Secret Tastes of India

When each parent is staunch in her/his food choices, one a vegetarian and another a non-vegetarian food lover, all it takes is some dedicated Saturday planning and an entire Sunday to put together dishes that would appeal to both camps.  Here you can see (left to right)- Doodh Shukto, Komola Katla and Jhingey Aloo Posto to be finished off with steamed Basmati rice.  Shukto, a Bengali staple, its more like a palate cleanser. My mother proclaimed it had immense health benefits, which I doubt, was a ploy to feed us this slighly bitter dish.  Today I attempted to replicate my mother's recipe for Doodh Shukto. Doodh is Bangla for Milk, dear Uninitiated. All you need are various vegetable like Bringal/Eggplant, Potato, Bitter Gourd/Karela/Korola, Jhingey/Ridge Gourd, Carrot, Lauki/Bottle Gourd, Drumstick/Shojna/Moringa, green chillies and of course milk. Vegans can opt for alternative varieties of milk.  Another ingredient that Bengalis swear by, is Posto or Po...

The monsoon left them drenched with the first song of romance. Their paths met on a speeding train as destiny aligned their journeys.  She chatted almost non-stop and he fought the urge to gaze at her moon face the entire time. The eyes laugh a lot, he made a mental note. The cheeks glow with shy pink, she noticed and chuckled.  Their eyes longed to stay locked, they chose to disregard the cacophony around. They mattered and nothing else. As the train slowed down while traversing through acres of mango trees, he leaned out and to her utter surprise, plucked a mango. And there began an epic tale of love... Monsoon is here yet again just like all those years in between. The languid Saturday holds no promise, except the warmth of lemon zest infused Green Tea. The mild thrill of bitter-sour zest sparks a million, brilliant, sensations and she recognises each from that journey back to life.  Cherished memories are a lot like this green tea. They cleanse us with a  freshne...