Monthly Archives: March 2013

Do you think it would be simply an annoyance if you lost your  ability to smell or taste your world? Would you simply get used to it and go about your daily life again? Think again: your sense of smell permeates each and every moment of your life, from smelling the grass on a lovely day or the rain on a miserable one, your doggies muddy fur, your husbands warm embrace, the sweet milky smell of your baby or the lovely life-long smell of your grown child.

And THATS not even addressing the sweet smells and tastes of food, and perfumes, and flavours. A world without the richness of smelling, the ripe wealth of tastes? Its almost impossible to imagine. At least it WAS something I couldn’t even think of.

And then, nearly two years ago I was crossing the street when suddenly i was flying in the sky, seared with pain. I was hit by Mercedes SUV at speed.  I flew up and up and up and up, and landed down very fast. And very hard. And when I hit the ground, it was my head that hit first.

The good news is that I didn’t die; nor was I paralyzed.  The bad news grabbed me when I tried to eat: nothing had any taste/smell. My world was empty.

AND i was being bombarded by smells that weren’t there. Smoke. Poison. Straw. plastic (as in Barbie gone evil). and a few others. They are phantoms of smells.

Its been two years but I still struggle; my life is nearly unbearable when the phantoms are frequent and strong. I wake up many/most nights by a sense of horrible smell: smoke. Gas. are they real? is there a gas leak? on airplanes I smell smoke, fumes: are they real? should i panic?Last week I put down a cup of coffee and left the room a moment; when i returned i smelled not coffee, but smoke; and it smelled familiar; “Bacon”!!!! was what i suddenly smelled.

During the last 2 years I’ve spent most of my time working hard–physical therapy, psychological counseling and cognitive behavioural therapy for the post traumatic stress and nightmares, and dealing with the shocking loss of the very essence of my life: my pleasure of tasting and smelling, and the resulting talent and skills for making a living: writing cookbooks, columns, and broadcasting. I’ve also worked steadily, every moment  at trying to rebuild my ability to taste; often i feel bereft, and wonder whose life i am in and where my own delicious life has gone? Some tastes are better, some are nearly there, but usually when i think they are nearly there i often get a shock and realize that i’m missing so much. And I must work very hard at putting together various elements of taste instead of just appreciating them, as most people do. Smells and tastes morph when i’m cooking into something that smells good to others but to me, smells horrific. Its confusing. In other words: its heartbreaking.  I just want my life back.

Taste and smells are THAT important.

Listen to BBC Radio 4 The Food Programme this Sunday, 17 March 12.30 and rebroadcast the next day, Monday at 3.30. As a guest, I tell my story and explore with the team taste/smell–cheese at Neals Yard, Coffee at Freestate Cafe with Jeremy Torz, and jelly beans (The Jelly Bean Test) with Professor Barry C. Smith at The University of London.

Recently I facebook-eavesdropped on Amy Sherman (http:cookingwithamy.com)  and Suvir Suran (author of Masala Farm, TV guest, general Indian cooking guru, find him on http:Suvir.com).  Anyhow, Suvir was instructing Amy on the finer points of making poha into a spicy salad-ish delicious thing.   I’d seen poha on the shelves of Indian grocers: flat flaked rice that looked like it would be fabulous and fascinating, like something i could fall in love with, if only i could figure out what to do with it. I decided I wanted some of the action, and joined Amy in a sort of sister-blog: each of us making the dish and posting at the same time.

Suvir was on the East Coast; Amy and I were in the Bay Area. We decided to head out to an Indian grocery–in this instance, the shop right next door to Vik’s Chaat House in Berkeley. Since we were there, and it was midday, we had to have lunch first. To be perfectly honest, we planned to arrive for just this reason: Vik’s is legendary in its spicy and refreshingly affordable lusciousness. Everything is wonderful, and the daily special is….well, special. On this particular day, full of vegetables, awash in a complex spicy sauce: taro, okra, something mysterious and chewy, eggplant/aubergine…. It came on a plate with a layered whole wheat flat cake (paratha), yogurt raita, sizzlingly picante pickle/chutney, a delicate rice pilaff, and somewhere there were curried chickpeas….we also got a plate of aloo papri, and stuffed tiny puffs of crisp fried lentil cakes with a spicy curried potato mix, date chutney, and dipped it into a tangy herby aromatic water. you have to eat it in one bite or all is lost, pretty much down your chin.

I don’t have a foto of Amy and I eating. We were too in-the-moment– by the time either of us even thought of snapping our plates they were pretty much empty. BUT i do have a pic of Amy and I shopping. I’m holding up a MASSIVE jar of chutney/pickle. (famous am I for my love of pickles:Indian, Asian, American or Eastern European–you pickle it and i’ll probably love it).

Back to the poha; we wandered through the aisles at Viks in search. Poha is sold dry in cellophane or plastic bags; i might have seen large bags in burlap too. To prepare posa, simply moisten, then toss with spices and warmed gently, adding a little extra water or liquid as you toss in the pan.  It takes a short time to cook into a light, fluffy carby mound somewhat like snow, but neither cold nor melting. The flat rice flakes take on the flavours of the spices you toss it into the pan with: in this case, sizzled curry leaves, mustard seeds, and cumin; dressed in lime juice and fluffed with handfuls of chopped cilantro/coriander leaves, crunchy crisp peanuts and toasted coconut.  I served it as a lovely room temperature dish–almost salad-like–dish, to go alongside my annual eggplant parmesan bash for my friend Scott’s birthday. Also, I know it is a great to have a bowl in he fridge for several days running because we did, and its amazing how many times one of us was drawn to open the fridge, check out whats inside, and have a spoonful of the poha as long as we were there.

Poha–Indian Flat Rice Salad, studded with sweet potato, rice with a million textures and flavours: tart, herbal, spicy, rich, salty, everything all at the same time. And now that I know what to do with it, I don’t think i can live without it. Even now I am thining of dishes that poha would be wonderful in. Love: it was bound to happen.

Adapted from Suvir Suran, and made in cyber-conjunction with Amy Sherman

How many does it serve? it depends on how many other things you are serving. I made this amount and we ate from it for a few days; i liked it especially with a few dollops of yogurt on the side.

1/4 cup flaked unsweetened coconut

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

12 fresh curry leaves, roughtly torn

1/2 teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds (Suvir calls for black; i’ve made it with both at different times; both are good!)

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 smallish dried red chile, left whole for a subtle head, broken up or crushed for full-blast hot

1/2 teaspoon asafoetida (a pungent resin used as a spice in Indian cooking)

1 big red onion, thinly sliced

1  1/2 teaspoons salt, divided into 2

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces

1/3 cup roasted peanuts

1 green serrano chile, finely chopped (with or without seeds; as you like).

2 cups poha

2 extra tablespoons water, or enough to moisten the dish

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 cup chopped cilantro/fresh coriander

In a heavy ungreased frying pan toast the coconut until it is lightly browned, then remove from the pan.

Add the oil; let heat for a few moments, then add the curry leaves, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and red chile; add until the mustard seeds pop, then add the asafoetida, onions, and half the salt.

Cook until the onions are soft, then add the sweet potato and cook, stirring, until they sweet potatoes are tender and browned.

Add the toasted coconut, the peanuts and half the serrano chile. Rinse to moisten the poha, then drain of any excess water, and add to the mixture in the pan. Toss in a stir-fry kinda way until the poha plumps up and mixes with the other ingredients; drizzle in the 2 tablespoons of water, adding more as and if you need it. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, add the lime juice, half the cilantro/fresh coriander, and as much of the rest of the salt as needed.

Just before serving, sprinkle with or toss in rest of the cilantro and fresh

serrano chile.