Appeasing the appetites

“Why am I born as a South Indian?” I hear my ten year old son’s soliloquy from the dining table as I stand in the kitchen salivating in front of a bowl of two fluffy Idlis floating in thick Sambar topped with a blob of ghee and chopped coriander leaves. I was graciously admiring my culinary achievements that morning and thinking of the hegemony enjoyed by idlis in the realm of delightful delicacies when I heard this frustrated monologue expressing his dislike of South Indian dishes.

Before the onset of the packet powder revolution, making traditional Kerala food demanded time and patience. There were no instant recipes then. Even the easiest breakfast menu; puttu with plaintains would need a day’s prior preparation. The rice need to be soaked and  ground coarsely before it is roasted and then made moist and filled into the puttu kutti. For Idlis the homework started the previous morning with soaking of rice and dal for grinding in the evening and then fermenting it through the night to make fluffy white Idlis in the morning. The same batter would turn into crispy Dosas the next day. The mouth watering made-in-heaven Appoms asked for the experienced talent of a mother or grandmother to come out soft or they ended up hard and dry.

Now, armed with Nirapara, Brahmins and a host of other brands anyone with a little patience can become a good cook. I did not have this luxury when I got married fifteen years before. Staying in a remote town in Punjab miles away from home I could only dream of eating those delicacies for which I had little regard when I had them easily available. I tried Idlis which turned out as hard as cricket balls and Appoms which were good to be used as fans in that heat.

I was distraught over the fact that my two sons never enjoy customary food habits but also knew that arguing and threatening never work. I decided not to defend my super soft Idlis. Instead, I fried some onions and potato strips in oil. Tossed some chopped carrots, chillies and beans in along with some split almonds. I mixed the white rice in with a generous helping of soya sauce. The kerfuffle that followed on seeing it was enough to make me forget the morning’s disappointment. May be someday, they would longingly recall the taste of homemade Idlis and Sambar. I will have my sweet revenge then.