When we moved to Chennai from Mumbai, food was one of the first things that made the city feel like home. We had shifted before tenth standard — new school, new city, new everything.
One of the first things my new friends introduced me to was kaalan. Right outside school, every single day, a group of us would stop at the roadside kaalan shop on the walk home. Ten rupees. You handed over your money and you got a small paper plate of something hot, fried, and tossed in sauce.
Kaalan means mushroom. Coming from Mumbai, I took that literally. What actually arrived was mostly cabbage, some cauliflower, a little carrot — and if you were lucky, a piece or two of actual mushroom somewhere in there. We didn't question it. We didn't even notice for a while. The kaalan was the kaalan.
It was crispy where it needed to be crispy, saucy where it needed to be saucy, and it cost almost nothing. For a school kid new to Chennai, it was one of the first things that made the city feel like it could be home.
We'd still sit down for a proper family meal in the evening — the kaalan was never dinner, it was the ritual before dinner. The thing you did with your friends before you came back to your family. The shop still exists. The price has changed.
The recipe
- 1 cup cauliflower florets, small pieces
- 1 cup cabbage, roughly chopped
- ½ cup carrot, julienned
- ½ cup mushrooms, sliced (optional — for accuracy to the name)
- 3 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- Salt to taste
- Oil for frying
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp chilli sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 green chilli, slit
- 1 tbsp oil
- Spring onion greens for garnish
- Coat the vegetables. Toss cauliflower, cabbage, and carrots in cornflour, red chilli powder, and salt until evenly coated.
- Shallow fry until crisp. Heat oil and fry the vegetables in batches until golden and crisp at the edges. Drain on paper towels and keep aside.
- Mix the sauce in advance. In a bowl, combine soy sauce, chilli sauce, ketchup, vinegar, and sugar. Mix so it is ready to pour — not measure.
- Build the sauce base. In a wok or pan, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add garlic and green chilli; fry 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add sauce and toss fast. Pour in the sauce mixture; let it bubble for a minute. Add fried vegetables and toss on high heat until everything is coated. You have about 90 seconds before they go soggy. Move fast.
- Garnish and serve immediately. Spring onion greens on top.
The thing about ten rupees
There is a whole category of food that only exists in a specific context. The kaalan outside the school gate is that category. It was not the best food I have eaten. It was the most perfectly placed food I have eaten — the right thing, at the right price, in the right company, at the right time of day.
Some dishes are about the food. Some are about the walk home.