Wake up and smell the coffee!
Posted: October 1, 2012 Filed under: i2cook organic store, Reviews | Tags: coorg, organic coffee, yercaud Leave a comment »
Marc’s Coffee is a unique blend of passion, motivation and correct knowledge about coffee. Marc’s coffee is a selected Indian blend from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andra Pradesh. The key to any good coffee is the right amount of roasting. Marc’s blog gives a step by step procedure for roasting.
“ When I roast my senses are fully awake, its a sort of being in trance” the smell, hues and “crack” sound of the magical bean are whispering me how the process is going. Finally the moment of truth come and the roast is finished, knowing when to stop is the key for a great result. This is something that you acquire by practice and not from books – says Marc Tormo, founder of Marc’s coffee.
As for the future, Marc sees his involvement more into the roasting coffee business, from choosing the beans on selected organic growing places, to packaging and distribution: “India is now ready for a real coffee experience”, says Marc, “with a strong and delicate flavor, with social and ecological issues attached to it, with a good packaging; even the middle class is now ready to pay a little bit more for an exclusive product, whereas ten years back it was not possible…”
At i2cook store, we have two blends – Julien Peak & Buma Devi
Single-estate Selection 9 Arabica coffee, derived from two Ethiopian Arabica species: Tafarikela and Hybrido-de-Timor. Medium Roast. Good Acidity. Aromas: Floral and fruity notes, specifically citrus and ripe berries.
Tucked deep into the Shevarois Hills of Tamil Nadu, the coffee region of Yercaud is still off the beaten path for many roasters. These beans have been certified by Utz (Utz certification is a foundation for the worldwide implementation of a standard for responsible coffee farming & sourcing) for the owner’s sustainable agro-forestry methods, preserving the high-altitude natural forests. Indigenous species in and around the plantation give these beans rich aromatics to help develop their flavour. Julien Peak has a very delicate aroma, mild body and fine acidity. It is roasted at medium to enhance the fragrance and subtle notes of a high-grown coffee. Especially crafted for coffee connoisseurs, it’s best enjoyed after lunch along with some good chocolate!
A dry-processed high-grade Robusta and Arabica beans sourced from Coorg. Medium and dark roast. Medium Acidity. Aromas: Fruity notes of citrus from the medium roast and smoky notes from the dark roasted coffee.
The coffee is shade-grown in the forests of Coorg, Karnataka. The ripe cherries are handpicked and sun-dried, then winnowed and hulled to separate the bean from the dried skin. No water is used in the whole process.
Selected by colour, size and density, the peaberry beans which are round in shape and have a distinctive fruity taste. The blend is medium- dark roasted with some dark roast to give it a hint of a smoky fragrance. Buma Devi is best enjoyed in the morning with milk, as a wake-up call.
You can buy the products here and here.
To know more…..
10 ways to reuse coffee grounds
Down memory lane – evergreen Coorg and a recipe
Posted: June 17, 2012 Filed under: Local Cuisine, Meat | Tags: coorg, kachampuli, Local cuisine, pandi curry, pepper, pork 8 Comments »
Image Source: Diary of a white Indian housewife
I’ve been procrastinating this post for a while now. I’ve been missing Coorg and Mumbai rains have reminded me of my childhood memories of Coorg.
My mom was brought up in Coorg and is a ‘Coorgi’. My mom always took my brother and me to Coorg during our summer vacations. We spent a lot of time, eating the local delicacies prepared by my grandma and running around in the fields. Ah! those where the days! From a very young age, we are aware of Coorg’s popular spices. The landscape is serene and greenery is reflected by the sky even. We would experience fresh greenery out there, there are times when i just feel like packing myself back in time. I still get my supply of local spices from Coorg - pepper, cardamon, coffee and sometimes honey too.
The local cuisine is influenced by what they grow and it is prominent in most of the Coorgi dishes. The meals are simple and fish consumption is rare. The food is mostly cooked in the meat’s own fat and the use of ghee or butter is very less. Most of them are farmers and consumption of rice is high; a fairly large number of rice rotis with coconut based veg or egg curry is consumed before heading out to the fields. Being one of the largest coffee growing regions, coffee is consumed more than tea. Coffee is made differently by adding black jaggery instead of sugar or regular jaggery and is consumed with or without milk. The flavour is very different and may take some time to get used to. Coconut is used; but not as much as Kerala or Mangalore – even though both are it’s neighbours.
Pandi curry (Pork curry) is the most popular dish and a true Coorgi err…or a half Coorgi can make the dish well. It is a recipe carried forward from generations. This dish is so important that no Coorgi wedding can take place without it. The ingredients are mostly local and pandi curry gets it’s flavour from kachampuli – a local vinegar, which is a potent, souring agent. Here is all the information that you need to know on how kachampuli is made. As this is the most important ingredient, bearing no substitutes, without this there is no pandi curry and any attempt in making it without it will only result in failure. Kachampuli is mostly available in Coorg and is not found elsewhere. Kachampuli is not only used in pandi curry but is also used in preparation of fish fry and chicken.
Pandi curry is deep brownish-black in colour. It gets it’s colour not only from kachampuli but also from coriander powder. Dried Coriander powder is also an important ingredient which not only gives gravy like coating but also gives it a colour. The powder roasted in a pan until brown and added to the meat. The blend of simple spices is what makes this dish unique in nature.
Traditionally the curry is made from wild boar hunted in the forest. Coorgis belong to a warrior clan and are very fond of hunting. A combination of flesh and fat is suggested while making the curry. The meat cooks in it’s own fat without the need of any other fat/oil. Coorgis believe that the pandi fat is the true essence of pandi curry.
Want to know more about Coorg and it’s culture, hop on to Rushina’s blog and also find ME making some akki rotis 
Fresh coriander is used only as a garnish
Ingredients for pandi curry
2kg pork – fat and fleah mixed, cut in medium size
25-30 garlic cloves, skinned and crushed
10-15 fresh curry leaves
3-4 green chillies, crushed or slit
1 medium sized onion, sliced
1/2tsp turmeric powder
1tsp red chilli powder (you could add more if you like it spicy)
4tbs coriander powder – dry roast in a pan until brown
1tbs kachampuli
salt to taste
For dry Massala
2tbs cumin seeds
2tbs peppercorns
5-6 cloves
2nos – 2 inch cinnamon sticks
(dry roast the above until brown and grind in a blender when cool)
Mix the meat with the ingredients, except for coriander powder, kachampuli and dry massala with enough water to cook the meat. Cook on medium flame for about one hour, mixing every now and then. If you would like to cook it faster you could also pressure cook and transfer it to a pan for the next step. Once the meat is half-cooked or about to being done, add the powdered dry massala, browned coriander powder and kachampuli. Allow it to cook for 15-20 minutes to blend in the flavours. Check for salt and spice at this stage. If you like pandi curry dry, burn the excess water, just enough to coat the meat. Serve hot with Akki roti, Kadambuttu or as a dry starter. Serves 6. Cooking time is about 1.5 hours.
Pandi curry is better had the next day. Always heat pandi curry in a pan and do not microwave. The more you heat and the longer you keep; tastier it gets. You can refrigerate pandi curry for a week. Coorgis like to wash down the grease/fat with hot water after the meal.
Coorgis also enjoy their pandi curry with rum, so cheers to that!
Me! Dressed up in Coorgi attire and wearing my grandma’s jewelry, passed on by my grandma to mom and now to me
Jackfruit - a wonder fruit & a recipe
Posted: May 13, 2012 Filed under: Desserts | Tags: coorg, jackfruit, kerala, kheer, natural mantra, payasam Leave a comment »
Jackfruit is known as the wonder fruit because of it's numerous uses and benefits. Jackfruit was once, the staple food of Coorg, when paddy was not sufficient for consumption. Jackfruit trees are commonly seen in Coorg, to provide shade to cardamom or black pepper. The coffee plantations, bordering forest areas face the problem of elephant menace due to their fondness for the fruit.
