Coconut scraper

I had two coconuts to grate so I selected a bigger plate for the job. While grating my thoughts kept drifting and I was wondering "is it the same plate?"

Once I was through, I emptied the plate, flipped it and had a closer look at the bottom. Yes, the marking was there. It was 30 year ago that I got this from my employer. They had distributed it to all the employees on the completion of the millionth vehicle. The old emblem also could be seen (The present Tata Motors was known as Telco in those days - Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company) It was very difficult to photograph it as everything was almost worn out after 30 years so I had to dust it with some talcum powder, and then enhance it a bit in Photoshop so that one could read the inscription.

The coconut scraper too was pretty old and has seen better days (about 40 years old) There was a formation of a dent where the metal blade rested on the wood, so I keep a coin there to avoid further damage.

The scraper in this open position reminded me of Mrs Kelkar, our old neighbour in Bombay from the early 60s. I remember her advice to her daughter वापरात नसताना ते बंद ठेवा (when not in use keep it closed) A simple safety advice which goes a long way.

A part of this grated coconut went into our puttu (steamed rice cake) and I made a 20 sec video on it (the puttu)

The song in the video is by Dr Akhila Alexander.

Couldn't help with the train of thoughts while grating.

Manga Chutney

I saw this Ammachi on YouTube making Mango Chammandi on the grinding stone and I couldn't help salivating. 

To our bad luck, the mango tree outside our bedroom window did not yield any mangoes this year (except for two mangoes) 

It could be due to the unseasonal rains. Talk about wrong timing, that went hand in hand with the lockdown.

To pluck the mango, I borrowed an idea from a DIY video I saw on FB about the different uses of plastic bottles.   

We did the grinding in a mixer as Ammachi's grinding stone was something that is not seen in many households now a days. 

For my part, I did the grating of the coconut (apart from plucking the mango) 

The final product looks yummy and we are waiting for lunch time to feast on the chammandi. 

The second mango is earmarked for next week.

Manga Chammandi

There is a mango tree right outside my window and looking at those mangoes reminds me of the lovely “Manga chammandi” (Mango Chutney) my aunt used to make. 

I had to just pluck a mango and give it to her and she would make it in a jiffy, grinding all the ingredients together manually on a grinding stone.

With a vague memory of how she made it, I tried to do the same. Plucked a mango, added a few leaves of Kadipatta (curry leaves) and just three of these chillies from the garden. 

Got a medium sized coconut from the store, and grated half of it.

Adding a pinch of salt for taste, ground the whole thing in a mixer. (would have loved to do it manually on a grinding stone, but unfortunately we  don’t have one now)

The end result was not bad, but I am sure that my aunt’s chammandi was better. 

Plucking the mango was a bit tricky. It was a case of “so near and yet so far” 

Was thinking of designing a fruit plucker, when I came across a small video which showed “many uses of plastic bottles” and I used one of the ideas mentioned there.  Simple but very effective. 

All in all, it was a very fruitful experience. (reminded me of how we used to steal mangoes as a kid) 

The coconut tree climber

Recently when I had been to Kerala (south India), I saw this guy named Thomachan who came to climb the coconut tree. Everyone kept talking about the “tree climbing machine” But what this guy had was not a machine but a contraption which helped him to climb the tree.

The design was simple. The contraption gets locked on to the tree when you put your weight on it (by stepping on it) There were two, one for each leg.

He carefully strapped the pair on to the tree and climbed up with confidence.  

Once he reached the top, he cut lose all the coconut that was ready to be plucked. In all we got 32 coconuts from this single tree.  

I was comparing this with a black and white picture of mine where I could climb a coconut tree half way without any assistance. (this was clicked about 45 years ago)

OK, in case you are wondering how I did it, this particular tree had nicks carved out in the trunk to enable the toddy tapper to climb up.   

Coming back to our guy Thomachan, while he was gathering all the coconuts, I saw him picking up an aluminium coat hanger. I asked him where it come from. He said “It is usually the crows, they take it from the clothesline to build their nest”   

Now that rang a bell. I remember seeing the same phenomena here in Pune just a month ago. In fact there were two hangers that were used in the crow’s nest here in Pune.

Here it is seen from another angle clicked again after a month. Probably the hangers slipped down after a heavy downpour.

Have to give  credit to the crows that they chose to pick only aluminium hangers (being lightweight) The ingenuity of the crows are universal, even if they are separated by about 1200 kms. (distance from Pune to Cochin)

Have made a small video to show how Thomachan climbed the coconut tree.

Here it is.

Sixty years ago

Every year the Christmas tree is put up. 

In the night it gives a better glow.

As I look at the picture, I realise that there are two things in it that are really old and valuable.
One is the crib which is placed under the tree. This crib has a special significance as it was bought 59 years ago.  As the years went by the colours faded and my Dad repainted them. I remember how he used a strand of coconut fibre (as a brush) to paint the eyes and the eyelashes of the statues. Somewhere along the way we lost one of the sheep but the rest are still intact.

I had a black and white picture of these very statues clicked by my Agfa Click-III, about 40 years ago in a wonderful crib made by my Dad. I am still trying to locate that picture. (I am sure its somewhere in the attic)

The other thing is the big lamp that is hanging above the tree. It is a German Lamp and was bought in 1953 by my mother-in-law with her first salary. That makes the lamp 60 years old.

Its good to have and preserve such old things which brings back memories.

I like this angel. It is a part of the decoration of our tree and its from Africa.

This is a new addition to the tree and I like the wordings on it “when I count my blessings, I count you twice”

That brings us to today’s Xmas menu for lunch.

This picture gives a fairly good idea of the table spread.

To list them out, (from bottom left clockwise) its Chicken roast, Beans, Moor curry, Meen Peera, Salad (cherry tomatoes, lime basil and dressing), Pork Vindaloo and Lime Basil Rice.

The Meen peera is a south Indian delicacy. Its made with Veloori (white sardine) and grated coconut.

I had to click the Chicken Roast once again to show how yummy it was.

It was signed off by Crème Caramel.

 Happy Christmas and a very Happy New Year to all. 

Kumbalaghi Village Tour

Had been to Kerala for five days and one of the activities that I enjoyed was the Kumbalaghi Village tour.

It is run by a family with all the members of the family chipping in one way or the other.

I found it both interesting and educative. I mean I never knew that I could hold a live crab in the hand till they showed me how!

OK first things first. As soon as we arrived at the Kumbalaghi bridge, there was a guy who took us to this waiting boat which was to ferry us across.  Have traveled in a Vallom (boat) in Kerala earlier, but never expected to be ferried across seated on a nicely decorated chair in a Vallom. 

There were two oarsmen who did a good job with their poles.

There was a small predetermined halt inbetween where we were shown how toddy was tapped from the coconut tree. This tapping sound was very familiar to me in the early hours of dawn when everything is silent but this is the first time I did see it in close quarters.

You will be able to follow it in the attached video below. The guy was good enough to give us a taste of the toddy and I must say it was sweetish with a slight tang.

We proceeded to the Kallanchery island where we were welcomed with tender coconut water.

Climbing a coconut tree is not easy but this guy did it with ease using a ring around his ankles. The ring is made of natural stuff, either from the banana tree or the coconut tree strands.

Coconut tree is one tree where no part goes to waste. This was demonstrated by showing us how the husk was separated from the coconut shell with a “paara” (as known in the local language)

This husk is left to be soaked in water for about eight months after which it was beaten to extract the fibers.

 These strands were used to make a rope. The weaving of the rope is done by manually rotating two wheels. There are hooks on these wheels that rotate individually thus giving the required twist to the rope.

These thin ropes are again entwined to make them a thicker one. They are pulled taunt to remove the coils permanently. Here you can see some of the tourists trying their hand.

Earlier this was done by rolling the fibers between the palms of your  hand.

The coconut is grated and it can be used in the coconut based curries. There was a demonstration of how coconut milk was extracted.  

The palm of the leaf is used for making brooms, or it can be woven to be used for thatching roofs.
Here you can see John (one of the tourists) explaining how he uses these broom sticks as a substitute for Rawal Plug !!

These woven palm leaves fetches about Rs 6 per piece.
The ladies who demonstrated the weaving were 75 and 88 years old but their smile knocked off many years. 

Those big earrings (known as 'kunuku') were in fashion about a century ago and so is the white mundu and chatta. 

Then there was this lady who made intricate chains by weaving fine strands of the coconut husk with a needle.

No wonder the coconut tree is known as the Kalpavrikhsa

Coming to Crab farming, there are two types of crabs. The Green Crab (mud crab) and the Red Crab. The latter is very aggressive but it is usually the green ones that are cultivated.

This guy showed us how to hold a live crab in the hands so that we are safe from the pincers.

Shalu (the young lady who explained the process) said that these pincers can really chop off our fingers if they get a hold of it. They showed us how to tie a crab so that the pincers are rendered harmless, and this is how they are exported as the crabs can stay alive without food or water for more than a week.

Clam meat processing is another means of livelihood in this area and a demonstration was held to show how the meat was extracted from the shell.

The traditional method of fishing with the fish net was shown and our guy was lucky to get some medium sized fish.

I could see that some birds were not happy that their daily meal was taken away every time some tourists arrived.  

After displaying his catch our guy threw back the fish in the water, and our friend (the bird) looked happy and relaxed. Yes its the same bird...... they can elongate their necks real long.

We saw this coconut tree which was supported by another tree but on a closer look it gives the  impression that the coconut tree went through and through the other tree.

They had these Chinese nets too which was lifted to show us how they were operated. (it is usually operated at night for a good catch)

These small prawns comes under the delicious variety and fetches good value in the market.

Finally we were treated to a sumptuous lunch of sea food and that too right next to the river front with the cool breeze.

Truly God’s own country when it comes to nature.

I have captured most of it on video and managed to compress it to a six minute video which is attached below. Hope you enjoy it.

When Mr Martin (the one who runs the show) came to know that I write blogs he told me with a smile “I hope you will give some publicity to this place”

I thought, why not, after all many don’t know about this place and its ideal for those who make a trip to Kerala.