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Who moved my Parathas?

Towards the end of Sawan [my Delhi school]


I love to try varieties of food though I am not a glutton. Not a gourmet, either. A philanderer with food, if you like. I can relish Khasi tribal foods as heartily as Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was a sheer pragmatic need that taught me to love whatever the man on the next table ate.

Rather, woman, I should say. My experiments with food started when I was working as a teacher in a high school at a place called Jaiaw on the outskirts of Shillong. Jaiaw is just a kilometre, as the crow flies, from the main market (Bara Bazar) of Shillong. But it had no pretensions to being anywhere near the capital of the state. Jaiaw was like a small junction in a village for all the eight years I worked there. Nothing ever changed: the same narrow streets, the same houses on either side of them, the same small shops. There was just one small Khasi restaurant which looked more like a shed than a tea shop. I had my lunch there every day for quite some time along with a few other colleagues from school who were all women since I was the only male member in the whole girl’s school in those days. Those affable Khasi ladies introduced me to the flavours and savours of Khasi cuisine.

It wasn’t at all easy in the beginning to get to like that bland food. The Khasis hardly used spices. Eventually I got used to the food which was more like boiled vegetables and boiled meat. A time came when I didn’t even mind trying doh-jem (intestines) and doh-khlieh (tongue and brain) though my instincts didn’t permit me to go too far with these.

When Maggie entered my life traditional Kerala food returned. She doesn’t like to experiment much with food. Even when she ventures to experiment, the frontiers are clear: ends at Thiruvananthapuram in the south and Kasargod in the north. But she has lived with me in Shillong and Delhi for many years.

Delhi brought me in touch with the typical North Indian foods. The school where I worked for 14 years offered us free food in the dining hall along with the students. On all working days I shared breakfast and lunch with the boys (yeah, it was a boy’s school unlike the Shillong counterpart). I immediately fell in love with the pure vegetarian North Indian food. I loved those parathas and chapattis and the infinite variety of dishes made of potato with umpteen combinations. I loved the ubiquitous leafy vegetables [and there was an endless variety of them which I now miss in Kerala] as much as the occasional Shahi Paneer.

When I travel, I would like to try the local varieties of food just to understand the flavours of the culture. Maybe, there’s something very lovely and loveable in those cultures. The truth is that I miss North Indian food now.

PS. Inspired by: In[di]spire

PPS. I have taken a personal look at the cue but the answer to the question is implied in the post though subtly.


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Comments

  1. Arvind PasseyNovember 30, 2018 at 10:56 AM

    Written straight from the heart... loved the easy flow of your post and agree with you. But is Khasi food really bland? I remember going to the only Khasi eatery in the main market in Shillong and served super spicy stuff. The owner was a Khasi and had worked as a cook in some restaurant in Delhi for a few years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 30, 2018 at 11:14 AM

      What i got in those days was invariably bland. They used to keep chillies and onion slices for those who wanted to spice and i relied on them heavily.

      Delete
    2. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 30, 2018 at 2:49 PM

      Oh, yes, i remember there was a chutney called thurumbai which was pungent and hot. But i never got to like it.

      Delete
  2. JaiNovember 30, 2018 at 12:00 PM

    I love north Indian food too. The trouble with south Indian restaurants that offer north Indian food is if you eat what they have to offer, it tastes just like what it is. North Indian food cooked by a south Indian who does not know his job. And by the way it is a long time since you have entertained us with a short story. Something a bit chilling. I would love to read one from you next. This request is from a fan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 30, 2018 at 2:04 PM

      I tried chappattis in Kerala's restaurants and decided never to take this risk again. I prefer Chicking outlets here to even south Indian dishes.

      Stories hit my neurones only occasionally like flashes of lightning in summer. I hope one strikes soon 😉

      Delete
  3. pranita deshpandeNovember 30, 2018 at 2:51 PM

    Very nice , today how people are enjoying street food. You have shown it better.

    ReplyDelete
  4. KISLAYA GOPALDecember 5, 2018 at 2:44 PM

    Wow! You have had wonderful experiences with food. It is hard to believe that there are dishes of intestines, brain and tongue served as delicacy in Khasi tribes.
    And yes North Indian food is so full of flavours. Glad you liked it and miss it.
    Thanks for sharing your experience

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalDecember 6, 2018 at 9:41 AM

      Life has been quite an appetising journey for me. The best part was in Delhi.

      Delete

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