Creating ripples of change through clothing

20 years ago a seed was sown. A fully functional clothes bank in Mangalore helped thousands of people who could not afford good clothes. Fast forward to Bangalore in 2021, history repeats but in a big way. Imagine Clothes Bank (let’s say 2.0) is born.

Yes, Imagine Clothes Bank is a clothes showroom for the poor. Who doesn’t like walking into a well decorated place and picking clothes of their choice? If you and I enjoy this experience, why should the less-fortunate be deprived of this?

Pre-loved and new clothes are made available to beneficiaries every Sunday at Electronics City, Bangalore. The centre caters to the needs of close to over 150 families every week.

At the Imagine Clothes Bank, you will see love, respect, dignity and the right to choose in action. In order to uphold the dignity of the beneficiaries, we charge Re 1 per article of clothing. This money in turn is used to fund the educational or medical needs of a family in need. Through this initiative, we want to create a complete cycle, where not only do beneficiaries receive help from Imagine but also contribute to a greater cause.

Here are a few snapshots

 

How to support us?

• ·     Contribute towards the expenses of the clothes bank

Account Name: The Imagine Trust

Branch Name: Infosys Bangalore Branch

Account Number: 055205000152

IFSC code: ICIC0000552

Account Type: Current Account 

UPI payments on number : 9611977074 

• Volunteer at our centre
• Be a champion and help us collect clothes and toys
• Spread the word on social and mainstream media

 

 

 

 

Mangalorean Chicken Sukkha / Combo Fugath

Whenever we have a get-together at home, especially for non-Mangalorean friends, this is my go-to recipe for chicken. Chicken tossed in a spiced coconut mixture with a tinge on tanginess makes the taste buds come alive. Popular with the Catholic and the GSB population, this dish is common on any Mangalorean restaurant menu.

I have taken this recipe from Isidore Coelho's book - The Chef. This recipe is very simple and it tastes best when made the previous night. I didn’t have the best of pictures to attach to this post. But I promise to do it the next time around.

 

Ingredients

1 chicken (approx. 1 kg)

1 coconut, grated (I use anywhere between 1 – 1 ½ cups)

1 medium sized onion, sliced

3 -4 tbsp coriander seeds

¾ tbsp jeera

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsp of raw rice

8 red chillies (I use about 2 spicy red chillies and 6 of the bydagi variety)

3 tbsp ghee

2 cups water

Salt to taste

2 tbsp of fresh thick tamarind extract

 

Method

Clean the chicken and cut into small pieces. Cook the chicken with water and salt till done. Be careful not to overcook it.

In the meantime, dry roast coriander seeds, jeera, pepper, red chillies and raw rice separately. Cool, add the turmeric and powder. Mix together coconut, onion and the spice powder.

In a non-stick vessel, heat the ghee and fry the coconut – spice mix till the raw smell goes away and a fragrant aroma arises. This takes about 3-5 mins. Now, add the cooked chicken and mix well. I usually drain out the stock while adding the chicken and only as much stock as needed to bring the dish together. Adding all the stock will give you a semi-gravy consistency which is also good. However since the dish is called ‘sukka’ meaning ‘dry’, its recommended to keep the dish dry. Add in tamarind extract as per taste. I usually add about 2 tbsp. You may also want to add a little salt at this stage as per your preference. Let the chicken simmer with the coconut masala for a few mins before turning the flame off.

Chicken sukka goes very well with neer dosa, roti or as a side dish with rice.

Ragi Manni / Finger Millet Pudding

Being a Mangalorean, manni is a delicacy is most households. I particularly was not too drawn to home cuisine and always liked to try something from a different culture. But that changed when I had children and when I travelled around experimenting with different kinds of food. I began to appreciate our food. I wanted our children to know our culture, our habits and most importantly our food. Ragi Manni is an attempt to give the family a treat of one of our best sweet dishes.

Manni was traditionally a recipe made from rice but the ragi version is more popular these days – both for its taste and health benefits. While Ragi Manni may seem like a hard-to-do treat, its totally worth the effort. I picked the original recipe from Ruchik Randhap, my favourite Mangalorean food blog. However, I have made some tweaks to keep the process less cumbersome. Do let me know how you liked it.

*Cup measure used 1 cup = 240ml

Ingredients:

1 cup ragi grains, not flour

2 tablespoons raw rice

2 cups of coconut milk (I used the readymade coconut milk powder to make the milk, the canned one could be thicker and better too)

150 grams chopped jaggery

¾ tsp cardamom powder

2-3 tablespoons of cashew nuts and raisins

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon ghee

Method:

Soak the ragi and rice together for at least 2 hours. Drain the water and grind with a little water. Sieve this mixture so you can extract the ragi ‘milk’. I used a large sieve. You could also use a cloth for better results. The residue can be used in dosa batter and won’t go waste.

Grease a non-stick vessel with ghee, add the ragi milk, the coconut milk, jaggery, cardamom powder and salt. Over a medium to low flame, cook this mixture stirring continuously. A little muscle powder will come handy here as the mixture thickens. Stirring continuously is important because the mix could stick to the pan quickly.

The mixture will gradually thicken and leave the sides of the pan. When you see it coming together as one large lump, you can turn off the flame. Working quickly, grease a large plate (approx. 8-9 inches) and pour the mixture onto it, flattening the surface. I had doubled the recipe as so I got three plates of 9 inches each.

Garnish with fried nuts if needed and cut into desired shapes when cooled.