10-Day You Challenge/Quest: 5 Foods

This next section in the 10-Day challenge is a favorite topic among my peers for this blog-quest. But it’s not so much of a big deal for my taste-buds, or so I think. In general, I can live on any vegetarian fare and not complain much. My obvious preference is Indian vegetarian, which with it’s wide variety of culinary choices and preparation modes, makes me wonder (and I remember telling this to Deepa once) how other Indians get the opportunity or need to try non-vegetarian!

But I have a sweet tooth, and need some sort of dessert after every meal, a weakness I’m willing to live with :-) And given my demeanour to lean towards religion, and the influences of Indian myth and history on me, I’ve sometimes stopped to wonder what Amrutham (nectar) would have tasted like; that for which the Gods churned milk-oceans, and which made them immortal.
Connecting the dots, I obviously think Amrutham would have tasted sweet. So I’ll focus this article on a list of 5 food-items that I love so much, I feel Amrutham would have tasted like it. It’s anyways the best anyone can get out of me on the topic of favorite foods:


- Milk Chocolate: Think “Dairy Milk, Hersheys Milk Choc, Dove Silky Smooth Milk Choc, chocolate cream on cake, rich chocolate ice-cream” Don’t tell me your mouth hasn’t started watering! The combination of milk and chocolate spell ecstasy to me, as to every youngster with their mouths loaded with Hersheys! :-)

- Jackfruit Jam: “Chakkara Varatti” in Malayalam, it’s a tedious effort to prepare this jam. The jackfruit must be ripe enough, and there should be lots of it to even prepare a tiny amount of jam. Womenfolk in Kerala labor for hours boiling and stirring the pot with jackfruit, jaggery and water in it. And the taste, mmm, many are the times I have thought when chewing this soft and sweet concoction “If nectar were solid, this is how it would have been”. It remains forever, on top of my list. Do try it, but the only best source I know is my grandma, and now my mother. I know the ones you get in shops aren’t awwal number. I’ll try to squeeze-in an image to this blog.


- Paalada payasam:Again I’ll add an image for the benefit of those who haven’t tasted it. But the original color if you do get to (and you must!) should be a light saffron, any other (especially white as they’ll serve in hotels) and it’s not ready yet. This payasam (kheer) is not too available as it’s not easy to prepare and needs patience before it gets its color and taste (a few hours), but it’s worth it. It’s called the “elixir of the gods” and is made of milk, rice flour titbits (you’ll get it in shops). The best place to taste it would be Hindu marriages in Kerala, where they prepare it at the back of the ancestral homes in huge pots.


- Lassi: Not the kind you get in the US, but in many of the dairy farms in Mumbai, and I’m sure elsewhere in North India, with a layer of thick cream on top. Healthy, aww so delicious and filling. And to think of it, nectar was churned from an Ocean of Milk they say. Uncanny resemblance, don’t you think?

- Roshogulla: To top of this list, are definitely Bengali sweets. I mention Rasagulla for it’s the trademark, and also because in my mind, I pronouce it Roshogulla which itself is mouth-watering in sound! Now you know how much of a sweet-addict I am :-) But the Bengalis have many other sweets which are variants of the Roshogulla, and equal in taste. Multi-colored balls in water, and the chamchams, all available in Mumbai’s Brijwasi stores. I’d visit their store only to try (when in school) and buy (after I got a job!) their wide collection of Bengali sweets! Aahahahahahaa, no wonder the Bengalis are the most creative romantics composing such mesmerising songs!
Because, “Madhuram Jeevamrutha bindhu!” :-)