Fun-filled, traumatic, joyous, troublesome, boring, cruel, pleasing, satisfying, challenging, tempting, misleading - yes Life is full of 'em - that is why life is so very SPECIAL - and yet the thrill is in "living" life! And all the accompanying ordeals are the frills attached with the thrills.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Summer Special

I am ever a foodie as a previous post of mine would suggest and summer is one of my most favourite seasons as this post would prove. With summer already here, what is it that is running on my mind? Wish if I could gobble these now!!

Thanni saadham : Rice cooked the previous day, soaked in water, curd, salt, shallots, curry leaves and finely sliced maavadu. The best combo for this would be... NOTHING. The thanni saadham itself is a delicacy and the magic it creates on your body especially during summer is
amazing.

Vanilla milkshake : A thick, cold, frothy, vanilla milkshake in a tall glass and slurping it till the last drop is total bliss.

Icecream : I am 'all ready' for an icream - anytime, anyday!! And no discrimination here on the flavours - I just love 'em all! I love it best when the whole package is a jugalbandhi of different flavours, nuts, jellies and sauces!

Nongu :Is it called palm fruit in English? I love it when chucks of Nongu are immersed in sweetened milk, flavoured with cardamom and chilled.

Elaneer :Tender coconut wins hands down when it comes to thirst quenchers and I love the taste of water when the coconut is in its vazhukkai stage.

Mangoes :Mango might not be a good choice in summer because of the heat it generates but who cares? I could have mangoes all day long - with breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks!! And mango with a dollop of fresh cream or vanilla icecream is.... need I say more?

Jackfruit : Another speciality during summer. I love the extreme ripe ones especially their aroma. But I would love to have the luxury of someone separating the palacholais from the whole fruit. More than cutting, I dread the feeling of the fruit sap sticking onto my hands and deciding not to leave for a while. By the way, I read recently that the origin for the word Jackfruit is from the Portugese word "Jakka" which inturn is from the Malayalam word "Chakka" for Jackfruit.

Water Melon : There was a juice parlour in Bangalore where we used to frequent and there, when ordered for water melon juice, we would get a glass filled with water melon juice, along with a long stainless steel spoon and small chunks of water melon and a dash of chat masala. And when you take the first gulp of the juice and nibble the water melon chunks on a hot summer day, you would literally see heaven!!

Lemon/Lime Juice : Whatever said and done, the simple lemon juice never loses its charm not just for the taste but for the affordability as well. Many a time I used to opt for lemon juice so that I could gulp down a few glasses of the juice for the same money I end up spending for a 'higher-end' juice.

Water : Coming to the basics, eveything boils down to the tasteless, flavourless, plain "Adam's ale". And just like anything else in this world, its value is seldom known unless we are deprieved of it. So in summer time, drink lots of water and also make sure you don't waste it!

Have a hot, happy Summer!!

20 comments:

Sree's Views said...

wow...
"veyillai edhirkolla 30 vazhigal"nnu oru ilavasa inaippu maari irukku :)

you have'nt left anything out :)

adha 'thanni saadam' nnu solluvaangala , Ravi..'pazhaiyadhu' nnu dhaaney solluvaanga ?

neenga sonnadhula enakku romba pidichadhu mangoes , elaneer and nungu :)
Ravi..have u tried 'nungu' st from the fruit (palm fruit) ? mela seevi kodupaanga...we have to eat it using our thumb :) dress ellam nungu thanni aagi romba galaataava irukkum....edhavadhu thotathukku poyee oru gumbala nungu vetti saapidanum :)

hey..'more' vittuteengaley :P
thanniya more +drops of lemon juice+ginger pieces + karuvepilai+ salt...veyyilla yaarukku koduthaalum venaamnu solla maataanga :)

and another one is 'Koozh'..enakku adhoda smell pidikaadhu..but some ppl relish it...

Good post , Ravi :)
next endha oorla endha mangoes specialnnu oru post podunga :)

Ravi said...

Sree,
Thanks for the first comment. So ungalukku oru glass "neer mor" parisu!

Yes, "pazhaiyadhu", "thanni saadham" rendum onnu dhaan.

When you mentioned about nungu I immediately visualised the technique of eating with thumb. Oh... its so much fun and also making a toy out of the shells.

Sree, thanks for pointing out 'mor'. I don't know how I missed it!! I remember a potti kadai near Shollinganallur where they would store mor in a big mud pot flavoured with ginger and very lightly flavoured - the best mor I had till date!

Same thing with koozhu as u said. Initially I never liked the koozh served in temples during Aadi month. Then I begin to like it esp with the chinna vengayam in it.

Waaaa... enakku ippo pasikkudhu!!!!

R. Prabhu said...

Nice post Ravi! Tongue starts drooling :D Indha list kooda innum sila
* Kambankool with all the side dishes, more milagaai, sundakkai vathal
* Mulaampazham - cut it into small pieces and put sugar all over it. Keep it in fridge for 30 mins. Appadiyae oori nalla taste-a irukkum.
* Vellarikkai Pachadi - Grate Vellarikkai and put in curd and add some salt. Superrr appu
* Padhaneer/Thelivu - Panai marathula irundhu edukkuradhu. Udambukku romba nalladhu :D

Sree's Views said...

Hello Ravi ,

Thanks for the neer mor :)
My dad told me about the 'nungu toy'
avar neraiya seidhu irukaaraam :)

Naan koozh a prasaadam maari dhaan saapiduven...evalo try panniyum enakku ennamo adhukku mela saapida mudiyadhu. But verum 'kevuru' la vellam pottu kanji seidhu paal serthu kodupaanga ..that is very tasty :)

//Waaaa... enakku ippo pasikkudhu!!!!//
indha post padichi naanga ellam next enna saapidalaamnu planning :)
Kaathala irundha paathavangala ellam avanga fav food for summer ennanu ketten...max vandha answers 'cold water' :)

Anonymous said...

A simple yet fullfilling food that replaces old redundant food stuff once in a while.Thanni saadham is what I used to relish with some onion wedges to give that crunchy edge whenever the mood calls for it...:)

Ravi said...

Prabhu,
When mentioning about mangoes, I was reminded about your post on maa, pala, vaazhai!
I just had pathaneer once when I was in 4th standard but did not like the taste then, need to try again when I am back in India.
And all the ones you listed are my favourites too...

Sree,
So my last item in the list proves it! Everything finally boils down to water huh?

Lera,
Hello, so are you back? I thought you went on a hiatus. I will re-visit you blog to check if you've posted anything new. So you are familiar with thanni saadham as well? What do they call that in Karnataka?

balar said...

aahaa..Ravi summer virundhe nadathirukkeengae..:)
Enakkum summer season than romba pidikkum..:))

Whenever i go to McD my favorite is vennila milkshake..romba pidikkum..

Apparam Nongu appdiye thumb use panni sapidaradhu apparam early morning padaneer kudikuradhu appa sollava malarum ninaivugal mathiri irukku..i miss here :((

Neenga sonna ella items virumbi sapiduven.

My another favorite summer item is "Lassi".Adhuvum mango lassina appadiye rendu glass adipen..:P

Apparam chinna vasula "sarpath"nu patti vaangi tharuvangal..ice pottu summerla sapida romba nalla irukkum..:)

Ellam Sari Ravi, oru mukkiyamana summer item miss panniteengalae..:(
Adhu vandhu adhu vandhu adhu vandhu ada namma Barley water thanungo..:))

Ravi said...

Balar,
Yes, unga list-la I love lassi and Sharbath - esp Nannari sharbath! Adhula lemon juice pizhinju, ice pottu kalakki kudichaa... aaah... andha taste-a thani.

Barley water-a? appadina? ;-)

Thanks for coming by.

R. Prabhu said...

Ravi, now I remember one more item, after seeing balar's barley water. The item is Vettivaer Water. The vettivaer is soaked in water and people drink the water and it instantaneously cools the body

Sree's Views said...

Hello Ravi..
Barley water theriyadha ? Barley arisi( adha arisinnu dhaan solluvaanga) ya nalla cook panni , vadi katti , lemon juice or more add panni kudikanum..summer kku romba nalladhu. Kissan la 'lemon barley' nnu oru squash ready ya kidaikkum...we use that too :)

@Prabhu...neenga sonna vetti ver potta thanni enakku romba pidikkum..enga veetla veraandala "vettiver thatti" katti adha thanni oothi nanaichi viduvaanga :) andha idamey superaa irukkum :)

Ravi said...

Prabhu,
Yes, I love that smell. We used to use to earlier during summer. Btw, Nannari is also a root and I love Nannari sharbat (as mentioned in my prev comment). Try pannirukeengalaa? Trichy side-la romba famous. In Chennai, we get only artificial nannari flavours mostly.

Sree,
Thanks for the info on Barley water but balar sonna barley water vera-nu nenaikkiren (balar, clarification please). Yes, I have heard about that vetti veru thatti. Thanni thelichu vechaa nalla vaasanaiya irukkum. Enga veetla, we use it along with payatham maavu (for body) and seeyakkai (for hair) because of it cooling effect.

R. Prabhu said...

@Ravi
Yes, I have had Nannari a lot of times. And do you know about a cousin of Nannari called the Maagaani Kizhangu, which is used to prepare pickles. The Maagaani has a good aroma, and a good combination for curd rice. There is even an old saying. "Naatula Vilainjaa Nannari, Malaiyila Vilainja Maagani"

@Sree
Nowadays, vetti vaer visiri, vettivaer pillow and bed are available, and i use them once in while. A low cost coolant!

balar said...

@Ravi,

Sree attakasama barley water pathi explanation koduthurangalae..:) adhe adhe than..Robinson Barley water is very famous..:)

(Ravi ippadi clarification vera kettu ennai maati vida pakkureengalae..:)) )

@Sree
Thanks Sree..:)


@Prabhu
//"Naatula Vilainjaa Nannari, Malaiyila Vilainja Maagani"//
ippadi thathuvum ellam nachu nachunnu solreengae..:))

Sree's Views said...

Hello...
Ravi and Bala..
Naan summa illama nadula sambandha sambhandham illaama edho solli iruekkennu theriyudhu :(
sari vidunga :)
u guys ensssooi ;-)

@ Prabhu
oh ippo vetti verla idhellam kooda seiyyaraangala...thanks for the info :)

Ravi said...

Hello Veda,
Oorla dhaan irukeengalaa? Eppadi irundhaa neenga ippadi aayteenga? Munna ellaam neenga vandhu enakku pudhu post poda nyaabaga paduthuveenga aana ippo ungala dhaan daily nyaabagam paduthanum pola irukku! Anyway, thanks for coming.

Water melons missing-aa? But ippo gavanicheengala? Water melons are almost available round the year. I am missing mangoes so much here...

saravansivan said...

Hi Ravi..Hyperlinkungala appadiye noola pidichu unga bloguku vandhuten. Vandhu padichapram romba thirupthi..Erkanave weekend naasama pochenu kavailaila irundhen..Unga blog padichu oru 2 mani neram sandhoshapatten.Thanks..thoongitrundha pala old threadsa thatti ezhupiteengaa.

Balaji S Rajan said...

Ravi,

Good post. I was just describing about my younger days summer and my children were eagerly listening. I still remember that 'pazhaiya sadham' was the best breakfast on holidays. I loved it with Lemon pickles or Vatha Kuzhambu.

Another great source of drink is liquified butter milk with Ginger, Kothamalli and stuff. Oh.. what a delicious drink on a hot summer day.

In those days they used to sell 'Colour Soda'. Ginger colour soda was the best.

Paal ice was again the best. I agree 'Dharboos' 'Tender Coconut'.

Hmmmmm we do not get such hot summer here. Anyhow, days are not very far off with the current Global Warmings.

Ravi said...

Saravanan,
Varuga varuga... and thanks for those nice words! I was so excited to know that my blog posts made you happy. Thanks thank thanks! Meedum varuga, adikkadi varuga...

Balaji Sir,
I was just waiting to hear from you on this post. Yes mor was something I missed and was promptly reminded by Sree and Vedha. But though it doesn't get that hot in Europe, there is something called body heat also. Am sure these would help cool body heat as well. I remember another item which I had in Coimbatore. The vendor used to grate ice and add sweetened lemon juice to it. On a very hot day, it used to be total bliss. It had a specific name too. Can't remember it though.

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