KSRTC for the win

I can now add a check mark next "riding a bus" in India.

I'm not a huge fan of buses in general. My experience in the States has been that trains are much smoother than long-haul buses, and local buses -- especially in San Francisco -- are too slow and not on time enough. As Kate and I cross southern India, however, there's an abundance of mountains -- and thus, a lack of trains. So our choices have been either to hire private cars or to take one of the many buses available.

After a trial 90-minute ride this morning with the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation -- to Ernakulam from Alleppey, where we'd stayed on a houseboat -- Kate and I decided we were up for the 5-hour ride to Munnar. At the total fare of Rs. 131 per person, or about $2.60, it was certainly the economical choice.

Not our bus, but one similar to it -- in Alleppey.

The test ride was decently smooth -- even though we were sitting behind the rear axle. A very sweet young woman in Alleppey had helped us locate a bus to Ernakulam with empty seats so we wouldn't have to stand until seats became available. (Very helpful with our huge bags!)

(Side note: Kate traveled all over South America in buses, and I always pictured vehicles like this -- but then I found out that her buses were often grand coaches with fold-out flat seats for sleeping and even champagne on one route!)

I was a little nervous about heading all the way to Munnar on the bus, as it's a winding road up to the hill station. But I have to say I was fairly impressed with our driver. The bus was hot and crowded, of course, but everyone was friendly and helpful. (We also had seats the entire time.) The conductor pointed us to the right stop (we got off just short of Munnar, at a junction closer to our homestay) -- and two other backpackers helped toss our bags off the bus.

Inside our bus from Alleppey to Munnar. Think U.S. school bus in terms of style.

All in all: I think this was a smoother ride than when I traveled up the mountain by car in 2009. I don't know if I'd attempt this just anywhere, but happy to have a chance to test it out here in lovely, well-planned Kerala.

Homemade Indian sweets

Hello from glorious, hot, humid Kerala, where I'm reminiscing about my time up north while luxuriating under fans with cool drinks. (This is the life I'd like to lead if I were to live in India again, let me tell you.)

But back to blogging and getting caught up.

Another of the food items I wanted to learn on this whirlwind tour of India was how to make Gita-taiji's famous sweets. The Dehradun-based aunt has been sending sweets to Vivek and his brother, Mani, since they can remember.

So on a rainy Saturday afternoon, Gita-taiji set about teaching me how to make besan burfi, a sweet made of besan (chickpea flour), ghee (clarified butter), spices and almonds. It turned out to be a simpler process than I had expected, though rather time-consuming overall.

Gita-taiji takes over to demonstrate proper roasting technique.

While stirring, it's best to compress the besan against the bottom of the pan, which helps to keep the flour separated, rather than just stirring it. 

Simply stirring can cause the flour to clump into tiny, boondi-like forms (demonstrated by me).

Almond halves provide a nice contrast to the golden color of the roasted besan. 

The roasted besan is mixed with cardamom and sugar to create a dough.

To make greasing the pan easier, Gita-taiji uses the leftover heat from the stove burner where we roasted the besan.

When finished, the sweet will look something like this. All that's left is to separate and package the squares.

After this cooking lesson was over, I also watched Gita-taiji at work making bread -- Saturday night's rotis and Sunday morning's parathas. That Sunday sari brunch is getting more and more complete!

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Besan Burfi
from the kitchen of Gita Bhatnagar

1 c. besan (chickpea flour)
1/2 c. ghee (you might not need this much)
green cardamom powder (to taste)
sugar (to taste)
10-15 almonds (optional, for decoration)

Roast the besan and ghee together in a pan (a wok would work nicely if you have one) until the besan turns a dark golden color. (This is a simple step but a long one, so be patient. If the besan is not roasted enough, the texture of the sweet will be too chewy.) While stirring, mash the flour against the pan to compress it. Add ghee as needed.

Once the besan has been roasted, remove from heat to cool. While it's cooling, slice almonds in half.

When the besan is cool enough to touch, add the cardamom powder and sugar and mix into the dough with your hands. Line a metal pan with a bit of ghee and place dough onto pan, compressing and shaping the form to create a five- to six-inch square that's about three-quarters of an inch thick.

Slice the sweet into one-inch square pieces and place an almond half, skin-side down for contrast, on each piece. Sweets will be ready to package when they can be lifted from the pan without sticking.

Food: Kerala-tourist lunch

Delicious. My first fish moile and a slice of cheesecake. Hit the spot!

Food: B'fast in Kerala

Hello from Fort Kochi! This breakfast is easily a favorite meal in India.

Nimbu achar

While planning my bharat darshan last year, there were a few specific things, in addition to general family and country history, that I knew I wanted to learn. One of them was Bua's nimbu achar, or lemon pickle. The pickle is similar to other Indian pickles -- but, as it's homemade and a bit sweet, not quite as pungent as others I've tasted -- and, thus, easier on my American taste buds.

My mom has been canning jams, veggies and fruits, including her famous lime pickles, for decades. I recently got in on the fun, having preserved a batch of my cranberry-ginger chutney during the holidays. Surely I could master lemon pickle, right?

I had mentioned wanting to learn this recipe to the family -- so right after our first lunch in Chandigarh last week, Bua set about teaching me, step by step, how it's done -- assuring me along the way that it is, in fact, a very easy recipe.

This process can take as much as week, depending on climate and your access to sun -- so get an early start if you want to serve this at your next brunch! I also recommend starting in the afternoon, as we did, so the recipe will be easiest to follow. Finally, as with all preserving, make sure to wash your hands frequently and to use only clean pans and utensils. Enjoy!

The process starts with placing lemons in a bath of boiled water.

Next, the lemons are removed from the water, covered and left overnight.

The taste of the pickle owes much to the combination of traditional India spices added. Here, Bua counts out the ingredients for our masala. 

Bua uses salt, cloves, cinnamon bark, black cardamom, cumin seeds and peppercorns to season her nimbu achar.

After adding our salt and spice mix, we left the pickle in the sun to rest again.

The last ingredient is sugar. Once this layer is added, it's simply a game of waiting for the syrup to form and then to dry up.

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Nimbu Achar
from the kitchen of Vimla Bhatnagar

100g lemons (about five small lemons)

     *choose lemons with a soft, thin skin to make the pickling easier

25g salt

20g sugar

garam masala spices (to be ground):

     a few shavings of cinnamon bark

     4-5 cloves

     6-7 black peppercorns

     1 pod black cardamom

     20-30 cumin seeds

Wash and dry the lemons. Boil enough water to cover the lemons; remove pan from heat and place lemons into the water. Cover and let sit for four to five hours.

Remove lemons from water and place in a bowl. Cover and let sit overnight.

The next morning, dry and quarter the lemons. Mix in a non-reactive bowl with the salt. Grind the masala, leaving it a bit course, and stir into the lemons and salt. Cover with a towel or cheesecloth and let the bowl sit in the sun.

On the following morning, cover the lemon mixture with a layer of sugar; don't mix. Let the pickle sit as the sugar and juices combine to form a syrup around the lemon pieces.

For several days, or until the liquid has mostly dried up, allow the pickle to continue sitting, covered with a towel or cheesecloth, in the sun. Once complete, place in a clean, dry jar.  

Catching up

At nearly three weeks into my trip -- and fast approaching the mid-point -- it seems time for a small amount of constructive criticism on my journey to date.

I set out to learn more about Vivek's family and country, to write and to relax a bit. On the first point, I'm sailing. I've been learning up a storm -- and, ergo, traveling, having been in six towns just in the past week (Chandigarh, Dehradun, Shimla, Bangalore, Mysore and the Kolar Gold Fields).

It's been far more difficult to find time for my second two goals of writing and relaxing. With that in mind, I've set aside my Sunday here in Bangalore to do a lot of both. I've already read the New York Times online and had my morning mini-nap, so it's time to settle in. Stay tuned for additional posts!

Laptop, water, tea, cereal with a big scoop of peanut butter -- all the ingredients for a successful writing session.

Food: Chai

Bundar aur hathi ornaments at tea with devrani.