Next week marks a year from our last India trip. I still have so many stories to tell you all about that adventure and 2014 has proven full of obstacles that have kept me from typing out these moments. As a another scratch in the surface of the trip, like I tried to do back in February, I want to share my favorite meal from the entire trip. The anniversary of this trip along with my plans for this year makes this especially relevant. Aji’s house, Missus Tasty’s grandmother, is a typical Bangalore apartment filled with the hustle, bustle, decor and food you find in most families. For me it’s the finest restaurant I could be privileged to attend. It is in peoples homes that meals transcend taste and smell and become something etherial and even spiritual. Three of the five things on the above plate were made specifically because Aji, my Aunties and my Mother-in-Law knew I love those recipes. The other two were what they love to make and they wanted to share that with me. Delicious doesn’t even begin to describe the taste but beyond that the experience of sitting in the apartment, talking, nibbling, laughing and exploring were priceless.
Next week I get another version of this meal. This time at my in-laws in Canada. The food rivals Aji’s house and is even more catered to my tastes. I am definitely a little spoiled when it comes to my in-laws. So much that my coined term “Puri Party” is a given for at least one of the afternoon meals. This year the Amsterdam contingency will be in the house as well and I can’t wait. A full house with the whole family is going to produce lots of smiles and some very full bellies. Aside from the four days of home cooked goodness that await me, this year the stakes are upped. I am learning to make those delicious puri’s from scratch. (the two golden, round things on the plate above) So watch out for that post. I might even do a step-by-step. If you need me after Wednesday I’ll be deep in a bowl of ಮೊಸರು-ಅನ್ನ…ohh uhh, I mean, mosaranna…umm, you know, curd rice?…yogurt rice!…You get it. It’s amazing!
