Flavours of India aired on Kairali T.V. by Lakshmi Nair is not just about regional cooking but an educational travelogue that takes the viewer on a splended journey to places a lot many people from Kerala have only heard of. Lakshmi's tour of Goa reminded me of a time when I worked in an office that had quite a number of Goan ladies working. The Chicken Xacuti, sorpotel, the fish curry brought back beautiful memories. I had made these dishes about 20 years ago! And to watch these recipes shown by Lakshmi, made me want to try them out again. About 25 years ago, I had visited Goa with my husband and the best thing I enjoyed there was the beaches and the food! Ofcourse the Goa today is developed into a much more attractive place for tourists. The Goans like Keralites tend to use a lot of coconut in their cookery and also love fish curry and rice. I enjoyed the beaches of Goa that was telecast and the shacks with restaurants that was a such a visual treat. Having tried a huge variety of Goan food, I do recommend those aspiring to visit Goa to try out all the authentic Goan cuisine. Goans tend to use vinegar in their meat and chicken that adds zest to the delicous food that they prepare. Their sweets require elaborate efforts but are worth it. Goans love food and cooking it and serving guests. There was never a dull moment in any Goan party I had attended.
I am enjoying the rest of the travelogue where Laskshmi took the viewers to the Konkan coast, introducing us to Ratnagiri, Ganapathy Pulay, and the interesting Malwani cookery. It was truly exciting to watch the strawberry farms in Mahabaleshwar enroute to Panchgani. I too wondered whether the Californian 35 rs. strawberry sapling would grow in warm weather of Kerala. When I went to Munnar a couple of years back, I looked around for strawberry farms, but couldnt locate one, but Iam certain that there are strawberry farms in Munnar. The high altitude and the cold weather would be so conducive for growing strawberries there. So seeing this huge strawberry farm in Lakshmi's travelogue, at Mahabaleshwar was amazing. The baskets of freshly plucked strawberries in the market was absolutely a treat to see. I was telling my husband, we must go to Mahabaleshwar. Ofcourse beside the strawberry farms, Mahabaleshwar is a lovely hill station that is a total delight to any tourist who is contemplating on which place to visit during a vacation.
Another exciting thing was to see a demonstration of authentic Marathi cookery at Amaya restaurant in Bandra east. In Kerala, there are hardly any restaurants that serve Marathi cuisine except for a few snacks like pav bhaji, sev puri, bhel puri and papdi chat. Oh, interestingly, the boli that is served in Trivandrum, at the end of 'sadyas' during marriages or functions, is a famous sweet in Maharashtra also.
