* Karnataka: *Flavour Of The Bunt Archana Rai: Discover the home cooking of the south Karnataka coast
It was the Class X board exams and life wasn't worth living. The last straw was being told there would be a viva voce for Home Science. Clammy with tension, I walk in, to hear a kindly voice ask, "So you are a Bunt from Mangalore is it, dear? Can you tell me the recipe for a traditional steamed Bunt dish?" I blink. Raised on the Anglo-Indian fare at boarding school and Mom's biriyani and souffles on the coffee plantation back home, I had little idea of what "being a Bunt from Mangalore" meant. Much less an instant recipe for a traditional Bunt dish. Frantic, I tried to recall mealtimes at my grandmother's home in rural Udupi and the spicy aromas that emanated from her tiled-roof kitchen. I haltingly offered what seemed like a recipe for Pelakayida Gatti -- jackfruit pulp ground with coconut and rice, wrapped in teak leaves, and steamed. It must have passed muster. The evaluator gave me 7/10 and set me on a voyage of discovery: of my roots and, with it, the taste of ethnic Bunt food. Photo Credit: Saibal Das Drenched in coconut, spiced with locally grown cinnamon, cumin, oora munchi (red chilli) and with the tang of tamarind and onte puli (a native sour fruit), Bunt food is zestful fare. The people are an enterprising community of landowners, natives of a strip of the Karavalli coast, once known as South Canara. Stretching from Kasargod in Kerala to Kundapura in Karnataka, this region now consists of two districts, Mangalore and Udupi. 'Bunta', meaning warrior, reflects the community's historical role in the armies of local chieftains ranging from the Aluvas and Keladis, to the Rayas of the Vijayanagara Empire, who ruled the area before Tipu Sultan and the British. Children from wealthy Bunt families moved to Madras or Bombay to study engineering or medicine before South Canara itself emerged as an educational hub. Many of these doctors and engineers migrated westwards (the Bunt Diaspora now accounts for over a quarter of the community). Land reforms in the 1970s saw many families lose significant portions of their ancestral holdings. Bereft of regular incomes, youngsters turned to careers in banking -- in the then community-owned Vijaya Bank. Still others leveraged a centuries-old culinary tradition by setting up eateries in the bright lights of Bombay. The years of hoteliering by these migrant Bunts are what has led to the popular perception that Bunt food consists of just a handful of dishes. Neerdosa (paper-thin rice dosas) and Kori Rotti (roasted rice rotis) are de rigueur at restaurants serving coastal cuisine, and so are widely believed to represent the food of a community. Nothing could be further from the truth, as I discovered when I hit the food trail in the place where it is best sampled: traditional Bunt homes. Photo Credit: Prashant Panjiar The flow of the seasons and the festivals that accompany them direct the eating habits of the Bunts. This devout community suppresses its natural carnivorous desires when religious festivals come along. Locals attribute this to the strong Brahminical influence in the region, which datesback to when Adi Shankara set up the Sharada temple at Kollur. Later, Madhavacharya founded the Dvaita branch of Hindu theology and set up the ashta mathas that surround the Sri Krishna Temple in Udupi city. February means Shivarathri, when night-long Harikathas and skits by costumed dancers end with a meal of Semige Per (steamed rice vermicelli soaked in cardamom-flavoured coconut milk). The forced vegetarianism is made up for on the days that follow with fish curries -- the staple diet in Bunt homes: sardines and mackerels for everyday eating; surmai, pomfret, prawns or kanne on special occasions. Fried, tossed in chilli and tamarind gravies, or slow-cooked in masalas of carom seed, red chilli, ginger, pepper, coriander and cumin -- fish curries, Bunt-style, have very little coconut in them. As the temperature rises, the luscious mango (kukku) season begins. It's time for Kukku Saseme: coconut ground with mustard ladled onto mango pulp and seasoned with bay leaf. And the dish that Bunt foodies are known to give up more fleshly delights for: Kukku Mensakai (ripe mango pulp with a hint of sour spiced with jaggery, mustard, chilli, bay leaf and seasoned with sesame). In the courtyards, mango pulp is spread out on reed mats; a new layer is added every day, and is finally rolled into long rolls called Mambala, a snack for the monsoons. The humongous jackfruit is cooked when still raw; Gujje Aajadhina is the vegetarian version of the chicken curry spiced with fenugreek and coconut gratings. And the ripe jackfruit dish, which saved me those blushes decades ago -- the delicate, pink-hued gatti is eaten dipped in honey or, better, in the fenugreek-flavoured richness of country chicken cooked with coconut. The latter dish, Kori Aajadhina, is a Bunt classic that makes for a lip-smacking treat when combined with Neerdosa. Raw cashew is mixed with gherkins to make a dry vegetable dish that is a must for Ugadi, the Kannada New Year Summer is when Bunts across the globe head homeward, cursing the heat but enslaved to its food. It is the time for weddings, and the worship of family spirits. As the rivers dry out, fishermen collect clams on the banks. Steamed rice dumplings are dipped into a clam curry cooked in a masala of coconut, mustard, fenugreek, coriander, cumin and chillies to make Marvai Pundi. This is just the starter in the homecoming treat. Photo Credit: Prashant Panjiar For the main course there is a fiery mackerel curry, giant crab masala, dry prawn in coconut and tamarind, and the piece de resistance of Bunt cuisine, the Kanne Fry. Long slivers of ladyfish are marinated in red chilli, turmeric, cumin, coriander, fenugreek and tamarind -- the exact proportions of this spice mixture are handed down as family secrets. Dusted with rice flour, the fish is fried with fresh coconut oil. Retreating to the verandahs that front their sprawling tiled-roof homes, men lounge on easy chairs, quaffing Kali, a fresh, milky-white drink which comes from the sap of the baine tree. Sharp-eyed wives save a portion to mix with their idli batter, turning out perfect fluffy idlis the next morning, called Sannas on the coast. As the rains pour down and the extended families disperse, women bring out the stocked goodies. Salted shark chutney spices up a meal of rice ganji. Pickled prawns and dry prawn chutneys, roasted jackfruit papads, salted mango chutney and Mangalore cucumbers cooked in a chilli sauce, are typical monsoon foods. This is the time when farmhouse kitchens are busiest: the cooking must cater for the large number of tenants and migrant labour who come in to plant the paddy seedlings. In the festival season, the first crop of paddy is harvested and brought into homes to be worshipped. Aritha Payasa is cooked in coconut milk into which five kernels of tender paddy shoot are added. The spice for the meal comes from Pathrode, a batter of rice, chilli, coconut, coriander, cumin and tamarind which is poured in layers onto yam leaves, tied up and steamed. Krishnashtami is marked by a night of fasting. For breakfast the next day, a rice-and-urad dal batter is poured into cups made from jackfruit leaves to make Gundas, or steamed in cups made from the reeds of the Mundevu plant into Moodes. Sweet and sour Bajeel (a puffed rice dish) is a staple in most Bunt homes, flavoured with tamarind, sesame and a hint of jaggery, red chilli and salt. This is a favourite offering to the elephant god, when mixed with cardamom and mashed ripe bananas. The heavy coastal rains begin to recede at the end of August and fishermen return to the high seas. It is time for fresh fish again. Prawns marinated in puli and uppu munchi (a red chilli masala) are deep-fried, tossed with coconut and onions, or simmered in a coconut gravy. Those giant crabs that survive the thriving fish export industry find their way onto lunch platters. As the fields lie fallow after the first harvest, an odd assortment of vegetables is grown^ -- mostly cucumber, brinjal and lentils. Tea time is replete with steamed vegetable sweets like Gendada Adde: onions are fried in ghee, and a batter of rice, coconut and jaggery is tossed onto the fried onions and covered with turmeric leaves. The dish is laid on a bed of coals and the urli topped with a plate of burning coals. I walk into my grandmother's kitchen just as she lifts the lid off the dish, an hour later. The taste of the prawns at lunch still lingers on the palate, as I breathe in the leafy aroma of the coal-baked dish as it wafts up to the wooden rafters. It is a melange of smells and flavours that will forever mark for me my ethnic identity. As Deepavali approaches, it's time to make Manjoldairetha Gatti. A dough of ground rice is spread on leaves of the turmeric plant, on top of which is sprinkled jaggery, cardamom, coconut and black sesame. The folded leaves are then steamed to make the sweet. The vegetarian fast for Deepavali is broken on Bali Padyami day, when Bunt homes fill up with the aromas of chicken gravy in rich coconut milk, dosas and fish curry. To a people who live off the produce of the sea and what their own farms provide by way of poultry and vegetables, meat is a rarity. Except when men on shikar hunt down the wild boar that stray onto their fields. Then the meat is cleaned, cut and marinated in puli manjolu (a chilli, tamarind and turmeric masala) and shared with the neighbours. Or transported to homesick children far away from the steaming fragrance of Bunt food. *USEFUL FACTS * * *The most striking quality of Bunt cooking has to be the sheer amount of grinding that it involves. Practically everything is freshly ground with copious quantities of coconut -- grated or strained to yield rich creamy coconut milk. The cereals and dals are soaked and ground before being steamed into semige (rice vermicelli), moode, sannas, appams or neerdosas. Fish and free-range or country chicken are diced and cooked in a mixture of freshly ground masala and coconut that is invariably the base for all curries, whether sukka (dry) or gravy. It's the mix of flavourings, tamarind or kokum, chilli or pepper that gives each dish its own tang. Eat this distinctive cuisine where it is cooked best, in the coastal region of southwest Karnataka. *In Mangalore **Anupama*, Hotel Abhiman Residency, opp. Bunts Hostel. Known for their trademark Kanne Fry. Meal for four: Rs 400 *Hotel Palke*, Taj Towers, 1st Floor, opp. Jyoti Talkies, Balmatta. Opt for their fish curry rice thali, fresh off the boats. Meal for four: Rs 600 *In Udupi **Hotel Sriram Residency*, Sriram Arcade, opp. Head Post Office. Fresh seasonal fish. Meal for four: Rs 300 *Hotel Udupi Residency*, adjacent to the City Telephone Exchange. Fish curry and rice thali. Meal for four: Rs 400 *In Bangalore *The taste of the coast does travel well, as two of Bangalore's specialty restaurants show. Sample Bunt food at *Kudla*, Hotel Ramanashree, 16 Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road. Try the Moode and Marvai Sukka combination, a Bunt delicacy. Meal for two: Rs 320 *Karavalli*, Taj Gateway Hotel, Residency Road. A mix of coastal cuisine, look out for Mangalore Chicken Curry. Meal for two: Rs 400 ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
