Iyal-organic food store

Every once in a while,sadly not that often,you hear about something that is unique and supports your lifestyle. After having read about the organic stores in Coimbatore( THE HINDU -Metroplus)...2 of which I frequent every week,the other one called IYAL...I had never heard of ! To my amazement it was in the heart of the city unlike the other two stores.The pictures spoke a thousand words and my curiosity was indeed piqued !

Walking in to the store with trepidation and a 'I hope it's nice' thought process, I was dumbfounded and delighted at what I saw ! The attention to detail ,the cleanliness,the open space and the veg and fruit so charmingly arranged in bamboo baskets...I was absolutely enchanted. A joy for the shopper who is interested in exploring and foraging for good ,healthy produce.

The other thing that impressed me was that their staff were not only courteous but well informed and knew exactly what they were selling and where it came from ! They have many varieties of millets and for those of us who are pressed for time,they even offer packets of millet mixes for idli and dosa. 

Huge glass bottles of different kinds of podis (spice powders) are neatly arranged and labelled along with bottles of hibiscus syrup and other oils which are greatly beneficial to health.

Apart from all of this,what was very thoughtfully done was placing small terracotta jars of the different millets with their names...which made it so easy for the lay person to identify which millet they preferred to buy !

I do hope stores such as these continue to thrive and get increased patronage because everyone needs to start making healthier choices somewhere and at some point of time...why not start here ?!

Variety of millets

Unusual Donut flavours

We've all heard the old adage..'when in Rome do as the Romans do'. That certainly applies to the variety of food available all over the world. In past times,food that was cooked and eaten was contained to the local produce available and the cooking methods practised and that in turn differed from region to region. Now,of course the world is getting smaller...with all kinds of produce available at our doorstep.

Still,the joy of eating a particular dish or sampling a specific flavour in the country where it has originated from is an experience in itself. There is something that sets apart locally grown produce from it's counterpart flown in from half way across the world ! Like one of my cousins constantly says,one can taste the sun while eating a tomato in Italy !!!!
 Even multi national fast food chains change the flavours of their items depending on which corner of the globe they are at...based on diet preferences and religious beliefs.

Green tea and sesame

The much talked about Durian is a great favourite with most Malays...the rest of the world guffaws at it's smell.While it is rather strong and overpowering (they only eat it with a spoon ,as the smell will linger on the fingers!!!) it is still very popular as I saw at a Donut house. The flavours of green tea,black and white sesame , durian ,mango were the exotic flavours of Donuts that were on display ...along with the ho hum...chocolate,vanilla and strawberry..Lol !!! Now,this definitely was different from a Donut house back home or in the west,I was quite amused to see the locals choose these very flavours and devour them with gusto...and no,the Durian Donuts did not smell at all ! Give it a try the next time you visit that part of Asia :))

Cafe' V again

The first time i mentioned cafe' V...was just after I had sampled their bread...now after paying them a visit along with celebrity chef Karen Anand,I was delighted to meet two people who are very passionate about their work.Once you have that then,of course you will give your best and appreciation will be at your doorstep. The location maybe quiet and unassuming but once you go in,you know that it is far from your average bakery...clean,well lit and open ,it is very appealing to all the senses..Here at V's ingredients are treated with respect and it shows.

The warm smiles of welcome make you feel at ease and they are very humble when it comes to talking about their products and seemed very open to new ideas. In my opinion,that is the perfect recipe for success for any entrepreneur...particularly one who has a career in food...one learns something new everyday just by listening and observing.

I also discovered that a baked yoghurt is far from being just that,sadly it is an extremely decadent dessert with lots of condensed milk and Karen noted that in all the bakers that she has visited , Vishak's bakery is the only one to have mentioned that...no secrecy here !!!
So do stop by Cafe' V and maybe meet the friendly owner Vishak and his chef Mani...I'm sure you will enjoy the experience !
Contact them at :4322206 or 72000-20570

Chef Mani and owner Vishak

Terra earth food

It's heartening to see 'food consciousness' growing in leaps and bounds around us.Foods that are parents and grandparents ate every day have almost disappeared from our diet today ! Thankfully there are initiatives taken,like the one by Terra earthfood,to bring back to our table almost forgotten grains and flavours.

Thanks to the bazaar organised by Ranjana Singhal,at 'On the Go',at race course,I got to know the delicious ,healthy snacks made by Terra with an emphasis placed on quality and the use of organic grains ! The red rice murrukkus, the ragi ribbon pakodas and the thattais are yummy as ,I am told are the cookies and sweets too. I was rather fascinated by the 'apricot mysore pak' too !

These snacks are available at Coimbatore,at Orga foods on Race Course,they are made in Chennai and the enterprise is managed by Meera Maran...for further enquires,please contact meeramaran@terrafoods.co or at 0091-99406 38391,the packets are between 150g and 200g weight and cost between Rs.45-Rs.200 depending on the item.

They seem to have products for various diet specifications,I don't know about you but I for one am very glad that someone has taken this step towards introducing wholesome snacks,at an affordable rate,much needed I think in the era of packaged snacks full of preservatives like chips,kurkure,fryums etc
I truly think we need to wake up and introduce ourselves and the next generation to choosing healthier eating habits...that's the only way, no matter how old we are,age will only be a number ;))

The range of snacks from brown rice mullu murrukku,ragi ribbon pakoda,red rice ribbon pakoda and many more...

Apricot mysore pak

Orange cookies

moong dhal laddu

Ragi ladoo

BBC Good Food India

The first time my mom sent me an edition of the BBC India Good Food magazine,I was hooked.... and have been an ardent reader ever since they launched in India in 2012. So many of their recipes are so versatile and at the same time the amount of information that they pack into a single issue is incredible ! I love the way they grade their recipes from easy to difficult...something for every reader to try ! The glossy pages,for me are as good as some of the best cookbooks that I've ever read !

One day as I was thumbing through their cookbook,I realised that they are very encouraging of food bloggers,though my blog is in it's very baby stage I still decided to mail them ,to take a look at PINK LEMON TREE....that was some months ago and I had even forgotten about it ! I will always remember the day that I did get a mail from the team at BBC Good Food India...saying that they had shortlisted me and if I was interested in contributing to their food nation column !?!....That was quite exciting,I knew what exactly they were looking for,having been a regular reader and boy did I enjoy doing that small write-up...it was fun !

Now ,that the issue has hit the stands,it's nice to hear from Mr.Sathish at Shree Aanandhaas,a regular reader himself,how completely surprised and thrilled he feels to have his restaurant featured in this particular magazine...a well deserved honour,as the food at his place is so delicious, varied ,clean and the whole dining experience is surrounded by an air of respect and maintains impeccable standards of hygiene !

I'm proud to be an Indian and it was so satisfying to have Coimbatore mentioned in my favourite food magazine,I hope you all will pick up a copy and like me will soon be addicted to the glossy pictures and recipes that make it such an enjoyable read  for foodies like you and me ! It is all your comments and likes and messages that encouraged me to write,so a big hug and thank you !!!

Sunday Santhai

Sunday Santhai...an interesting enough name that got me curious to venture out on a Sunday morning...when the day dawned,it was with a fair amount of hesitation that I continued on with my agenda...to visit the new initiative of a 'Sunday Santhai'(sunday market...a concept quite popular in the earlier years,still practiced in villages and is also common abroad) at the Ladies Club at RSPuram...Since I was accompanied by my lovely German friend..I told myself and her...that we should go with an open mind as I had no idea of what to expect !!!

I'm thrilled to report that it was a wonderful experience,very informal,with friendly smiling faces,a relaxed atmosphere...a cultured bunch of people showing their wares...baked goods , beautiful handmade soaps , lovely handmade accessories( crochet jewellery...paper quilling jewellery),garments and the best discovery of today...The Suriyani Kitchen !
 Theirs was an enchanting stall filled to the brim with lovely goodies from their home kitchen...a lot of their food has the Syrian influence...they sold quaint bottles of an awesome date pickle,sweet,spicy and tangy...the perfect fusion of tastes ! YUM !!!!

To get in touch with them...they do sell out of home,you can contact ,the charming Maria...the lady in the saree at 99446 94094...she is also very passionate about her baked treats...pineapple upside down cake, a spiced cake with dates and nuts...she sources her ingredients from the Middle East,enchanting sugar cookies for Christmas in the shapes of snowflakes and stars...all beautifully packed in Santa colours...you can feel me smiling as I write this,I'm sure  ;))))))))

The other thing I noticed was this lovely red fruit in bottles, I got quite excited for a moment thinking,they were fresh cranberries and quickly had a mental vision of the perfect side for a roast turkey dinner...she hastened to educate me by pointing out that this was a native fruit to Kerala...the English name being 'scranberry'....apparently they have a tree in their ancestral home and therefore they have it in abundance...she did mention the native name but in my excitement to soak it all in ,I forgot what she said !

Scranberries

Don't they look absolutely perfect for the season ?!!!...I'm sure she will only be more than willing to share with you tips on how best to relish this lovely fruit ! She also makes her own red wine and a ginger and lime drink...all in all it was an enchanting little stall and as you can see, I was completely captured by all her wares...it was with a lot of reluctance that I finally walked away...I'm thankful to my friend Johanna who captured these photos, for me, to be able to share with you all !

Date pickle

Baked Christmas goodies

If you like what you've read and the pictures featured here,do give her a call and do post your comment here because as much as you'd like to hear from me...I would like to hear from you tooo !!!!

I really did want to post these pictures sooner but of all days,today there was a bit of a problem with my Internet connection!!!! It was truly one of those days where you expect very little and you come away feeling like you've gained a whole lot...so I do hope to see lots more of these Sunday Santhais and a big thank you to my mum who wanted me to check it out and to the organisers who decided to revive this concept !

Brownies on order

If you are on the look out for home made luscious chocolatey brownies,you don't have to look very far...I sampled a bit of these brownies  recently and it took every ounce of  my will power ,not to demolish a whole one ! The first thought that came to mind,well the second thought rather...the first was "Oooh yummy yummy"...anyway..lol...the second thought was that I needed to share this info asap with you all...the lady in question,Mrs.Rani Vidyasagar, makes not only these delectable treats but a huge variety of savoury bites and  other wholesome vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes too...she can be reached at 98940 43038...I would also like to apologise for my hurried pic of these gorgeous brownies...it was at an event and I had to act quickly and the lighting wasn't to my advantage and yes that is the truth !!! ;D

French cafe

Coimbatore city has always been home to discerning foodies...well travelled folks with a good insight into food,flavours,cuisines and hygiene. Naturally in such a place the demand exists for a good eatery which satisfies the above requirements and continues,above all to maintain those standards...such a restaurant will definitely find itself visited by the residents frequently .After many years of grumbles and sighs by my fellow Coimbatoreans...we are all pleased to note that our city has indeed been suddenly discovered by hoteliers and restaurateurs  from other parts and we are only too willing to support their entry and sample the delicious food on offer !
The metro plus article today on a french cafe called V's...for those of you who have not seen it...sounds  absolutely delightful,who can resist warm  loaves of bread made with good quality ingredients...one could almost hear the passion for food in Chef Manikandan's remarks,when he talks about the process of making bread. To have the option of being able to buy well made foccacia,baguettes,croissants and other healthier breads is something I think most people here will look forward to a great deal !...Imagine biting into a flaky croissant (calories be damned) or the smell of a freshly baked baguette and being transported to the cafes of France...our picnic hampers will never look the same again...will they ?!! :)) just make sure you balance it out by a good trek or a physical activity that you enjoy,life is all about balance isn't it ?!

Cafe V at NSR road,open between 3-11pm...4322206 is their number...I hope for all our sakes that this cafe lives up to it's name and ends up being a place frequented by foodies,art lovers,book clubs and is filled with lively interesting conversation and fun times....because that's what makes the world a better place  !!!