India 2007 - Days 4 to 6 - Bijaypur and Jaipur

The drive from Udaipur to Bijaypur was nothing if not interesting. En route, we visited Chittaugarh Fort, a huge fortification with a whole town within it. Built on a one hundred and fifty metre high plateau in the Aravalli Hills, it is in ruins but well-restored. The entrance is on the north west side and the road winds up through seven individually named gates, each with its own guardhouse. The first gate is known as Padal Pol (lowest gate) followed by Bhairav Pol (Bhairav being an attendant of the Goddess Durga), Hanuman Pol (this gate has a temple and a shrine dedicated to the Monkey God Hanuman), Ganesh Pol (for the Elephant God), Jorla Pol, Lakshman Pol and finally Ram Pol (Gate of the God Ram) which was built in AD 1459. The gateway located on the eastern side of the fort is known as Suraj Pol (Sun Gate).

The palace of Kumbha and Padmini's Palace are but two of the beautifully carved edifices, which have been subject to restoration.Dinner was a quite spicy mutton curry for my husband and Malaysian noodles for me, incorporating chicken and prawns and a fearsome amount of chilli!All that sightseeing naturally brought on hunger and thirst, so spring rolls and spicy prawns by the pool were the order of the day but so good and plentiful were they that I could only manage a tarka dal and nan bread for dinner while my husband had the interestingly-named Southern Railway Lamb curry. There was no real clue as to the contents, but we surmised the use of the normal spices and flavourings which resulted in quite a red-coloured and extremely tasty dish.Some six hours later, the welcome respite of our hotel in Jaipur and some lunch - Indian-style wraps containing spicy chicken.Our next few days will be spent in Ranthambhore National Park, so I hope you'll be with us then to hear our experiences, both culinary and wildlife.The exploits of the Rajputs place in Indian folklore compares with that of the medieval knights of Europe or the Samurai of Japan, to the extent that individual Rajput heroes have the place where they fell in defence of the fort, marked with stones.With some trepidation, we ventured back to the courtyard of our arrival to find a transformation. The odd tables covered with pieces of hardboard now sported bright cloths, the place buzzed with people (a convention had arrived) and the stage was set for entertainment. The staff seemed rather more awake and soon we were seated with beer and poppadoms to watch the dancing of successive ladies in bright red, green and gold saris.On arrival in Bijaypur, the hotel certainly didn't live up to its photos on the internet, being more than somewhat dilapidated with an all-male staff who were trained in a very different school to that of the other hotels we stayed in! However, we managed to acquire beer, a sandwich (awful) and towels for the pool so whiled away the afternoon happily enough.Dinner, too, was a surprise, being a very tasty, mainly vegetarian buffet consisting of boiled rice, an aubergine curry, an egg curry, mixed vegetables, dal and a mutton dish, which, although not vegetarians, we didn't try. There was also nan bread on offer, which was very welcome.Next day involved the obligatory visits to the Jantar Mantar observatory, the Chandra Mahal (City Palace) and the Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds), an interesting structure, tall and very narrow, ornately carved from pink sandstone and built solely so that the royal ladies could watch the world go by without being seen. The City Palace, too, is well worth a visit, with seven stories and seven courtyards, partly still occupied by the present-day Maharajah. There is a large museum which gives some insight into the past days of the maharajahs, including costumes, weapons, pottery, musical instruments and the two fantastic silver jars used by Nadho Singh II to carry Ganges water for bathing on his visit to England in 1901.Next morning, the staff had gone back to sleep, each of three separate waiters asking what we wanted for breakfast and none of them getting it right - oh well, you can't win them all.After breakfast, we set of for Jaipur, taking an interesting short-cut to the freeway past grazing camels and wonderful orange-flowered flame trees, through tiny villages, over rough ground without tarmac, better suited to a four-wheel-drive vehicle!

Our next few days will be spent in Ranthambhore National Park, so I hope you'll be with us then to hear our experiences, both culinary and wildlife.

Bananas: ripe for success

Chefs across the country are monkeying around with bananas, a relative newcomer to our culinary history.

Although the tropical fruit is currently a top banana, it didn't appear in many U.S. kitchens until the late 1800s.But the first printed recipe found by Hess was published in an 1868 cookbook by Pierre Blot. By 1883, which was when "Mrs. Lincoln's Cookbook" was published, bananas were being prepared in a variety of ways. This cookbook has six banana recipes.It was in 1948 or 1949, she couldn't remember when exactly, when her brother Owen asked her to come up with a "great" dessert for their menu at Brennan's on Royal Street in New Orleans."I've noticed warm banana tarts on New York menus everywhere I ate," says Hamersley after a recent restaurant tour of Gotham.Banana creations recently peeled out vary from a $7 house-made banana split topped with two chocolate sauces and spun sugar to a blow-torch-browned banana walnut tart."The beautiful thing about bananas is they are available year round," says Jamie Shannon, executive chef of Commander's Palace in New Orleans. He offers classic banana Foster and banana Foster shortcake."The first time I showed it to my brother, he said: 'It's so damn Walgreen's. Why is it served over ice cream?'"Leach assembles banana rhubarb strudel, $7.50, at the newly reopened One Fifth Avenue. He layers banana bread, sliced bananas and rhubarb puree and wraps the layers in phyllo dough to form a puck shape. After the strudel is baked, Leach halves the warm dessert and presents it topped with rhubarb sauce, a small glazed banana tart and a scoop of rhubarb sorbet.Hess concludes that by the turn of the century bananas were "beginning to take off a little" since Fanny Farmer's book included nine banana preparations, and ordinary cookbooks, our culinary history books, were beginning to mention the fruit.Two years later the "Buckeye Cookery," published in Minnesota, included fried and baked banana recipes, proving that bananas were being served on Midwestern tables.Bananas were still considered exotic in 1876 when they were sold for a dime apiece at the Philadelphia Centennial celebration, according to research dug up by culinary historian Karen Hess. She reports that by 1846 there were shipments of bananas arriving in New York City.Taylor also accompanies Caribbean jerked pork sandwich with fried plantains and banana chutney made with bananas, honey, lemon juice, red bell peppers and serrano peppers, $8.25.Rich banana ice-cream cake is molded in a triangular mold and drizzled with chocolate at Manhattan's Restaurant Lafayette at the Drake Swissotel.For the shortcake, banana puree is added to the biscuit batter, which is baked to order. Both Foster desserts are sold for $5.50.Hess notes that bananas entered upscale commerical kitchens before the turn of the century. Indeed, maitre d'hotel Oscar Tschirky of New York City's Waldorf-Astoria included a banana recipe in his mammoth 900-page cookbook, published in 1896. The recipe was baked bananas, topped with butter, sprinkled with sugar and baked for 20 minutes or until glazed. Oscar suggested serving baked bananas with cake and milk."What happened was my mother loved bananas, and she used to saute them in brown sugar and butter. We all loved bananas. So we just started messing around with it and added some cinnamon, rum and banana liqueur and served it over ice cream.In Boston, Gordon Hamersley serves rumflamed warm banana tart at his namesake restaurant. According to him, "Bananas that are slightly green on the tips respond best" for his preparation. He cooks bananas with butter and sugar and then flames them with brown rum. He lays the cooked bananas in uncooked pie shells and bakes them for about 15 minutes. The pie is drizzled with burnt caramel sauce made with butter, cream and rum. It sells for $6.50.At New York City-based Banana Cafe, bananas are appropriately featured on the dessert menu. Banana Cafe's banana split includes flourless chocolate cake, macadamia nut praline, Tahitian vanilla ice cream and chocolate ice cream, topped with spun sugar; fresh fruit, such as raspberries; white chocolate sauce; and bitter chocolate sauce, $7."Everybody can relate to bananas," says Richard Leach, pastry chef of Manhattan's One Fifth Avenue. "They are a common fruit, and the quality of bananas is pretty steady. You can smell when they are ripe. They are very aromatic and are yellow with a little brown. Bananas are less seasonal than other fruits, like cherries."In Denver, at Zenith American Grill, Chef Kevin Taylor serves warm banana walnut tart filled with caramelized goat's milk and topped with banana slices, sprinkled with sugar and then browned with a blowtorch, $4.75.But it wasn't until this century, about 1920, that banana cream pie came of age, according to Hess.Ella Brennan tells the story of another U.S.-born banana dessert, bananas Foster.

"The first time I showed it to my brother, he said: 'It's so damn Walgreen's. Why is it served over ice cream?'"

HOW I'D BLOW pounds 10,000 ... by JONATHAN MORRIS

"I'd buy a boat," says Jonathan Morris, 36, star of Bread, Challenge TV and a new film The Fantastics. "My grandfather was a sailor - he used to bring home monkeys which peed everywhere - and since I left Manchester my whole life has been spent travelling and by the sea.

"I've been sailing a little topper, which is a baby's boat. It's a bit embarrassing because I've been having lessons from a 14-year-old boy. My boat would double as a gin palace and I'd drop anchor 400 yards off the beach. I'm not going anywhere in it. If I've got to travel, I'll go to Heathrow."

Namibia farm gives animals 2nd chance

GOBABIS, Namibia -- For a few cents and a piece of bread, Marieta van der Merwe persuaded a man on a dusty Namibian road to give her the thin vervet monkey he held by a rope around its neck.

Now van der Merwe heads a thriving family business that has turned the bushveld into a sanctuary for people and animals.Rehabilitating and keeping wild animals, even in large enclosures, is frowned on by some conservationists.Van der Merwe and van Vuuren, a striking mother-daughter team, often take afternoon strolls in the bush, a troop of baboons in tow.Soon the couple were spending more time looking after the rescued animals than their cattle farm. They began selling off some of their 100,000 acres of land to fund their growing cause. A trust was started and they also opened up the farm to guests."I was so in love with animals. Before I knew it we had a lot. I can't say no," said van der Merwe."He did everything. I had to learn a lot. We decided to stop the cattle farm and concentrate on the animals. Everyone helped. Guests helped and we survived," van der Merwe said.Nick van der Merwe died in 2001 of Congo fever, a hemorrhagic fever that can infect people who work closely with animals. His death left the family -- and the animals -- facing an uncertain future.The Harnas Wildlife Foundation, 180 miles east of the capital Windhoek, is home to 310 orphaned animals and offers visitors a unique chance to get close enough to touch, brush or even walk cheetahs, leopards and lions."We came all the way from Paris to kiss a cheetah," said Pascal Esteve, planting a peck on Goeter's neck.Guests can watch baboons cavorting on swings in their large enclosure while at the opposite end of the garden a cheetah, silhouetted in the sunset, hunkers down over a chunk of meat."It can be a bit crazy here. Everyday something happens. Once the crocodile got out and was in the swimming pool," said van der Merwe.Over the years van der Merwe and her husband, Nick, gained a reputation for rescuing animals. They would get calls from across the country asking them to fetch orphaned or injured animals. Some have been caught in traps or their mothers were shot by trophy hunters. Many, in the beginning, were animals South African soldiers had taken as pets during a bush war they fought in the north before Namibian independence in 1990, then abandoned as they withdrew. The van der Merwes also took in a pride of lions left homeless after the closure of a South African zoo.The farm reintroduces what animals it can back into the wild. But 75 percent of those it takes in are too badly injured or have grown too used to human contact to make it on their own. These animals are kept in large semi-wild enclosures where they are fed.Striding among the poppies in the back garden, the 27-year-old male cat has been the star of many films and commercials and has now been "adopted" by Jolie.Jolie has been back to the farm a number of times, including last year when she was in the country with Brad Pitt to give birth to the couple's baby daughter, Shiloh."I don't disagree," said van Vuuren, "But 90 to 95 percent of animals come here because people have shot their moms or raised them as pets and then want to dump them when they become a problem.Warthogs rub against the wall of the open bar, tortoises take refuge in the shade of the Koi pond while a miniature dachshund -- one of the van der Merwe's many dogs -- barks at the lone mountain zebra, Zibi, seeking out company."They come to us because there has already been human interference. We try to give them as natural a life as possible," she said.Plans are now under way to transform the farm into a nature reserve in which as many animals as possible would be able to roam free.That was 28 years ago and the start of one of the largest animal rehabilitation farms in southern Africa.The star was so taken by the work done by the foundation, she agreed to become a patron and donated about $270,000 for a fence and to restock the reserve with game.Jolie, whose picture is on a wall of family photographs in van der Merwe's home, has become the international patron of the endeavor.Returning home from a weeklong trip, van der Merwe's daughter Marlice van Vuuren stops to say a special hello to Goeters, the cheetah that was her childhood companion.Van Vuuren said they hope to release predators into the area with five tagged lions first and then wild dogs."I want the animals to be free. That is my dream," said van der Merwe."That monkey, Adri, was the first wild animal I touched. It sat in my lap. We were friends from the beginning," said van der Merwe.Guests on the morning feeding tour can observe leopards like Missy Jo and lions like Sher-Kahn and the one-eyed Savannah devour chunks of raw meat in their large enclosures, a short drive away from the lodge. Endangered wild dogs fight over scraps.Behind the house is a nursery where spindly legged buck and baby meerkats get bottle-fed and an infirmary where an epileptic baboon, blind monkey and a one-winged falcon named Nelson are kept."The instinct is there. I have seen it," she said, cuddling up to a lazy lion.She first visited the farm while in Namibia filming "Beyond Borders," which featured a vulture rescued by van Vuuren.Namibia, a largely desert country with a population of 2 million, has such an abundance of game and wildlife that often cheetahs and baboons are regarded as nuisances by farmers and shot.The main lodge sits on a green lawn surrounded by 24,710 acres of thick grassland where herds of eland, kudu and springbok roam.She acknowledges releasing semi-tamed animals back into the wild is risky but believes predators can learn to hunt for themselves.An army of volunteers, mostly young foreign women all sun- bleached blonde and brown as syringa tree berries, keep the place abuzz.

"The instinct is there. I have seen it," she said, cuddling up to a lazy lion.

Monkey bread easy, tasty

Dear Heloise: I have misplaced your recipe for that deliciously easy MONKEY BREAD. I would greatly appreciate your reprinting this recipe for me. -- Pat M., via e-mail

1/2 cup margarine or butter3 (12-ounce) cans buttermilk biscuitsPreheat the oven to 375 F. Coat the inside of a tube pan with fluted sides using cooking spray or butter. Melt the margarine in a small pot or bowl and then mix the sugar, nuts and cinnamon in a separate bowl.1 tablespoon ground cinnamonMost weeks, I cook only once or twice when I want to serve a steak or fried pork chops. -- Jane M. Scanlon, Rochester, Minn.Dear Heloise: I have the perfect way of keeping celery and head lettuce fresh and crisp for a long time. Trim the cut end (root end). Place a wet paper towel, folded into a square, over the cut end. Put into a plastic bag and place into the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. If the item, particularly lettuce, has a lot of moisture on the surface, I sometimes wrap a dry paper towel around it. -- Martha, Versailles, Ky.Dear Heloise: Cooking for two can get boring, so I always cook in big quantities and freeze leftovers to serve two people. That way, I have my choice of mashed, fried, boiled or twice-baked potatoes, wild rice or rice pilaf, corn off the cob, crisp summer green/waxed beans, etc., to go with grilled chicken breasts, pork, beef or lamb roasts, all from the freezer. Pasta doesn't freeze well, but lasagna and manicotti do.1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugarSend a great hint to: Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000; fax: 210-435-6473; e-mail: Heloise@Heloise.com. [copyright] King Features Syndicate Inc.Pat, this Heloise Central and reader favorite is so easy and tasty! You will need:Open 1 can of biscuits, separate and cut each into 4 sections. Roll each into a ball and then put into the sugar mixture to coat. Place the balls in the pan in a single layer, drizzle a little melted butter or margarine evenly over the top, then do the same with the other 2 cans of biscuits.1/4 cup finely chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc.)1/3 cup granulated sugar

Send a great hint to: Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000; fax: 210-435-6473; e-mail: Heloise@Heloise.com. [copyright] King Features Syndicate Inc.

Mosquito

Gayl Jones. Mosquito. Boston: Beacon P, 1999. 616 pp. $28.50.

Several times throughout her narrative, Mosquito mentions signifying and specifying, language games both the narrator and the author perform throughout the novel. Specifying and signifying are traditional African American modes of verbal play that allow speakers to communicate indirectly, symbolically, or metaphorically to a targeted audience while simultaneously preventing others from understanding underlying messages. Whereas signifying traditionally is considered an African American male ritual, specifying is its female counterpart. Mosquito reveals a complex web, in which Jones builds upon specifying to blur lines between signifier and signified. In fact, unlike mainstream sanctuary organizations, the sanctuary movement in which Mosquito participates is itself a metaphor for specifying. Also, sometimes Mosquito announces that she is specifying when she may not be; other times she specifies unadmittedly. One of the most clever ways Mosquito specifies is when she enrolls in a class to become a hidden agend a conspiracy specialist so she can learn to decode texts that relate to the sanctuary movement. The codes become quite complex when Mosquito realizes that what appears to be symbolic may be literal and visa versa. In this way, signifying and specifying become self-reflexive and add yet another layer of signifying to both Mosquito's story and Jones's novel. The verbal game playing is not only funny and entertaining, but it also illustrates important political and social statements about race and gender.Language leaps from the page and transforms from written to oral narrative throughout Gayl Jones's Mosquito. The black narrator, Sojourner Nadine Jane Johnson, makes a grand entrance by speaking directly to her audience and establishing that the story she will unfold is set in a South Texas border town. Nicknamed Mosquito, the narrator uses a natural voice with a bit of Texas twang that intrigues her audience.Mosquito is funny, heartwarming, and thought-provoking. When you finish the last of its over 600 pages, you will wish Mosquito were still sitting beside you in Delgadina's bar, Bud Light in hand, describing her adventures, her hopes and dreams, and most importantly, her culture. And in some ways she will continue to sit beside us, for oral narrative is part of a tradition that depends upon repetition to shape history from perspectives that allow a voice to those traditionally denied opportunities to inscribe their histories. Like the many texts to which it pays tribute, Mosquito is sure to become a classic American novel.Names of characters as well as names of objects are also signified. Mosquito was given her nickname as a child when she experienced an allergic reaction to a mosquito bite. She is by standard definitions of "beauty" a big woman, and she points out the irony of being called a little mosquito. Ironically, the movie star for whom Monkey Bread works refuses to refer to her by her nickname so she calls her by yet another nickname. Mosquito pretends to be married to one Ray so she can evade border patrols, yet she is in love, which she also defines as a code, with another Ray. However, the signifying of names does not deny characters their identities. In fact, the story reveals Mosquito's discovery of identity and her acknowledgment that her goal is to conquer her own ignorance, a real strength given that the novel points out that only the truly naive do not recognize their own ignorance. People who fail to recognize their own ignorance, usually the empowered, generally promote sexism and racism.The novel concerns Mosquito's involvement with the new underground railroad, a sanctuary movement for Mexican immigrants. Although her affiliation with the movement establishes a context for Mosquito's narrative, the more important story is told in-between incidents that move the plot forward. For example, Mosquito boldly announces her political and social views throughout the novel, but she does so in a way that is extremely inviting and entertaining. Although Mosquito claims that she is somewhat uneducated, she speaks powerful words that celebrate her African American and female identity.Mosquito drives a truck to deliver industrial detergents and frequents a local bar where her Chicana friend Delgadina works. The novel centers on Mosquito, Delgadina, and Mosquito's childhood friend, Monkey Bread, who works as a personal assistant for a famous movie star in California. The characterizations of the three women represent one of many ways the novel defies stereotypes: They are depicted as strong, intelligent, and independent. Other characters also challenge stereotypes, and the narrator often speaks directly to readers about ways minorities are stereotyped.

Mosquito is funny, heartwarming, and thought-provoking. When you finish the last of its over 600 pages, you will wish Mosquito were still sitting beside you in Delgadina's bar, Bud Light in hand, describing her adventures, her hopes and dreams, and most importantly, her culture. And in some ways she will continue to sit beside us, for oral narrative is part of a tradition that depends upon repetition to shape history from perspectives that allow a voice to those traditionally denied opportunities to inscribe their histories. Like the many texts to which it pays tribute, Mosquito is sure to become a classic American novel.

Bakery still rising, despite carb concern - food&consumables - Fresh Foods Inc

Big changes are coming in the bread business, but Atkins or no, don't expect the business in this sort of loaf to grow lazy. Wellness is having a big impact on the category, but that's not the only issue that's putting a rise in bakery.

Don't expect the Atkins craze to necessarily throw a monkey wrench into the growth of bakery products. For one thing, bakery products don't necessarily clash with low-carb diets. For another, some nutritionally concerned consumers--and a large proportion of the nutritional establishment--are low-carb hostile.Many bakery suppliers are looking to offer products that address critical health concerns. Voortman Cookies, for example, is in the process of eliminating trans fatty acids from all its products. "By the middle of April, we'll be totally switched over to 100% non trans fat," said Harry Voortman, president.The International Dairy, Dell and Bakery Association said in a report that annual double-digit growth in natural foods makes organic bakery products one of several key segments to consider--even if demand varies by market. In 2001, the association noted, about $923 million of organic breads and grains were sold at retail.IDDBA notes that developing and promoting a signature line of baked goods can boost sales. Wal-Mart recently added Prima Della baguettes in a special fixture to its service department sales floor, and Bruce Peterson, senior vp, gmm, perishables, said that bread, particularly whole grains, have been good sellers for Wal-Mart, enough so that the retailer expects to be expanding its line of fresh breads. "We have a trick or two up our sleeves," he said.In the meantime, vendors and retailers have demonstrated that they can react swiftly to changes in consumer preference. Atkins and others have introduced low-carb bread mixes. Online suppliers are particularly plentiful and creative. For example, Lifestylebread.com offers organic sprouted grain low-carb bread--four grams of carbohydrates per slice--for $4.50 per loaf, which drops to $3.97 per loaf when shoppers order a 6-, 12- or 18-loaf case, UPS shipping included.However, the biggest wellness issues for many bakery shoppers aren't either Atkins or organics.Nancy Chagares, vp of fresh foods at Jewel/Osco, said that despite all the concerns and dietary fads, bakery is an area that has lots of loyal customers, who may or may not be driven by nutritional concerns. For those interested in low-carb diets, vendors are responding with product. However, she noted that if you look at the growth of Krispy Kreme--and Jewel has a fresh donut program with the company--folks continue to buy bakery products for pure pleasure. "We've enjoyed continued growth in bakery," she said. "The world has not stopped eating bread."

Nancy Chagares, vp of fresh foods at Jewel/Osco, said that despite all the concerns and dietary fads, bakery is an area that has lots of loyal customers, who may or may not be driven by nutritional concerns. For those interested in low-carb diets, vendors are responding with product. However, she noted that if you look at the growth of Krispy Kreme--and Jewel has a fresh donut program with the company--folks continue to buy bakery products for pure pleasure. "We've enjoyed continued growth in bakery," she said. "The world has not stopped eating bread."