Food and stay: a real bother

Food and stay: a real bother

Jobin  kj

Diluba k

Film festival is not solely a fete of high class movies and art. Every year the city hosts a high-spirited set of audience, who for a week becomes a part of the beat.

  As usual, the city has prepared in advance to greet the delegates of the festival. But if you happen to be a film buff just arrived at the city hoping to watch some good films during the week, be equipped for the news from the Hotel industry that rooms in hotels are not easy to get .Especially, if you are looking for a budget stay, no guarantee you would get one.

  “Our low rent double rooms are booked out for the whole week. Only the high fare stay are available here”, said an official at the Kerala Tourism Promotion Council’s hotel .Think of some friends staying in the city who would not mind disturbing for a free stay or cut short the one week plan; no other  options left.

There are rooms available at Mascot Hotel and some other private hotels for those who can pay through the nose. However, what everyone agrees to is that the rooms, as the film festival kicks off, would be dearer.

Food

  Food is one thing that most of the film lovers forget to think about until hunger strikes while rushing to some theater. Feel free, in that case, to get into the nearest restaurant. Keeping in mind the risk of a large amount of food needed in the city and the chances of restaurants serving bad food, the health department is on vigil. The corporation is all set to check the quality of food served in the city during the IFFK week.

       “There are 25 health inspectors and a central squad dedicated to do the job. During the days of festival, restaurants will be regularly monitored by the technical section of the health department to see whether there are any malpractices. We are ever vigilant about the functioning of the hotels “, said B.Biju, Health Supervisor

  “We check the hygiene condition of the restaurants and the waste water disposal facilities. Also things like the cleanliness of the kitchen, tables are also being monitored”, he added.

Neglected crops hold the key to future food security

Neglected crops hold the key to future food security

Jobin K J

Anju V Padma

  The food habits we inherited from our forefathers are disappering rapidly these days. No one is bothered about the locally available products that once we consumed largely. The crops like amaranthus, also known as common man’s spinach, horse radish, bread fruit, chayote, tender core of banana stem, lotus root, noni, pisonia, agathi, spine gourd, yams, coleus, colocasia,star anase etc are almost forgotten.

  But these crops hold the key to securing our food security in the future, said Dr. K.V.Peter, former vice chancellor of Kerala Agricultural University. He was presenting a paper at the NASI symposium.

  “The global population is growing at an increased rate. According to UN projections, World population will rise to 9.1 billion in 2050 and there wont be enough food to feed all of them if we don’t find a solution to sustain our food production immediately”, he said. “World’s food supply is now in a critical situation. Majority of food is provided by a small group of plants. There is a huge problem of malnutrition and under nourishment. One billion people go to bed hungry everyday;3.6 billion is anaemic; many children have stunted growth and 400,000 die every year due to lack of zinc in their diet; and 40,000 children in the world are blind  due to the  deficiency of Vitamin A.”

  The situation is alaming in Kerala too. The agricultural land is shrinking fast; there are problems of high wages and water shortage. Also, factors like climate change, natural disasters, huge post –harvest loss, unstable geo political scenario, competition for land, water, and labour, new array of pest and diseses, poor energy management, and new life style and food habits are challenging our food sector. So we must incorporate science in agriculture to maximise our production,Dr. Peter pointed out.

 Application of nano technology

   The collaboration of Science, especially nano technology, with traditional and alternative medicine has led to a better understanding of these conventional branches of medicine, said Jayesh R. Bellare,the first head of IIT bio science and bio engineering school, Bombay. He was talking at the NASI symposium here.

  The traditional and alternative system of medicines have long been a controversial area as it lacked standardised and qualitative methods of preparation, storage and use. They were not studied in context of modern science. But now, with the application of nano technology to study such medicines we are able to understand its composition to the minute levels.

  While pursuing these studies,he said, it is important to have an open intellectual approach. It doesn’t matter what the researcher personally thinks of the subject. However, the field offers huge opportunities, he said.

Adding spice to science

Adding spice to science

Arun V Gopal

  Be it vegetarians, non-vegetarians, Keralites, north Indians or foreigners- everyone was having a great time, just as they had in the science sessions, at the food court here. Food is served according to one’s taste. The smile on the faces of people coming out of the food court is a clear indication of satisfaction. There was one man behind the curtains, taking a sigh of relief.

  The food court, serving more than a thousand people three times a day is fed by none other than Pazhayidam Mohanan Namboodiri, the famous cookery expert who has an enormous experience of seven years at Kerala Youth Festivals, the largest cultural event in the world.

The day at the food court starts with the breakfast at 8’o clock. The menu includes bread, jam, omelette, idli, vada, puri and cornflakes. One could surely find his favourite. Likewise at noon, there are three varieties of rice, chapattis and 15 curry items. The dinner at 8’o clock also has many items to choose from, for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

  Everything happens in the perfect order. Behind the curtains is a 35 member team of Mr.Namboodiri. Of them 15 are expert cooks and 20 servers. The volunteers at the place are also doing a great job. They are all students of Kariavattom campus.

  What is there to taste today? Don’t guess. Get a coupon.

Thattu Dosa in Ananthapuri

Gourmandé Bites

Thattu Dosa in Ananthapuri

Sithara Issac

               

From falafel to hot dogs, golgappas to vada pav and the thattu dosas--these are the street foods of Kerala.…….Incredible! They are the only food you look for when you are hungry and when your wallets are nearly empty.

            Trivandrum is a place where people enjoy the street foods very much. Moving to the city from a village in Palakkad, I have experienced the busy night life of the city where everyone feels hungry towards 7 at night and wants to fill their tummy.  Thattu dosa is a great option for any hungry chap.

            The dosas you get in thattu kada are different from the usual south Indian dosa. It is thick, smaller and fluffier than a regular dosa. Accompanied with  coconut chutney and sambar , they are perfectly balanced. The good thing is that you get a dosa for only Rs 2! So 4 dosas would cost you 10 rupees and that’s it. And still you have an option at the thattu kadas by ordering an omelette sprinkled with onions and green chillies to get the perfect nutrition.

           

            When most street foods are oil fried and unhealthy, thattu dosas attract health watchers for its nearly zero oil content. They are instantly made in front of you, not like the reheated star hotel dosa.

           

            When thattu kadas in north Kerala sell parotas, beef and many other Kerala cuisines, dosas are the most popular item in Trivandrum.

            The street corners of Ananthapuri beckon the food hungry to relish thattu dosa and various other foodies.