Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 7, 1993 TAG: 9303050059
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: SU CLAUSON-WICKER SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
FEAST FROM THE EAST
Spicy scents often waft from Blacksburg's South Main Cafe, but on Monday nights the former church building is practically a perfumery.That's because Indian spices - coriander, fenugreek, cardamon, ginger, cumin and tamarind - have the sweet, vanilla fragrance of perfume.
And on Monday nights, while South Main's regular cook takes a holiday, two international visitors serve up a five-course Indian feast that often packs the vegetarian eatery.
Soma Chowdhury, a former Calcutta television announcer, considers herself a historian - she holds a master's degree in the history and economics of India. But since August she's been plucking favorite Indian recipes out of her extensive mental files to serve the residents of Southwest Virginia.
With the assistance of Kanaka Patel, recently arrived from south India, and Mack Whatley, an American who chops, peels, garnishes and tastes, they put together crowd-pleasers such as flaky Indian bread, spicy dal (split peas), coconut chutney and various fritters.
"This is not a job; this is a pastime," Chowdhury said. "I enjoy most seeing people enjoy our food. Sometimes they come back to the kitchen to compliment us."
Whatley considers his part-time job a cultural experience.
"This is great exposure to the Indian culture," he said. "Through working here, I've developed a great fondness for the spices, food and the people. Now I want to visit India."
The three congregate in South Main's airplane-aisle sized kitchen at 3 p.m. Mondays and begin to mix the durum-flour bread batter, chop vegetables and grind spice seeds. Patel and Whatley, who speak only their native languages fluently, take up their stations on opposite ends of the kitchen.
Chowdhury, who is bilingual, works in the middle, translating and giving directions in two languages as she whips up the soup and stews.
On a recent Monday night, she was stirring together a light spinach soup (palak shorba), spicy sambar stew of lentils and vegetables, and something new to South Main - bandhogobhi kofta, cabbage dumplings in yogurt gravy.
The usual feast includes one soup and three stews, two of which usually include fritters. Everything is sprinkled liberally with freshly ground spices - a much more subtle flavoring than the garlic, onions and pepper that American dishes often include.
In time, the staff comes by to sample the new dishes and practice pronunciations. Occasionally there's a mistake - the words for cashew and carrot sound remarkably similar - but Chowdhury and Patel are the only ones who would know.
South Main owner Linda Ruth Schwab flits in and out of the kitchen as Chowdhury sends her on errands - over to the health food store for soy milk, across town for fresh cilantro and down to the Oriental grocery for Indian chili.
In the early days of Indian Feast, almost three years ago, Schwab did all the cooking under the supervision of an Indian friend, Vikram Pattarkine.
"Vikram would tell me what to do and add the seasonings," she said. "He loved to cook. He had been wanting to make Indian food here since we met at the Vegetarian Society."
Then Pattarkine finished his Ph.D. and returned to India, leaving a craving for Indian food among Blacksburg residents. Other Indian students and spouses offered to fill the gap.
"The food is surprisingly different with each cook," Schwab said. "But I guess you'd expect that in a country of 900 million people there would be a lot of regional differences."
At first, operations were a bit rough. Diners developed raging appetites as the scents of a frying bread, simmering stew and fresh ginger emanated from the kitchen - but no food.
The feast might be postponed as long as 45 minutes while individual bread cakes and dumplings are fried. Now, with the assistance of Whatley, victuals emerge from the 20-quart pots at 6:30 p.m. or soon after.
Early birds may be rewarded with two desserts or an extra dumpling. All diners receive soup, salad, bread, rice pilaf, three entrees and dessert for their $7.95 - and will be served extra helpings until the supply gives out or the kitchen closes at 9.
Those with daintier appetites may select an entree and soup or dessert for $5.50.
The only expectation most Americans bring to Indian night is that curry will be on the menu. Usually, it isn't.
"One of the few ingredients I haven't been able to get in Blacksburg has been fresh curry leaves," Schwab said.
And while the combination of Indian spices often has a taste similar to curry, dishes by that name seldom appear on the menu. Dal, the Indian split-pea staple, and puris (round bread) are much more likely to be served.
Although dairy products are seldom served at South Main, the cafe makes an exception for the yogurt in Indian Feast dishes. Schwab and her husband, Michael, who describe themselves as "unself-righteous vegetarians," gradually gave up animal products about six years ago to avoid the antibiotics, hormones and additives they feel are so common in the meat and dairy industries.
Michael's allergies vanished when milk disappeared from his diet.
South Main Cafe began as a nightspot, but added food to fulfill a requirement of its liquor license.
"We wanted to serve the kind of food we eat," Linda Ruth Schwab said. "At that time about the only thing we could eat out was tossed salad.
"Vegetarian food had a reputation for being bland, but I knew I could find a lot of spicy recipes. I drew them from all over the world - Latin America, Middle East, India and other places where meat was too expensive for the common person."
Several Indian dishes usually can be found on the menu every day, but Indian Feast is when the authentic spicing takes place. Chowdhury is quick to explain that the Indian dishes she serves to her husband and friends usually are much hotter, but for many Americans this is hot enough.
"This is the best food I ever had in my life," said a regular patron who asked not to be identified because she works at another restaurant. "South Main provides one of the few opportunities in Blacksburg to eat food that's not typical American fare."