What Once Stood There

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There comes a day when you return to your childhood neighborhood and realize that you're the only one who still remembers what once stood there. For me, that neighborhood is Malleswaram. When people think of Malleswaram, they think of CTR, Janata Hotel (it's common in India to call a restaurant a hotel), Veena Stores, Sai Shakti and the other iconic eateries that continue to thrive. I think of the ones that quietly disappeared. Button Idlis from New Krishna Bhavan. Bangalore is famous for its darshinis—quick, self-service eateries where people stop for a bite before getting on with their day. When we were living in Kasturi Dhama Apartments, I would invariably find myself at Sahyadri, located near the 8th Cross bus stop on Margosa Road. The fluffy idlis, the steaming hot sambar with just a hint of jaggery, the freshly made coconut chutney, and the potato palya that accompanied the dosas had a way of pulling in anyone walking past. My favorites were always the idl...
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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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