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| Southern delights |
| Abhilasha Ojha / New Delhi Mar 22, 2009, 00:07 IST |
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 Asha Gupta, Tupperware's director, cooks up adai and avial for us.
Barely hours after I’ve visited Tupperware’s headquarters in India, I’m reading Malaysian author Tash Aw’s debut novel, The Handloom Silk Factory, and smile at a fleeting mention of the brand in a couple of pages. The protagonist poses as a Tupperware representative, confident that the “brand which is a rage in America” will ensure a smooth entry into the house where he goes uninvited.
I wish I had mentioned this vignette to Asha Gupta, managing director, Tupperware (India) who — while she’s smoldering a frying pan (a Tupperware product that’s yet to be introduced in India) with some sesame oil for mouth-watering pancakes (adai) — tells me about her granny’s kitchen in south India that oozed with distinct aromas of spices while pots and pans bubbled forth with traditional south Indian fare.
It’s with sheer passion that Gupta is now preparing avial, a traditional fare from Kerala. We’re in the headquarters’ main Tupperware kitchen, an area where, says Gupta, all products are tried and tested. Gupta combines yam, white pumpkin, raw bananas, besides other vegetables for a quick steam in a microwave for 10 minutes.
“I love this dish for its mélange of vegetables in different colours, various textures and incredible flavour,” adds Gupta, talking about her interest in cooking and says that her mother would be aghast to see the pancakes being cooked in such little oil. Gupta may not be drizzling too much oil, but she not only cooks, but also serves us, with great zest.
FAVOURITE RECIPES
ADAI
200 ml rice
200 ml lentils (arhar, Bengal gram, urad)
8 whole dry red chillies (you may reduce the number according to your taste)
½ tsp asafoetida powder
A bunch of fresh, green curry leaves
Salt to taste
A little more than ½ tsp sesame oil for each pancake
Wash and soak rice and lentils in water for three hours. Transfer rice, pulses, dry red chillies in a food processor and mix coarsely. To this paste, add chopped curry leaves, asafoetida powder and salt and mix well. You can also add more salt later. Add a little sesame oil in a non-stick frying pan and pour two tablespoons of the prepared batter and spread evenly. Add a little more oil on the top of the batter and makes rough holes with the ladle so that the oil spreads well. Let it fry on a low flame and once brown, flip the pancake for it to brown on the other side. Serve hot with a bit of jaggery and a dash of honey on the side.
AVIAL
50 gms yam
50 gms white pumpkin
One raw banana
Two potatoes
4-5 small brinjals
10 sticks of beans
2 carrot pieces
3 cups shredded coconut
6 fresh, green chillies
1 tsp jeera seeds
½ tsp turmeric powder
2 stalks of curry leaves
1 tbs tamarind extract
2 tsp (optional) coconut oil
Salt to taste
Cut vegetables lengthwise in 5 cm pieces and wash thoroughly. Traditionally, the vegetables are boiled (in ½ cup water that’s added to a wok) along with salt and turmeric, in our recipe the vegetables have been steamed in a microwave for 10-12 minutes.
In the meantime, grind shredded coconut, green chillies, jeera and curry leaves into a fine paste. You may keep aside some curry leaves and add them later as garnishing. Mix the paste with the steamed vegetables using very little water. Add tamarind extract and a drizzle of coconut oil along with salt. Garnish with curry leaves. Serve hot with adai.
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