U
|
dupi is the paradise for gastronomic
delight. The very mention of the name of this spiritual town conjures up
memories of delectable delicacies besides the presiding deity Lord
Krishna. The eateries with a Udupi tag,
spread across the country and the globe as well are known for their vegetarian
fare.
Udupi cuisine has evolved in the holy
precincts of the temples in Udupi, particularly the famous Sri Krishna Math.
Perhaps, the spirituality in the air enabled the place to experiment with the limited
vegetables and spices, as many in the category are prohibited for a satvik
food. Thus born a wide range of dishes.
Guided by tradition
Onion and garlic are a strict no in these
dishes. Even some vegetables like bottle gourd, a kind of brinjal, basale
(a kind of leafy vegetable), drum stick and little gourd are not used in the
traditional Udupi spread. The vegetables not grown locally such as cabbage,
radish, cauliflower etc. are alien to traditional Udupi spread. Garam masala
is not at all used in the food here, albeit some ingredients used separately in
some dishes. During Chaturmasya period (usually the monsoon season), the
list of ingredients has to be further cut down, as having certain vegetables
and spices in the period is forbidden. Due to many such taboos, the cooks had
no other go than innovating. And the
outcome, indeed, is mouthwatering. Thus in a way, it flourished under
restrictions.
Rice is the staple diet in this part, hence
all accompaniments naturally are “rice-friendly”. Coconut is profusely used in
many dishes owing to the abundance of coconut in the coastal region. Even for payasa coconut milk is used instead
of cow’s milk. It is the use of coconut oil which is one of the factors that
lend a distinct flavour to Udupi food. Buttermilk or curd based dishes are
aplenty, to counter the effect for the scorching heat of the coastal area.
Though lemon is used, it is mostly tamarind that lends sourness to the
dishes.
It is very interesting to note that each
and every aspect of health is taken care of while whipping up the items and the
way it is served. A Udupi spread on a plantain leaf with an array of colourful
dishes is a feast to the eyes and the stomach for sure. However, except the
strictly traditional meals at the temple and some orthodox families, Udupi
cuisine too has seen some tweaks here and there to appease the ever changing
palate of the people. Coconut oil may
find a replacement sometimes. Today’s
people whose acitivities do not demand much of physical work dread the oil,
though there are views countering the claim.
Variety galores
Usually the food is relished on a plantain
leaf sitting on the ground. On the tip of the leaf on the left hand side are
served salt and pickle. Pickle, most of the time, is of mangoes, despite being
prepared in different ways. Occasionally pickle of hog plum (amtekai)
too is served. Though salads are touted as a healthy option in recent days,
they have been common in Udupi spread since its introduction. There are usually
one or two kinds of salads. Mainly salads are made of split green gram or
Bengal gram. Nowadays to make it exotic, salads are tossed with pomegranate
seeds and sprouted green gram as well.
Sometimes they are entirely prepared with sweet corns or cashew nut
pieces. 
Chutney occupies the next slot. It is
either of only coconut or coconut ground with other vegetables or roasted
lentils. On the other end at the top sit comfortably one or two sautéed
vegetables called ajotno or ajadina. These known as playas
elsewhere are prepared with vegetables like beans, yam, ash gourd, brinjal, raw
banana, tender jackfruit (seasonal) etc. Depending on the vegetable, plain
coconut or coconut ground with spices like chilly and mustard or cumin is
added.
A rice bath called chitranna is
served on the left below. Deep fried crunchy Happala and sandige are
placed next. At the right hand side below a little of payasa is
served. The array of varied hues is
complete with the steaming hot white rice at the centre. A table spoon of semi-liquid lentil dish
called tovve is served. Then comes a
dash of ghee.
Once set, you can start dining. As you
taste the “starters”, comes the dish made with mashed cooked brinjal in curd.
This is followed by a watery spicy pigeon pea-based item with tomato, sometimes
without tomato too, called saaru (rasam).
Then it’s the turn of sambars known
as koddel one with only pigeon pea and vegetable and another with ground
coconut and a bit of lentils with vegetables like cucumber, ash gourd etc. Menaskai
that follows is a sweet sour and spicy sambar-kind of dish made usually out of
mango, bitter gourd or pineapple.
Once these spicy dishes are consumed one
craves for some sweets to soothe the taste buds. Sweets include different kinds
of holiges, laddus, jilebi etc. with some savoury items in between.
Now the payasa that was served just
a spoonful earlier is served a ladle-full or to the content of one’s heart. Payasa,
also called paramanna, is made using different items. Usually it is
split green gram or Bengal gram. But paramanna with wheat pieces, small
dumplings of rice called peradye too is prepared. If it’s the season of
mangoes, then rasayana - mangoes mashed in coconut milk sweetened with
jaggery as base - is common in the Udupi menu.Now another curd-based sambar called
kodakyana aka pulikajipu arrives. At the end curds and spicy
butter milk are served.
However, it’s not all about the Udupi
spread. This is just the tip of the iceberg. The other items include appa, vade, biskut rotti,
and sweets like different kinds of burfies, hayagreeva maddi, atthirasa,
sheera and the dishes like avil (many vegetables in ground
coconut and butter milk as base) baratha (sour extract of raw mango with
chillies and seasoning), tambulis (prepared with sour butter milk) and saasive
and many more. Again, each and every item comes with several variations.
Depending on the occasion, many addition and deletion are made in the menu. But
whatever the case, it is full meal always.
(The article was published in Deccan Herald on 04.05.2019)
