10 day challenge: 5 foods

Ask a foodie like me to list only five favorite foods and she will scratch her head so many times, that finally there would be no hair left on her head. Don’t worry, I haven’t turned bald, but came close to going bonkers thinking of this list.

I thought of looking up the real definition of foodie: a word that everyone throws around a lot lately. So, I googled “define:foodie” and the result was “a person keenly interested in food, especially in eating or cooking.” Do I fit into the definition? Definitely:)

I was not much of a junkie as a child. But I sure turned into one after I joined Ruia for my junior college. If there are restaurants like DP’s, Mani’s in your vicinity, who’s to blame if you start eating outside food regularly? Then there was the vada pav wala outside King George school. Walk a bit further and you reach D Damodar: another favorite snacks place. I and my friends were in love with the samosa, kachori, and sweet pattice. So much so, that I and my best friend B, dreamt of marrying Damu’s son in the hopes of getting a lifelong supply of samosas:)

I am lucky to find a soul mate who also happens to be an ardent foodie. We have tried Mexican, Ethiopian, Chinese, Mediterranean, and Italian. We hope to try Japanese, though we know that there are very limited options for vegetarians.

As I have said before, this list was a toughie. So I finally closed my eyes and thought of five foods that immediately came to my mind:

1. Pav Bhaji: I can’t recollect when, where, how I ate my very first pav bhaji. But I love it so much, that I won’t mind eating it every day for the rest of my life. It’s healthy, as it brings together all important vegetables. My daughter also loves pav bhaji.
If you don’t mind extra calories, try Sardar’s pav bhaji near Tardeo. It’s loaded with butter. I could manage to eat only one pav.
I like the home-made version better than the restaurant ones. I have noticed that restaurants add food coloring to get the rich, red color. I have never eaten street side pav bhaji .

2. Pani Puri and all chat items: It would be injustice to the other chat items if I say that I like only pani puri. So I have to declare that I love all of them. Pani puri, bhel puri, sev batata puri, ragda pattice, dahi batata puri; I am drooling just by writing all this:) I have to admit that till I reached 10std, I couldn’t eat pani puri. Apparently, I couldn’t open my mouth wide enough to gobble down the whole puri. It used to break to pieces, and that’s not how you eat it. I also don’t like chilled pani puri, which is why, I didn’t eat pani puri in Delhi.
For me, the ideal pani puri is the one with small puris (I instruct the bhaiya to choose the smallest puris), hot ragda, and tangy and spicy chutney. To finish off the lovely treat, a masala puri with potato, sev, and spices is an absolute must.
When I was pregnant with my daughter, and supposedly not allowed to eat outside food, I made my mom prepare bhel puri, pani puri, and sev puri at home. There was only one condition from my side and that I was I could eat unlimited:) Of course, the home made chat food doesn’t taste that much great as the one that the bhaiya makes for you. And there’s that old joke that it tastes great only because the bhaiya’s sweat adds flavor to it! Gross, but maybe true!:)

3. Vegatable Pulao and Tomato Saar: This one has been a favorite since childhood. My mom makes the best pulao and tomato saar in the whole world! I just love the combination. Hot, steamy, white pulao, mixed with vegetables such as cauliflower, carrot, and peas reminds me of India’s flag. Top it with some really hot tomato saar: a wonderful blend of boiled tomatoes, coconut, and garlic. This simple, quintessential meal has been an all-time favorite for me.

4. Vada Pav: Now, who doesn’t like this one? Probably no one who has tasted it. I can name at least 10 places in Mumbai where I have tasted really good vada pav. Add to this list the ones that mom makes. Me? I am not much of a frying fan. In the sense, I love eating fried food, but don’t love standing next to the stove, frying stuff for hours. So I make vada pav only once in a while.
We have a vada pav vendor right across the street where my mom stays. And I always used to make my kid brother get vada pav for me. My brother has this photo of me on his digi cam. I am looking really cross, crazy, and irritated because he wouldn’t get vada pav for me when I was pregnant. He always teases me with this photo.

5. Gulab Jamun: I do like sweets, but can’t eat them in unlimited quantities. The one sweet that I can eat limitless is gulab jamun. I have my mom make them for my every birthday and no birthday is complete without eating at least 20 of them:)

There, you have it! Five foods that I can eat over and over again, without getting bored. Five foods that I can gobble in unlimited quantities. I know the limit is five, but I would just like to mention that I also love bhutta (corn), pakoras, mattha (spicy buttermilk), chips, jalebis.

I loved writing this post, though it was a sweet torture. I am surely going to make all the foods listed above in the very near future:)