When we arrived at The Turmerica, Ranjini Menon cooked us dinner dressed in a stylish new saree. To top that, when we videotaped her making several recipes, she wore the traditional Kerala saree of cream with gold trim. At neither occasion, did she spill a drop on her beautiful outfits. We were in awe from …
Ethaka Appam or Banana Fritters are a favourite tea time treat. We’ve eaten them while floating through the Backwaters of Kerala, and they go beautifully with chai at our favourite roadside stops. They’re a great distraction from the perils and excitement of our road trips. No matter where we eat them, banana fritters are a …
There are as many chai masala recipes as there are chai wallahs in India and, that’s a lot. Our recipe reflects our favourite South Indian spices. There’s the cleansing note of cardamom followed by the sparks of heat from ginger, cloves, and pepper. Underneath these high notes are the warming tones of cinnamon, nutmeg, and …
This is a short and sweet video post so you can see a few chai wallahs of South India in action. We hope it brings to life the fun of visiting a chai wallah stand, and that you’ll feel the rhythm of life that goes with them. Each time we stop for chai, the ritual …
Chai and Chai Wallahs – these words are all music to our ears when we travel in South India. Chai wallah translates as tea worker. Whether they have their own stall or are a worker at a restaurant, their job is to make and/or sell chai to their customers. One of the best things about …
A street food vendor we met outside Ooty’s Government Botanical Gardens inspired this recipe for Grilled Chilli Lime Corn. She roasted her corn over a charcoal spit. Then she rubbed it with lime, sprinkled it with chilli powder, and handed it over wrapped in the daily news. Our recipe is a little more decadent because …
We sipped Creamy Cardamom Tea on a tea factory tour in Ooty and got inspired to create this recipe for you. That tour also influenced the purchases we made in the tea museum’s gift shop. All purchases led to our ability to recreate that Creamy Cardamom Tea again at home. We made our way straight …
Ooty, also known as Udagamandalam, is high in the Nilgiri (blue) Hills of Northern Tamil Nadu. Every 12 years, a native shrub called kurunji turns the hills blue with its blossoms. That sight inspired the name. It must be quite a sight to see. Sadly, we did not catch this phenomenon during our brief visit. …
Ironically, it was just about tea time, when Nanjundan approached. We were looking into the big windows of the production floor at the Benchmark Tea Factory and Museum near Ooty, Tamil Nadu. His smile revealed a large gap where a bottom tooth should have been. A beard of silver stubble hinted at his age. Tea …
If we tell you it was a hot day when we visited Auroville your mind will check a box and move on. If we tell you it was the kind of hot where beads of moisture pop up on your skin and soon turn into little streams that dampen your clothes and have you mopping …