Chitra Aiyer

The making of the famous Kerala banana chips

Posted on November 11th, 2010 by Chitra

Kerala cuisine is different and is known for some of its dishes. One of the famous eatables is the fried banana chips, known locally as ‘upperi’. In Kerala, it is the ‘nendhra vazha’, a variety of banana, that is used to make the chips. The chips are always fried in coconut oil. Both ripe and unripe bananas are used for this variant. Sometimes they are coated with masala or jaggery to form both spicy and sweet variants. It is an integral part of the traditional Kerala meal called ‘sadya’, served during weddings and traditional festivals such as Onam.

My native being Kerala, I have had access to these chips right from childhood, However, I must admit to not being too fond of them. Typically, I dont like the feel of oil in my mouth. And these do leave a distinct taste of the coconut oil in my mouth. That said, you never come back from a Kerala trip without buying the chips. I do, for friends and family; hardly ever for myself.

Anyway, during this last trip to Kerala (see daughter at the beach and Athirapally falls), our last stop was at Palghat, where I have my maternal uncle. As we were winding up with our trip and getting ready to head back to Bangalore, he took us on a little trip through the lanes of the Palghat town – we walked through the ‘agraharam’ of Kalpathy (post coming up), he then bought us some famous ‘dosa’s for breakfast and then took us to this little shop, which is his usual stop to pick up chips from. He has bought chips from this shop for many years now and for everybody he knows.

As we walked thro the lane where this tiny shop was, the smell of the various chips greeted us. There were many little shops that were stacked to the brim with different chips. What came as a surprise was when I realised that all of these guys made the chips right there.

The action offered a good photo-op, and the light was nice. So, out came the camera. And here are the pics documenting the making of the chips.

A large vessel of freshly made chips greeted us outside the little shop.

Walking past his cash counter and through the narrow passageway, led me to the little kitchen area at the back. I found this man slicing off the bananas into the hot oil ….

enjoying what he does best …

Just outside the kitchen, in the semi-open area, sat this man peeling the bananas….

The freshness of it all was amazing – they were making it right there, and as it was cooling off, the chips were packed, sealed, and stacked.

The owner of this little shop … packing me some ‘halwa’ for my friends back in Bangalore.

The best part was, after all our purchase, he figured we were heading back to Bangalore and so packed us a packet of chips for the road. Great shooting opportunity. I enjoyed the light. Hope you all enjoyed the pics.

However, I must say again how I neither enjoy eating the chips nor the halwa. So, there …

All pics used here are mine. Please do not use them without my permission.

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Filed under: travel, photography

A drive in the clouds, Horsley Hills

Posted on November 8th, 2010 by Chitra

While at Rishi Valley, on one morning after breakfast, we drove up Horsley Hills, which is not too far away from the campus. That morning, it was cloudy, with mild drizzles, and the entire landscape was beautiful. We knew it could only get prettier as climbed up the hills.

The view from one of the vista points – the valley and the hills at a distance. Beautiful expanse of clouds and greenery lay ahead of us.

Ae we started climbing up the narrow, pretty roads, we noticed how low the clouds were. The clouds were also heavy and filled with moisture.

The entire drive is very scenic. It is surrounded throughout its entire length with dense growths of eucalyptus, jacaranda, allamanda and gulmohar trees. The drive, at times, reminded me of the drive up the Mysore chamundi hills, and most of the times of the drive up the Thirumala hills, Tirupathi.

Horsley Hills - Chitra Aiyer Photography

As we reached the top, the clouds enveloped us. We were literally driving through the clouds. The kids thought it was way cool, that we could actually do something like that.

At the top is the AP tourism dept run resort, supposedly good. We wouldnt know. There is also an “environmental park”. The board said that they housed a crocodile park inside. So, we went in. How not worth it that visit was. The animals on “display” should simply be let go. And I dont know why this silly excuse of a small zoo is called an environmental park! Anyway, we walked around a little till we spotted the almost invisible crocodile. It was just one, and it was well under the muddy rain water. Please, if you ever go to Horsley hills, do skip the visit to this “park”.

The hill itself was however, very beautiful and so was the drive. We liked the dreamy settings of that cloudy morning.

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Filed under: travels, Trips, photography

Our love for the frangipani

Posted on November 4th, 2010 by Chitra

At the Rishi Valley campus (about the visit in the previous post), as we started our little trek up to the sunset point of ‘asthachal’, the daughter and I spotted 2 big frangipani trees. We could also see that many of the beautiful flowers had fallen on the ground.

Our joy knew no bounds. Really, there are very few things for which my heart could skip a beat. And frangipani is one of the few exclusive things. The story goes way back….

My first joys of experiencing these beautiful flowers was in my paternal grandparents’ home, set deep within the western ghats in Kerala. I remember sitting on the long front porch, near the tree as dusk set in and these beautiful flowers would spread their fantastic fragrance in the dark air. Oh, how much I loved it then. The next morning I would spot the new flowers high up in the tree … and to see the beautifully formed white and yellow flowers was such a joy. I am talking of a time when I was less than 10 years old. To me, the frangipani flowers still remind me of those long gone summer evenings that were filled with their beautiful, and now nostalgia-inducing, fragrance.

As we neared the trees, we saw the pretty flowers everywhere around the trees.

It was clear that the 2 trees were planted there thoughtfully – they made the entraceway to the ‘asthachal’. The 2 trees were different, one was the white and pink flowers and the other was the more common white and yellow flowers. They differ in their appearance and fragrance – both beautiful.

We found a couple of them in a little rain water in the rock.

My daughter wanted to pick the ones on the ground – we went to asthachal promising her that we would let her do that on our way back. When we returned, she went about gently picking a handful of them. I noticed her at this little gateway, doing something with the flowers.

I came back to find them lined up in a neat row.

Frangipani, ASthachal, Rishi valley - Chitra Aiyer Photography

To me, it is always heart-warming to see her love for these flowers. Just a little commonality that she and I perhaps may hold dear.

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Filed under: photography, Family

A relaxed weekend at the Rishi Valley

Posted on November 2nd, 2010 by Chitra

The Rishi Valley residential school had always sounded very inviting. For long, there was an interest to visit the place. However, in the last year or so, with our increased interest in schools and the education system and while running our pet project, Zeeksha.com, the husband and I have been running into many folks in the education sphere.

Some of the folks whom we have met were teachers at the Rishi Valley. So, this past weekend, which we realised was a long one, we figured why not visit the campus! After a few quick phone calls, we understood that the school had their vacation now, but the guest house was open for us – what better way to experience the campus! We had the entire campus in its pristine best – green and rustic after all the rains and we also had the wonderful opportunity to meet and talk with the teachers and admin officials who were on campus. We enjoyed the wholesome and very good food at the school’s dining hall through out the stay. Our daughter especially loved the healthy meals and breakfasts. The food tasted authentic, fresh, and yum!

The entire stay was wonderful. Now, of course, to go back when the school’s in session and to see the activities and the school life there.

I will have to write multiple posts about just this trip. Let me reserve this post just to share our experiencing the beautiful space.

With a large campus spread over 350 acres in the Rayalseema area of southern Andhra Pradesh, Rishi Valley was chosen by its founder Jiddu Krishnamurti for its atmosphere of peace and serenity, centred around a large banyan tree, one of the oldest in India. This old, magnificent tree is now in decline, and has already lost several of its main branches.

The school is nestled in an ancient valley under the Rishikonda hill where, as folklore has it, a well-known sage (’rishi’) used to meditate. The Rishi River, a rain-fed stream, that flowed down the hill has long since dried up, but Krishnamurti retained the name for his first school. Rishi Valley is surrounded on all sides by ancient granite hills with striking formations.

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This was one of the best seasons for us to have visited the campus – green with mild drizzles, the place was pristine and idyll.