Dal Bati: A Modest Attempt

I first saw this semi-brown hard bread served with dal in my college. I neither knew what it was, nor knew how to eat it. And so, the first several times that I found this in the mess, I just skipped it because I couldn't understand at all how we were supposed to eat it (after a few weird attempts of trying to bite it or just dip it in dal and eat it). A friend saw me struggling once, and actually taught me how it is eaten. And, from then one, this has been one of the most satisfying, tasty dishes I have ever had. 

Dal Bati is a delicious Rajasthani dish, most typical in the arid areas of Rajasthan. In fact, it is the dish that the Rajasthani cuisine is most famous for. The popular combination to eat this is dal-bati-churma. The bati is the hard bread that is crushed while eating and is mixed with the tasty and spicy dal, while also accompanied by the semi-sweet churma. I absolutely love this wholesome combination that I got introduced to during my semesters. With the college shut down for a couple of months now, a conversation with a friend about dal bati made me try it out today!

Traditionally, batis are made in the fire and ashes of wood and cow dung- which gives it the authentic smoky flavour. However, in other places and at home, it is usually made in a grilled oven or tandoor. The hard knead dough is made into even-sized smooth, round-ish balls of dough which are then placed in the oven till they are baked inside out! But today, I've tried to make them without an oven, as I don't have one at home, and the recipe for making batis without an oven can be found here! I am not discussing the process of how it is made, so those interested can look up on page that I have linked. 

Considering that doing it on a stove was basically a substitute for oven, which in itself was a substitute for the traditional cow dung fire, I was skeptical as to how it would turn out. But, the pictures speak for themselves! Even if may not be as great as the authentic ones, for a first time it was as good as the my college benchmark. I feel really happy that it turned out well!

While preparing, kneading the dough thoroughly is very important. Simply put: better the keading, better the batis. The secret to batis that taste and smell absolutely delicious seems to be the ajwain/omam (carom seeds). They made them smell wonderful and made them feel like how batis should be. Heavily doused in hot, molten ghee, and with a tasty dal to eat it with, batis are sure to steal your heart! 

I had fun preparing it, and felt really happy eating it! If you are skeptical about trying without an oven, don't be- it turns out just fine!

Born To Run

Title: Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

Author: Christopher McDougall

Why are we not able to run long distances with speed without regular injuries? Why does our feet pain? And, how do the Tarahumara Indian tribe, snuggled safely in the recluse of the savage Copper Canyons in Mexico, manage to be long distance runners at amazing speeds without even having any of the regular injuries? What starts as a quest with this simple question and thought, leads Christopher McDougall to explore the lives and the ethnicity of this soft and passionate tribe nestled away from the rest of the world. 

"How come my foot hurts? Because running is bad for you. Why is running bad for me? Because it makes your foot hurt. But why? Antelope don’t get shin splints. Wolves don’t ice-pack their knees. I doubt that 80 percent of all wild mustangs are annually disabled with impact injuries."

After an impact injury and painful running experience, McDougall sought answers for his questions. And, the only ones who knew the answers—the only ones who lived the answers—weren’t talking. Especially, not to him. Seeing the Tarahumara tribe for the first time in an article, he thinks the image is of "some kind of wishful Atlantean legend about an extinct empire of enlightened super-beings", only to realize later that all that he thought was true- except for wishful and extinct. 

"I felt as if I’d discovered the Future of American Running, living five hundred years in the past."

The Tarahumara Indians called themselves Rarámuri, which means 'the running people' in their language. We sprint through the events in the book, swiftly yet steadily, just like the run of the Rarámuri- as we meet them one by one, their kids and the society, and their unbelievable running culture. With a brief insight into the history of ultra-running or long disatance running, and the science behind it, McDougall paints the contrast picture of the same idea in the mind of an urban and the Tarahumara tribe. Not only was the tribe full of ultra-runners and superatheletes, the author finds himself facing a tribe with a great immunity and endurance. 

Born to Run is a wonderful book, and I could feel Marcelino and the kids whizz past me as I witnessed their rarájipari, or their famed running races, through McDougall's vivid and fast-paced description. Exploring the contrasting aspects of Science from the Harvard lab tests and pro-running shoes, to these rocky pathways where the Rarámuri ran in thin sandals, the author brings up wonderful questions and seeks answers for them in this hidden tribe. 

"His feet were jitterbugging like crazy between the rocks, but everything above his legs was tranquil, almost immobile. Seeing him from the waist up, you’d think he was gliding along on skates. With his chin high and his black hair streaming off his forehead, he looked as if he’d burst straight out of the Steve Prefontaine poster on the bedroom wall of every high school track star in America."

We are allowed a tiny insight into this warm and happy tribe to whom running comes second nature, and we learn how and why they run the way they do. The author also narrates how the Tarahumara-style of running helped him become a much better athlete, and how he gained endurance and reduced injuries while running. 

This was such a pleasurable and highly enjoyable read. I loved the narrative format in which the story took me through, and I loved all the characters and the people of this book. It gives a gleeful glimpse into a vibrant tribe of born ultra-runners, and highlights the learning that we must take from them. Also, it just amps you up so much when you read about the tribe and their running, it motivates you and makes you realize that running is one of the most natural things that we can do!

I really enjoyed the book. It has been one of my best reads this year!

Mumbai: A City Of Unforgettable Memories

A view from Marine Drive

Mumbai. One name, and many tags- the city of success, the city of dreams, the city with a warm heart. I stayed one month in Mumbai, all by myself last year, and all of that is true. It is a city of magnificent dreams, a city that never sleeps, a city where the people are so warm you feel welcome and happy the day you land, a city where there is no dearth for help anytime of the day if you are in need of it, a city that encourages you and your spirit. 

I had the greatest time in Mumbai every single day that I spent there. I explored quite a bit from the alleys in Parel, its famed Lalbaugcha Raja (being there during Ganesh Puja time is on my bucket list), the spice markets, the flower markets in Dadar, the gigantic malls in Lower Parel, Worli Sea-face, and then went up to Bandra, the famed Prithvi theatre and cafe in Juhu, the faloodas, ice golas and street food in the Juhu Chowpatty, then down south went around to Churchgate, Nariman Point, Colaba, and Marine Drive was a staple part of almost every other day! 

Chinchpokli

 And, while commuting so much around Mumbai, I got a guilt-free, embarrassment-free opportunity to try out all the Hindi that I learnt in two years of University. That way, Mumbai people were the absolute sweetest! It is heartwarming to see them break into a small smile when I communicate with my error-ridden phrases, and when I struggle to find the exact word of something and drag my phrases when my mind tries to scan the vague Hindi vocabulary in its racks. Every cab driver, every helper, every waiter always took that much time and effort  to give me a small compliment, and I felt so good about it. Till date, the compliments closest to my heart are the ones given to me by the benevolent Mumbai people- "aapki tooti fruity hindi humko bohot acha lagta hai".

Prithvi Theatre, Juhu

Food was great in Mumbai. Since I lived in a heavily Maharashtrian-populated area of Mumbai, I had the best and authentic taste of their vada pavs, bajji pavs, misal pavs, usal pavs, maska buns and the rest. I was also thrilled by the number of totally amazing dosa shops there. A couple of my favourites were eating in Juhu Chowpatty, I loved the faloodas and ice golas there. Another place that I went to repeatedly over that month-long stay was K.Rustoms & co. Ice Cream Parlour near Marine Drive. They had such beautiful and homely flavours, and for the first time I felt like I was eating an ice cream that was mindbogglingly tasty and yet didn't give that highly-processed feel. It was a great experience!

But, Mumbai is an expensive city. Either you had all the fancy restaurants that billed you in thousands, or you had those dirt-cheap restaurants that costed you less than a hundred for a meal. I found very, very, less middle grounds in Mumbai. For all its fame, I was very surprised to find Prithvi Cafe with great food at very nominal costs. I was lucky to have a lot of food joints that were sided towards a middle ground around my area, so that went better for me. 

Another thing that I clearly despise in Mumbai is its traffic- it is plain sickening. Having known this before even I went there, my only criteria for the place that I need to stay was that it has to be close to my office that I was interning in. And, I think that was the sole decision that made see the beauty of Mumbai. I don't think you can enjoy the city as much when you get stuck for 4 hours in traffic every day of that month!

What became my all-time-favourite ice-cream destination
in Mumbai

The pace of Mumbai is so fast, that whether you want it or not you have to match the city's pace. There is a certain energy that Mumbai demands of you every single day, and if you don't have it then it may not be a city that you would enjoy. More than whether you can match the pace or not, it is more about whether you want to. Coming from Chennai, I found cities like Ahmedabad, even though not as big as Chennai, more similar to the pace and culture that I have grown up being comfortable in. 

Mumbai is a beautiful experience, and an all-accepting one! It taught me many things, and this is a city that can make you feel welcome instantly. The beauty of Mumbai is its vibe, and whoever you are and whatever you like, given a month, you are sure to start jiving to the vibe! It was an unforgettable experience!