It’s raining at intervals outside. When it’s not, the air is hot, heavy and humid, hanging hugely over hapless heads (isn’t that a lovely bit of alliteration!) and just waiting to crash down with a lot of sound and fury signifying one heckuva thunderstorm. The heat crushes the appetite, driving you feel to an overwhelming desire for all things cool, from watermelon to mint sorbet, lemonade to iced tea. Food does not appeal much; all things to drink do. You aim for air-conditioning wherever you go, be it to a restaurant or a grocery store, a boutique or an office. And you go anywhere only reluctantly, knowing that you will sweat (trust me, women do NOT glow, they sweat like anyone else does) between your car and your destination, finally meeting up with whoever you are meeting up with, soggily, sweatily sticky. When it rains, you will be as soggy and sticky, but cooler, craving crackly-crisp crunchies touched with a whisper of chilli, steaming soup straight from a saucepan, baked beans with bacon and a baguette, chocolat chaude and masala chai….someone please pass me the sugar!
But whatever the weather’s whims, whether wintery or wickedly warm, our very own desi favourite for all seasons is a delicious blend of rice and yoghurt, a universal taste in this culturally and culinarily diverse country. It is known as dahi-chaawal, dahi-bhaath, mosaruanna, tairshaadam…pick a language and you have a name. It is eaten every day and during feasts, funerals and weddings alike, relished for breakfast, lunch or dinner, touted as the ideal soothe food and given a status on the Indian menu unmatched by the most heavenly kebabs, biryanis or mithais. Best eaten when made with fresh rice and yoghurt, there are many additions and accessories to make the dish ambrosial, taking it beyond a mundane end to a meal, elevating it to the echelons of manna from Mum’s kitchen.
This simple classic has earned its title as soothe food courtesy its ingredients. Rice is chock-full of starch, which calms the digestion and the nerves, warding off aggravation and blunting external irritants. Yoghurt is well known to contain tryptophan, a gentle and natural soporific and anti-ageing element – Methuselah, for instance, was known to eat yoghurt and lived to over 100 years old. It is also considered a route to heroism – Ghenghis Khan is said to have loved the cool white milk-solid, eating it in vast quantities as he swept fire and brimstone through much of Asia. Combine rice and yoghurt and you could be the next creator of nations, ruler of the world, master of human destiny…well, at least an easier person to deal with!
The best way to make tairshaadam is the simplest. Rice, of whatever vintage – if it is old, it needs to be refreshed with a little water and a spell in a steamer or microwave; if it is fresh, fabulous! – is spiced gently with a little salt and whatever other seasonings you may like – I like cumin powder, some people prefer salt, others like sugar. Warm milk is poured in, and a dollop of yoghurt mixed into the whole. Allowed to rest in peace, it will set nicely in a couple of hours, perfect for a picnic, lunch at the office or pre-prep for dinner post-work. When you are hungry for it, if at home, you can do a tasty little splutter with a small drip of oil, a pinch of asafoetida, a scant teaspoonful of mustard seeds and/or chopped chillies, ginger, curry leaves, even cumin seeds, cashewnuts or whole green pepper. Eat it with (a spoon, of course, or your fingers for a more authentic taste) a crunchy like a potato ship, lotus root crispies, bhajias, papad or a good rice vadaam. Or just relish it with hints of tangy mango chutney, lime pickle, ginger lacha or a veggie of sorts, from spicy potato to astringent spinach to stuffed karela…
Now look what you did! I’m hungry!
No comments:
Post a Comment