Bozo's Vadani Kaval Gheta.....

Bozo, Mumbai's original blogger dog, certainly thinks a lot.  He has learned a lot of things by simply observing people in their daily activities.

And unlike some bipeds I know, he never blindly follows or apes anyone.  And reasons out things for himself.  Like mealtimes .

 He is not a saint by any means,  he has his share of mischievous fun times,  sulks when he feels more attention is being paid to two wheelers that just roar all the time,  and is known to do delightful leaps when he sees folks he likes.

At all other times, he has his 4 feet firmly on the ground. As he sniffs, tastes and gobbles up some yummy stuff for lunch...

Isn't it amazing,
that
so many need
special places to sit,
special places to keep food,
and
special implements to
touch the food,
despite being blessed with
long useful fingers ?

The food
is actually
specially brought to them...

And then
their eyes need a TV,
the ears need a conversation,
as the food
gets chewed down
and washed down
as some of it,
gets left over
and wasted on the plates....

I ,
on the other hand,
myself
go to the food,
enjoy the
texture
and flavors,
and taste,
and simply dig in,
making sure
I don't spill and waste anything.

Preparing food is actually worship.

Eating it with
relish and respect,
is like providing a dessert
for the Gods.

Food Democracy and MDI.....

Another entry from the recently concluded Detox-Food-Photo-information contest in the FB Indiblogeshwari Group. My friend Akanksha Dureja, from New Delhi, submitted a wonderful photo of what is a much loved winter staple in North India.

Makki ki Roti and Sarson ka Saag (Fresh Corn Tortilla (with white butter) and a leafy green veggie preparation of Mustard Greens, Spinach , and some others whose English names I dont know). Hot off the griddle, with a side serving of crisp salad items.  What you dont see , is possibly a large glass of thick lassi (fresh creamy buttermilk).

Way down south in Mumbai, whether there is no winter,  I can only look at the photos, and comment  (inspired by the going-ons in our Parliament, also in Delhi)....

(Akanksha kindly allowed me to use her photo) ........

(photo by Akanksha Dureja)

The Green Leafy Front,
and the United Grains of India,
have had a tough year.

Insufficient rains,
floods,
droughts,
and careless storage
had hurt everyone.

And they both never saw
eye to eye
in the Plate Parliament,
often staying out
and protesting rawness and taste
in the unseasonal heated
arguments.

But sometimes,
in winter times
the speaker of the Plate Parliament
is an expert cook,
who can bring it all together.

She Cajoles the Sarson,
the Bathuas, the Palaks
to unite in strength;

They may not have the size,
but are superior in taste.

Meanwhile,
the Makki is patted into submission,
with many promises
of white butter
(now that black is illegal).

The day for voting
on MDI***  in food
arrives;
the Saag and the Roti
are seen on the same plate
in favor of the bill,
and it is all a slurping success,
as the new and junior independents,
still raw,
watch amazed,
from the sidelines.

Food Democracy in Action.

***MDI: Mother's Direct Interest

Breakfast Philosophy at 32,000 feet

Rajabhau aka my blogger and FB friend Priyadarshan Kale,is a connoiseur of traditional Maharashtrian foods, an expert on where you get the best stuff, and often posts amazing photos of the foods on FB. He mostly drives to these places.

 He recently flew Mumbai-Bengaluru on any early morning flight, possibly on an empty stomach.

 He was tormented by the inability of the breakfast trolley , which appeared to be moving at snails pace across the rows, to reach him, way at the back of the plane.

 And he desperately posted his hungry and angry status on FB.

This poem was posted in response and support ....
(Marathi and English versions side by side ....a new experiment)

अवकाशातील आसनांमधली लक्षवेधक हालचाल , सुमधुर स्मितांचे गणवेशातले हाय-फाय फवारे , ढकल गाडीच्या गुप्त पोटातून बाहेर येणारे उपमा,वडे व टोस्ट चे खमंग ट्रे. राजाभाऊ , शेवटून तिसऱ्या ओळीत खडबडून जागे होत्तात ; पोटात मिसळीला लाज वाटावी इतकी कालवाकालव , क्षणोक्षणी हवाई सुंदरीचा येणारा राग , आणि एवढ्यात फोन वाजतो (स्पैसजेट मध्ये चालतं)..... "अहो, म्हटलं नाश्ता झाला का ? जरा अर्धा तास असता तर साबुदाणा खिचडीचा डबा दिला असता ....." आणि राजाभाऊ पुनाश्च डोळे बंद करतात , पट्टा आवळतात , मग दात ओठ आवळतात , आणि मुंबईचे रस्त्यांचे खड्डे मोठे का आपल्या पोटातला खड्डा मोठा , ह्याचा विचार करत म्हणतात , "गीतेत म्हटल्या प्रमाणे आपण फक्त आपले काम करत रहावे, फलाची अपेक्षा ठेवू नये , पण काय हो, एखादा मेदुवडा तरी ?"

Interesting attractive movements high up in the sky, Sophisticated gestures with sprinkles of pre-planned smiles, and emerging from the innards of a moving trolley, servings and trays of Upma, Vadas and toast. Rajabhau, stewing in the third-last row, wakes up with a start ; Plaintive pains in an abdomen, emptily pining for Misal, and a growing anger against the airhostess. The phone rings (it works in spicejet) "Hi, hope you've had breakfast .... Could have packed you some sabudana khichadi if you had waited...." Rajabhau swallows, leans back , eyes closed; Tightens, first his seat belt, then his lips and teeth, and wonders if the emptiness in his stomach exceeds the emptiness of Mumbai's potholes; Resigned, to his hungry fate, he thinks, "I should really follow the Bhagwad Gita Philosophy; Keep doing your work, without thinking of the fruits of that labor.."; Till a small voice in his mind pipes up and asks, "Not even a small Meduwada ?".....

Assorted Essentials ....

Normal everyday items like a basket of Assorted Parathas  (Indian Breads) that one orders when having a meal in a restaurant. And my friend Magiceye, posts such a wonderful photo, that you start imagining what curries must have been ordered with it .

 Parathas may be simple, or complicated and stuffed. Some lightly flavoured with mint, onion, garlic, various crunchy seeds, and some  importantly stuffed with the big stuff like potatoes. All vying to fit in ,  the allocated important space, at the centre of it all, as the hoi polloi carrots and sliced onions pretend they have not noticed....

(photo by Deepak Amembal Magiceye)

The Food Constitution
of India
has declared them
an Essential item.

They have a place
at the Centre,
and in a Special Enclosure.

This Standing Committee
is actually sitting,
all trying to fit
into the same frame,
despite their different persuasions.

Some arising
from applauding the dough
between two palms
and smacking it
on the insides of a tandoor
to test its response in heated moments.

Some compulsorily rolled,
and thrown
onto hot surfaces,
with a bit of oil drizzled
to acqaint them with hard times...

Some creative ones,
cooperating with spices and mint
trying to appear really cool
amidst all the stuffy ones...

And some who
simply don't go anywhere
without their Aloo, Gobi, Paneer
and Muli hanger ons.

So much posing,
so much buttery makeup,
so much prestige,
and they
finally realize,
that they are meant
for the people,
as someone breaks off a piece,
dips it 
in Dum Aloo
and imbibes it all,
saying,
"Ah ! Wonderful !
So what if these disappear,
I will vote for new ones !"

OO-pa-ma, OO-pa-ma, and The Clean Picture!

The Mumbai summer is now setting in, and sitting under a agitating ceiling fan, at a dining table, imbibing hot fresh breakfasts, amidst amazing flavours emanating from a morning kitchen, is infinitely preferable to bending in the hot morning sun, to click the expressions of a narcissistic flower...

Which explains why my blogger friend Magiceye, took inspiration from his breakfast, and captured this photo of Oopma, or Upma, before he possibly tasted it.  This is made, from cream of wheat or rice, with folks in the south tending towards the rice.  It is made in Maharashtra , (from cream of wheat) and called "sanjaa",  and looks a bit different because we also add turmeric powder, and the sanjaa always has a yellowish tinge. Served with chopped fresh green coriander and grated coconut. Sometimes with a yum chutney.




These Upma shades of cream, slight gold, and green slivers in between reminded me of the mundum-veshti traditional dress worn by Kerala women.
  



 
Cream of rice or wheat
roasted golden,
warm particles
gossiping together,
waiting in
anticipation.

Golden ghee
dripping in the color
of the Mundum Veshti
exploding in a spot design
of mustard seeds,
fenugreek and
a shower of
green designer kadhipatta.

The roasted all pervading
cream particles,
coming together
spicily with
a hint of tamarind,
and a casual throw of cashews
amidst the
browns and greens,
and
grated coconut jewellery.

Closed and covered
for a while
she soon emerges
in her
delicious glory,
in her Mundum Veshti
to face another great morning....