Market Produce

Amongst the mandarins, cherries, kiwis and apples, on a winter's afternoon at a large produce store, another fruit stands out - pomegranates.  This unique fruit, with a history that relates to the Greeks and Babylon, is rich with folic acid, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, potassium and fibre. The origin of its contemporary name in English is the "seeded apple" in Latin.  More importantly, this fruit is packed with antioxidants useful for the prevention of cancer and heart disease. I recall the adage to eat food in as many colours as possible in one day. The bright red pomegranate bits are like gems.  They are often used in salads, if not just consumed fresh.  It is native from the Caucasian mountains near Iran and Iraq, popularised by the Phoenicians (hence the scientific name Punica Granatum) and extensively used in Arab, Spanish, Turkish, Pakistani and Indian cuisine.  The latter has also placed high regard for the pomegranate in Ayurveda medicine.  Examples of pomegranate use in the Indian kitchen are in potato and pomegranate salads or other types of raitas, mixed with mueslis, as flavours for ice pops, or  in syrups, sauces and marinades.

In my childhood, I knew them as "ladies fingers", crunchy green bean-like rocket shaped vegetables with soft insides and containing those white coloured small seeds. I bit into them when they were cooked and soaked in flavours from the Andaman Sea, providing sensational tastes when eaten with fish curry.  What I am referring to are related to the okras in Australian markets (pictured above), smaller than their cousins found in South-east Asia and a staple of Indian cuisine.

The sour tangy flavours of the tamarind pods (image below) are valued in cooking from the Middle East to the far reaches of the western Pacific. The pods are not thrown into any cooking pot as they can be strong, but their juices, squeezed out from the hidden compressed pulp seeds, are what counts most.  Thai, Malay, Indonesian, Sri Lankan and Straits Chinese cooking join their Indian counterparts in recognising this integral ingredient to bring up the zest in soups, sauces, noodle concoctions and seafood dishes.  Indian vegetarians are familiar with the lentil and vegetable based stew curry called the Pappu Pulusu - together with spices such as fenugreek, garlic, mustard seeds, cumin and curry leaves, the tamarind juice sets the tone and flavour for this dish.  The Thais have tamarind flavoured chicken; Penangites have a unique fish-based noodle stock street food dish called the Assam Laksa  (assam being the Malay word for tamarind); Pakistanis have tamarind-based chutneys; Filipinos have the Sinigang soup, brewed with fish, pork, shrimp or beef;  and the Burmese eat their leaves fresh.  Interesting enough, the English word for tamarind is borrowed from the Arabic phrase meaning 'Indian date" (tamrhindi).  Tamarinds are also extensively used in the Caribbean and in Mexico.

Sweet potatoes (kumara in New Zealand or the boniato in Spain), lying beside chokoes in the image above, are comfort food.  They are meshed, grounded and grilled - they complement other ingredients in uplifting flavours or to counter sharp tastes.  They are root vegetables that originate from Central and South America.  They are very hardy adaptable and can grow in poor soil conditions.  IN East Asian cooking, they are associated with the winter dessert of tong sui, boiling the sweet potato cubes or slices with ginger and rock sugar in boiling water.  My own first memory of the potatoes is that they form part of the multi-coloured array of stuff that goes into the bubur caca, traditionally made by Mum at home to celebrate the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year celebrations.  Indians call them shakarkand, roasted over slow heating charcoal and eaten accompanied with yogurt, and they can be mixed into the flour mix used to make the thin breads of chappati.  Interesting enough, sweet potato flakes are popular as toppings spread over pizzas in South Korea.

Any southern USA person can recognise the special type of green chilies shown  above - the jalapeno. The pickled versions are served with nachos (tortilla chips provided with melted cheese) in Mexican menus.  They only offer mild to medium heat when eaten.

Taro (below) is another root vegetable popular in Australasia, south-east Asia and Africa.  The Japanese call it saitomo, the Hawaiians, kalo and the Chinese, yutou. Their beautifully shaped and large sized leaves are often used as natural wrappers for steaming or when prepared for use in the Maori Hangi.  The taro skins have to be peeled before the flesh is sliced or retained whole to be baked, boiled or fried.  Think of crispy taro chips.

South-east Asia and the Caribbean is best articulated in easy living by sour sharp green mangoes and  bananas (photo above).   The taste of fresh mangoes is affected by the way they are cut, whether via horizontal slicing, providing a pulpy centre around the seed as if it is the jewel of the crown, or getting the cubed bites done in Queensland.  The deep fried banana fritter (goreng pisang in Penang) is a favourite snack from China to Java and from Sri Lanka to the Philippines.  Of peculiar note to Asians is how they observe with curiosity how Europeans can consume bananas a little still unripe, whilst more ripe versions are preferred by Asians when they make their interpretation of the banana cake.

Egg plants and mangoes are somehow linked in my mind with the aromatic whiff of well cooked fish curry and a simpler time.  It is a sultry afternoon near the Equator. The washing is blowing in the wind and the sun is most oppressive at this time of day.  Slices of mangoes are consumed with a relish with a thick gooey dash of black sauce, made from shrimp concentrate, the right mixture of chili hot belacan and sprinkled with sesame seeds.  Egg plants are cut into flat pieces and stir-fried or braised. I have come back from a morning session at school, and RAAF radio channel 1445 is belting out the latest pop hits, dee jayed by teenage children of Australian air force families. I can hear pounding by mortar and pastel of some delicate, delicious mixture going to be used for dinner cooking later that evening.  It is another place, another time.

Harris Park, Sydney - Little India Too

Wigram Street in Harris Park, NSW, offers an interesting array of commercial retailers alongside its residential houses.  Inside the Taj Indian Sweets (photo above), there are satellite broadcasts, a range of traditional sweets to choose from and a busy indoors.  Below, the Bhoj Sweets & Restaurant, housed in  a renovated 19th century former suburban house with steps and a white picket fence.  The Bhoj is also the  name of a different chain in the Melbourne, Victoria area, in both Templestoe and the Docklands. Bhoj in the Hindi language, I reckon, refers to both a boy's name and a feast or banquet.  The Taj is the Crown.

The ambiance in Harris Park is definitely homely, with a feel of weekend solitude, a working bird bath (picture below) and vehicles parked on the streets. Residents in the greater Sydney area with an Indian background are also found in hubs like in Blacktown, Quackers Hill, Westmead, Liverpool, Kellyville and Glenwood.

There are old world groceries and new-fangled diners around the corners of Harris Park. Apart from Indian, the multi-cultural character of Sydney suburbs does shine through.  I noticed the Olive Greek Restaurant along Marion Street near the rail station. Diners get the full expereince of Mythos Lager, garlic sensations and a live traditional music band on Saturday evenings.

Some homes have well kept gardens and herbal clusters.  What intrigued me was the marriage of Chinese and Indian cooking in the restaurant called Indian Chopsticks (below).  Yes, they offer deep fried spring rolls.  There are also dishes made with the Chinese five spice mix, in addition to the Indian garam masala. Mushrooms are stir fried on the wok with peppers and ginger - hey, a good accompaniment to beer! Prawns are dipped in batter and given a coating of sesame seeds.  Cauliflower cuts are marinated with spicy masala and deep fried like in tempura.

There are vegetarian and chicken dishes labelled as Manchurian.  Besides the Bombay chili fish, prawn masala and the signature lamb curry, you get a host of so-called Chinese cuisine dishes ala the Sixties - sweet and sour, noodles, Mongolian, Fujian or Hokkien fried rice and honey chicken bites.

Hong Kong Barbecued Meats

Eastwood, Chatswood, Ultimo, Hurstville in the greater Sydney area.  Doncaster, Richmond, Glen Waverley, Little Bourke Street in Melbourne.  Frisco, Dallas, New York or Chicago in the USA. Vancouver or Toronto in Canada. Soho in London or Chinatown in Amsterdam. Scenes replicated in South-east Asia and Auckland's Dominion Road.  The first wave of emigration out of China was mainly form the southern Chinese provinces, where roasted, barbecued and charbroiled meats were essentially part of the menu and have matured to an art. Glistening, dripping and crunchy. They do look oily.  They can be soy sauced chicken, roast pork, goose or duck, always served whole, replete with neck, claws, buttocks and beaks.  May be it has to do with the Chinese penchant for wholesomeness and intactness.  People line up to buy them whole or cut up in more palatable bite size pieces.  Do note that Chinese styled stuffed sausages and marinated spare ribs are also available in such restaurants.  Above photograph, from left to right: roast pork (siew yoke in Cantonese); whole soy sauced chicken; and whole roast duck.

Seafood grilled and served (picture above), which are often less oily than sheer meats.

As the meats are consumed with steamed white rice (and Lebanese cucumber slices or tomato cuts), it is necessary to also prepare braising sauces to enhance the flavours of such barbecued servings.  Such sauces utilise a combination of light and dark soy sauces, added with touches and dashes of pepper, rock sugar, Shaoxing wine and Chinese rose wine.  It is preferable not to microwave such meats; instead it is better to heat them in the oven or use leftovers as additions to a fresh stir-fry.

Another variation is the compressed, dried and cured duck as shown above.  Originating from winter conditions, it provides a completely different sensation from the barbecued versions.  I am reminded of smoked hams.

Harris Park, Sydney - Little India

Parramatta in New South Wales was settled by the British within a few months of landing at Sydney Cove.  Today, in an adjoining suburb, Harris Park is host to a multicultural group that has a third originating from the Indian sub-continent. Punjabi, Gujarati and Hindi are the predominant languages spoken, together with mainstream English.  Interesting enough, the average age of residents is only 30.   I have heard much from mates and in the media about Harris Park, so one boring weekend I did not resist when I had an opportunity to have lunch there. On approach, Harris Park may seem to be another ordinary western Sydney suburb, but on closer examination, I was impressed by the number of restaurants, the preserved architecture and design of dwellings and how life seemingly is centred around one junction - where Wigram and Marion Streets meet.  I can recall Dandenong in Victoria, north-west of Melbourne, with this similar hub of Indian-born migrants, with so many choices in curries, spicy condiments and more.

I also recall the hill station of Simla, with its British Raj inspired designs in buildings, and on my day of visit to Harris Park, it was a nippy Sunday afternoon chill.  The frangipanis had lost their leaves and were expectedly bare-branched, but this added more character to the place.  Lunch was held at the Chutney, with a buffet of two meat curries, basmati rice, naan bread and three vegetarian curries (including lentils and tofu).  The Chutney had many Indian families enjoying themselves that afternoon.

I must confess I had harboured thoughts of finding South Indian cuisine in Harris Park, but the commercial outlets still offered food, especially desserts, of the northern variety. Yes, there is the occasional appearance of Kerala fish curry and Tamil vegetarian curry on some menus, but what is more impressive is the availability of a diverse range of Indian sweet concoctions, anything from Kaju Burfi to Gulab Jamun and Pedas.  Correct me if I am wrong, but the image captured above suggests to me of the Besan Ladoo (besan being roasted gram flour).  The unique ice cream of Kulfi was also spotted.

In a neighbourhood where reformed ex-convict James Ruse was granted land to settle, Harris Park now is  a microcosm of the cultures found usually in south-western Asia.  Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Church exemplifies the presence of historical manifestations from relatively recent migrants to this part of the world.  I also found a unique and petite Indian craft shop (photo above, to the right)with a patient looking man inside working attentively on his passion.  A major Hindu temple is  accessible at nearby Wentworthville.

The inevitable Indian mega pop star poster (above) can be a source of comfort, familiarity and joy to recent migrants.  Below, at the Taj Indian Sweets along Wigram Street, is what seems to be doughnut-like bites with garnishings of pistachio bits - yummy!

The sari shop (above ) can be the atypical illustration of an ethnic and unique cultural practice, but what captivated me was the front of the Ginger Indian Restaurant (image below), which seems to blend harmoniously elements of Australian cottage and country life with the lure of spices.

The Rocks, Sydney - Vignettes