The secrets of Udupi's Madhwa Brahmin kitchen leaked!

[email protected] (News Network | KM Acharya)
August 26, 2015

Udupi, Aug 26: What connects Bisi Bele Hulianna, Saaru, Modaka, Huggi, Majjige Palidya and Drakshi Gojju? These are some of the famed dishes of the Madhwa Brahmin community of Udupi, a coastal town in Karnataka where the Krishna temple acts as a pivot in people's lives.

brahmin

Laying out the geographical expanse and scientific logic to the regions Madhwa Brahmins vegetarian food habits, culinary expert Malati Srinivasan and arts and crafts connoisseur Geetha Rao showcase the hitherto unknown vegetarian recipes from Udupi in their book "The Udupi Kitchen."

The authors straddle the traditional and modern and list what was once easily cooked in Udupi households - spice powders, salads and chutneys, savoury snacks, desserts - and elaborate on several recipes which are all-time favourites like Bisi Bele Hulianna, Saaru, Masal Dose and Modaka.

While Bisi Bele Hulianna is a dish of spicy red gram, rice and vegetables, Saaru is spicy red gram soup, Huggi is rice and green gram with black pepper and cumin and Modaka is dumplings with coconut and jiggery filling.

Majjige Palidya is ash gourd with coconut and cumin in sour yoghurt and Drakshi Gojju is raisins in sweet, sour and spicy gravy.

Split into 12 sections, the Udupi Kitchen, published by Westland Ltd, celebrates vegetarian food with aplomb from a town where food is religion as well as a complete mouth-watering experience.

At the core of Udupi cuisine is the use of indigenous vegetables and fruits, cereals and pulses special to the Parashurama Kshetra and traditional Brahmins ate only vegetarian fare without onion and garlic.

According to the authors, Udupi cuisine has a vast variety and is not limited to tiffins or snacks.

"As I began working on this project, I realised how vast and varied our family’s repertoire of Udupi (Madhwa) cuisine was. I wrote down 175 recipes, but have used about a 100 of them in the book," says Srinivasan.

"Writing a cook book for both Indian and non-Indian readers required that a comprehensive multi-lingual glossary be compiled. It also meant using internationally accepted terminology: 'henchu' or 'tava' became griddle, bandle or 'kadhai' became wok, 'tappele' or 'bartan' became saucepan," says Rao.

She says for some kitchen tools like 'eelgemane' and 'ogarane chamcha', which had no "internationally understood" words, substitute words like curved knife blade and tempering-ladle had to be coined.

The story of Udupi cuisine is the story of how a temple-based, Brahmanical culinary tradition got modernised and became a global phenomenon. Food is religion in Udupi.

Fourteen varieties of food are cooked daily and offered to the deity at different times of the day. The food offered to god is 'naivediya', and the food eaten by human beings is 'prasada', food that is blessed.

In Udupi, meals are served on banana leaves in a particular order. Many recipes and foods have also proven health benefits. For example, dishes made from the inner banana stem prevent kidney stones, pepper rasam helps with the lactation of new mothers, jackfruit seeds have high protein content and so on.

The authors also say that the original of the masal dose or the famous masala dosa is attributed to Udupi.

Before it was invented, plain dosa was served with potato playa, without onions, in a separate cup. With changing food tastes, the Udupi chefs began to saute the mashed potatoes with onions and spices.

"As onions were considered taboo food for orthodox Brahmins, it is said that the doses were stuffed with onion-laced playa, instead of served in a separate cup, so that the onion could be 'hidden'," the authors say.

Comments

Usha moorthy
 - 
Wednesday, 8 Jun 2016

I'm extremely pleased that I now have a book to refer to for genuine udupi food!!! Thanks to the authors for painstakingly bringing together these wonderful recipes!!;

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Press Release
January 2,2020

Mangaluru, Jan 2: Seven achievers from various fields including Kannada writer and thinker Boluvaru Muhammad Kunhi have been chose for ‘Sandesha’ Awards for the year 2020.

Announcing this at a press meet in the presence of Sandesha director Fr Francis Assisi Almeida, writer Na D’Souza said that the award ceremony will be held on 9 February 2020 at 5:30 pm at the Sandesha Premises.

Bishop of Ballari Diocese and president of Sandesha Foundation, Dr Henry D’Souza will preside over. President of Karnataka Sahitya Academy Dr B V Vasanth Kumar will be the chief guest. Bishop of Mangaluru Diocese Dr Peter Paul Saldanha and Bishop of Udupi Diocese Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo will be the guests. MLA of Mangaluru South Constituency Vedvyas Kamath and Film Music Director Cajetan Dais will be the guests of honour”.

Awards and Awardees

1. Sandesha Literature Award (Kannada)- Mr. Boluvaru Muhammad Kunhi

He was born in 1951at Puttur. He has secured gold medal in Kannada Post Graduation from Mysore University. At present he is retired and settled at Bangalore after serving 40 years in Syndicate Bank as an officer.

He is the only Indian writer conferred with Central Sahitya Academy twice (2010 & 2016) for creative prose. He is also the first ever Kannada writer conferred with `BalaSahityaPuraskar’ by Central Sahitya Academy. His epic 1,110-page opus named "Swathranthada Ota" (in English: The run for independence) released on 18 March 2012 at RavindraKalakshetra, Bangalore by the world famous Sarod artist Pandit Rajiv Taranath.

He worked as Senate Member in Hampi Kannada University, Kannada Sahitya Academyand KannadaPustakaPradhikara. He also worked as State president for `Samudaya’ Cultural Organisation, as Convener to BandayaSahityaSangha, as Edirot to GIANT (Syndicate Bank's House Magazine) KRISHILOKA (Syndicate Bank's Magazine), as member to RDC (Syndicate Bank's Rural Development Institute), Self-Employment Training Institute (RUDSETI- Dharmastala). He was the President for Kannada BelesiBalaga and ChitraSamudaya (Film Division)

2. Sandesha Literature Award (Konkani): Mr. ValliVagga (Mr. Valerian D Souza)

He was born at Vagga of BantawalTaluk of Dakshina Kannada in the year 1947. His pen name is ‘ValliVagga’. He was an industrialist and at present he is retired and continuing is service in literature. In 55 years of his service in the field of Konkani literature, he has written some 150 short stories, 140 poems and 120 articles in different papers, magazines and websites. Out of these articles, some 40 articles have been translated and published in different papers.

He has published 8 books and his Konkani drama “KhandhiKuris” has already had 13 exhibitions. He has been honoured by Karnataka Konkani Academy, Konkani Kutam Bahrain and Daiji Dubai and also he has worked at various capacities in the field of Konkani Literature.

3. Sandesha Media Award: Mr. Shiv Kumar

Professionally he is an engineer and living in Bangalore. For the last 32 years he has been running a magazine called “Aparanji” as an editor. Already he has written 12 books and through his jokes, literature and science he has been decimating information to the general public.  For his literary work in jokes, he has been awarded with Karnataka Sahitya Academy award.

4. Sandesha Konkani Music Award: Mrs. Helen D’Cruz

Mrs.Helen Correa was born in Africa to late Flora and Alexander Correa. In Mumbai Helen was working for women’s magazine Eve’s weekly and had the opportunity to meet some of the best Bollywood actors and singers notable among them GeetaDutt and Hemant Kumar. She has also worked closely with late DivyaniChaubal, writer-columnist and well-known film critic.

She is one of the greatest legends of Konkani stage who stood her own along with Bollywood fame Hemanth Kumar and SangeethSamrat Henry D’Souza. She is known for immortal Konkani hits like ‘Ye..Ye..Katrina’, ‘ChondremUdevnAilo’, ‘GharasoDivo’, ‘SuryachiKirnam’, and many more. Helen’s music journey from Africa–Mangalore–Mumbai-Kuwait-Mumbai is quite astonishing.

Helen had created a sensation in the Konkani music world with her melodious and mellifluous voice in the early 60s and 70s thus giving a big fillip to Konkani music. She was the first reputed Konkani female singer in Mumbai. “SuryachinKirnan” of Jerome D Souza was her first song in radio in 1961 and with that Helen the singer had arrived on the scene. She sang many songs with Alphonso D Costa and also with Henry D Souza.

Helen has also cut an album with Henry D’ Souza with some memorable songs like “ChandremUdevn”, “Sezari”, “GharachoDivo” and of course “Katrina”. Though all the songs were quite melodious and hummable Katrina song hit the bull’s eye. Helen recalls that in during the general elections in Goa the Katrina song had gained lot of fame. Helen also reached the zenith of her popularity with some of the evergreen numbers like “DaryachaDaryachaLarani”, written by Henry, “KalzanthUllasBhorla, BhovtinVaren Valla.” “NaamvmujeLeena”, “Sanjecha Velar” (both tunes by Helen). Helen has also written lyrics of the song “TuMaka”. Apart from Alphonso, Henry and Hemant Kumar, Helen has sung with Jerome D Souza and Henry Moraes (in plays).

5. Sandesha Art Award: Dr. K. S. Pavithra

She is Psychiatrist by profession. Not only she is a good physician and researcher but also a good dancer (Artist). She has done her studies in Bharatnatyam and presently teaching several students. She is the director of Shri Vijay Kalanikethan ® at Shimoga. She has performed various dance programmes at the international level too.

As a dancer and also as a coordinator she has performed many programmes at the national and international level. She has received regional, national and international awards and also she is one among the 25 artists selected by India to participate for the International Festival.

6. Sandesha  Teacher Award: Mrs. Justin D Souza

For the past five decades, as a head of the Siddaganga Education Institution at Davanagere, Mrs. Justin D Souza has served in the field of education along with areas of culture, sports, science and art. She has given prominence to her students to build the leadership in the society by providing them proper channels and avenues.

She has set an example to others by creating environment friendly school and worked hard to recognize her school as a ‘school free from waste materials’. She has been working as a member of several associations of literature and published a book by name “SiddagangeyaSiri”.

She has bagged several awards namely “SevaDhurine”, “Shikshana Shri”, “ShikshanaSiri”, “ShramikaMahile” “Sharada” “Avva” “Kayaka Shri”, “VratthiChaitanyaRatna”, “ShikshanaShiromani” “VidhyadhareSarsvathi” and so on. She has been honoured with Kannada Rajyostva Award too.

7. Sandesha Special Recognition Award- Achievement: Mr. Vincent Prakash Carlo:

For the past 31 years, he has been in the field of Body building and power lifting and he has represented India at International level and brought honour to the nation. He has been a great inspiration to the youth and others to get motivated to keep a healthy body by getting trained themselves under his effective training.

He is from Mangalore. He is a Body Builder and Power lifter. He has participated in 11 international competitions and bagged 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 bronze. He has participated in 24 National Level and 28 state level Competitions and bagged 28 Gold, 17 silver and 7 bronze medals.

He has been honoured twice with “Strong Man of India” and twice as “Strong man of South India”

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News Network
July 5,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 5: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has asked officials to ensure that all necessary arrangements for COVID-19 patients must be carried out efficiently and transparently, Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said.

"Karnataka is in a better position due to the efforts and hard work of ministers, doctors, officials and all staff. The cases have increased in Bengaluru and some other districts in last few days due to various reasons. We all have to work hard and contain the spread of virus," Dr Sudhakar told media on Saturday.

"Responsibilities related to policy formulation, preparation of guidelines, communication to media and management of war room have been assigned to me. Deputy Chief Minister Ashwath Narayan has been given the responsibility of managing COVID-19 care centres and Revenue Minister R Ashoka and Chief Minister's political secretary Vishvanath have been given the responsibility of managing private hospitals. The Chief Minister has instructed all of us to work in synergy," he said.

Dr Sudhakar said the matter of imposing lockdown in the state again was discussed in the task force meeting. "I and Deputy Chief Minister suggested that lockdown is not necessary at this stage. The Chief Minister will take a decision on this matter," he added.

Home Minister Basavar Bommai, Health Minister B Sriramulu, Revenue Minister R Ashoka and senior officials were present in the task force meeting.

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News Network
January 5,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 5: Lambasting Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa over the proposal to rename Ramanagara as Nava Bengaluru, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday said that such a move will be an insult to Lord Ram, after whom the district is named.

In a series of tweets, Kumaraswamy accused that renaming the district was a pretext to sell its fertile irrigated land to capitalists. Yediyurappa also wants to settle a score with me by renaming it, he alleged

"If Yediyurappa wishes to develop Ramanagara, he should release the funds allocated in the budget. If you want to develop it further, you will find support from me and my people. But, don't set fire to the districts' culture and identity by changing its name," he tweeted.

Comments

Ahmed Ali Kulai
 - 
Monday, 6 Jan 2020

Dear CM

 

please dont follow UP CM-

Being a CM of Karnataka, please concentrate on the welfare of Kannadigas.

 

 

 

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