The Frozen Clucker Butchery

I, by my own admission, am an average cook. By that I mean I won’t impress you with my culinary skills but I can whip up something to satiate my hunger pangs. Chicken curry has become the staple since it is easy to make. Initially I used to buy from the local poultry shops where they cut it up as per my requirements. Being in the supermarket era, the ease of getting everything under one roof was tempting. I moved into only “breast” phase; yes, I’m still talking about chickens.  But once I moved to Kuwait, I found out frozen whole chicken don’t come pre-cut. So as a “millennial” I used the internet and found this video by Gordon Ramsay. Watch this one if you want to remove the skin first. Also I came across this funny old video, “How to Debone a Chicken in 18seconds?” by Master Chef Martin Yan. His ‘Yan can Cook‘ tv show was most likely the first cooking show I saw back when it was on KTV2. He is still funny.

Mangalore Pearl

All my life I stayed in coastal cities and seafood was part of almost every meal. Infact during the great lent (the 50 day fast before Easter during which non vegetarian food is not consumed), my dad declares fish is not considered non veg. I refrained from eating seafood when I moved to Bangalore, as even the top restaurants don’t serve fresh fish; but that changed when I was taken to Mangalore Pearl. A word of advice: it better to get there early for lunch since the seats are limited.

Day 23 : Semla

A common sight in Swedish bakeries windows are semla (pl.semlor) buns. Selmor are a Swedish specialty eaten in the run up to Fettisdagen (Fat Tuesday), the last day before the start of the 50 days long Easter lent . They are enriched sweet buns made with cardamom, filled with almond paste and whipped cream and topped with powered sugar. The carb rich treat has transcended from its religious tradition to one that is enjoyed by all. Today we had semlor for fika; sponsored by our client. The Swedes are very serious about their semla and get into animated conversations about the mysterious ‘Semla man’ and the ultimate semla.

Image Source

Day 06 : O’Learys Sports Pub

As I mentioned in my earlier post, Systembolaget closes early on Saturdays. I found this out too late. So for our 1st weekend celebration we decided to go to a pub. The closest was O’Leary’s sport pub at Tyresö Centrum. The pub sparsely filled up with mostly older crowd with one guy cheering animatedly over a ice hockey match on TV. Initially I went for something to warm me up but ending up having my 1st Guinness on tap. I expected it to be much creamier, however it was significantly better than the Guinness canned version. We were struck up a conversation with the local lads who just got back from New York. The Swedes do seem to be a friendly lot.
Trip tip: The hard liquor prices are quite high and it is cheaper stocking up from Systembolaget.

Day 06 : Systembolaget

As a Malayalee, alcohol monopoly by state is not something new. In Kerala, it is a common sight after 6pm to see long queues of men after work jostling their fellow queuer, at their favorite Kerala State Beverage Corporation (KSBC) outlet, in an attempt to reach the cashiers behind armored cages to purchase their favorite elixir. Hence when I moved to Bangalore it was a pleasant surprise to see private liquor marts where you can walk in to pick up your bottle. I was of the opinion that the same should be done in Kerala, till I saw the best of both done in Stockholm.

Day 05 : The supermarkets

Like everything else, dining out in Stockholm is expensive. Sweden ranks right at the top on the Big Mac Index (not the most accurate way, but should give you a general idea) while India is comfortably at the bottom. Your brain turns into a instant Krona-to-Rupee converter and you will find yourself penny-pinching. I resorted to cooking most of my meals since I had use of a kitchen. I had planned earlier and got indian masala powders, pulses, atta and pickle mixes (the list was made by a colleague’s wife); enough for a month.

Day 04 : Gravad Lax

Three days into my stay in Stockholm, I am eager to try out everything Swedish. Pleased with my choice of the raggmunk earlier, a colleague suggested I should start with the cuisine; particularly seafood. For lunch, I decided to try our in-house Nida Cafeteria. For SEK 63, employees get to make their own salad from the bar and choose a protein (shrimp & eggs, spicy chicken or gravad lax). Gravlax is a Nordic dish consisting of raw salmon, cured (atleast 24 hours) in salt, sugar, and dill.
As an Indian eating food that has not been steamed baked, fried or pulverized by some cooking method involving heat is a big no-no. My first experience of tasting raw fish was interesting. It wasn’t as ‘fishy’ as I expected and the sweet-salty flavor complimented the salad well. I suspect that Nida café’s salmon was not the freshest and I might be able to finish a whole bowl of gravad lax ifI try it elsewhere. Overdosed on healthy food, my mind now craves for a pastry.

Image source

Day 02 : Raggmunk vid Bankomat

On my first day of work, my colleagues decide to take me out to one of their favorite lunch place nearby, Restaurang Bankomat Seaside. After a brisk walk around a picturesque frozen Årstaviken, the warmth indoors felt welcoming. Taking a look around I could see tables, six inches apart, packed with customers; expecting a tasty meal.

Dyu Art Cafe

Fort Kochi’s Kashi Art Café is one the few places I used to take my out-of-town friends while I was in Kochi. I have spent many weekends wiling away my youth there. So it came as a pleasant surprise when I heard that they had opened Kashi in Koramangala. The Bangalore café is called Dyu Art Café and is tucked away in the quieter street opposite the Kalyana Mantapa on the Ganesh temple road. I got a deja-vu feeling as I entered and seeing the familiar staff. The red oxide flooring, heavy sewing machine tables, hanging flower pots, the iconic mirror and open courtyard with a tree in the middle were all there. The café is a converted naalukettu house showcasing art in the front room and tables along the nallukettu veranda. It is lovely to sit out here especially when it rains. From the menu, I recommend the tomato cheese omelette, tuna cheese melt in homemade bread, banoffee pie and the chocolate cake. The cold coffee is served with milk and sugar syrup separately and if not finished quickly, can turn watery due to the ice cubes.

Zomato Kochi

Last month when I went back to Kochi for a friend’s wedding, I ended playing tour guide and taking my friends to some of the restaurants I used to hang out in Fort Kochi. I wished there was a food app that tells me how good that new Japanese restaurant was or if there was any new place to check out during my short visit.

Zomato is the go-to-app for any foodie in Bangalore and they sure to change the dining scene in Kochi. Currently they have 407 restaurants listed from Aluva to Tripunithura to Fort Kochi. Interestingly, they have the Mullapanthal toddy shop listed too. Mullapanthal used to be known as the toddy shop with a website. Some of the tastiest & authentic Kerala food I have had are at toddy shops and tattu-kadas. I do hope they list more of them (though a part of me wants to keep them discreet fearing they would lose their charm due to an influx of loud obnoxious crowd).