The Attic December Programmes
Karishma Pais
THE ATTIC 36 REGAL BUILDINGS, NEW DELHI.TEL: 23746050
Along the Spice Routes of the World
Indian 'chicken tikka masala is now the national dish of Great Britain and any day now Mcdonalds in the US will be launching their newest culinary invention 'McAloo Tikki Burger'. Almost everyday there is a new book on Indian cooking and this series will celebrate the vast diversity that is Indian Cuisine and its international influences. We will explore history with 'Cooking of the Maharajas', geography with 'Cooking under the Raj', literature with 'Mistress of Spices', travel with the cooking along the Grand Trunk Road, globalization with 'Bound Together' and medicine with Ayurvedic cooking.
This series of 12 lectures is brought to you by The India International Centre and The Attic. Some lectures will be followed by a dinner relevant to the subject.
saturday 5th december
India
International Centre Main Auditorium
6.30 pm ‘Cooking of the Maharajas’ a talk by Shalini
Devi Sally Holkar)
Twenty one years old, straight from an American diet of fried chicken and hamburgers and catapulted into the world of Maharajas, just at the tail end of the maharaja era. A million things to consider, food definitely.
Armed with new husband’s first gift, Larousse Gastronomique, decided to identify the wondrous assortment of unidentifiable wedding dishes. Why not gather recipes from as many erstwhile rulers as one could, capture and compile them into a recipe book?
So, we wrote off to everyone: from the grand to the humble: from Nizam’s to Thakur Sahebs: “Hi! We’re from Indore. We’d like to come and collect some recipes from your palace (fort, estate, bungalow)..and publish them in a cook book. You see, this way of life might not be around long; and we need to preserve the recipes...”
Amazingly, some rulers (not a lot) actually replied and invited us to come visit, taste their food, and to write down whatever we pleased .
So we hopped into a cavalcade of cars, with red flags, of course. It was still Maharaja Days, and we headed out to save Princely Cuisine for posterity. The journey began in Kishanghar, around Holi in 1967.
In the course of our talk, we’ll go over the various types of kitchens (and non-kitchen cooking places) we encountered, the utensils, methods, ceremonies and rituals.not to mention to spices, meats, vegetables and – of course – the recipes.
Each and every detail is loaded with nostalgia and when I look over the book now, I’m so happy we did capture some of the flavour of princely yesteryear. So much of that has disappeared now.
There will be gentle tales told, sometimes names will be used; sometimes not and starting with Pandit Shastri who – pandit like – insisted that we learn all about the ‘philosophy of food’ before we set out to prepare and eat it.
Nothing could have happened without the late Maharaja Digvijaysinghji of Sailana – great master that he was -so he will be very much around in this presentation, throughout. Viking chose to use the word Cooking – rather than ‘cuisine’ – for the title of our book because – in the early Seventies, cuisine was considered a word that Americans might not understand.
Still the meals live on in memory...I look forward to sharing it all with you.
Sally Holkar was born in the midwest of America and educated at Stanford University. Married in Indore, during her senior year at Stanford, she accompanied her husband on extensive travels, co-authored Cooking of the Maharajas and rebuilt an old farmhouse in the South of France before returning to raise a family in India.
A frequent contributor to the Indian
Express, Times of India and various magazines, she wrote extensively about food in
the 1980's and 1990's, editing The Food Magazine in 1998.
With co-author, Sharada Dwivedi, she published 'Almond Eyes and Lotus Feet' in 2007. From 1978 to 2002, she was responsible for Rehwa, a not for profit society, dedicated to the uplift of the handloom weaving community of Maheshwar, MP. Since 2003, she has founded and managed WomenWeave Charitable Trust, which works with handloom weavers across India.
This lecture will be followed by dinner organized by The India International Centre under the supervision of the speaker. Details of this dinner will be available on our website (www.theatticdelhi.org) and on the IIC programme listing. Reservations can be made by members 24619431
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Special Dinner Menu 5th december after the lecture ‘Cooking of the Maharajas’ a talk by Shalini Devi Sally Holkar at IIC Main Dining Hall 8 pm
Appetizers Sikampuri Kababs Dahi ka Kabob Subzi Tali Hui
Main Course Murgi Survedar Hari Mirchi Wala Kima Machi ka Sula
Toor Dal Bhuti ka Kees Jam ki Lonji ( Patiala Vegetables Pulaos and rotis Palak Pullao Vegetable Pullao Dahi Samosa Maz
Tava phulkies Rumali Roti Bajra Roti
Aachar Batisi Hari Mirch Aachar
Salad and Raita Kuchumbar Kele ka Raita
Dessert Baroda Bhuran Wheat Sweet Puran Poli
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Forthcoming Lectures 2009 - 2010
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Day |
Date |
Speaker |
Title |
Title of Talk |
|
Sat |
5 Dec |
Sally Holkar |
Co-Author Cooking of the Maharajas |
Cooking of the Maharajas |
|
Sat |
2 Jan |
Nayan Chanda |
Director of Publications, Yale Centre for the Study of Globalization |
Spicing Up The European Imagination: The Impact of Indo-Arab Trade on the European Kitchen |
|
Mon |
18Jan |
Prof. Zilkia Janer |
Associate Professor of Global Studies at Hofstra University in New York |
Indian Cusine and the geopolitics of Culinary Knowledge |
|
Mon |
8Feb |
Dr Vinod Verma |
Director, The New Way Health Organization .NOW . Author Ayurvedic Food Culture and Recipies |
Healing Foods: the Ayurvedic Tradition |
|
Fri |
16Apr |
David Housego |
Journalist and Chairman Shades of India |
Raj Cooking and the spread of Indian cuisine in Britain |
|
Fri |
30-Apr |
Salma Husain |
Persian scholar and food connoisseur |
Turkish, Persian & Afghan cooking and its influence on Mughal Cuisine |
Consultants to the series Pushpesh Pant, Jasleen Dhamija, Prabeen Grewal.
Cooking Utensils Exhibition IIC Annexe 26 April to 2 May 2010
sunday 13th december
1 to 3pm “Food Meditation”, What and how to eat mindfully
In spite of having 2 or more meals a day few of us know how and what to eat. Is water with meals good or bad? Is talking at mealtimes OK? In the last 2 sessions excellent, simple and nutritious food has been served and eaten in total silence. For this session we will serve a light restorative, healing and uplifting menu with millets, herbs and spices.
1. Popped Amaranthus with Raisins and dry fruits
2. Milk+ Turmeric+Jaggery
3. Jhangora + Naurangi daal + jakhia tadka (Its actually a khichdi)
4. Amaranth laddu
5. Honey
Amaranth seeds, like buckwheat and quinoa, contain protein that is unusually complete for plant sources. Most fruits and vegetables do not contain a complete set of amino acids necessitating additional protein supplementation. The nutritious content of Amaranth seeds include its high protein, calcium, folk acid and vitamin C content as well as a nearly perfect balance of essential amino acids that the human body needs to make proteins. Essential amino acid lysine, which is scarce in all other cereal grains, is abundant in amaranths. Popped amaranth seeds provide a good source of protein, which can satisfy a large portion of recommended protein requirements for children and can also provide 70% of necessary calories. In addition, a combination of rice and amaranths, in 1:1 ratio, has been designated as an excellent way to achieve the protein allowance recommended by the World Health Organization.
Aesop's Fables (6th century BC) compares the Rose to the Amaranth to illustrate the difference between fleeting and everlasting beauty.
A Rose and an Amaranth blossomed side by side in a garden,
and the Amaranth said to her neighbour,
"How I envy you your beauty and your sweet scent!
No wonder you are such a universal favourite."
But the Rose replied with a shade of sadness in her voice,
"Ah, my dear friend, I bloom but for a time:
my petals soon wither and fall, and then I die.
But your flowers never fade, even if they are cut;
for they are everlasting.
There will be no verbal exchange during meditation and cell phones will need to be switched off. Questions and discussion after the meal on rice, grains and breads.
There will be no verbal exchange during
meditation and cell phones will need to be switched off. Questions and
discussion after the meal on rice, grains and breads.
Participation is by registration on payment
only. Telephone The Attic 9911950530 or email an...@aol.in Charges Students Rs 25. Others Rs 100.
Only 15 participants.
Registration closes on 10th december. No walk-ins please.
wednesday 23rd december
6.30 pm “The Indian Christmas and Christmas music across
frontiers” A talk and musical presentation by R P Jain and Robinson
The diversity of Indian Christanity,its unique regional elements,from the north to the south,the east to west,Catholicicsm,Protestantism,Orthodox and independent churches makes the Celebration of Christmas in India a fascinating cultural experience.The talk will explore various well known and the not so known traditions encompassing church services,rituals,food and music across the country.One of the most important element of chrismas celebration is the music,the singing of hymns and carols,some of which like silent night,hark the hearld cut across all boundaries and have a global nature.The musical part will highlight not only the diversity but also bring the Classical Western tradition,the Eastern Orthodox and the timelessness of the same.Do come and share the joy and the message of peace this Christmas.