It’s the festive season when I miss India the most. There is something special about each festival there. The smell of the air, the crowd in the market, the decorations, the social gatherings, and above all food. It is absolutely unbeatable. But, I am so so far from there. Can’t smell anything in the air, there is no festivity around. All I can do to get the feel is to make some traditional food and connect with the roots. And, so I did.
Simple, quick, desi, lip smacking, delicious, etc, etc. I can add as many adjectives to this humble dish. It was never on my hit list until I made it once for Abhishek. And, voila he loved it. And, this is my brahamstra to please him. He is angry? Make aloo poori. He is depressed? make aloo poori, he is busy and not listening, make aloo poori…ha ha..the list is endless. And, the best part is he never gets bored of it and I can make it in a jiffy.
Have you ever tried a dish with raw mustard oil and garlic? I never did before I got married. It was after i got married that I started my experiments with different cuisines, both to satisfy my taste buds and to impress my husband. He, being from the eastern side of the country, enjoys the local food much more than any exotic dish. Would you believe that even though we had known each other for 6 years before marriage and were quite comfortable with each other, he never demanded any special dish. I had to coax him to tell me what he wants to eat; something different, something special. And, he is such a simple person that he asked (very politely with least expectations; or may be he was doubtful of my culinary skills ;)) for the desi food he had back in his home town. And, so I began searching for recipes online, tweaked them to what he told me from his best food memories and came up with my own version of Litti Chokha. The low fat, baked littis with the rustic chokha.
Nand ke anand bhayo, jai kanhaiya laal ki… I wanted to make this dessert on 14th August, my naani’s b’day, as it is her recipe and i have grown up having this. Somehow, I couldn’t make it that day, but it’s never too late, naani ka budday na sahi, krishna ka budday sahi. 🙂 Here is my bread halwa, especially for naani and all my naanka pariwar. Happy Krishna Janamashtmi!
