What I Missed While Walking Past the Kanchi Mutt

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A place I passed every day without really understanding it. As a kid growing up in Malleswaram, devotion wasn’t something we discussed — it was just in the air. The smell of agarbathi in the evenings. The noise of vendors lining up on 8th cross before a festival. The quiet expectation that you showed up, bowed your head, and moved on. Ganesh Chaturthi. Varalakshmi Vratam. Deepavali. Janmashtami. Ugadi. The calendar moved, but the pattern stayed. The Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham in Malleswaram was part of my daily route to school. Not something I questioned. Not something I deeply understood. Just… there. Every morning, on my way to school, I would slow down for a second in front of the Mutt. Just enough to bow my head toward Kanchi Kamakshi from outside the gate — and then hurry along before the school bell. It was a ritual for as long as I can remember. I don’t know if it came from devotion. I did it because my parents did it. The street...
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Pitlai today...slurp!Slurp!

For close to ten months now, I was aching to have Pitlai, made from Pavakka/agalkai/karela/bitter gourd. After a long wait, Yadu got agalkai from St. Louis. As today was my cooking turn, I experimented with this dish. Treating agalkai is a pretty tough job since the bitterness from the vegetable has to be removed. So, the vegetable has to be boiled in tamarind water for close to 15-20 minutes and then washed in ordinary water before draining the water completely. The actual preparation of the dish has to be started then. Though there are a number of recipes available on the internet to make pitlai, can it beat the home made recipe. So, I called up back home in India to find out the actual mode of preparation. Lo! My mother was spontaneous with her response. Obviously, she has been cooking for ages, while I am just a starter. But then, I guess even I can tell you how to do this in a jiffy. You see, even I have the experience now in cooking! It took me about an hour and a half to make the dish and to be honest with you, it came out just like the way it comes out at home. I was really happy with my Pitlai!

Who said agalkai is bitter? Learn it from me to make it the way it has to be made!!! Now, am I getting complacent?

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