Es ist an der Zeit über ein Kochutensil zu schreiben, das in den meisten deutschen Haushalten völlig in Vergessenheit geraten ist, vielleicht noch im einen oder anderen verstaubten Keller aufbewahrt wird: der Schnellkochtopf. In meiner Erinnerung findet der Schnellkochtopf seinen Platz gleich neben der Kartoffelschälmaschine (eine Maschine, die eine ganze Anzahl von Kartoffeln binnen kurzer Zeit in ebenmäßige runde Kugeln verwandelt, böse Zungen sagen murmelgroße - aber das ist ein ganz anderes Thema.).
Einst revolutionierte die Erfindung des Schnellkochtopfs die Küche. Auf einmal konnten Garzeiten von Gemüse, Fleisch etc. beträchtlich reduziert werden. Allerdings haben Tiefkühlpizza, -gemüse und die Mikrowelle schon die nächste Revolution hinterher geschoben, die den Schnellkochtopf ins Vergessen geraten ließ.
Umso erstaunter war ich, als ich nach und nach in allen indischen Küchen, die ich zu Gesicht bekam, eben jenen Schnellkochtopf fand. Und hier war er gar nicht verstaubt, sondern in ständiger Benutzung. Jeder Haushalt in Indien hat mindestens einen Schnellkochtopf. Es gibt sie in verschiedenen Größen, Preisklassen, von verschiedenen Herstellern, mit verschiedenen Systemen. Jedes gute Haushaltswarengeschäft führt sie und hat dazu noch einen Reparatur-
Service, der ohne Probleme, Ventile, Dichtungsringe, Griffe etc. austauscht.
Meine Schwiegermutter verwendet in ihrer Küche zwei Schnellkochtöpfe, die sie -wie sie nicht ohne Stolz berichtet- schon von ihrer Mutter geerbt habe und die mittlerweile 40 Jahre alt seien. Das besondere am indischen Schnellkochtopf ist das kleine Gewicht, das auf das Ventil im Deckel aufgesetzt wird. Wenn der Dampfdruck im Innern hoch genug ist, zeigt sich das, indem sich das Gewicht hebt und mit einem pfeifenden Geräusch überflüssigen Dampf ablässt.
Selbst in indischen Kochbüchern hat der Schnellkochtopf seinen festen Platz (für interessante Einblicke in die indische Schnellkochtopfküche: http://www.ifood.tv/blog/pressure_cooker_recipes). Will man ein Curry mit Lamm oder Rind zubereiten, findet man oft als Hinweis auf die Garzeit die Anzahl der „Whistles“, die man das Fleisch kochen lassen sollte, oder dass man nach zwei „Whistles“ auf niedriger Flamme weiterkochen sollte. Diese „Whistle“ – Pfeife ist eben jenes Geräusch, wenn dem Ventil der Dampf entweicht.
Nach anfänglicher Skepsis ist auch bei mir der Schnellkochtopf in der Küche mittlerweile nicht mehr wegzudenken. Im Schnellkochtopf kann man einfach alles zubereiten, nicht nur Fleisch, sondern auch Reis, Linsen und Gemüse. Der letzte Schritt, um mich vollends zu beeindrucken und zu überzeugen war allerdings getan, als ich erfuhr, dass man im Schnellkochtopf sogar Kuchen backen kann (ein echtes Schnellkochtopfkuchenrezept: http://www.awesomecuisine.com/recipes/972/1/Easy-Home-Made-Cake/Page1.html)!!! Zunächst konnte ich es nicht glauben, aber da ich ohne Backofen einen frischen Marmorkuchen doch zu sehr vermisst habe, musste ich es einfach ausprobieren. Es hat geklappt! Und geschmeckt!
Abstract: In Indian kitchens I rediscovered the pressure cooker, after it had been an almost forgotten childhood memory in my German experience. I give some information and anecdotes about pressure cooking in India. Included is my all time favorite, the pressure cooker cake, which I couldn't believe to be reality till I baked and tasted it myself!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Don't loose your color!
“Be careful, you will loose your color”, was the well meant advice of quite a few fellow Indian students during my first time in India. This cautioning I had to listen to whenever I set out for some sun bathing. Coming from a country where the concept of summer holidays is basically that of setting out to the beach for sun bathing and being born into a generation of people for many of whom getting a maximum tan is the ultimate completion of beauty this sounded rather alien to me.
Mostly, I would jokingly reply that I won’t be losing my color but was rather trying to gain some. But with the number of times I had to listen to this concern, the seriousness of the matter started to dawn on me and I rather became concerned. Slowly but surely I understood that the question of color and complexion was a predominant topic in Indian society.
After this initiation into the topic, I slowly started noticing the impact of color-obsession. Next to usual cosmetic and skin care products in the shelf I came across ‘Fair and Lovely’. I was rather shocked to learn that products to bleach the skin were readily available and widely used by different kinds of people. Since those initial discoveries the market has changed rapidly. Next to ordinary ‘Fair and Lovely’ http://www.fairandlovely.in/ there is now ‘Fair and Handsome’ (the product aiming at the male customer) http://www.fairandhandsome.net/ and ‘Fair and Lovely Ayurvedic Balance’ (to give it a more natural connotation), and numerous other companies have come up with their own brands in plenty.
The brands seem uncountable, and unfortunately there also does not seem to be a shortage of actors ready to be their brand ambassadors. Initially, I was disappointed to see John Abraham, the hero with Kerala roots who made it big in Bollywood, giving his face for a product like this. But by now, there is hardly an actor who does not have a tie up, Shah Rukh Khan himself, next to Deepika Padukone or Katrina Kaif, to name just the real big ones. And I don’t think they even ever thought of any ethical aspects involved in tying up with a fairness cream. It just seems to be so much part of everyday life.
As long as the matrimonials are still trying to euphemistically call the darker complexion of a girl wheatish, as long as the delegation who comes to negotiate a marriage proposal claims that the girl is “very, very fair”, this will not change. And the recent trend to sell fairness under the cover of sun protection and healthy skin is just another strategy to perpetuate this beauty concept. I wish obsession with skin protection would take the place of obsession with skin complexion. And the sales of cosmetic products would rise due to concern about skin cancer and other related diseases for people of all skin colors and tones.
Mostly, I would jokingly reply that I won’t be losing my color but was rather trying to gain some. But with the number of times I had to listen to this concern, the seriousness of the matter started to dawn on me and I rather became concerned. Slowly but surely I understood that the question of color and complexion was a predominant topic in Indian society.
After this initiation into the topic, I slowly started noticing the impact of color-obsession. Next to usual cosmetic and skin care products in the shelf I came across ‘Fair and Lovely’. I was rather shocked to learn that products to bleach the skin were readily available and widely used by different kinds of people. Since those initial discoveries the market has changed rapidly. Next to ordinary ‘Fair and Lovely’ http://www.fairandlovely.in/ there is now ‘Fair and Handsome’ (the product aiming at the male customer) http://www.fairandhandsome.net/ and ‘Fair and Lovely Ayurvedic Balance’ (to give it a more natural connotation), and numerous other companies have come up with their own brands in plenty.
The brands seem uncountable, and unfortunately there also does not seem to be a shortage of actors ready to be their brand ambassadors. Initially, I was disappointed to see John Abraham, the hero with Kerala roots who made it big in Bollywood, giving his face for a product like this. But by now, there is hardly an actor who does not have a tie up, Shah Rukh Khan himself, next to Deepika Padukone or Katrina Kaif, to name just the real big ones. And I don’t think they even ever thought of any ethical aspects involved in tying up with a fairness cream. It just seems to be so much part of everyday life.
As long as the matrimonials are still trying to euphemistically call the darker complexion of a girl wheatish, as long as the delegation who comes to negotiate a marriage proposal claims that the girl is “very, very fair”, this will not change. And the recent trend to sell fairness under the cover of sun protection and healthy skin is just another strategy to perpetuate this beauty concept. I wish obsession with skin protection would take the place of obsession with skin complexion. And the sales of cosmetic products would rise due to concern about skin cancer and other related diseases for people of all skin colors and tones.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Anti-aging remedy
There are those days when I start thinking. I am still far away from becoming a senior citizen, but also can’t deny that the sweet sixteen are gone by days. Though I would say by and large passport photographs of mine don’t look much different from what they looked 10 years ago, when I take a closer look in the bathroom mirror, I have to admit that the wrinkles have become more. Having crossed a certain age, there are those days when I can’t help contemplating and also complaining about getting older.
Living in a surrounding where talks about one’s cholesterol, pressure, sugar (diabetes) are common topics starting from young age groups, I am maybe also exposed to constant reminders. Self-evaluation has to come to conclusions which are not too flattering. Those extra kilos because of my weakness for food can’t be shed as easily as it used to be. The six-pack is something I know from the glitz and glamor world, but when I look down my body my concern is rather confining the number of flabby belly rolls. The horror of becoming old, fat, and shape-less is haunting me in my dreams.
Recently, I started watching video clips of latest Tamil movie songs as a pass time. I couldn’t help but notice that especially the male act has to master quite acrobatic dance performances. I slowly narrowed in on an actor called Vijay as my favorite. I found him a very good and young looking actor, whose dance sequences were impressive. Sulking and with a good portion of envy, while thinking again of the problems of getting older, I thought he is performing so well in his dance numbers only because he is still young. Intrigued, I started searching the net for my new cinema hero. Soon I found the official fan site http://actorvijay.net and an entry in wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Vijay. To my shock and disbelief I had to learn that Vijay is older than me!
This justification for sulking and self-pity burst like a soap bubble. I guess I had to rather acknowledge him as a source of inspiration. Physical fitness is not only a gift of youth but a matter of discipline and work out. There is no excuse. The sport shoes in the corner are not a subject for meditation but need to be used. Unless and until then weary thoughts of getting old are no longer permitted.
Living in a surrounding where talks about one’s cholesterol, pressure, sugar (diabetes) are common topics starting from young age groups, I am maybe also exposed to constant reminders. Self-evaluation has to come to conclusions which are not too flattering. Those extra kilos because of my weakness for food can’t be shed as easily as it used to be. The six-pack is something I know from the glitz and glamor world, but when I look down my body my concern is rather confining the number of flabby belly rolls. The horror of becoming old, fat, and shape-less is haunting me in my dreams.
Recently, I started watching video clips of latest Tamil movie songs as a pass time. I couldn’t help but notice that especially the male act has to master quite acrobatic dance performances. I slowly narrowed in on an actor called Vijay as my favorite. I found him a very good and young looking actor, whose dance sequences were impressive. Sulking and with a good portion of envy, while thinking again of the problems of getting older, I thought he is performing so well in his dance numbers only because he is still young. Intrigued, I started searching the net for my new cinema hero. Soon I found the official fan site http://actorvijay.net and an entry in wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Vijay. To my shock and disbelief I had to learn that Vijay is older than me!
This justification for sulking and self-pity burst like a soap bubble. I guess I had to rather acknowledge him as a source of inspiration. Physical fitness is not only a gift of youth but a matter of discipline and work out. There is no excuse. The sport shoes in the corner are not a subject for meditation but need to be used. Unless and until then weary thoughts of getting old are no longer permitted.
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