishing out one of the yummiest iterations of the dish in India we’ve had the pleasure of eating, Toast & Tonic in Bengaluru’s Ashok Nagar does things a little differently with their Chilli Tossed Tuna Poké Bowl. Here the traditional sushi rice is substituted for the short-grained and sticky Gobindobhog variety from Bengal, with the bowl topped off with a passion fruit and pineapple vinaigrette, a halved, beetroot-pickled boiled egg and fresh avocado cubes. All of this is then sprinkled with micro mustard greens, shards of nori (dried Japanese seaweed), fried onions and a sprinkling of the very fashionable chia seeds.

Hot Stone Bowl
At Molecule Air Bar, New Delhi
Drawing in great inspiration from the classic Korean dish called bibimbap, the super colourful hot stone bowl served here consists of warm jasmine rice accompanied by various ingredients like water chestnuts, broccoli, peanuts, sprouts, tofu, spring onion, peppers, chicken, with a fried egg sitting atop it. One also gets to choose a sauce of your liking. Here all the ingredients are mixed in a heated stone bowl in front of the guest at their table and served piping hot. “This dish has very warm flavours which are just right for the winter season,” says Mohammed Anas Qureshi, the Brand Chef. “And as it is served in a hot bowl, the dish stays warm for a longer period of time. The whole idea of this dish is to serve our guest something which brings warmth to their dining experience this season.”

Kiwi Banana Smoothie Bowl
At The Daily Bar & Kitchen, Mumbai
We’ve truly saved the ‘sweetest’ bowl on this list for last with the fruity, all-day breakfast treat that is the yummy kiwi banana smoothie bowl at Mumbai’s The Daily Bar & Kitchen. This bowl is made by blending fresh kiwis and chopped bananas with yogurt that is perfect for people following a healthy diet. Coconut powder is incorporated into this mixture for added flavour, post which it is kept in the refrigerator to chill for a couple of hours. The dish is then served in a bowl and topped with slices of both fruits, delicious toasted granola and some chia seeds to add the right amount of texture. “Banana and Kiwi are my favourite fruits and I usually choose these when I am on the go. Being my staples, I decided to incorporate these two in a smoothie bowl allowing my breakfasts to be super healthy and easy to make,” says Liton Bhakta, Head Chef, The Daily Bar & Kitchen. “Since it worked so well, I decided to add this to The Daily’s menu and ever since it has been the most ordered smoothie bowl!”

(A differently edited version of this piece was first published in the March 2020 issue of The Week's Smart Life magazine)

Fusion Flavours!

Anglo-Indian cuisine, India’s ‘original fusion cuisine’ is a fascinating one that’s spiced with centuries of history and culture.   

By Raul Dias

As one of India’s most underrepresented cuisines, Anglo-Indian food and its wonderful cache of fusion dishes is all but a lost legacy. Once the mainstay of colonial-style gentlemen’s clubs and railway canteens overseen by khansamas, Anglo-Indian cuisine is slowing inching out of the woodwork. All this, thanks to efforts of people like Bridget White Kumar—author of several cookbooks on this unique cuisine who are seeking a revival of dishes that hold within them centuries of history and culture. The latest boost comes in the form of the recent opening of India’s first true-blue Anglo-Indian cuisine restaurant, Anglow in New Delhi’s Khan Market.
We look at some classic Anglo-Indian dishes that have stood the test of time here in India…

Jalfrezi and Pepper Water
This two-part Anglo-Indian dish is a strange one given its geographical antecedents. The former part of the dish was born in erstwhile Calcutta when it served as the capital of India right up to 1772. Derived from the Bengali word jhal parhezi which means “hot dish”, the vegetable stew—that’s tempered with mustard oil—is always served with a thin broth-like side dish called pepper water. The latter itself came from another British strong-hold of the then Madras Presidency, where the tamarind pulp-based dish is more-commonly known as rasam or saaru.

Chicken Country Captain
This three-way fusion dish is an amalgamation of the Italian chicken stew of cacciatore, a British roast chicken and an Indian korma. Named after the captains of the ‘country ships’ owned by the British East India Company, in whose galleys this dish took shape, the red-hued preparation is a sweet-n-spicy chicken gravy best mopped up with slices of crusty bread.

Ball Curry and Yellow Rice
Taking the very British dish of meatball stew and giving it an Indian flip, this quintessential Anglo-Indian classic sees the introduction of thick coconut milk added to the stew that’s further spiced width cumin and coriander powder. This Anglo Sunday lunch staple is always served with an accompanying duo of sides that take the form of a sunshine yellow turmeric rice and a devil’s chutney made from Kashmiri chillies, tomatoes, sugar and vinegar.

Spiced Allahabad Fruit Cake
This dense, rich confection—that is part of the edible legacy left behind by the once strong Anglo-Indian community of Allahabad—best defines this fusion cuisine. While desi ghee stands in for the regular fruit cake shortening of butter, giving the cake a slight savoury edge, local Indian spices like nutmeg, saunf (fennel powder) and sonth (dried ginger powder) make it typically Anglo-Indian. Further augmenting this mélange is the use of petha (candy pumpkin) that replaces the once hard-to-procure candied fruit peel that had to be imported in from good ol’ Blighty. Today, Allahabad’s famous bakery Bushy’s on Kanpur Road is one of the few places where one can still get a slice of this unique cake.

(An edited version of this article first appeared in the March 2020 issue of Travel 360, the in-flight magazine of Air Asia India)