1ca

told .in Jaya's words:

I was al thf airport al 5r1111Joi· the 6 300111 tak,e-ojf.

After f!ying south-easter(y far r1boul three ho1m ptts! Tas111t111ia r111d then lV[acq1101ie Tslr111d, 1ve began to see icebergs of rnriou.r sizes f or1ti11g in the sea, i11dimting thr1l 111e were nea1i11g the iced covti11e11t.

D11ri11g winte,; the sea freezes completeb', a11d hea'!Y mo1vflill 11ear the coast ,'l)tllpacts to for111 glaciers. I,, suvm1e1; the sra ice thaws and the glaciers 111elt, 1J1ith chunks of ice cmshing and ftot1tt1(~ t1s icehe1;e,s

11:7e smv cmcks 011 the ice sheet t1s the plr111e fte11, over Co111111011weri/1h Bti_J, .from 111here .1.Wmvscm started his exploratio11. The South Mag11etic Pole

(1101 lo he cotif11sed with the South Pole) is a 111ol!ingpoi11lfl' and 1vas cttrrcntbr dose tq the co11st/i11e near the Com111on111ea/Jh Blf)\ the wi11diesl place on Earth.

As 111e fe1vji111her into the conti11mt it wtis one 7/lass of ice notjust a fr,t sheet /mt l/lith peaks and troughs, so111e peaks 1isi11g up 0• severt1! h1111dred 111etres. As the plane pt1ssed over the French research slt1tion D1111to11t D11nlille, 1ve sighted supplies being 1m!Or1dedfro111 a ship. H ou1et'n; 1ve missed the R11s.rian ship that had been wedged in the ice for n1eeks, as it had bem releasedjust two dqy.s ear!ie1:

F91ing oue1· the A11Stmlia11 1esean:h statio11 Cas~y, the ct1ptai11 asked thf staff of 55 do11111 he/ow, inc/udi11g 17

IJJO/llell, via mdio, about thdr life and plan.rfa1 Awfl'alia Dqy.

The callfar the seat swap-oue,; I felt, came so111e111hat late. S0111e of 11s i11 the aisle seats had less time lo mjq}' the 1•iei11 jlYJIII the windom Sa11sages se,wed 11s /1111ch far this vegetarian, rJ/tho11gh vry l'l!qttiremeut 1/JtlS uotijied a week ahead, JJJas a sorn poi11t Ajter a half ,m ho11r 111r1it and 1J1ith a cold stm e, .w,1e J1egetarian di,h appemwl 1/lith the hostess m11arkit1g !1JJice that some cmv had ti) sacrijicf her faod lo 111eet 11!) request.

The crf/1! shmJJed more interest ;,1 selling sot111enh:,; /mt thq)' had 110 m01-ki11gs to show that th1y were.fro111 an /Intarctica fight. When Tsuggested there could hm,e bem so111e relevaut inscriptio11s, the crew replied that there ,vas no ti111e to organise such things. Chinese suppliers co11/d hr111e er1si!J' obliged. Aren't these flights nm e11e1y year 011d hooked ahtt1d?

Before the flight, Tfelt, some ti111e co11/d have been spent lo effe,· 011 i11sight of the sig11ijica11t sights on our tour 011 the i11fight smens si11ce thry go bl1mk 1JJhen the e:xpert starts cot11111mti11g dming the flight S0111e {ynchmnisation 1vo11!d have helped Listening i11tmt!J is tilro hampered l,ry people scuroing to 11Car~y 1vit1doJ11s Birt that is part qf thega111e!

Nonvithstandi11g sttch human i111peifectio11s, Nat11ro put 011 a good shon: The mas.rive ice cap is 1111 0111esomc ,pectacle, 1zltho11,gh what we stnv 011 this flight is but a s1T1a!I slice of ,1 h11ge co11tine11t It /J}[1s 11 drea111 come tme }or me, thanks to "IJ children!

The unique flavour and texture of kali da/ adds a touch of majesty to any menu

Kali dal (black lentil) i s such a pretentious dal in Indian cuisine that it has to be called something grandiose. You know, like Maharani.

Growing up, it was the da/ chat only came out of the pantry when guests were over On o cher days, you ate something less fancy Your parents exp lained that it was a " rich" or " heavy' ' dal, and so you s hould only eat it once in a while. (fhey were probably right)

But you always ate it when you wenr ouc. And probab ly still do, whe never you choose to go Indian. If yo u're visiring north Indian friends, you kind of expect to see hi/i dal at dinner. And of course, you continue to cook it for your own guests; it is s uch an integral part of a fancy Indian meal.

Like caviar: in face, it could be called the cavia r of all dais But I wouldn't dare go so far, because I could lose you at this point, dear reader, for committing the sacrilege of equating chis elegant dr1/ ,v.ith something so repulsive as, ugh, fish eggs Before you click away &om this page (or, if you 're the o ld-fashioned type, throw this paper clown) in protest or disgust or both , let me rephrase for you: ka/i dr1/ shall remain, as it should, d1e queen of a ll dais. You know, Maharani.

Everyone has their own style of cooking kali dril, also called Ma ki dr1f, ot Dr1/ Makha11i Some pressure-cook. Ochers slmv cook. Yet ochers devi se a combination. And d1ere are those who prefer to cook ir in an open pan, simmering away for .how-s on the back burner.

Then again, some will cook it with cream, od1ers with evaporared milk o r reg ular milk, and yet others with neither cream nor mil k. Some w ill add br1/di (ru rrneric) , others will swear agaimr it. Some will add a touch of kmoori 111ethi (dried fenugree k leaves) ac rhe end ,

INDIAN LINK others will. say there's no real need.

Yer, most will clain1 their recipe to be the most authentic. I've had recipes for kali da1 passed co me as "Taj" o r " Oberoi" recipes, referring to the very best of Indian hoteldom , Bur there ru·e ha rd -core Punjabis who will say " Taj- Oberoi hbr1ad tJ1ei11 jr1rrye, the most genuine recipe is the one used b y sr1ddi 1mm1111/'. No doubt named after her too.

Personally, I have for some time now s h ied away from d1.is hard- to -digest dish because- let's face it - it is an un -aclvenmrous (least r isky?) item on a d inner menu. But I am becoming inclined towards it again, especially after a recent Brazilian mea l in w h ich it appeared before me as a soup, with mear and veggies added in Meat in yo ur kt1/i d"I, I hear you ask again in disbelief. Relax, dear reader, ir was probably puy lentils or be luga beans or some such, bm trust me, kali dalwill work ju st as well le was simply delic ious Come winter, I am going to give it a try: Soup Jv!aharani, with crusty bread to dip in, and a side salad of greens. (Vegetarians please stay away).

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Monish Gujral's Moti Mahal Dal

Here's another recipe for traditional kr1/i da/I've chanced

Ltpon, and whkh claims robe the real deal. Thi s one's from Mori .Mahal, a long- standing Delhi i nstitution , and is provided b y Monish Gujral of the restaurant cbain. According to Monisb, his g randfad1er Kunclan Lal G ujral, founder of rhe famed Moti Mahal, can1e up with this recipe

500 gm black gram (uradwhole)

250 gm kidney beans (rajJJ1r1)

250 gm Bengal gram (channr1 da~

1 litre mil k

1 litre tomato puree

Salt to raste

25 gm reel chili powder

25 gm cumin (jeem) powder

25 gm garam masala

500 gm cream

1 kg butter

Pick an d c lean the dttls and ra_jt11r1h. Adel salt and rub gently with both hands; rinse with water. Soak the mixmre overnight in water

Take a utensil with a heavy base, acid the drained dr1/ mbm1re and double the quantity of water; co o k over low heat. At the restauranr, we put it in a tandoor for a while to simmet slowlr

Stir d1e m ixture vigorously enough to mash it.

Once the m ixtu re tl1.ickens acid m il k an d cook till the milk is completely absorbed.

Acid the tomato pttree and all spices; cook (for about 30 minutes) till grams and beans are tender.

Add butter and cook for 10 nunutes

Now acid cream and stir for one to two minutes.

Remove and serve hor.

Source: JANS

Ma ki da l ka p ulao

I first beatcl of this as Kali rial ki kbichidi. 0£ course l went, what the ? A khid1idi is meant to be simple and nutritious, and often for d1e convalescing Isn't ka/i da/ way roo cich for a k.hichid!?

Bue this concocti o n turned out to be so delicious that I have since renamed it a p1tlao. Yes, a pttlrto is certainly more befitting of d1e dal's 'royal' standing, don't you think?

½ cup long-grained rice

½ cup b lack lentils

I mediw11 onion, sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

I tsp cumin seeds

1 large bayleaf

Pinch asafoetida

3 black cardamom pods

2 dry reel chillies

Salt ro taste

To temper:

2 tbsp olive oil

Red chilli powder to tasre

Wash du/ in several changes of water until water tuns clear.

Soak for about half an hour

Wash rice in several changes of water until water is clear Soak for about half a n hou r.

Pour out soaking water from dai and wash again mseve ral chauges of water tmtil water rw1s clear.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker and ad d cumin seeds, bay leaf and cardamom pods. When they splmrer, acid asafoeticla and broken dry red chillies

Wait for chillies to darken and then introduce onions. Fry till o nions are lightly browned.

Adel in the drained dal, sale and stir to mix well. Acid two cups of water and pressure cook to one whistle

Turn heat off and when coo~ open t he lid. Stir d1.e dal once [() check, and then add in tl1e drained rice. Mix gen tly and add in about 3/, cup of \Vater. The dr1/ should already have some water in ir. Check for sa lt and then pressure cook on medium high to one more wh istle.

Tmn off heat and let cool. Open the lid and lee stand for five minutes

Unlike a khichidi which is sloppy, this should look Like a p11lao, with rice and rial still maintaining their graininess. Fluff up with a fork.

To temper, hear oil and add reel chillies. As it splurcers, pour over pulao.

Serve wi th a raita o r plain yoghurt and pappr1dnlJ/s.