Secrets from the Udupi kitchen

Think of Udupi food and what comes to mind is South Indian staples — like idlis and dosas. But home chef Sapna Salins will let you know that there is a lot more to Udupi cuisine than the regular fare. And she has taken it upon herself to introduce Mumbaikars to the cuisine that hasn’t found its way to city’s menus yet. Sapna has been doing her bit by hosting a purely vegetarian fare regularly at her home.

“Although I am a non-vegetarian, I have grown up eating a lot of traditional Udupi cuisine,” she says. It helped that her grandmother and neighbours took an interest in cooking as well. Sapna explains, “I was introduced to traditional homemade food by my grandmother and Brahmins neighbours.”

Pineapple Rasam

Sapna, who is originally from Udupi, has ensured that the recipes aren’t meddled with. So veggies like pumpkin, gourd, yam, mangoes, cucumber, beans and various greens, are a part of the recipes while cauliflower, cabbage, onion, garlic, potato and carrot are a strict no-no. “I don’t even substitute tomatoes for tamarind to ensure that I stay true to the recipes,” she says.

The meal whipped up by Sapna starts with Pannakkam, a sweetened jaggery drink, which is spiced with pepper, ginger powder, cardamom and lime. Then comes an array of snacks and main course, one after the other. What’s common to all is that they are strictly served on banana leaves.

Bramni Curry

One dish that gets all of Sapna’s diners interested, is Mashinga Sanga Bajo, which is deep-fried drumstick fritters coated with ground rice and masala. “I was very apprehensive about serving drumsticks since it doesn’t exactly feature on anyone’s list as their favourite vegetable!” she laughs. “But the gamble worked. There was a young girl at the pop-up, who only ate the drumstick fritters through the meal,” she reveals.

Then there is Moode, idli batter which is steamed in a cylindrical mould and served with chutney; Pineapple Rasam, which as the name suggests includes pineapple for a sweet, tangy flavour and Timare Tambli, a yogurt-based curry which is made with Brahmi leaves. “Brahmi leaves are popular back home. Since the herb isn’t available here, I source it from Udupi every time I decide to include this in the pop-up,” she explains.

Modde

Sapna admits that it was when she signed up to host meals for Authenticook that she learnt a great deal about the cuisine. “I always loved cooking, so when I decided to helm an event for guests, I knew I had to be extra cautious. I even looked up for recipes on the Internet, just so that I could have a better understanding of the dishes. When you’re cooking for guests, you can’t take it lightly,” she explains.

Sapna hopes that her effort add up to make the cuisine a more appealing one. “First and foremost, there is this impression that South Indian food is just about sambar and idlis,” she rues. “The truth is that we have variations in sambar recipes and even chutneys. In fact, I will be including chutney, which is made from ridge gourd (turai) peels. I think I know only one per cent of what this elaborate cuisine is really about. It’s high time we explore this cuisine and celebrate it,” she concludes.