Friday, August 2, 2013

Yeh Khusboo Kaha se AA Rahi hai!!

Smell?? Nostalgia? Memories? All the tag words refer to only one thing in life for me. And that is "MAA KE HAATH KA kHANA!!". Yes, home cooked food by my mother. 

My Mom cooks out of the world food and when I say that it has a reason, a very strong reason. My Mom is the perfect ANNAPORNA which they mention in the holy books. The godesses of food, who can make wonders with the very basic ingredients. A delicious dish out of anything in this world. She can make Karela taste heavenly and lauki taste like an exotic Italian entree. She can turn the unwanted stems and leafs of the produce to a magical dish. She doesnt need alot of spices or ginger or alot of garlic or exotic thyme, oregano,rosemary to create a signature dish. The simplicity and the earthiness with which she cooks makes all the difference. The balance of flavours, the knowledge of merging different things together and the never stop learning attitude of her makes her food divine.

All the people around her swear by her food. The jams, the pickles, the mouthfreshners, the mocktails she makes can put any MasterChef to shame.

When I shifted to Pune for my Masters, for the first two months I  was not able to visit her. I was never a fussy eater, so did not complain of the food in those two months. Ofcourse I missed her, her mere presence means the world to me. In those two months I had realized what it was to be independent and be away from home. The thrill of freedom and the responsibility of the faith my parents had shown towards me where all there. And after those two months of struggling for the existence, I finally returned home for a weekend.

As soon as I reached home at 7 am in the morning, I smelled happiness from outside the gate. Mom had gotten up early in the morning and cooked the heavenly Indore Poha and Aata halwa for me. The sweet and tangy smell of poha made me drool for it instantly. I hugged Mom tightly and without uttering a word told her how much I missed her! Then after the stereotype comment of "Kitni sookh gayi hai tu!!" she told me to get ready and come for breakfast. 

Without even washing my hands I digged into the most awesome Poha and almost finished it up. I wasnt hungry, but I couldnt get enough of the fragrance of her love embedded in the food. I never realised till that point why they speak such highly about "MAA KE HAATH KA KHANA!!". The weekend I stayed there was a culinary treat for me. Mom made Cream fruit salad, Lauki kofta, Bajra roti (hand rolled), pithala( besan with onion), Mattar Methi Malai, Veg Pulav, Dal Dhokli etc etc for me. I am sure I must have gained 4 kgs weight in those 2 days. 

The fragrance of Home made cake Mom had cooked on all our birthdays is still fresh in my mind. I miss that smell every year on my birthday. The Kadha she made when I was not well also smelled pristine to me. I would prefer that over any other medication. We all have infinite memories of MAA KE HAATH KA KHANA and we can never get enough of that AROMA FROM HEAVENS.



This post is written as a part of ‘Smelly to Smiley‘ contest at Indiblogger.com in association with AmbiPure

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