The Food Tag

I got a food tag from a fellow blogger friend. It was lying around since ages in my mail box waiting to be picked up. The rules are simple. Just talk about your favourite food memories...this should be easy I think because I love to cook and eat and by the way folks, it shows. Oh, how it shows!! Without further ado then...

1. Undoubtedly, Mutton Pulao- or Yakhni Gosht Pulao, as the correct name goes. If I was anorexic, believe you me, I would be gorging on this day and night -as a stand alone cure for it! A one pot rice casserole made of the finest Basmati rice, marinated chunks of Lamb and aromatic spices. The recipe for this has been passed down from my maternal grandmother and now our cook at home does an equally good job. Ever since I was a little girl, it has been an absolute favourite. And the one fond memory I have of it being cooked at our house? Well, from childhood till now, whenever it's being made, I hover impatiently around the cook and the kitchen, waiting for it to be ready to eat. I have also been known to taste it while still uncooked...I have been known to have left overs for up to 3 days later- and yes for all meals!

2.Haldiram's Bhujiya: Despite the recent conviction of the owner of Haldiram's in a murder case, he still has a loyal customer in me. That's how loyal I am! Fried, spicy savoury snack from North India (actually Rajasthan I think), this has so many memories attached to it. My sister in Canada, N, loves it too and I think it was she who got me involved in this love affair! I remember many evenings of gorging on Bhujiya with tea. Everyone in my family knows about it and when I visit India, dad makes sure the stock never finishes!

3. Cheese Bread Roll: When we were very young, maybe 9-10 years old, my sister, who is four years older then me, started developing a great interest in cooking. Oh, I remember, many many evenings, she would fry these rolls for all of us younger couisns etc. She was herself quite young, but the earliest memory of her becoming a fine cook that she is today, starts from these evenings. At 77 Number (our add back home), the steps of the mini terrace, hot bread rolls with gooey cheese filling and tomato ketchup which we called sauce for some reason!

4. Jhaal Moori of St John's: This was another favouriteeeeeee. Again introduced to it by my sister. Oh dear, I do see a patter here. Anyhow, I remember, during lunch break I would go to my sister and ask her for some money. Then promptly go and spend it on Gupta Ji's Jhaal Moori. He was an external vendor, selling this snack within our school compound. A mix of puffed rice, green peas, fresh lime and chaat masala (or God only knows what), he had us eating out if his hands! He did brisk business and hope has pots of money today.

5. Maggi Noodles curry flavour: Oh boy!!! Oh Boy! I need not say much because then I will be tempted to go and make some for myself, like right now! When we were in London struggling to make some money so we could get married, I lived off Maggi Noodles often. Hubster, who was my fiance then, would cook it for me all the time and serve it with so much love and enthusiasm, it made me fall for him a little more everyday! And I decided at those precise moments, I am not letting go of this man!

Hmmph, these are some of my best food related memories. By the way, since I write so much about my -sister-in-canada, might as well name her MSIC for blogging purposes! That's settled then.