I love food. All kinds, some more than other, some more often than others. I love trying new culinary dishes from various cuisine, and always keep wanting to try as many new food items as possible. So on accassion, amidst all the clutter of posts about life and love, there will be a few morsels of gourmet/glutton writings.

Like all good things, the foodie notes will begin at home, with the lip-smacking Sunday lunch my mom cooked yesterday. When I was growing up, Sunday lunches were always the most awaited meals. My dad would go out to the market in the morning and bring in fresh meat, chicken, fish, prawns (shrimps, according to the Yanks), the works. By lunch time the house would be filled with a melange of delicious smells, with the aroma of spices found only in an Indian household wafting through the air, making the already-difficult task of concentrating on my homework practically impossible. Every Sunday, there would be atleast one special ingredient used; coconut milk added to rice one day, herbs like methi added to minced lamb the next week, and seasonal fresh sea fish that were prepared only once or twice an year. We would usually also have a dish sent by my ammamma (my maternal grandmother); my maternal grandparents have always lived right below us, so I actually eat more at my grandmothers place than my moms. So on Sundays, ammamma sent us a fresh curry she had made just so I wouldnt miss out on her food that day!

So yesterday, we had a traditional Sunday lunch, the likes of which I havent enjoyed in a while. Old memories of those cherished afternoons came back to me, and though I have been having great food since I got here, this was by far the most enjoyable meal yet.

We don’t really have a course-structured meal like in the U.S. Lunch, especially, is usually just a variety of curries eaten one after the other with rice, with a side of fresh slices of cucumbers/onions/tomatoes to counter the spice. The meal is always completed with yoghurt- that is the real secret of how we keep the spice from messing us up!

So, on to the good stuff. I started off with a spicy crab curry, my mom’s own recipe. No tasteless crab meat here! These were the real deal; my dad actually picks out the live crabs in the market. Like lobsters, the crabs are eaten by removing the shell and enjoying the soft meat within. Except, ofcourse, these are a lot easier to eat, since we just open them up with our hands. I think chillies, tomotoes, onions and other spices go into the gravy for the crab; I have to get the recipe from my mom before I leave.

Next came fish pulusu , the dish my ammamma sent. Fresh fish marinated in chilli powder (and again, a mix of indian spices), and cooked with orka in a dark red sauce. Yummy! The fish was so exquisitely fresh; it’s white flesh perfectly absorbing all the flavors and accentuating them with it’s creamy texture. The okra provides the balance of a vegetable in the dish, and is perfect for enhancing the flavor without adding any strong taste of it’s own.

I didn’t think I had room for trying yet another dish, but one look at my mom’s chicken curry with menthukura (methi, a flavourful herb), and I absolutely had to have some. The brown color of the dish was complemented with the green of the herb, making it look very earthy and wholesome. The spice was muted in this dish, which made it a perfect follow-up to the two earlier curries. The methi added a very distinct flavor to the chicken, with the tenderness of the bird, cut that very morning, allowing all the tastes in the dish to be perfectly imparted to the meat.

Yoghurt with sugar ended the meal on a very sweet, cooling note. Mmmm. No wonder my dad takes a long Sunday siesta after lunch! I get bored with home food at times, but nothing really beats a hot, fresh Sunday lunch made by my mum! She hasn’t even made her brilliant Lamb Biryani yet, so there will be a lot more such lunches to write about later, Im sure!

Bon Apetit…I’moff to have lunch at my grandmom’s…more delicious fish awaits me, I’m sure!

peace and love…