Rains and food

I am a foodie, it is an honest confession. Unfortunately, for me, I am not Kunal Vijaykar that I travel the length and breadth of India and have food all over but I am still a foodie. It also helps that I am blessed with a constitution that doesnt allow me to get seriously fat. I mean I have a paunch but thats it.
I have memories of best food ever from different phases of my life. for breakfast nothing could beat my grandmothers 'Bhaat bhaja' which is bong for Fried rice. the only difference was that this fried rice had the most minute size aloo, parwal, gobhi and shrimps and with dollops of cows milk ghee it was Yum. I am salivating right now.
The most delicious meal I ever had was in an Army mess in Pune. This was when I was going to attend the NDA passing out parade of my brother. It was simple meal of rice, chicken curry and yellow daal but after surviving on biscuits and tea for two days this was nothing less than manna from heaven. Why starving for two days is for another blog!
Mom made the best food possible but her signature dish was the dessert. And the payesh she made was something that she was justly famous for. It was just the right sweetness so that everyone could enjoy it. And the funny part was that unlike most recipes that daughters learn from their mothers this one she learnt from her mother in law. Says something about our Saas Bahu tradition.
The reason I am writing today is the sharp rains that lashed our city today. Rain for a bengali is a happy occasion. My childhood vacation memory is of 'Kal Baisakhis' thunderstorms which used to turn the day into night and wind speeds which could hurl me all across the football ground. and when these came the meal was always 'Khichudi'.
The bengali Khichudi comes in different shapes, when one is unwell then it is dal and rice boiled together till they are like the same complexion. The other is the dish cooked in all the zillions of Pujas that happen in a Bengali household. I think this khiichudi gets a special flavor due to the community nature of the cooking and it is something that is unique to the bengalis.
The last and foremost is when it rains nay pours and you cook Khichudi and have it. this is a different form of art where you need just the right proportion of Dal and rice, big chunks of vegetables like Aloo, Gobhi, peas etc. The onion should be fried to just the right color and then all of the stuff is cooked before adding the water. And this meal, though complete in itself, needs the accompaniment of ideally 'mach bhaja' i.e. fried fish or for the vegetarians baigun bhaja ' Fried Brinjals' for variety you can add omlette etc also. there should be lots of achar/chutney and the meal is complete and you have paid your obeisance to the rain gods.
Now if I could just have some Khichudi tonight.

Gwalior Travels Pvt Ltd.

I was one of those who strongly believed that friends are what you make till you turn 20 and post that you have close acquaintances. Well, now I think that once you have kids then you are forced to make new friends for your kids sake.

We have been very lucky to have formed a small group of parents who have had their kids going to the same playschool. They were a group of four kids who were in the same class in the play school and because they were friends, the parents also became friends. This is the LT (learning tree ) group.

Even though two new additions have happened in the form of a brother and sister joining the group and the original four going to four diffrent schools the group has stuck together.

One of the high points of the group is the monthly dinner and the half yearly short vacation that we all take. This month we all went to Gwalior. Before anyone says Why Gwalior I will say why not. It has a good palace hotel which has a spa and a pool and there is absolutely nothing to do in that place. All in all an ideal weekend destination to relieve stress.

We stayed at the Usha Kiran palace which is a Scindia property leased out to the Taj group. The rooms were luxurious and the place was just right for our group.
The kids were busy in the pool and the adults took turns to give themselves up to the ministrations of the Spa team to get the aches and pains sorted out. In some cases it was also to feel gentle hands ( other than wives ) on our tired limbs. My big moment was when I was able to get Savir in the pool and let him paddle around for an hour.

Gwalior fort is an imposing structure and the sound and light show was very interesting aided of course by Amitabhs voice. My history ( never very strong ) got a much deserved boost and I think the kids also learnt a little bit about the heritage of the place.

We also went to a Gurdwara, I am always amazed at how the Sikhs are able to keep their religious places spick and span whereas we end up making it dirty. Is it a combination of flowers leaves and water that makes an avg Hindu temple unclean? Question that I need to ask my RSS friends.

In a group like a team, it is important to understand what everyones strength and weakness is and adjust accordingly. I think we have been lucky to have found that balance but I think it is also important that we constantly work on finetuning so that no one couple feels that they are being used.

Look forward to this group remaining the way it is and many more vacations Pvt ltd.