Ladies Coupe (34 page)

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Authors: Anita Nair

BOOK: Ladies Coupe
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Hari could be married. Hari could have left Madras. But if she doesn’t make this call, it will forever niggle at her thoughts – a loose end she failed to tie.
So she waits …
She will wait one more hour and then she will have to leave for the railway station. To wrest the reins of her life back, she thinks, looking at her return train ticket.
The telephone on the table near the bed rings. Akhila walks towards it. Her heart races. She wonders: could it be him?
Hari’s voice is low and cautious; incredulous, too.
‘Hello,’ she says. ‘This is Akhila. Akhilandeswari.’
Until early 1998, there was a special counter for ladies, senior citizens and handicapped persons in the Bangalore Cantonment railway station. And there were ladies coupes in most overnight Indian trains with second-class reservation compartments.
Since then, the ladies queue has been abolished in all railway stations. I have also been informed by various railway authorities, primarily stationmasters and ticket checkers, that the ladies coupé doesn’t exist any more and that the new coaches are built without the coupé.
Satyr of the
Subway & Eleven Other Stories
The Better Man
Rohini Kumar, Rhoda Stamell, Gita Krishnankutty, Nalini Suryavanshi, Prema Divakaran, and my beloved Rajeshwari Amma – were it not for these women, whose strength, courage and aptitude for joy have often inspired me, this novel about ordinary women and their indomitable spirit would have remained a mere thought.
As always, I owe much to:
Laura Susijn, my literary agent, for constant encouragement and her total faith in my writing.
Karthika V.K. of Penguin India and Rebecca Carter of Chatto & Windus, whose belief in this book bolstered mine. For valuable inputs which took the sting out of rewrites and for being the finest editors I could hope for.
Namas Bhojani who let himself be persuaded into spending many hours waiting for the right train and when it arrived, captured the mood of this book with his camera.
Jayanth Kodkani, whose confidence in my writing far outweighs mine and who continues to be my first reader and sounding board.
Jayapriya Vasudevan of Jacaranda Press who gave me the
run of her home and heart and continues to be there for me – a veritable rock.
Amy Eshoo whose affection and friendship I treasure. For her depth of understanding and her willingness to share in both my triumphs and failures.
For advice, camaraderie and laughs. I have always had Sumentha and Franklin Bell, George Blecher, Anand, Amrita Chak, Antonio E Costa & Tania Mendonca, and Bala Sethi.
Andrew Nash who taught me the all-important and magical lesson of the rightness of now. And to ‘pluck the day’ even if it is from a window.
Uncle Mani in New York for cheering me on. And Uncle Mani in Mundakotukurissi, Kerala, for opening the doors of the village library and the world of Malayalam literature for me.
To hold my hand, as always, there were my parents Soumini and Bhaskaran. And Sunil, Rajani and Unni.
And Maitreya, mother’s little helper and writer’s best friend.
For Francesca Diano, my good friend and Italian translator who suggested we include recipes rather than short descriptions in the glossary. It made perfect sense, and today several editions of
Ladies Coupé
carry these traditional South Indian recipes.
Recipes
This short culinary appendix has been put together to give readers the opportunity to ‘taste’ the book, with its own aromas and flavours so characteristic of southern India, and thus feel even closer to the world of the Indian woman. The recipes have been personally provided by Anita Nair and, although they do not include the entire repertoire of foods mentioned in the novel, they play a crucial role in Indian family traditions. The author pays great attention to specific Indian flavours, which is no wonder as she is an expert in the kitchen and writes about food for some of India’s leading newspapers. The suggested main courses are typical of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, regions in which cooking is characterised by strong and spicy flavours. It might not be easy to find some of the ingredients listed, but a lot of cities now have speciality shops that offer a wide selection of exotic ingredients, and your imagination can do the rest. All ingredients marked with an asterisk can be found in shops selling Indian foods.
1 cup equals: 200g of rice
225g of sugar
115g of flour
250ml of liquid
Breakfast
Appam (rice pancakes)
450g of uncooked long-grain rice
4 cups of coconut milk
a pinch of sugar
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of yeast mixed in
cup of tepid water
Boil the rice into a fine flour texture, then mix it with the coconut milk, blending well until you have a smooth batter. Add the salt, sugar, yeast and water and leave to settle for 2 hours. Grease a small wok, or non-stick frying pan about 18cm wide, and put it on a medium heat. Pour a little of the batter into the pan and quickly rotate it so that the batter reaches the edges. You should have created a type of crepe that is thin at the edges and slightly thicker in the middle. Cover and cook gently until the appam is golden brown. Repeat the process making more appam or until you have finished all the mixture. Appam should be served hot.
Idli (steamed rice cakes)
2 cups of Urad Dal lentils
1
4 cups of long-grain rice
teaspoon of yeast powder
Soak the chickpeas and the rice separately in water for about 6 hours. In a blender, grind the Urad Dal lentils at a low speed, very slowly adding water while the mixer is working, until you have achieved a dense creamy dough. Intermittently stop the blender and stir to avoid air bubbles.
Be careful not to add too much water. Put the dough to one side. Repeat the process with the rice, grinding it as coarsely as you would like the finished idli to be. At this point, mix together the two doughs. Allow it to rise overnight. The next day, add half a teaspoon of yeast powder. (This is easier if you dilute about a quarter of the dough mixture with a little water and add the yeast to this before incorporating the rest of the dough.) Ladle the mixture into small individual pots or use a large baking tray and divide the idli when cooked. Idlis are cooked in idli steamers which can be bought in any Indian store. However, they may also be ladled into lightly greased muffin trays and steamed in a bain-marie for 6 – 10 minutes. When the idlis have risen above the level of the tray, remove the tray and sprinkle cold water on it. Gently ease the idli out with a knife dipped in cold water.
Dosa (rice pancakes)
2 cups of Urad Dal lentils
2
4 cups of long-grain rice
1 tablespoon of cumin seeds (optional)
salt to taste
Soak the Urad Dal lentils and the rice separately in water for at least 6 hours. In a blender, grind the chickpeas at a low speed, very slowly adding water while the mixer is working, until the dough is smooth and even. Intermittently stop the blender and stir to avoid air bubbles. Be careful not to add too much water. Put the dough to one side. Repeat the process with the rice for at least 4 minutes until you have a dense creamy mixture. Mix the two doughs, adding water if necessary, and leave it to rise overnight. The next day season with salt and cumin and
cook the dosas on a hot griddle, turning occasionally to allow them to turn golden brown on both sides. The more thin and crispy they are the better they will taste. Serve hot.
Puri
You can prepare the dough for this light, crisp bread as far as 48 hours in advance, keeping it in the fridge before cooking.
1
cups of wheat flour
teaspoons of celery seeds
teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of soft butter
1 tablespoon of plain yoghurt
cup of tepid water
vegetable oil
Sieve the flour. Mix in the celery seeds and the salt with the butter and flour until you have a dough you can knead easily. Add the yoghurt and knead well. Add the water and continue to knead until you have a firm, malleable dough and knead for at least 10 more minutes. Make the dough into a ball, cover with a little oil, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Divide the dough ball into 18 equal portions and roll them on a lightly floured surface into thin sheets of about 9cm in diameter. Keep the remaining portions of dough covered with cling film to avoid them drying out. In a wok, or deep frying pan, heat on a high flame (in about 4cm of oil) until light brown. Fry the puri one at a time, pressing them at the edges with a fish slice giving then light pats when they begin to swell. By doing this, they will swell out even more. When they are well inflated, turn them over and fry briefly. Place the puri on kitchen paper to drain and serve hot.
Uppma
2 cups of semolina
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of Urad Dal lentils
3
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
10 cashew nuts
1 chopped onion
6 green chilli peppers
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh ginger
salt to taste
4 cups of water
Lightly fry the semolina in a little oil until it turns brown and then put to one side. Heat some oil in another frying pan and add the Urad Dal lentils, mustard seeds and cashew nuts. When the mustard seeds turn brown, add the onion, chillies, ginger and water, then salt to taste. When the water is boiling, slowly pour in the semolina, stirring constantly. Add the contents of the other frying pan to the semolina, remove from the flame as soon as it’s heated through and serve hot.
Rice
Tamarind rice
1 ball of taramind dough, the size of a small lemon
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
2 teaspoons of spicy Urad Dal lentils
3
1 teaspoon of chopped garlic
a few curry leaves
1 teaspoon of chopped green chilli pepper
1 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds
tablespoon of mustard seeds
a pinch of turmeric powder
a pinch of asafoetida powder
salt to taste
2 cups of basmati rice
Soften the tamarind dough in a cup of water, then squeeze and collect the juice. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the mustard seeds and, when they have turned light brown, add the Urad Dal lentils and garlic. When it all turns golden brown, add the other ingredients except the tamarind juice and rice. Cook for 5 more minutes on a low flame. Add the tamarind juice and mix well. Boil the rice and mix in the tamarind seasoning before serving.
Yoghurt rice
1 cup of basmati rice
2 cups of milk
cup of yoghurt
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
teaspoon of mustard seeds
2 chopped green chilli peppers
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh ginger
a few curry leaves
salt to taste
Cook the rice in salted water until soft. Once cool, add the milk and yoghurt. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the mustard seeds and, when lightly browned, add the chillies, ginger and curry leaves. Add this to the rice and mix together before serving.
Lime rice
1 cup of basmati rice
teaspoon of mustard seeds
6 cashew nuts
2 teaspoons of crushed Urad Dal lentils
4
1 teaspoon of chopped garlic
2 teaspoons of chopped chilli
a few curry leaves
a pinch of turmeric powder
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
juice of half a lime
salt to taste
Cook the rice in salted water. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the mustard seeds. When lightly browned, add the cashew nuts, Urad Dal lentils and garlic, and cook until golden brown. At this point, add all the other ingredients except the lime juice and rice. Cover the pan and cook on a low flame for 5 minutes. Add the lime juice and remove from the heat. Add the rice and mix together before serving.
Coconut rice
2 cups of basmati rice
2 teaspoons of salt
4 red chilli peppers
1 tablespoon of Urad Dal lentils
4
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
2 cups of grated coconut
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
a pinch of asafoetida powder
a few curry leaves
Cook the rice in salted water and then put to one side. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the mustard seeds and, when lightly browned, add all the remaining ingredients except the rice. Fry until the coconut is golden brown. Add the rice and mix together before serving.

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