Thursday, September 9, 2010

Fresh and better !!



In those initial years after coming to US, I didn’t pay much attention to certain things around me-Perhaps I was too busy getting acquainted with the life here,too  busy getting myself adjusted to the everyday chores that I was not habituated to do …But all those times  I went back home,Mom’s cooking tasted ever so  heavenly and finger-lickingly scrumptious…Nothing struck a bell except the obvious facts like I have missed this food so much and there’s nothing like Mom’s food !! And I continued to nurture these beliefs up until the time when I had some relatives over in our place from India..They were quick to point out to the fact that certain things tasted so much different here than in India..Different as in tasteless..Certain vegetables which we use in our daily meals in India had no taste here..The chicken tasted “ different “ not being freshly-cut  and such..That opened my eyes to a lot of things …more precisely,to lots of thoughts linking up to the days of our childhood.


When it comes to vegetables and fruits,you can get everything nowadays all year round,even in India..although this  was not the case even a few years back.And which seemed a big difference to me when I came here.I used to tell Ma about the different vegetables that I can get here ,irrespective of the month or the season and their sheer sizes..Peeling garlic is almost fun here due to the bigger sizes of the cloves !! I thought of all the frustrations and troubles Ma must have gone through when she wanted to prepare some dish and found out  that the vegetable was not yet in the market or is too much priced due to being in the start of it’s season ….


But this spell was broken a little when I realized that food didn’t taste as good as  I’m used to having  it..I’m preparing the exact same recipe but still I couldn’t do it like Ma - Well,obviously I’m far from being as good a cook like my Ma…and although everything here is fatter ,bigger,fresher and easier to get ….there’s that factor of faster,better and mass production which changes the taste and value of certain things..


And then,there’s no one to wave  the magical wand on them..How can something,even organic for that matter ,taste as good as home..if there’s no dad to go out on Sunday mornings to get the fresh-cut mutton from the butcher,or the vegetables from the bazar …or on Tuesday evenings,on his way back home from office..stopping by the “ haat “ and picking up a few good stuff ??? 


It’s those things-smells of Ma’s cooking,sights of dad’s  grocery bags, realizing those toils of our parents,  those childhood days,those memories which seemed routine when they were present but seems so magical,now that they are a part of the non-existent past  - those things,that serve as the ultimate enhancers.


( I added a photo of Jamrul/Bell fruit from Ma’s garden – See how they beam in the sun,those babies !! )

12 comments:

  1. Childhood memories are priceless....I miss those carefree days...nicely written

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  2. I just felt that you have written my words and the state five years back....THe same feeling of missing mom's cooking even still now I miss that...missing the fresh cut meat et al...time changed, I changed, but the smell is still there what miss too much....lovely snap and write up....

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  3. Thanks :) Something's will never change I guess..and we'll perhaps miss them even more with each passing days,as we go farther and farther away from those memorable times of our lives !!

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  4. Very well written. Childhood days are the golden times which we always remember and nobody can forget it. I liked the picture of pears. Looks beautiful and feel like having it now.

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  5. Memories of the childhood days, will reverberate again and again...sweet memories that remain with us...peeking now and then...
    Enjoyed the read.

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  6. What a wonderful write up.I feel like a child again.I m here first time and really love your space..So thoughful and well versed with strands of life.

    Sinfully Spicy

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  7. @ Babli,Gouri & Tanvi
    Thank you so so much !!

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  8. Your post took me to the memory lane Sulagna. Childhood memories and food from Mom's kitchen are the things that will be relished forever.

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  9. I agree..even though the ingredients here are better n fresher n available all the time for me they are missing that emotional aspect..there is something about India that makes it all tastier!!
    ..you got me nostalgic here..beautiful post!

    US Masala

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  10. Happy Ganesha Chaturthi to you and your family. Hope Lord Ganesha brings happiness and peace in your life.

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  11. I told you many times, I dont like the chicken out here....you never listened!!!

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  12. the truth is god created vegetables for every season but we want to eat in all seasons!! ... but the best part of life is waiting for those exciting moments ... my sweetest memory is my mom would cauliflower in winters i would eagerly wait for the winter ... hmmm the house would fill with the aroma of califlower curry...i would rush home from school as i knew my mom would keep it ready for me...nothing can beat moms cooking : )

    Satya
    http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

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