Vegetarianism: A New Tool for India's Radicals?

Food is almost always a politically fraught topic, but in India of late that politics is beginning to assume some truly distasteful flavors.

I ran into this blog post in the London Independent today about a Dalit fest at an Indian university celebrating beef as a way to assert "their culinary rights in public". This is because Dalits, as lower caste Indians are collectively called, have traditionally eaten meat unlike the upper castes, or Brahmins, who were usually vegetarian. I used the past tense there because that is not necessarily true in these changing times when a number of young people from Brahmin families, dazzled by westernization and the influx of international food chains like McDonald's, do eat meats like chicken and mutton outside their homes. Many, though, would probably still not eat beef because their religion deems the cow sacred.

The beef festival, I gather, was meant as a way for the Dalits to assert their right to eat what they want, even the holy cow (although it's usually buffalo meat that's sold as beef in India), without fear of suppression and objection by the upper castes.

While the idea of killing innocent animals -- cows or buffaloes-- as a political statement sounded tragic enough to this Indian vegan, here's what was more shocking: according to the blogger who wrote this post, a group of right-wing Hindu radicals disrupted the festival, threatening some of the women participating in the festival with acid attacks and gang rape.

When did vegetarianism in India turn into a preserve of the radicals?

Sweet Potato and Vaal Dal Curry

I am dropping out of oblivion for a quick moment to share an easy and delicious weeknight recipe: Sweet Potato and Vaal Dal Curry.

Vaal is a beloved legume on India's west coast. A small bean that's more round than oval, it has a hard beige coat that is pretty much inedible, unlike the coats of most common beans and legumes. But inside this tough coat sits a soft, creamy core.  Peeled val cooks up quickly and easily into a pleasant, buttery, very slightly bitter flavor that's absolutely addictive.

Vaal is easily found at Indian stores here in the United States and you can usually buy the whole vaal, skin and all, or just the "dal": the split legume with the outer coat removed. I like keeping both on hand. The whole vaal, when you have the time to sprout it and then peel the coat off (yes, you have to do it one bean at a time), is gorgeous in dishes like Nupur's Dalimbay Bhaat, a recipe I make over and over again. The dal is a harried cook's best friend because it cooks up in a jiffy-- quicker than most lentils, in fact. I use it to make weeknight recipes like this one I have for you today.

Mirch Ka Salan With Peshawari Naan

Before I get to today's recipe, Mirch ka Salan with Peshawari Naan, here's a small rant.

I am not a Bolly-watcher, by any means. I am not hungry for the latest news on whichever middle-aged "hero" and painfully young "heroine" is dominating India's movie industry. I couldn't care less who's going out with whom. And I don't remember the last time I watched a Hindi movie I could half like (trust me, I've tried for nostalgia's sake).

But our times make it hard to dodge information, even when it is information we'd rather not have. Recently, I started to see a common thread in messages posted on Facebook and on some Indian news websites: apparently, a number of top Indian actresses are gaining weight. And not losing it, or at least not losing it as fast as their fans want them to.

Aishwarya Rai, Lara Dutta, Vidya Balan, Kareena Kapoor... the reports listed the who's who of India's filmdom. And as much as I didn't want to, I had to take notice: after all,  weight is a loaded topic in our culture and one that always evokes a visceral reaction. What really struck me was how vicious some of these reports were in a country where a little flab around the middle was once considered a welcome sign of prosperity. In fact, all the way through the 1990s and early 2000s, actresses like Sridevi, Rekha, Juhi Chawla and Madhuri Dixit made curves fashionable and beautiful.

Whole-Wheat Maple Oatmeal Bread

This sun-kissed Maple Oatmeal Bread is so light and fluffy, you might have to fight an urge to cuddle it when it comes out of the oven. Or to gobble it all down in one sitting.

I made this bread this past weekend and of all the breads I've shared with you on Holy Cow! this has to be one of my favorites. It's part-whole-wheat, which makes it healthy, and it's a fairly dense sandwich-type bread which makes it easy to slice and then slather that peanut butter on (and you can hold the jelly). If you have kids, they will love this one.

Before I dive into the recipe, I want to talk a little bit about the messages you send me. I love getting them and they almost always put a smile on my face. When you have a question I am more than happy to answer it. But please bear in mind that if you send me an email with an urgent question when you are smack-dab in the midst of making a recipe, there is a good chance that I may not see your email and answer it before it's too late for you and for the recipe.

I wanted to bring this up because over the years I've often opened my inbox in the mornings or late at night and found these urgent messages waiting for me. But here's the thing: I am not glued to my email and the blog all day. I have a career and a family and this blog is strictly a hobby that I try and make time for in my busy day. As much as I'd love to help you out I may not be able to in time.

Brown Rice Uthappam With Sundried Tomato Chutney

A reader requested a recipe for uthappam and this past weekend I decided to do one better: I tried out a healthier version of this already waist-friendly snack. A Brown Rice Uthappam.

If you've never run into an uthappam before, think of it as a chubby, onion-flecked dosa crossed with an idly. The basic ingredients in all three recipes are the same-- rice and udad dal-- but the technique makes a world of  difference to their final textures and even flavor. While a dosa is spread out into a thin crepe on the griddle using the back of a rounded ladle and an idly is steamed, the batter for an uthappam is poured on much as you would pour on a pancake batter and then left alone. The hot griddle browns the outside and steams the inside and what you end up with is a pancake that has a pleasantly chewy mouth feel.

Best of all, you can sprinkle all sorts of veggies and herbs on the uthappam as it's cooking, the most popular choice being onions and coriander leaves. The veggies sink cozily into the batter and cook up into a deliciously toothy texture.