Comfort food in the Rains
Rains have an automatic connect with food. When the smell of wet earth and pitter patter of raindrops assail our senses, thoughts immediately go to food.
When its tea time, and its raining hard, all we want is steaming chai with piping hot, crisp pakoras. Slices of vegetables like potato, brinjal, onion, capsicum, or palak dipped in batter, and served hot, yummy! Takes the blues away from a dull cloudy evening any day.
Or the lets take the ubiquitious khichdi or khichudi as it is called in Bengal. What can be more soul satisfying than a plate of the yellow thick mushy gravy filled rice served with fried vegetable slivers and chutney? A complete meal in itself, khichudi is the ultimate comfort food when the skies open up and rain water clogs streets.
And now lets come to the queen of the rains, the hilsa fish. The oily fine-boned, strong flavoured fish, bred in Bengal, is manna for all Bengalis. Fried golden hilsa pieces served with the afore-mentioned khichudi, or smooth delectable hilsa in mustard sauce, or steamed with coconut, green chillis and mustard paste, it is stuff dreams are made of. Come rains, and Bengalis wait with salivating mouths for the first hilsa catch to make its appearance in markets.
As much as the rains inconvenience us and cloudy skies dampen spirits, as long as there are pakoras, telebhajas, khichudi and hilsa, we will always look forward to downpours and deluges.
When its tea time, and its raining hard, all we want is steaming chai with piping hot, crisp pakoras. Slices of vegetables like potato, brinjal, onion, capsicum, or palak dipped in batter, and served hot, yummy! Takes the blues away from a dull cloudy evening any day.
Or the lets take the ubiquitious khichdi or khichudi as it is called in Bengal. What can be more soul satisfying than a plate of the yellow thick mushy gravy filled rice served with fried vegetable slivers and chutney? A complete meal in itself, khichudi is the ultimate comfort food when the skies open up and rain water clogs streets.
And now lets come to the queen of the rains, the hilsa fish. The oily fine-boned, strong flavoured fish, bred in Bengal, is manna for all Bengalis. Fried golden hilsa pieces served with the afore-mentioned khichudi, or smooth delectable hilsa in mustard sauce, or steamed with coconut, green chillis and mustard paste, it is stuff dreams are made of. Come rains, and Bengalis wait with salivating mouths for the first hilsa catch to make its appearance in markets.
As much as the rains inconvenience us and cloudy skies dampen spirits, as long as there are pakoras, telebhajas, khichudi and hilsa, we will always look forward to downpours and deluges.
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