Cookery School: Sukha Chicken

This is not strictly a cookery school post, because I didn’t learn this dish standing at any culinary diva’s side. I jotted down the recipe over phone from my beautiful and talented cousin K, in whose kitchen I tasted it first.  The recipe is very forgiving – changing the proportions results in very different outcomes, but all outcomes are tasty.  In fact, it turned out entirely different the two times that I made it – the first time, it was almost a curry, while the second time it was very dry.  But in both its avatars, it was delicious – such is the wonderfully accommodating nature of the recipe.

In a perfect world, where the recipe is followed to the T, the final dish is ‘sukha chicken’ – dry chicken – with a lovely thick spice blend coating the tender pieces of chicken. The spice paste is a heady mix of cloves, cinnamon, pepper, cardamom, cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic, chilli – all bound together by the piquant punch of vinegar.  And the chicken is maryland pieces only (they don’t overcook easily like breast does), each large maryland cut into 2-3 smaller chunks.

But in the real world, you can vary and change ingredients and proportions to suit your palate, use a whole chicken or only drumsticks, or add some water/coconut milk to make it a curry.  The basic soul of the dish won’t change.  But I strongly recommend trying the basic recipe before trying variations – not just to master the recipe, but also because the original version is the tastiest of them all! :)

K’s incredibly tasty Sukha Chicken:

Ingredients:
1 kilo chicken – Maryland pieces, each cut into 2-3 smaller pieces

Spice Paste:

Black Peppercorns (Kali Mirch) – 6-7
Cardamom pods (Elaichi) – 2
Cumin (Jeera)– 1 teaspoon
Coriander seeds (Dhaniya) – 1 teaspoon
Cinnamon (Dalchini) – 2-3 pieces (1-inch long)
Caraway seeds (Shah Jeera) – 1 teaspoon
Poppy seeds (Khus-khus) – 1 – 1.5 tablespoons
Turmeric Powder – 1 teaspoon
Red chilli powder – 1-2 teaspoons (to taste)
Dry coconut, grated – 1-1.5 heaped tablespoons
Fresh Ginger – 2-inch long piece
Garlic – 20 cloves, peeled
Vinegar – 1-2 tablespoons (enough to bind everything together into a thick paste)

Oil – 1-2 tablespoons

Method:

Blend all except the last 4 ingredients of the spice paste in the spice grinder/coffee grinder of your mixie, till a coarse powder is formed.

Add the grated coconut, ginger, garlic (chopped) and vinegar and whiz till a smooth paste is formed. As soon as you open the lid of the grinder, the most intoxicating aroma should greet your nostrils.

Adjust the seasoning and keep aside.

Score the chicken, especially the thick chunks, so that it absorbs the marinade better. Rub the spice paste onto the chicken (there should be a generous coating of paste over every piece, with some left over).  Cover the chicken, and dunk it in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

In a large non-stick kadhai or wok, heat the oil and swirl it around. Add the marinated chicken pieces and leftover marinade.

Give it a good stir, cover with a lid, and cook for 20-30 minutes, till the chicken’s cooked through.  Stir occasionally to prevent the marinade from sticking to the pan and burning, though a good non-stick wok will minimize the chances of this happening. DO NOT ADD WATER AT ANY POINT.

After 20-25 minutes, the chicken will be ready, and your entire house will be filled with a glorious, heady, spicy, tangy scent.  Garnish with fresh coriander leaves, and serve piping hot.

The leftovers (if any) will be doubly delicious, as the spice will have had more time to permeate the chicken.  Enjoy!

Quick-Fix Meals: The Italian Stir-Fry

As it often happens, a recipe, an idea, a thought, an inspiration - call it what you may - takes root in your brain and refuses to move out till you try it out. I had a similar experience with this recipe - I had read about a chef sauteing a medley of vegetables in olive oil and oregano in Vir Sanghvi's fantastic foodielogue 'Rude Food', and for years, this recipe would prick my consciousness at random times. Finally, I got around to trying my own version of it, and it was so simple, so quick, and so tasty (added bonus :also healthy - yes, sometimes a too-good-to-be-true thing IS true) that I HAD to document it, despite the original idea not being mine.

So here's the perfect office lunch, whipped up in the 10 minutes that are all you can spare on chaotic Monday mornings:

Ingredients:
Carrots, diced roughly - 1 medium carrot, or roughly, a tea-cup full of dice
Capsicum (green bell pepper), diced roughly - 1 large
American corn - half a tea-cup full of kernels
Garlic - 2 cloves
Oregano, chilli flakes, salt, pepper - to taste
Olive oil - 1 - 1.5  teaspoons

Method:
Dice the carrots and put in a large saucepan with the corn. Cover with water and place on high heat, to par-cook them
While the carrots and corn is cooking, dice the capsicum, and peel, bruise and chop the garlic
In a wok, heat the olive oil, and add the crushed garlic
Stir for 10 seconds, add the capsicum dice
Stir for 30 seconds
Drain the corn and carrot (check if they are soft but with a slight bite to them) and add to the wok
Stir well, and let it cook for a minute
Add salt, pepper, oregano and chilli flakes and give the veggies another good stir
Leave it on the stove for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. The idea is to let the flavours blend, and the oregano-chilli-garlic-pepper-scented oil to coat the veggies
Adjust the seasoning, and take off the heat
Serve with lightly toasted brown bread

You can add any vegetables that you like (zucchini, babycorn, mushrooms etc - the more, the merrier) The generous amount of high-fibre vegetables, and low amount of oil makes this a light but delicious lunch. You can replace the bread with wholewheat roti/tortilla, or simultaneously cook some wholewheat pasta and toss it through the vegetables at the end, if you want to cut down on the calories. You can even skip the carbs entirely, the veggies are delicious on their own.

Restaurant Review: Lassi Te Parronthe, Carter Road, Bandra-West

Calling this a 'restaurant' review is, I confess, stretching things too far. A review it certainly is, and a rave review at that, but Lassi Te Parronthe (henceforth christened LTP) is, by no stretch of imagination, a 'restaurant'.
But if you are not too fussy about technical definitions, and have no qualms about sitting in/on your car/rickshaw/scooter/cycle rather than a proper dinner table as you dig into your food, then LTP is much, much more than your average restaurant. 

Simply put, LTP operates out of the tiny 4 ft x 4 ft front yard of a tattoo parlour in the Khau Gully at the end of Carter Road. During lunch hours on a weekday (which was when we visited LTP), it is very easy to conclude that LTP is a figment of the reviewer's (whose rave review made you hunt this place down - like this one here that led me to LTP) imagination. There is no signage, no chef, no kitchen area – nothing than an abandoned-looking platform with 4 induction stoves, each with its own frying pan. A young boy sitting twiddling his thumbs under the sun in the tumble-down looking yard further adds to the air of abandonment and disrepair. But a hesitant question about LTP being shut, changes the scene at once. The youn 'un jumps to his feet, pulls forth a small bench for you to sit on, hands you the menu and says that no, no, the shop isn't closed, isn't he there to cook up the parathas for you?

And so we sit, crammed into the sunlit 'aangan' on the ancient 2-seater bench and assorted stools that the young chef manages to get from the tattoo shop. He takes our orders, fires up the stoves, and soon we are treated to the mouth-watering sight, sounds and scents of parathas sizzling in the pans, generously anointed with pure ghee.

We sample the Alu (potato), Gobhi (cauliflower), Spinach-Corn, Capsicum-Corn-Cheese, and Paneer (cottage cheese) parathas and they all are fabulous- blisteringly hot, served with sides of green chilli pickle, mango pickle and a generous dollop of butter that has melted into a golden pool by the time you take the first bite. No two parathas taste the same - the Gobhi is naughtily spicy, with micro-mini florets (almost a mash) of cauliflower, while the Alu is mild and comforting. The Corn-Capsicum-Cheese is every yuppie's dream with its cheesy goodness and the Spinach is super yummy, with an unexpected cinnamon twist. The Paneer is rich and mild, gently spiced by cloves, pepper, cinnamon- no spicy chilli-ginger-garlic kick here! There are 1-2 more parathas on the menu that we didn't try - Muli (radish) and Methi (Fenugreek), but am sure they have their signature tastes as well.

The parathas are pre-made and pre-semi-cooked at owner/chef Nikhil's home in Santacruz, and are 'finished' at LTP. So one can argue that this is home-made food! ;) Nikhil wasn't around when we were there (he apparently mans the stoves in the evening rush hours) but he seems to be someone with very definite ideas about food and nutrition - the reverse of the laminated menu urges you to stop indulging in 'poisonous' foods like refined salt, sugar and oil, and instead stick to good stuff like rock/mineral salt, jaggery and pure ghee. In living with his beliefs, he uses organic ingredients for the parathas, pure ghee to cook the parathas in, and jaggery to sweeten his lassi. Unfortunately, the lassi and Mint Chhas (buttermilk) wasn't available when we lunched, so we had to make do with Malai Dahi (curds) set in little kulhads (earthenware glasses).But the dahi was so gloriously thick and creamy that it had us in transports of ecstasy.

The LTP menu is quite reasonably-priced, given the swish neighbourhood it operates in. Basic parathas (Alu, Gobhi, Methi, Muli - those without paneer/cheese) cost Rs 80, while the premium parathas cost Rs 100. Dahi costs Rs 20. Four of us ate till we were FULL for the grand sum of Rs 540. Try getting such a deal anywhere else in Bandra West!

And there's something to be said about Nikhil's belief in healthy cooking and eating. Despite the more-than-generous amounts of ghee and butter in/on the parathas and the amount of cream in the dahi, I didn't get that bloated, heavy, GREASY feeling one gets after an indulgent lunch. I gelt sprightly and skippety rather than "Oh God, someone roll me to the nearest couch and let me be". Perhaps its the quality of ingredients more than their basic calorific value that our body reacts to....a dollop of pure ghee (saturated fat) is perhaps better than a spoon of unsaturated oil of dubious origins....or pure dahi albeit creamy is better than processed 'low cal' cream piped onto fruit....at least my tummy seemed to think so!

Go to LTP  (with your own car/bike/collapsible chair) as soon as possible and see if your tummy agrees! :)

Turkey Travel-log(ue): Day 4

Istanbul Ataturk Airport, waiting for the flight to Goreme, 9:00 am – 12 noon

I am sitting in a coffee shop at the Ataturk Domestic Airport. The coffee shop, or rather, the coffee area in the BTA food court is called Kokpit Kafe (their spelling, not mine! :) ). It is a delightful place, consisting of a long brightly lit counter with danglers marked with prices, names and sketches of all the eatables available  - Turk Kahvesi (Turkish Coffee), Su Boregi ( a layered pastry filled with spinach and cheese) , pizza, beer, and more. Best of all, there are long wooden communal picnic tables with benches, arranged under two realistic-looking fake trees. 

Kokpit Kafe at Istanbul Ataturk Airport

One tree bears bright yellow lemons and is strung with lamps. The other has a red macaw and a red toy airplane hanging from it's boughs, along with more lamps. The picnic table has a huge stone bowl overflowing with huge artificial but pretty pink and white flowers. At the entrance is another tree, loaded with fake oranges. Clumps of bamboo and pots of white flowers are scattered elsewhere. Overall, it's so cheery and warm and fun, that waiting here for 3 hours for my flight is no chore at all. :) I have already had one tiny cup of dark Turkish coffee, shopped for roasted hazelnuts and pistachio chocolate at the deli/grocery (Tadinda Anadolu) next to the Kafe and now, sipping on bottled water, am reading Lemony Snicket and slowly getting used to the scary-yet-exciting feeling of travelling all by myself.

Turk Kahvesi - Turkish Coffee

By the by, the airport is clean, bright and welcoming....the people are very helpful and most importantly, the loos are clean! (no one can say I don't get my priorities right) I walked into one and encountered a group of coat-and-headscarf-clad old Turkish women. The doors to all stalls were closed so I waited patiently for them to open. After watching me for a couple of minutes, one of the Turkish Ajjis beckoned me over and pointed at one door, saying something in Turkish. Seeing my bemused look, she pushed open the door to reveal an empty stall! I murmured 'Thank You' and walked in.....I really should have learnt basic phrases in Turkish, so I could thank people at least!

An aside - there are so many Indians /Pakistanis around here! Three tables near me have apne des waasi clustered around them. The large-ish group at the neighbouring table is conversing in Gujarati. Waah! And they are headed to Kayseri as well. Maybe Goreme, like so may places around the globe will be overridden with the dhokla brigade too! To be fair, there isn't a dhokla or thepla in sight. They're  munching away on veggie sandwiches and coffee (and beer!!) from Kafe Kokpit.....oh wait, I see a packet of Garden diet bhel being opened......phew! Its good to see that some things never change! :)

Inside the pick-up van, en route to Goreme from Kayseri, 2:00 PM

Arrived in Kayseri to misty rain and cloudy skies. My hotel (The Kelebek) had sent  a guy to pick me up from Kayseri (Goreme is an hour’s drive from Kayseri airport). He heaved me and my bag into the pick-up van, which was equipped with a heater (ooooh so warm and toasty!) and Wifi. A little note with the WiFi password was tacked on to the dashboard. Astounding!

So, as we make our way across barren windswept plateaus and landscapes entirely composed in shades of ochre and grey and white (snow!) to Goreme, I am going to jot down a bit about my journey from Istanbul to Kayseri.

En route from Kayseri to Goreme

The whole excitement of being a in a strange faraway land all alone rapidly dissipated when I walked into the bay of the boarding gate at Istanbul airport. 90% of the passengers on my flight were Indian! Apparently there is some convention of Indian travel agents happening in Turkey and the whole platoon of tour agents are being taken to Goreme for some sight seeing (sights which they will then hawk back home to Indian travellers) What a let down! It was like following a secret trail that ends up in your own backyard. :(

Luckily, my neighbours on the flight were a couple of  young Americans touring Turkey on their own – the young man was a financial reporter working for the Wall Street Journal in Dubai while the woman was a journalist working in New York. Unlike me, who had just one-and-a-half day in Goreme, and wanted to maximise my stay by signing up for a day tour of Cappadoccia, these two were going to rent a car and drive through the valleys around Goreme at a slower pace and without a set itinerary – they had 3 whole days to explore Cappadoccia in! This has just strengthened my resolve to travel with at least pne or two friends the next time – there are so many adventures that are automatically off-limits (due to safety or budget constraints) to a single woman traveller!

As we approach Goreme, the views outside my window have started looking like the surface of the moon – thanks to the fairy chimneys that Cappadoccia is famous for. These fantastic, pillar-like rock formations dot the landscape till the horizon, making the whole area look surreal, yet beautiful with a wild, lonely kind of beauty. 

These rock formations are what Cappadoccia is famous for. They give the landscpae a surreal, haunting feel

The fairy chimneys of Cappadoccia

Can’t wait to get to see  Cappadoccia up close and personal!

The breakfast lounge, Hotel Kelebek, Goreme, 4:00 PM

I got a good look at Goreme as we drove through the main town to reach the Hotel Kelebek which is built on top of a hillock outisde the main town. Goreme is a very small town with a main square dotted with single-storeyed houses and shops. It surives on tourism so there are lots of hotels, restaurants souvenir shops and bike rental places. The homes of the locals are beyond the main shopping area. The whole place has a quaint, cozy feel, kind of like some of India's smaller hill stations. But this being the off-season (the end of an unseasonably long winter), there are no tourist hordes, and Goreme looks like it must have before it become a tourist hotspot.

The road to downtown Goreme

Goreme

Checking into the hotel was easy and done in a jiffy since my room was already booked online. Unfortunately, my room doesnt have WiFi - there's WiFi only in the breakfast lounge (a tiny glassed-in terrace with 4 tables and panoramic views of the fairy chimneys unfortunately marred by sights of buildings and other signs of civilization) and the trek to my room from here is short but fraught with danger thanks to the tiny but steep stairways and dark corners. 

The breakfast lounge at the Hotel Kelebek

My room's tiny and very rustic looking (rough textured walls, ancient looking cut-outs in the walls to serve as shelves, a roughly-hewn pelmet over the windows) with a spotless, surprisingly modern bathroom. The tiny shower area has the best shower is the best I have EVER seen, across all my travels.  What's funny is that the ancient wooden door (very like the doors we have in our villages, complete with a wooden plank serving as the bolt) of my room first opens into the bath area- that is, the area where the wash basin is placed. Straight ahead, behind sliding glass doors in the loo & shower. To the right is another wooden door that leads into the bedroom proper.  :)   

 The bedroom itself is very clean and comfortable with a nice old-fashioned radiator to keep the room warm, a comfortable bed with heavy blankets, a small mirror with a wrought-iron dresser, and white crocheted curtains over two small windows that look down into the small valley where Goreme village is located.

The built-in cupboard in my room at the Hotel Kelebek

My room at the Hotel Kelebek - cosiness itself!

It's now late afternoon, and am relaxing in the breakfast lounge with a steaming-hot glass of Turkish tea. Sitting here, in the pin-drop silence of the lounge (the only sound is the gentle tapping of keys being punched on a guest's MacBook) and looking across the vista of sand-coloured fairy chimneys and further, beyond, snow-covered mountains, I feel this is how the roof of the world must be - unmoving, ancient, windswept and with a great silence draped over it. Maybe like Ladakh?

View of the fairy chimneys and mountains from the terrace of the breakfast lounge

The cave-houses of Goreme - some villagers still live in these, though most have been converted into hotels

Coming back to mundane matters, I have booked myself in for a day tour tomorrow to visit the highlights of this area, and also a hot air balloon - the balloon ride is subject to weather being fair. Right now it's not looking too opportune.....fingers crossed.

 

The breakfast lounge, Hotel Kelebek, Goreme, 7:00 PM

Just got back from a short walk . Short but good, since it was a steep downhill walk and (seemed) steeper on the way back. On my way back, I met a few Uncles and Aunties from the Gujarati Gang at the table next to mine at Istanbul airport. They were about my parents’ age, and seemed taken aback on hearing that I was travelling alone. They have very kindly opened their hearts and doors to me, telling me that they were put up at the neighbouring hotel just 5 minutes away from mine and I could just join them if I felt lonely. That’s Indian warmth for you!

The Hotel Kelebek at night

Now it's getting dark and lights are lighting up all over downtown Goreme as I sit in the breakfast lounge, perched on the top of the hill. The great thing about the lounge is that tea, coffee, juices and WiFi are all available here 24x7. Its also a great place to read, write and catch up with other guests at the hotel. I see myself spending quite some time here!

Turkey Travel-Log(ue) : Day 3

Our room, Hotel Lady Diana, Sultanahmet, Istanbul. 2:30 PM

Paris has the Eiffel Tower, New York has Lady Liberty, London has the Tower Bridge – and Istanbul has the Blue Mosque.

The Blue Mosque, overlooking the Bosphorous - serene, beautiful, eternal.

The Blue Mosque is locally known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque and gets its better-known name from the blue-and-white hand-made ceramic tiles (21,000 of them in total) which line the inside of the mosque. The tiles have more than fifty different tulip designs - the tulip is considered symbolize Allah because the Arabic letters in the word “Allah” are used to write the word “Lale” in the Ottoman alphabet, which means ‘tulip’ in Ottoman Turkish. 

 

The hand-made ceramic tiles (21,000 of them in total) in the inside of the Blue Mosque, which give it its name. The tiles have more than fifty different tulip designs - the tulip is considered symbolize Allah because the Arabic letters in the word “Allah” are used to write the word “Lale” in the Ottoman alphabet. “Lale” is the Ottoman Turkish equivalent of tulip.

Built between 1609 to 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I, it is still in regular use for prayers - on Fridays the mosque is closed to tourists during namaaz times.

When it was built, its six minarets created a controversy, since four minarets were the common maximum, and exceeding that was seen as a challenge to the Grand Mosque at Mecca. So, Ahmed I sponsored the addition of  an extra minaret to the Masjid al-Haram, (Grand Mosque) in Mecca to settle the issue.

The Blue Mosque with its 6 minarets

The inside of the mosque is huge, with high domed ceilings decorated with ornate and graceful mosaics of tiles which look lacy and delicate when viewed from down below. The mosque also has tall panels of vividly coloured stained glass and woven carpets on the vast floor that echo the tulip design of the tiles on the walls. Swooping circular chandeliers hanging low from the ceiling hold thousands of glass lamps (now electric, but used to old candles in their heyday).

Within 5 minutes walking distance from the Blue Mosque is the Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya in Turkish). The Hagia Sophia (meaning Holy Wisdom) was, at different times, a Greek Patrirchal cathedral, a Roman Catholic cathedral and a mosque and is now a museum. 

A very telling mural over one of the arched doorways of the main hall of the church/mosque tells the origin of the monument – it shows King Constantine gifting a model of the city of Constantinople (now Istanbul) and King Justinian I gifting a model of the Hagia Sophia (conspicuously without the trademark-Islamic minarets which now decorate it) to the Virgin Mary with the Child Christ on her lap. The minarets were added later, when the cathedral was converted into a mosque (in 1453). 

King Justinian I and King Constantineoffering the Hagia Sophia and the city of Constantinople respectively, to the Virgin Mary with the Child Christ

Notice the model of the Hagia Sophia that King Justinian I is holding is without any minarets

  At the same time, other Islamic symbols were placed in the catherdral, like the four large medallions hanging in the nave bearing the names of Muhammad and Islam's first caliphs.

This photo shows 2 of the 4 Islamic medallions that were added when the cathedral was converted into a mosque

The gigantic mosaics all over the church depicting angels, saints, Christ etc were covered over by plaster since Islam doesn’t believe in praying to any idol or picture. However, some of these mosaics/murals were uncovered during the restoration of the monument in 1930. Some of themosaics still remain covered in plaster, a living proof of the tumultuous identity reinventions that this timeless monument has withstood. 

Our room, Hotel Lady Diana, Sultanahmet, Istanbul. 7:00 PM

After a morning gawking at Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, and of haggling over trinkets for folks back home in the shopping area near the Grand Bazaar, we returned to our hotel by 1 o'clock. After lunch and playing Gardens of Time on Dad’s iPad, I felt compelled to get out of the warm cozy room and do SOME exploring on my own. The cold weather had meant that I hadn't really explored Istanbul much, except for my leisurely exploration of the Hippodrome and my getting well acquainted with the grocery next to our hotel. Remembering my lofty plans of exploring this vibrant, bustling city and not returning to the hotel till late, and felt ashamed of my homebody-ness. Even though it was forced upon me by the rain and bitingly cold wind. But yesterday was dry and cold, with occasional appearances of the sun, so I really had no excuse to be holed up in the albeit warm and comfortable hotel room.

First stop- a kofte restaurant recommended by an Istanbul food blog called Istanbul Eats, that was within walking distance of our hotel. 

Tarihi Sultanahmet Koftecisi, recommended by Istanbul Eats for having some of the city's best Kofte

Inside Tarihi Sultanahmet Koftecisi

The menu at Tarihi Sultanahmet Koftecisi

Kofte means meatballs, and for the first time in my life, I knowingly had beef. Gulp. 

Toothsome, with a slightly bouncy texture, the meatballs (shaped like rectangles, not spheres) were glistening with their own fat which had melted during their cooking over the grill. Served with pickled green chillies and buns of crusty bread, they made a great sandwich. Washed down with cold Ayran, of course. :)

 

Kofte Sandwich!

 Next, I ambled around the charming bustling neighbourhood of our hotel, till I chanced upon a little cabin which was the tourist help centre manned by a handsome policeman. I asked for directions (I had planned to walk) to the Galata bridge, but the policeman recommended that I take the tram. The tram stop was just across the road, and I quickly walked to it, marvelling at the modern tram tracks laid down in the centre of the old cobblestone street! 

The trams in Istanbul are superb - silent, sleek and easy to use, even for a language-challenged foreigner. :) The best part is, the tram rails are laid down right in the middle of the narrow cobblestone streets of the Old City and at times, the tram passes so close to the shops on either side, you feel you are driving through people's front yards and shops and homes! :) A wonderful blend of old and new!

Inside the tram from Sultanahmet to Karakoy

I took the tram to Karakoy station at the other end of the Galata Bridge, and then walked back across- at times over the bridge, and at times, under it – there is a walkway under the bridge as well, level with the water of the Golden Horn. 

Fishing off the Galata Bridge - this bridge spans the Golden Horn. The Golden Horn is a scimitar-shaped estuary that joins the Bosphorus just at the point where that strait enters the Sea of Marmara, forming the natural harbor that has sheltered Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and other ships for thousands of years.

Unfortunately, it was too late for the famous fried fish sandwich from the fish restaurants under the bridge - it was nearly 4:00 PM and all the restaurants were closed. But there were some truly stunning views of Istanbul! Rising above dark green waters of the Golden Horn, the city, with its domes and spires and minarets looked like an enchanted apparition, untouched by Time…

A view of Istanbul's Old City from the Galata Bridge

Walking across the historic bridge, I saw the signboard of the famous Hamdi restaurant on the opposite shore, so made a beeline towards it.. A smiling suited-booted gent dispatched me to the top floor where the restaurant proper was located (the ground floor is the Hamdi sweetshop, and I am assuming the floors in between are their kitchens and bakery)  The restaurant is housed in a picturesque, enclosed terrace overlooking the Golden Horn, and gives amazing views of the Golden Horn, the Galata Bridge, the New Mosque and all the hustle and bustle of the paved courtyard outside the neighbouring Spice Bazaar. 

Inside the Hamdi restaurant

The view from the terrace of the Hamdi Restaurant - the New Mosque, the Galata Bridge and the scores of small shops - charcuteries, groceries, fruit and flower shops- in the paved courtyard next to the Spice Bazaar

Even at the odd hour (it was 4:30 PM or thereabouts), the restaurant was crowded with patrons enjoying a late lunch, or making an early start to the evening, with a few rounds of raki, the anise/fennel-scented alcoholic drink loved by Turkish.

Sampled the lahocum (Turkish pizza -very thin, crispy base spread with tomato paste, minced meat, garlic and parsley), the lentil soup (delicious, especially with a squeeze of lemon -giant, bright yellow lemon wedge) and some shish tavuk (grilled chicken kebabs, serviced with Turkish bread (roomali roti types) tomato rice and fresh salad). 

Lahocum

Lentil Soup

Shish Tavuk

 

Obviously, I couldn't eat all of this, so after taking a bite of the chicken (wrapped with salad in the roomali roti) -the chicken was tender, but kind of bland, by the way- I asked the waiters to pack it up, along with Sobiyet and Kunefe (Turkish mithai) for the parents.

Kunefe (left) and Sobiyet (right) - both feature crisp phyllo pastry, syrup, and have crushed pistachios as a garnish. Kunefe is stuffed with a creamy unsalted cheese, while Sobiyet is filled with thickened cream.

 A quick walk to the Spice Market or Egyptian Bazaar that we'd visited yesterday for some additional shopping, and then a tram ride back home....thus ended my day out in Istanbul!

Turkey Travel-Log(ue) : Day 2

Our room, Hotel Lady Diana, Sultanahmet, Istanbul. 2:00 PM

The day began bright and early - we had to be ready by 8:00 AM for our pick-up for the half-day city tour, i.e.the Bosphorpus cruise and the Spice Market. Bathed and dressed (more like wrapped up in scarves and shawls and mufflers!), we made our way to the top-floor breakfast room of our hotel……to walk into a GORGEOUS room, with HUGE windows all along 3 walls, polished wooden floor, sparkling chandeliers, cheery red tablecloths and the piece de resistance – an absolutely stunning panoramic view of the Blue Mosque overlooking the Bosphorous.

The rooftop breakfast room at our hotel - on clear days (unlike this one!) you get a stunning view of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia overlooking the Bosphorous...picture-perfect.

The morning was cold and gray, so the warm cheerful room, and the picture-perfect view lifted our spirits like nothing else could. Of course, the more than generous breakfast spread helped, too. :)

 

The open terrace next to the breakfast room had an even more spectacular view – of BOTH the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya in Turkish) facing each other along the banks of the Bosphorous.

The Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya in Turkish) next to each other along the banks of the Bosphorous - clicked from the terrace of our hotel

The first stop for the day was the Spice Market, or Egyptian Bazaar, located on the banks of the Golden Horn. The Golden Horn is the 7.5 km long historic estuary (inlet) of  the Bosphorous which forms the sheltered natural harbour that made Istanbul – from the time it was Constantinople  - an important port for Roman, Greek, Byzantine and Ottoman ships.

The Spice Market is a sprawling covered market with a high vaulted ceiling from which old-world lamps give off a golden glow. Straight from the Arabian Nights! Stores on both sides of the main corridor sell a plethora of tourist attractions – spices, herbal teas, porcelain bowls, glass-studded lamps, candied fruit, caviar, ‘silk’ scarves and stoles, brass artefacts, and of course tray upon tray overflowing with cubes of Turkish delight. It is very touristy, but charming nevertheless!

Sun-dried and candied fruit at the Spice Bazaar, also called Egyptian Market

Turkish Delight - in rose, pineapple, pistachio flavours

 

'Love tea', anyone? :)

Chai is served all day, everywhere in Turkey - served in glasses like these. The Turkish word is for tea is Cay, which is pronounced same as in Hindi - Chai

Porcelain bowls

Surprisingly, caviar featured heavily in the Spice Bazaar, too....though I never saw any being used in the local cuisine

 The shop keepers call out to you in lilting accented English, and hard-sell their wares. Even if its all shtick, one cant help be entranced by the sights and sounds and at-times disarming honesty of the tradesmen – one of them – a stole-seller asked me where I had got my stole from, and how much it had cost me. When I told him the price and that it was from India, where I came from, he shrugged and told me that he imported his stoles from India too and there was no point in my buying them from him. :D

 After shopping (and turning down yet another date – this time from a dashingly handsome young man who sold me some pomegranate molasses – I mean, WHAT was it with the man?? Wasn’t he too handsome to be asking frumpy old me out??)  and a quick snack of a borek, we headed to the quay to board our cruise ferry. 

A Borek or Boregi - local favourite snack comprising of layers of flaky phyllo pastry swaddling a cheese and spinach filling. Tasty albeit bland, the point is somewhat lost when you have it a few hours after its made - the pastry goes chewy instead of remaining crisp. :(

Istanbul had a lot of these small carts dotting street corners - they sell Turkish bagels, bread and pastries - perfect for a cold rainy day! This one is near the wharf where the Bosphorus Cruise ferries dock

 The ferry had a covered (and blissfully heated) indoor seating area which had wide windows (for the views over the Bosphoropus) and a PA system for hearing the commentary about the monuments we would be gliding by. 

Inside the ferry

 But the rain and clouds and fine spray that the boat threw up made the views dim and hazy. And made taking snaps impossible! So I jumped up and stepped outside to the small open deck for better pictures. It was freezing cold out there, especially once the boat started moving, but I could really SEE the sights along the banks of the Bosphorous. But alas, I couldn’t hear the (heavily accented) commentary so missed knowing what buildings I had just seen. :)  But there was a plus too – the wild wind, shiveringly delicious cold rain and the warm smiles of fellow tourists across the world. Wielding cameras creates such a sense of camera-derie (pun intended!!) between strangers!

On the open deck, where its freezing cold, windy, rainy, where the commentary cannot be heard, a\but you can enjoy the views without the filter of a rain-splattered window! This snap shows the bridge connecting the European and Asain sides of Istanbul.

 The cruise ended at about 1:00 PM and now we are back in our hotel room. Will step out in the afternoon.....the Blue Mosque is walking distance from our hotel and the area has lots of local cafes etc....

Our room, Hotel Lady Diana, Sultanahmet, Istanbul. 4:00 PM

Just got back from a walk in the touristy area near our hotel. It's gorgeous, cold weather notwithstanding. Narrow cobblestone streets wet with rain, cosy small shops selling souvenirs, pastries and sandwiches, good-looking people wrapped up in stylish coats and mufflers, cheerful red carts selling bagels, pastries and corn on the cob....

Checked out the Hippodrome - a wide cobblestone avenue -  in front of the Blue Mosque. There's a wishing-well lookalike (only bigger and more ornate) called the German Fountain which was a gift from German Emperor Wilhelm II to the Turkish king Sultan Abdulhamid in 1901. Plus there are 2 obelisks....one just made of stones while the other has Egyptian hieroglyphics carved over it. And oh yeah, there a flocks of pigeons waiting to be fed seeds that you can buy from smiling old ladies wrapped up in scarves.

The Hippodrome, next to the Blue Mosque - properly known as The Hippodrome of Constantinople, was a site for horse racing and chariot racing in the time of Constantine the Great. You can see the 2 obelisks in this picture

The German Fountain (Alman Çeşmesi in Turkish) on the Hippodrome - gifted by the German Kaiser Wilhelm II to Turkish Emperor Abdulhamid II. It was built in Germany, then transported piece by piece and assembled in its current site in 1900.

An snack bar near the Hippodrome - featuring the ever-present oranges, Dondurma (Turkish icecream), Borek, sandwiches and more. :)

The Cheshire Cat in a park off the Hippodrome! Istanbul has a lot of cats prowling about - and none of them look like strays, so plump and sleek and satisfied they look!

By the time I'd thoroughly explored all these sights, my fingers were nearly frozen, my hair was half wet and cheeks were stinging with the cold. A outsell was called for....so I ducked into a small restaurant and treated myself to scalding hot Turkish tea-(just tea without milk) served in the traditional curved glass. Sipping on hot, sweet tea while reading Lemony Snicket felt really nice!

Nothing beats a cup of chai and a good book on a rainy day! - In a cafe off the Hippodrome

 And either the guys here are as flirtatious as the Italians reputedly are, or they are desperate or I am remarkably beautiful.....the number of guys who stopped me to talk to me! One guy winked  toh even winked at me when I was ensconced in the bus.....one guy told me liked my traditional dress and offered to buy me an aperitif....and yet another told me I was beautiful! But the sweetest encounter was at a souvenir shop next to the tea break cafe. It was cold and rainy, and I was checking out the outdoor displays of evil eye keychains and magnets. The young guy-must have been 14- opened the door for me. He seemed delighted to hear I was from India because he knew an Indian called Nagpal. As I took a look around, he gave me a tiny trinket-a glass evil eye bead and a golden disc with the symbol of the Ottoman empire on it, strung n a safety pin- with a smile, and said "This is free!" :)

Given that I am NOT beautiful and the guys ARE, I am forced to conclude that they are simply flirtatious. :)

Picked up a sandwich made of chicken shwarma, tomato and pickled cucumber strips stuffed in a wide round flat bread for a late lunch. And a pack of hazelnuts and one of Ayran (buttermilk, widely drunk in Turkey) for the parental units back at the hotel.

Now lunch's done and it's time for a bit of cozy reading in bed!