Saute the onions until translucent.. she reads her mother’s neat handwriting. Recipes written for onions that were bright violet in the cart that Muruga brought around every morning. Her mother would run down in a nightgown and haggle merrily with him before returning with the day’s vegetables. Small tomatoes, potatoes still covered in spots of mud. And a handful of bay leaves that he would throw in for free.
How would she be able to tell, here where onions were white, in clear plastic bags under the bright lights of the vegetable aisle at the Tesco?
She guesses the best she can while measuring out the spices. It takes several tries to get it right. Too much salt (add some potates to soak it up). Too little tamarind. Finally, she adds the sambhar podi from a tupperware container.
Neatly labelled in tamizh, packed and sent from home, brought over by a cousin returning from a vacation. It was saved for a special occasions – when she was cooking for friends, when they were having people over. If it was only for her, she’d just throw in the “Hot Chilli Powder” (suitable for Indian curries) that she buys at the store.
But today, although she’s dining alone she uses the sambhar podi. On this rainy Sunday afternoon, she’s trying to recreate, in Liverpool Street, a tiny slice of Abhiramapuram.
awwww
Been there, done that. But in my case, I didn’t have the luxury of internet and blogging. I was just stuck at home in the cold depressing weather, unable to call up people due to time differences.
Just went to sleep like that with some useless thoughts running through my mind.
But hey, enjoyed the process of making that sambar
hey suze…
how are u? how’s life and work?..(tht sounds cliched doesnt it?..hmm..)…checking ur blog after a long long time…ws there somewhere on my fav..:D..
nice post…reminds me of times ..not so long ago..
rgds
2D
awww
hugs from chennai
Thats some brilliant writing – as always! .. was the sambhar just as good ?? {raised eyebrow}
i know that feeling – of cooking for yourself, and eating in silence. sometimes, i like it too!
EXTREMELY vivid.. could almost smell the onions..
somehow, i never liked vaingaiya sambhar. ah well!
Nice post…great description….brought back some memories of me cooking for myself when I was in US
I was just cribbing about how the sambar here at mysore is not like the ones I enjoy back home…..Now,I am counting my lucky stars.
P.S.
I dont know if you have had this…cauliflower sambhar…it is amazing.Try to get ur hands on the recipie