Home Food

What is it about the home cooked food that we all miss once we fly out of the nest? Do we love it because it provides us a sense of security and reminds us of the insulated and protective environment that we used to live in?

Well whatever it is, it is truly amazing. Now, I recently took my first few hesitant steps out of the nest, you see I got into a uni far away from home and I have had to live away from home in this hostel and though I didn't really have time to reminisce about home and hence get home sick, it was wonderful to come back home during the break and slurp the home cooked food again!

Let me introduce you to the sort of food that my mom usually cooks. I'm a South Indian, the sort of food that my family considers as part of the staple diet is things like rice, rasam, dal, curd rice, avial etc... Pardon me if you are not familiar with some of the names that I have mentioned, but the very names start the digestive juices off in my alimentary canal! The meals in South India are incomplete without rasam mixed with rice. Rasam is this spicy concoction of the juices of tamarind and tomato with pepper, chillies, and whole lot of other spices and herbs. To read a detailed article about this heavenly concoction, point your browser to the following URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasam.

The thing about rasam is that if the right herbs are added, it can be a medicinal concoction that can provide a quick fix for various tiny problems. Fruits and vegetables can also be added to the rasam. My top favourites are: Milagu rasam, Mysore rasam and pineapple rasam.

Now the other things that make up a typical South Indian meal are things like curry, avial... wait a second, did you just say to yourself, "What is avial?". Whoa! You just have to try out this dish, which can float you up to cloud nine and bring you back gently to earth, or if you are a foodie like me, you might just as well choose to go on eating and never float back to earth! It is a mixture of many veggies. It is a heady mixture of yams, potatoes, beans, eggplant, drumsticks, coconuts, curds, milk, various gourds, radishes, carrots, turnips and spices. It is eaten mixed with rice and is a special dish from 'God's own Country', Kerala! Click here for the recipe.

Payasam or Kheer is a must for any festive meal to be complete. The rice payasam is a "a rice pudding typically made by boiling rice with milk and sugar. It is often flavored with cardamom and pitachios."- Wikipedia.

Now I'm off dear reader, a hot South Indian meal specially prepared by my mom is waiting to please my taste buds, so until next time, happy hunting and happy cooking.