The Winter Feast

The joy of a good book and soup!

When at home in Delhi, winters are harsh. What my sweet angel of a mom makes on a very frequent basis is hot tomato soup, with a strong breath of ginger. To take a cup of that and curl up under a blanket with a John Grisham masterpiece, while the thick Delhi fog paints a rude picture on the window sill, is simply heaven. My Delhi friends, I know you agree.

The occasional winter treat goes thus:

1. Unlimited supplies of the world’s best tomato soup:

Gingery, intensely tomatoey with a pool of melted salted butter added just prior to consumption, and a sneeze’s worth of pepper on top. What food is greater than this?

2. Grilled sandwiches of myriad fillings:

Whatever the fillings, the flavoured cheese and the omelette are compulsory.You know how an omelette tastes so home-y? The crispy edges, browned in the pan, the sweetened juicy plump cut onions (I love it that way), a wayward chili waking the tastebuds every now and then. The stuffing can be anything, potatoes cooked with onions and nigella, or cottage cheese layered with store bought seekh kababs or fresh made malai tikkas, a wonderfully aromatic fish filling made of crumbled fried fish, onions, coriander and capsicums. What grand sandwiches those are!

3. Bhekti fillets fried in a crumb crust (these usually disappear much before dinner courtesy yours truly)

Buttery soft bhetki fillets are the best for fries in crumbs. When they are marinated in ginger garlic paste, their taste, perfectly complementing the fish is heightened. The final bite is a combination of crisp from the coating and the buttery softness of the fish.

4. Dessert (depends)

When I sink into this feast, with my parents beside me, watching something as inane on TV like IIFA awards, or Comedy Circus, or “Welcome” for the n-th, it is then that I realize the true meaning of family and happiness.

Delhi, Ma and Baba, and home treats, I miss you.