Corn meal is not available here in India. Other expats have discovered something called corn polenta, which is very hard to acquire. Why do we want corn meal, you may be wondering. Well, it has to do with a decent bowl of chili. All of the expats here have various penchants for home cookin', and almost everyone enjoys a good bowl of chili. The ingredients are not necessarily readily available. For example, we have discovered that the only beans available, not red kidney, are dry, which requires soaking. When was the last time YOU soaked beans for chili. Maybe your mom did, but I doubt any of the peer age group can fathom soaking a bean to some sort of softness that does not chip your teeth upon consumption.
Various folks brought a certain quantity of chili fixins', but those have run their course, and we are having a bit of culinary creativity contest to see how and who makes a good bowl of chili. About now, I assume you're wondering what this all has to do with corn meal / bread. Well, in the neck of the woods where I grew up, chili required cornbread - there are expectations, you know.
In the quest for chili the adventurers have solved 
most supply side issues with making of the chili, which leaves us with the corn bread problem. As I mentioned, some expats have discovered corn polenta, which is not easily acquired. During our camping trip, the solution to the problem presented itself - mill your own corn meal. So, I have acquired a stone mill to do just that. Now, our readers might think that stone mills might be harder to come by than corn polenta, and they would be wrong. Stone mills are readily available here, and they are used by a large portion of the population. Our driver, Imtiaz, is teaching me on how to smooth the stones, and to use. Our housekeeper, Sharanama, uses her mill every day in the preperation of the family food.
most supply side issues with making of the chili, which leaves us with the corn bread problem. As I mentioned, some expats have discovered corn polenta, which is not easily acquired. During our camping trip, the solution to the problem presented itself - mill your own corn meal. So, I have acquired a stone mill to do just that. Now, our readers might think that stone mills might be harder to come by than corn polenta, and they would be wrong. Stone mills are readily available here, and they are used by a large portion of the population. Our driver, Imtiaz, is teaching me on how to smooth the stones, and to use. Our housekeeper, Sharanama, uses her mill every day in the preperation of the family food.So, I am learning to mill corn, which requires corn. Somehow, the American farmer needs to get corn into the Indian food chain. As it turns out, dry corn is not that easy to come by either. I am using popcorn to break in the mill, but when we go for a real run of product, I will need to find some real corn. Another quest.
1 comment:
Larry, I think corn might be seasonal, but it is available. I've seen roasted corn cobs as a street vendor snack. (and it is one of the most trustworthy ones from a hygiene perspective) Have you tried the Sunday market in Varthur?
Oh and you might not need to soak the beans. A spell in a pressure cooker does the trick nicely. That's how we use dried chickpeas to make hummus.
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