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Photos: Lost And Found In Cochin : lifetime experiences of a single day

sahil_verma — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 23:37:00 GMT

One day, 5 different experiences

PART 1 - ARREST @ NAVAL BASE, BEEF LASAGNE AND THE AMAZING PETROL PUMP

sahil_verma — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 23:32:00 GMT

It was monsoons in Kerala. I was staying in Ernakulam, the new Cochin city, which was crowded and full of shops, theatres, restaurants and malls like any other city. The city had everything to offer, plus I was in a new place with new people, culture and food to explore but the traveller in me was restless. I rented a Royal Enfield and set out alone with a plan to explore Fort Kochi and Alleppy via Mararikulum. And thus began one of the longest days of my life, full of new experiences, adventure and a thrill which pumps you up for the otherwise monotonous life.

Fort Kochi was no fort as I was expecting, but an old city with beautiful architecture, which was a Dutch colony once. Fort Kochi was a 15 km drive from Ernakulum, and on the way one would cross the big Cochin port, the Indian Naval Base, two bridges over the sea (you cross islands to reach Fort Kochi; Cochin is a group of 3 Islands), a railway line and also an old air base, I guess. My plan for the day was to have an early breakfast in Fort Kochi, and then leave for Alleppy, stopping at Mararikulum, a virgin beach, in between. Alleppy was 2.5 hours drive, 75kms, from Cochin, and Mararikulum lied on the same highway, around 25 kms before Alleppy.

With a passion for photography, my journey from Ernakulum to Fort Kochi involved stopping by and clicking pictures. I was loving it, the water, the greenery, the weather, kept stopping and taking my sweet time to savor the beauty.

As I moved ahead there was this beautiful curvy road with magnificent trees on both sides creating a canopy through which diffused sun rays were pouring in beautifully. I had to capture this! I had just set my frame, and was just about to click the button for that perfect click that I heard someone shouting. It was a policeman running towards me from the other side of the road. It took me a moment to realize that I was standing exactly in front of the gate of the Naval base and clicking a picture. The police man was a naval police guard, he made me park my bike and took me inside the naval base.

I was interrogated for 3 hours by different ranks of officers, me trying to convince them that I am not a terrorist. First, they thought I am a foreigner, they emptied my bag, checked my camera, and damn, deleted all the pictures I took. I almost pleaded the officer to not delete the pictures. Pictures above were clicked on the phone, which they luckily didn’t check.

Sad about the pictures, I cheered myself up with the prospect of exploring Fort Kochi.

I reached Fort Kochi famished and rushed into the first restaurant that I found a little attractive. “Upstairs Italian Restaurant” was a small little place on the first floor. I had a delicious beef lasagna and coffee.

Loved the hearty meal and the conversation with the manager of the place. The restaurant was owned by an Italian, who spent 6 months in Italy and 6 months in Cochin during the on season. The manager was a mallu, a trained chef, who spent a lot of years in Italy and other places, working in restaurants and 5star hotels. He knew 4-5 foreign languages and told me how he charm the foreigners, party with them and is loving his life. I asked him for suggestions for things to do around, and promised him to come back.

Half the day gone, I wasn’t sure if I should go to Mararikulum or Alleppy. I had to get my bike refueled, so I asked someone for the nearest petrol pump. It was close to the Upstairs Restaurant, but the moment I reached there, woah, it was the most amazing petrol pump location I had seen.

On the left hand side of this petrol pump were the famous Chinese fishing nets which I had heard quite a lot about. Not only did they look breath taking but had a completely new experience to offer me. I parked my bike next to the petrol pump, took out my camera and started clicking pictures, almost forgetting about my plan to go to Alleppy.

Photos: Profile

sahil_verma — Fri, 6 Mar 2015 14:14:00 GMT

Passport & Plate - Pollo alla Siciliana

sahil_verma — Fri, 6 Mar 2015 13:38:19 GMT

Ingredients
1 chicken
Olive oil according to need.
2 onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
8 Black Peppercorns
3 Bayleaf
1 small glass of white wine
1 small cup of orange juice
Juice of 2 pomegranates
Salt to taste
1/2 Stick - Cinnamon
Red chilly powder

How to prepare this recipe
1. Put the cleaned and dried chicken in a large dish.
2. Cover it with enough salt and oil and leave for a while (30 minutes).
3. In the meantime, fry the sliced onions, diced garlic, peppercorns and bayleaf until golden brown.
4. Heat oil in another pan and fry the chicken pieces in very less oil until they are golden brown.
5. Add white wine, orange juice and pomegranate juice.
6. Add a part of the fried mixture of onions and garlic .
7. Cook on high heat till the first boil.
8. Lower the flame and cook till the chicken is tender. Gravy shouldn’t be very dense.
9. Add cinnamon, red chilly powder to taste.
10. Check for salt.
11. Add the rest of the fried mixture of onion and garlic and cover.
12. Serve with rice or bread.

The story behind this recipe
I was travelling alone this time to Dharamkot, a village in the hills of Himachal Pradesh, when my bus got stuck in a massive traffic jam due to a landslide. After waiting for what felt like ages, I decided to walk. The sun was setting and I reached the point where landslide had occurred, looking for a way to go across, when I saw a guy, a local from the hills, going downhill from a little pathway on the mountain. I asked him if he could guide me to the other side, he agreed.

Excited to reach my destination, I followed him. It got dark within some time, and now I could feel my stomach rumbling out of hunger. This man, Joshi, was carrying some fruits, veggies and a dead chicken in his hands, which he told were for the two foreigners camping in a little village downhill. At the camp, I met these two Italian photographers, both in their mid fifties, trying to light some sort of a bonfire. I got to know that Joshi was the driver to these two and their car is also stuck due to the landslide. Andrea is settled in India with his Indian wife, Nishu, and has travelled India much more than many Indians, and Luciano, Andrea’s oldest friend, is from Bologna.

They started cooking and offered me food and shelter, as it was late now. I couldn't say no, Andrea had already begun telling the story behind this recipe. In the medieval times, Sicily was facing a tough time, Government levied heavy taxes and priests were misusing their power. Sunday lunch after mass has to be something special. This recipe is easy and was a poor man’s delicacy. All ingredients were easily available in Sicily as they are in Himachal Pradesh. The Sicilian cuisine combines sweet and sour, which gives that special bittersweet flavor to this. Travellers for life, these men shared some unbelievable stories and inspiring experiences over the extraordinary meal. Andrea and Nishu, are more than family now, and they keep inspiring me to travel more, know more cultures, their food and the stories behind them.