Life and Times of the Coconut Paneer Barfi

My blogger and FB friend Shruti Nargundkar of Melbourne,  has a wonderful food related blog, where she often intertwines her childhood memories and ethos  of the cooking , and creates wonderful pictures .

She recently posted  something about a coconut paneer barfi , something to be made on the Rakhi Poornima/Coconut Day celebrations, when sisters tie Rakhis to brothers (see foreground of the plate), and fishermen offer coconuts to the Sea , in gratitude and worship.

It is often fun to attribute a life to all the ingredients.

I tried. Originally in Marathi, the King'(Shivaji)'s Language .  Then , an effort in what is called, the Queen's.

पोर्णिमेच समुद्रस्नान चकवून
घरी आलेला तो नारळ ,
स्वताहाच्या अश्रूंमध्ये बुडलेली
त्याची बहीण साखर ,
 राखीचा सोहळा
बघायला आलेल्या पनीरला
आग्रहाने बोलावतात ,
आणि
इलायची इलायची  खूप खेळल्यावर ,
ओलसर उबेत चिंब भिजल्यावर,
दुधाच्या कोरड्या पंचाने
पिठी साखरेच्यासह पुसून
एका मउ गुळगुळीत ठिकाणी
सगळे आरामात  पहुडतात .....

आणि कधीतरी
सोनेरी क्षणात ,
निरांजानासाम्वेत ,
ताम्हनात बसून
कोणा एका हसर्या चेहर्या समोर
शेवटची गिरकी मारून
आत्मसमर्पण .......

तसे क्षणभंगुर ,
पण किती परोपकारी  हे
बर्फीचे आयुष्य  !


A run-away coconut,
playing truant
from the
Fishermens' Full Moon Festival
offering to the sea;
Lady Sugar,
immersed
in her own syrupy happy tears,
and they invite
Paneer Kumar
to join in the celebrations....

Wild games of Cardamom-Cardamon,
all stirred up
and warmly entangled
in excitement,
they rest,
tired,
in a cool place
after
a wrap and scrub of
some tough dry
no nonsense
milk and sugar....

And then
in one golden moment,
of the puja thali,
the final flare
of a glowing sweet life,
as they
slowly circle
around a happy brother's face,
only
to offer their lives,
to see joyful faces
around them.

A short life this,
but what a giving one .....

The Ballad of Doodhwati

Rainy , dull monsoon days in Mumbai , with Wimbledon happening, and all that excitement gets you hungry enough to pine for a hot paneer bhurji with a toast or paratha. 

My friend Magiceye, actually gets to eat  all this , which of course, he photographs and posts here .

A living example, of how wonderful things can happen to very ordinary types like Milk (Doodhwati), and that one must never give up trying and looking ahead in life.

The curdled milk would "whole"heartedly agree. (Note : "Whole" milk makes better Paneer)

A Distressed Doodhwati,
restlessly boiling,
all her enthusiasm
simply soured
by the lemony antics,
and utter chaos reigns,
as her bosom friend,
Whey Kumar,
decides to separate
leaving her totally
curdled and coagulated in misery.

But most things happen for the good.

And so she
is delicately wrapped
in a fresh white muslin cloth,
gathered together and comforted,
till the tears stop
and
she feels strong and solid again .

A strong and cheerful girl,
Doodhwati is ready to enjoy life again.

Hot griddles with oil,
calling out to
the item number onions,
and tomatoes,
doing their stuff
as the chillies and bay leaves
sizzle in support.
"me, too, me too "
says the ginger and the garlic,
avidly joining in
the dance,
with the  Turmeric Man,
and the Coriander Greens
and Doodhwati,
all
throwing in their lot
in the celebrations,
with the elderly Salt , Pepper
and Masala types
as they stir themselves
in a wild disco
on the high heat.

A little bit of catching the breath
on a low flame,
covered by conservative worried
grandlids,
and she finally emerges,
adorned,
spiced,
shining
and lipsmackingly beautiful.

She arrives,
to meet a waiting paratha
watched by the Whey Kumar ,
now sitting in a boring Jar.

"You were never like this earlier"
says the possessive Whey Kumar,
"What changed ?"
and she smiled
as she got caught by the Parathaa,
and said,
"No one's really born beautiful,

but scrambling freely with one's friends

makes one so ...." 

:-))

 

Wok a life !

Magiceye's Magic Camera  automatically clicks, or should I say, slurps, when faced with something delicious like Paneer, onion and capsicum in Soya Sauce.  Which he posted here.

Must be my old age, but instead of running to get a fork, thoughts about the life and times of the onions, capsicums and paneers in our society come to mind. 

(photo by Deepak Amembal Magiceye)

Why is it,
that
again and again,
when immersed
in the possibility of
augmenting resources,
Some
work themselves transparent,
Some
work so hard,
losing the young green,
till they darken and curl a bit,
but
Some,
hefty, rich ,
fair, proteinous
and densely powerful,
dig right in ,
marinate avariciously,
taking care
not to mess themselves up, 
and
yet absorb most
of the life sauce ?

Wok a life !
Wok a life !