Saturday, October 5, 2013

The Joys of Sambaar Bhat


It is rare to find someone who cooks, photographs, and writes equally well, so much so, that the image begs to be slurped and/or eaten .  Meet my friend Shruti

 Shruti Nargundkar of Melbourne, brings to life many stories from her childhood, that have to do with food. This time, it is about a specific special Saambaar that she remembers having, and you can read her entire post,Sambaar Stories, here. Along with the tantalizing recipe, accompanied by memories of those days.


An indulged childhood,
a fragrant coriandered life,
privileged
amidst
the golden richness of dals,

dessicated soft
treatments
tempering the
slight disciplining
by rigid cinnamon elders
aided by
tough fenugreeks
amidst raging chillies.

A coming of age
and a wild flirting
with the beauteous bhindi
and her colorful
friends,
sometimes led astray
by the sizzling onions
and siren tomatoes,
only to
come together
realizing his own potential
as an emerging Sambar,
leader of the hungry masses.

He plays the field,
cosying up to the
buxom Idlies,
seeing through the
hollowness of Madame Dosa
and wondering
if the Uthappa Kumari
with the toppings and trappings
actually
aspired to be a pizza.

Till he spies
Chiranjeev Saubhaagya kaankshini
Bhat
huddled together in a bowl,
a bit away,
wondering if she is too ordinary
to make it
in this
oddly competitive
sophisticated world.

A nudge from
Gheeamma,
all shining and melting in approval,
an approval from his
Tamarind Plus Security,
and he steps forward
to meet her
to start
a new chapter
in his
Sambar Bhat Life....

2 comments:

  1. MMmmmmm!! Delicious looking indeed! Now I'm definitely ready for breakfast!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a fitting credit to good old sambaar

    ReplyDelete