Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Magic Mixtures by Magiceye


Blogger friend Magiceye posts a wonderful photograph of "Bhel" , a typical Mumbai snack, eaten all over , and particularly on the beach, with varying levels of tanginess, and "hotness" (hot as in red chillies), in his series of  photographs at 365project.org.

Different places have their special ways of making bhel.  And it is interesting to delve into the minds of the churmura(puffed rice crispies ) and other dry additions, as they enjoy being drenched in the spicy and tangy showers.....

In the meanwhile, ....yum !

(photograph by Deepak Amembal Magiceye)
Lightheaded
on the beach,
Sir Churmura sits,
hankering after the touch
of a slender Sev,
amidst
some spicy entries of
fried chana dal.
Lady Farsaan,
flashing in with her
Gathiyas-in-waiting...

Some Onion ,
back from a tearful cut,
hurting with the cut chillies,
looking out for
the quiet Kothimbir
all depending
on the boiled potato pieces,
to lead them
into the dry mix,
remembering
the days
when slivers of raw mango
also joined the fun.......

It rains
tamarind water,
green and red chutneys,
and
the entire lot
wonders,
whatever happened
to the
peanuts and chivda folks
that used to join them
in Pune....

13 comments:

  1. Ha ha ..Sir Churmura and Lady Farsaan missing their old, childhood pals...the dude called Mango slivers and the street urchins peanuts and Chivra :-)

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  2. Oh wow! Look at that presentation of bhel in words! :)

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  3. Mmmmm....even if I wasn't sold on it already, I'll try bhel after this :)

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  4. The bhel-waali cravings
    only hit me in evenings
    When the famous bhelwaala
    came with his jaadu ka jhola
    Of churmuras and chutneys
    of yellow sev and pooris
    See what you two have done
    with the photo and poem
    My taste buds are craving
    for bhel in the morning!

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  5. This sounds fabulous...but I want it ALL THE WAY, with every ingredient you listed, especially the mango!! How come the forensic nurse in me immediately thought maggots and the like when I first saw Deepak's photo!!

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  6. Brilliant!
    Now it's a challenge for all of us to think what to present you next. You seem to conquer anything that comes your way. :-)

    Nisha at http://www.lemonicks.com/

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  7. anand Thank you!

    Sangeeta And we forgot the Crown Princess Puris.....!

    Shail Thank you. Words flow when the photo is mouth watering na ?

    Corinne Thank you! Bhelcome !

    Annucool15 Hmm! (Shakes her head knowingly )....:-)

    Carmen I hope you get an opportunity to have it at the beach !

    Nisha Oye ! Thank you; but I don't conquer. I eat ...:-)

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  8. What a wonderful bhel in words. I have been looking at Magiceyes work for the last few months and love it. Your words do more than justice to his art. Wish you and your readers a wonderful festive time.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the kind words and welcome to this blog. Yes , his photos inspire a lot of verse...and its fun. Hope you too are enjoying the festive season and the new year .

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  9. Thoroughly enjoyed reading your poetry and then shed tears as I miss my bhel .... :(

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