My observations with the Indian Tamil community in La Réunion

« J’ai déviné que vous êtes indienne, j’ai vu comment vous bougez la tête ! », (« I knew you were Indian, I saw how you were shaking your head ») the Indian-origin restaurant owner, in the city of Hellbourg in La Réunion, exclaimed gleefully to me while I mentally made a note to stop doing it ! I had been in a conversation with her asking questions about the local cuisine ( I had ordered for the dish : Rougail saucisse which is a very famous dish there) but she kept interrupting me, asking me questions about India. I wasn’t surprised why. I was starting to get used to being treated as a stranger and yet a distant cousin. I was a mythical figure in a land with a high Indian-origin background but who have very rarely and mostly never gone to India. Here is their story :

Back in 1672, the French East India Company had been set up in Pondichery (current day name : Puduchery). This marked the beginning of the French rule in the following places in India : Pondichery, Karaikal, Mahe, Yanam and Chandernagore. At this time, the French had already taken control of the La Réunion island (fun fact: this island was called Île Bourbon before being renamed). French vessels that sailed out of the Indian peninsula and on their way back to France would stop at La Réunion and unload the goods and slaves. The first ever ship called « Jules » landed in La Réunion in the year 1672 and unloaded 15 « good natured «  prisoners. 

Over the years the number of slaves kept increasing. In fact every year a hundred slaves from India would disembark on the island. The number of slaves got from Africa and the nearby island Madagascar was much higher compared to the number of Indian slaves, however their presence could not be disregarded as anecdotal. It was not easy for the French to get a lot of slaves as the indigenous Indian princes at that time did not want to give away its people and the few that were given away were mostly unwanted people, that is criminals. The frequent famines in India at that time however forced many Indians to accept working as indentured labourers in La Réunion year after year. What was expected and believed to be work as indentured labourers, where the promise of salary and a return back home was promised after a period of five years, was however shattered as contracts were not respected. The Indian slaves found themselves in difficult working and living conditions and no return back home. 

Let’s have a quick look at the map of Africa to see where exactly is La Réunion. On the bottom of the continent at its east coast the island of Madagascar is easily visible due to its big size. Now if you zoom in a few times, you will find the tiny islands of La Réunion and Mauritius, both located near Madagascar at its north-east direction. Both islands are roughly the same size, however Mauritius is much better known to the world than La Réunion. That is because tourist infrastructure like international hotel chains, taxis, shopping centers etc, along with spoken English as well as splendid beaches are found in Mauritius. La Réunion is a tiny part of France that just happened to be located out of the main hexagon, and it boasts beautiful terrain to go hiking and trekking. No beach-goers. No big hotel chains, very few taxis and no English spoken ! La Réunion is truly the Frenchman’s little secret. 

I digress. The reason to understand the map of La Réunion is to also highlight its position in the Indian Ocean. Once slaves arrived into this island, the return back to India was impossible. Even in the the current times, there are very few flights between the two places. Imagine the pain and heart-break of the first Indian slaves who were literally stranded on this island struggling to understand the language and customs of this new place in order to survive. Never to reunite with their parents or loved ones back home, they had to forge a new identity for themselves. For generations the indians intermingled and married the locals. With the course of time, they assimilated perfectly while still holding proudly to their origins. This was made possible because the French plantation owners had allowed slaves to keep their religion. As a result, even in current day La Réunion, one can see many colorful Indian temples scattered all through the island, practically a few in every city. These were a sight to behold as I have never seen any temples like them here in Paris. Temples in Paris are usually locked away inside modern looking buildings that don’t resemble temples at all.

In the current day La Réunion, the Indian-origin population constitute 25 % of the island. There are little pockets of Indian neighborhoods in the main cities like St. Denis, St. Louis etc. Along with temples. There is surely banana trees to be found in the Indian neighborhoods. I have noticed busts of Mahatma Gandhi too in 2 different cities. Indian homes are usually more colorful and contain statues of Indian deities on the entrance walls in front of their homes.

During my stay in La Réunion, I had the chance to visit an Indian temple dedicated to Vishnu, ddd and Goddess Karly ( so Kali has become Karly in La Réunion!). It was an eye-opening experience for me. I looked googly-eyed at everything around me. The priest, a pot-bellied Indian man with tikas on his forehead and the holy string across his torso, gave a long speech about the importance of the ceremony ( it was a puja for Goddess Mariamman) in FRENCH ! (a pleasure for my husband as he could finally follow what’s going on in a temple). I looked keenly at the Tamils around me. The women were dressed in splendid saris, worn perfectly the way it would be in India. 

I noticed early details like the frizzy short African hair or typical African features, or simply French white faces to understand how very mixed the population was here and marvelled at it. There were even Tamils that looked like south-east Asians and this is due to the presence of the Chinese who came upon the island as tradespeople many generations ago. Sari-clad traditonal Indian grandmothers played and spoke to their grandchildren in French or Créole (this is the second most spoken language in La Réunion. Créole used to be spoken by the slaves and sounds a lot like French. The languge is retained until today by the people to show their respect for their ancestors). Every conversation that I eavesdropped upon clearly showed that French / Créole had replaced just the Tamil language but the essence of the Indian culture was retained. And no one was shaking their heads the way I am accustomed to seeing Indians from India do. Which is a fresh change actually, why not!

I hope you have enjoyed this blog and my observations, do drop me a line, I would be eager to hear!

Reference links :

History of Indian slaves in La Réunion:

 https://www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr/en/documentaires/slavery/the-conditions-and-daily-lives-of-slaves/enslaved-and-free-indians-on-bourbon-island-in-the-18th-century/)

Tamils in La Reunion losing their cultural identity

https://www.eurasiareview.com/12102018-tamils-in-re-union-losing-cultural-identity-analysis/

Indian population numbers in La Réunion :

https://www.findeasy.in/indian-population-in-reunion/

"Don't be nice, twice!"

 "What does your husband do? What is his exact designation? What are your qualifications? What kind of contract have you signed? What do your parents do?"

After completing a certain period of time in my new workplace, I am stumped by the amount of intrusive and nosy questions! Since it's just my first week, I can't give much details about it but will just say that it's not a French organisation. The people here are much closer to where I come from. This line of questioning is something I have not been used to in a very long time. If I encountered those who did, I would simply not have the chance to meet them often so it never bothered me much. But unfortunately at the moment, I am facing a ridiculous amount of intrusive questions DAILY, to the point I have to wonder about what strategies to adopt to have a more peaceful mind at the end of the day! lol! It doesn't work to give honest and straightforward answers sometimes. And honestly, I would be so embarassed to pose such questions to anyone, so I wonder at their audacity.

This particular situation reminds me of the French saying:

(credit: Google images )

Translation: One should be nice. But not twice. Otherwise we become nice-nice (bonbon = sweet) and people eat us.

This is the feeling I've had. My truthful answers have been revealing to them and satisfied some curiosity, which I am afraid isn't coming from a healthy place. I let myself be eaten.

I am sure that some people reading my post might wonder "What is the harm in these questions?". For those who think this way, I can assure you that these are considered irrelevant and too-inquisitive to the French brain. To strike good work relationships, one must always be tactful. Sometimes the quality of your communication reveals the kind of person you are. I would have been very happy to have general conversations (and yes that's possible!) instead of being obliged to answer to questions that are actually attempts to find my order in the pecking line. 

If you have tips on how to avoid undesirable questions without offending, please let me know in the comments! Happy weekend to all! :) 

Decadent Fig and Frangipane Tart

 

Mmmm... I love this combination of figs and frangipane! Each ingredient is delicious on its own and to bring them together is rich and very satisfying!

The frangipane in this recipe is what we will need working on. What is frangipane by the way? Is it made using the frangipane flower? 

No. It may have the same name as the flower but the frangipane  to eat is actually a mix of ground almonds and cream. It is especially prominent in the 'Roi des Galettes' tart that is served traditionally end of January every year in France.

To explain the recipe in brief, we have to first blind bake the pastry dough. While it's baking, we will prepare the frangipane mix. Wash and cut the figs. Once the pastry dough is baked, we lay the frangipane mix and the figs on it, and bake it one more time for good in the oven.

Ingredients for the recipe:

6 ripe figs

1 pâte feuilletée or puff pastry, ready made. Choose a high quality brand even if more expensive.

Frangipane mix:

100g softened butter (don't heat it, let it stay out long enough at room temperature)

80g castor sugar

Pinch of salt

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp rum or amaretto

40ml water

110g almond flour (ground almond)

20g all-purpose flour

1 tbsp honey

Method:

1. First, unroll the tart from the packaging. Place a parchment paper on top of the baking tray (mine is of diameter 20cm) . Place the pastry dough on top of the paper. Take a fork and using the tines, prick gently all over the pastry to make several tiny holes. These holes will prevent bubbles from forming in the pastry once it is in the oven.

2. Take another parchment sheet, crumple it completely with your hands (to remove the stiffness of the paper) and then place it on top of the pastry dough. Weight has to be added on top of the pastry, for which I have used uncooked, dried chickpeas. Put this in the oven and let it bake 180°C for 10 mins. 

3. After the 15mins are done, take the tray out from the oven. Remove the chickpeas and the parchment sheet on which the chickpeas were resting. Put the pastry dough back into the oven (the top layer will have been uncooked due to the chickpeas on it) and cook for another 10 mins at 180°C.

4. While the pastry dough cooks for the second time in the oven, we can get started on the frangipane mix. Take a big bowl. Put in the butter (make sure the butter has softened to room temperature). Use a spatula and break the butter, mixing it. Add in the castor sugar. Mix the butter and sugar well. 

5. Next, add in a whole egg. Use a whisk at this point and mix vigorously.

6. Add in the pinch of salt, vanilla extract and rum. Whisk well. 

7. Add in the water. Again, mix well.

8. Add the almond flour and all-purpose flour. Again mix well.

9. Voila! the frangipane mix is done. While preparing it, the pastry dough should have finished baking and taken out of oven to cool down. Make sure the dough is cooled down enough and then lay the frangipane mix on it.

10. Spread the frangipane mix well all over the tart. (The frangipane mix is so yummy, difficult to stop yourself eating it!). Keep it aside while we get out the figs from the fridge.

11. Prepare the figs. Wash them. Chop off a bit of the base and then slice them vertically and thinly (not too thin!). At this point, switch on the oven to 180°C.

12. Lay out the slices as attractively as possible on the frangipane mix. There is no need to press the figs down into the mix because in the oven heat, the figs will automatically sink down.

How pretty it looks already!

13. The oven should have reached 180°C by now. Place the tray into the oven and let it do its magic for the next 35 mins. Once done, let it out of the oven and place it undisturbed in a spot until it has cooled down.

14. Drizzle some honey over the tart. It is so incredibly delicious with a warm texture, the mushiness of the figs merging with the grainy quality of the frangipane, mmmm!!! Best served just this way. Gordon Ramsay likes it with custard on top or even mascarpone, very interesting additions! I must try it!

15. Bon appétit! I hope you are going to give this a try! I am off hunting for more mushrooms in the forest with the beautiful season we have now!

Chicken and Rice Meatballs in Creamy Mustard Sauce

 Swedish Chicken Meatballs Recipe, 

alias Homemade Ikea recipe!

This classic menu item served in Ikea cafeterias is so hugely popular! If you haven't tried it yet, then I would suggest you make a trip to Ikea. Or otherwise make this simple recipe chez vous using simple ingredients! It's easy and I personally find the selection of various ingredients very interesting. The Ikea recipe uses beef and pork but this version uses chicken. The meatballs drenched in the creamy mustard sauce will be a big hit, a recipe to keep!

Preparation time: total 1 hour

For 4 persons

The ingredients are:

450g minced chicken (deboned meat from the thighs are more juice than using chicken breast)

1 egg

120g old mushy rice (the rice has to be at room temperature)

1 onion, grated

2 garlic pods, minced

1 tbsp soy sauce (this is my personal addition that gives a burst of flavor, I recommend trying it!)

salt, pepper (go easy on the salt as soy sauce contains it already)

2 tbsp of flour or breadcrumbs

For the sauce :

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 tsp mustard paste

3 tbsp thick cream or sour cream or yoghurt

400ml chicken stock

Extra:

4 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying

Chopped parsley or chives, for garnish

Method:

1. Mix the minced chicken with all of the ingredients mentioned. The finished texture shouldn't be soggy but firm enough to form the meatballs. If the mix is soggy, keep adding more flour until it is firm.

2. Start making the meatballs. You can make them round shaped. I prefer flat so that it cooks well in my flat-bottomed pan. The meatballs should be half the size of your pan and not too thick.

3. Heat a pan on medium-high flame. Add in 4 tbsp of vegetable oil. Once the oil is heated put in all of the meatballs. I had to make this in two separate batches. The meatballs need cooking 5-6 minutes on each side. Once done, remove from pan and place on absorbent paper.

4. Use the same pan to make the sauce. Remove excess oil from the pan. There should remain just about 1 tbsp of oil in the pan. Add in the butter now.

5. Add the flour and mustard paste at the same time. Stir well until you achieve an even thick texture. At this point add in the hot chicken stock bit by bit until the sauce consistency is even.

6. Reduce the flame to low-medium and add in the cream. Check seasoning.  ( Reminder: The stock already contains salt )

7. Place the meatballs in the sauce. Cover the pan and let it cook for 10 minutes so that the meatballs get drenched in the delicious creamy sauce. 

8. Once cooked, let it cool down for at least 5 minutes before opening the cover and garnishing it with chopped parsley leaves.

This is best served with an accompaniment of buttery mashed potatoes to relish every bit of the juicy meatballs and creamy sauce! Go ahead and wow your family and friends with this recipe! :) Bon appétit!

Getting Kacchi Biryani in Paris

 Café Sundarban - My favourite place to get Bengali Biryani in Paris

There are many Indian restaurants in Paris that serve biryani but the specific flavour of the Bengali biryani is served in very few places. Actually Café Sundarban is the ONLY restaurant I know of that serves it!

There are many Indian restaurants in Paris that serve biryani but the specific flavour of the Bengali biryani is served in very few places. 

Kacchi biryani is a specific type of preparation where the rice and marinated raw meat is slow-cooked together. Biryanis are by rule complicated recipes as a lot of ingredients are required and enough practise to go anywhere near perfection. But if you can come close to mastering the art of making a biryani at home, that would be a BIG accomplishment! 👏 But if you don't want to bother, it's alright, as thankfully, here in Paris, this restaurant does serve amazingly good biryani! Here is a big 'handi' that probably has 10 kg of biryani that disappears quick by the end of the afternoon! 

The restaurant address is:

Café Sundarban (Bangladeshi cuisine)

151 Rue Lafayette

75010 Paris

This particular restaurant serves biryani prepared as per the region of Bengal (this includes both West Bengal, in India and Bangladesh). What makes this biryani recipe separate from every other biryanis is the presence of potatoes. Here's my potato I have hunted easily in my biryani mound. 

Look at that massive portion! The biryani served comes in two meat varieties, you can either choose chicken biryani or mutton biryani. I personally prefer the chicken because there is more meat to it! I love that they are generous with their portion, it's a feast to the eyes! I love their offering of salad and green chillies. There is a distinct fragrance to this biryani which wafts to your nose the moment you step into the restaurant. Both the biryani varieties, as of today, cost 7 euros each. Apart from the generous portion, the biryani itself is light, not spicy and fragrant. 

Here's a night pic of the restaurant from the outside. It is located very close to one of the many entrances to the big station called Gare du Nord in Paris. A day pic of the restaurant has never come out very well for me. I must warn that this is not a 5 star restaurant. The prices are very friendly and that's because the ambience, service, cutlery or plates, there's nothing fancy. You have to come here only for the food. 

The predominant color of the restaurant is green, reminiscent of the lush landscapes of the Sundarban. What is the Sundarban you ask? The Sundarbans is a dense tropical delta in the southern Bengal region where 3 rivers confluence and merge into the Bay of Bengal. The entire region is a marshy swamp where trees grow roots above the water and contains a thriving and diversified wildlife. The restaurant used to contain art that depicts the Sundarban tribal people's art of the local fauna. 

I used to enjoy seeing many of such art around the restaurant. Unfortunately they have revamped the restaurant a few months ago and these arts so typical of the Bengal tribal art is no more!

The restaurant is sufficiently big in size. There are about 15 tables at least. A meal experience there can be very interesting. Customers don't stay for long. They eat and leave without much of chit-chat around an after-meal tea or coffee. The waiters are always busy winding their way between the tables. It's not too often that I see families come in here, mostly groups of men and sometimes women. I will make a special mention of the workers in the restaurant, they are all very nice. I have been there several times (at least 10 in a span of 2 years) and I always faced consistently polite and respectful service.

A few months ago, they started a dedicated stall in the restaurant that prepares just Fuska or Fuchka or panipuri. This is a snack item, the pictures in the image should give an idea. 

On the other side, there is even a tandoor to make fresh tandoori rotis. Yum yum! This is one reason I like Bengali restaurants. Most of the food served are freshly made. No nonsense of serving supermarket bought food in here.

Apart from the biryani (which is the star item in the menu) there are also the other regular curry items to be found in the buffet. A meal of rice + veggies + meat curry would be 6 euros.

I am trying to lessen my frequency to this restaurant only because I have significantly put on weight indulging myself in their delicious biryani!

Most often, I eat here alone. I usually share the table with strangers sitting in front of me. We are both too busy enjoying our lunch for any small talk.

After that heavy meal, a siesta is the best thing to have! I hope you are going to go try this restaurant yourself! If you have been craving biryani, then this restaurant will not disappoint! If anyone wondered, this is not a sponsored blog, I am offering free publicity to a restaurant where the workers have worked hard to produce a biryani that is a pleasant change from other biryanis which are usually too heavy on the spices. Do consider browsing through my Etsy shop for more India-inspired art! 

And here is an excellent post by a fellow-blogger if you wish to have the recipe of a kacchi biryani!

I hope you have enjoyed this post! See you in my next one! A la prochaine!

"Your baby is beautiful... like they all are" / How the French view babies

 

"Il est beau, comme tout"

When my kid was a tiny baby and had to be carried around often in our arms (or bags), admiring old French ladies would frequently come over to inspect and croon. The pride in me as a new Mum would burst outright to have produced such a beautiful cute baby!

However, it would annoy me slightly when they would say "Il est beau...comme tout!" ("He is beautiful...like they all are!") 

Ohh! Why couldn't they just stop at "He is beautiful?!" The effect seemed a bit spoilt for me to be reminded that my baby wasn't sweeter, cuter, smarter or more adorable than any other baby. "Your Baby is The Most Beautiful Baby in the Whole Wide World" is what I wanted to hear!

But why did the adamant French attitude of seeing all babies equally take me so by surprise? Didn't it tell me 'How shallow are my thoughts to compare kids?' 

Before having my own child, I rarely interacted with children, I would even run away from them. When faced with a child, I was uncomfortable, I had no idea what to speak to them about. Baby-talk was boring for me. My friends were all just like me, no one knew how to talk normally to a kid, they would either simper loudly or run away. Adults too would coo and baby-talk with kids who were much older than 10 years! A major confusion on how to show affection for kids. I saw only awkwardness around me and subconsciously, this is what I learnt too. A child of a celebrity star is openly and loudly favorited in India. And what happens to a lesser child?

I saw this book one day and I understood. I have worked with hundreds of immigrants and their children. Often I hear the same quote "Il/elle est beau, comme tout" from the French professionals to the immigrants. Never an iota of disrespect. Gentleness and regard both for child and parent. 

For the first time I observed something important: a child has an important place in Society, a child is heard and seen and most importantly, he/she has the right to be interacted with. 

An interesting extract from the book 'Sapiens' by Yuval Noah Harari:

"Throughout history, the upper classes always claimed to be smarter, stronger and generally better than the underclass. They were usually deluding themselves. A baby born to a poor peasant family was likely to be as intelligent as the Crown prince. With the help of new medical capabilities, the pretensions of the upper classes might soon become an objective reality."

 The picture below "Rights of children" it's practised in daily life here in France, I am happy to report.  As much as I am delighted with how the French treat children, there is no escaping from the fact that Roma children in France are ignored. This is a very big and hot topic, suitable for another post another day. However, I have read up a lot and I was relieved and happy to note that many French associations do take up the cause of the Romas and assist them. 

I hope this little insight of "Beautiful Babies" proved to be a thoughtful topic for you as well! See you in my next post! :)