Fresh Watermelon and Grape Juice – So Refreshing!!!

The thought of summer makes me sweat all the more. But I welcome summer as it brings with it the mangoes…can’t think of hot summer days without yellow ripe mangoes…and the green ones, they come to the homes to be made into chutneys and pickled to last throughout the year.

Misti Kuler Achaar/Sweet Pickle of Indian Berries/Ber ka Meetha Achaar

This year just after Saraswati Pujo I got the kul/berries that I was looking for. It is taken for granted…should I say we were told as children by elders…”Soroswoti Pujor aage kul khabe na, Ma Soroswoti raak korbe (don’t eat berries before Saraswati Puja for God will be annoyed)”. We always stuck to it and felt guilty even by chance we got a bite of it before the puja day.

Rainy day Khi(n)chudi/Khichdi -- tastes the best

My rainy day mood says:

Brishti pore tapur tupur

Khi(n)chudi dilo daak

Aaye Didi ranna korbi aaye

Tor dibo shaath

In English this will read like this...

It is raining pittar patter

Khi(n)chudi came calling

Come Didi cook the dish

I’ll give you company.

It is raining ‘Pitter Patter’ and not the ‘Cats and Dogs’ type. But the clouds are playing the game of ‘Cat and Mouse’...visible now and then lost somewhere. 

Tamarind Chutney (Hot, Sweet and Sour) / Imli Chutney aka Te(n)tuler Chutney

The thought of the word tamarind and the sourness brings water to the mouth. Tamarind carries back memories of childhood days. There was a girl in our class who used to bring the tamarind pods to the class. She used to hide and keep them in her bag and how our group waited for the bell to ring for the short break. We – the small kids -- would run out with the tamarind pods and then break open the pods with the help of a stone – hit hit hit and the pod breaks, the sour fruit comes out and then in they go into the mouth. Why was it that the sourness was not felt then but now -- simply can’t do this act again? Age has done its job and the tamarind has got its place in the kitchen to be used for so many dishes.