Post UK Return Dinner at Deva Uncle’s

My first food writing is based on one of our regular dinners at one of my dad’s closest friends, Deva Uncle’s, place. Since I was home for my Easter vacations, Uncle insisted we come over for a casual meal (read ‘bonding over drinks and dinner’). What makes any dinner at his place special is not just the rich Punjabi food by itself, but also the love and affection of all the ladies in the household that goes into creating it. The aroma of the indulgent parathas with a generous knob of white butter (sufficient to urge you for some vigorous workouts later) is enough to whet my appetite. The lavish spread that usually follows warrants enough attention for me to dish out a vivid description.

The evening-‘9 pm’ to accommodate my parents’ busy schedules-started with booze for the men and some finger foods. I will skip the booze since I am a non-alcoholic and almost illiterate when it comes to liquor. The peanut chaat ( commonly served as an accompaniment with alcohol) was what I munched on, not keeping track of the spoonfuls I took. Moderately tangy and loaded with chopped onions, tomatoes, green chillies and coriander, it made for a perfect snack (of course with my glass of Coke). A spicy chilli ‘dalmoth’ was also served but my peanut chaat kept me occupied, though I must admit that the dalmoth seemed to have been sourced from some famous halwai. However, no sooner had I realized, it was 11pm and we made a quick move to the dinner table.

Even though sufficient amounts of peanut chaat had already made way to my tummy, I nevertheless felt the urge to help myself to the heavy Indian dinner- this stemming firstly, from a serious lack of homemade Indian ‘khaana’ in the UK and secondly, from my own underpolished culinary skills. Anyway, I first helped myself to the yellow daal (the name ‘arhar’ having lost its importance nowadays) which had just the right consistency and a lovely tadka of finely chopped tomatoes and coriander. Next was our much loved paneer-without which any North Indian main course is more or less incomplete-coated in a thick brown gravy. I haven’t a clue as to which title, whether ‘kadhai’, ‘shahi’ or ‘handi’ fits this dish aptly but the rich creamy texture and delicate taste made it fit to be polished off the plate with the parathas that followed. Not to forget, there was another side dish which was a subtly flavoured melange of gobhi, aloo, paneer(yet again) and macaroni. A dry combination, it fitted very aptly with the mains on the menu. However, it was the chana parathas that stole the show. Crisp yet soft in the centre, they were even better than before with the chana filling melting in my mouth. Aunty ’s homemade dry mirchi pickle just made the combination more sinful. Usually the one thing that’s extremely crucial when it comes to a stuffed paratha is how evenly the stuffing has been spread out which then determines if your paratha is crunchy and well cooked or just fat and doughy. In this case, it was without doubt the former. As if this was not enough, plain rice was also served but after three parathas, my stomach was already kinda signalling me to halt ( though not quite sure if my heart felt the same). I listened to my stomach ultimately (I had to keep it happy if I was to be able to eat at my other relatives’ places). Since I don’t really possess a sweet tooth, I happily skipped the dessert, content with the fact that it was just any other drab vanilla or chocolate ice-cream being served.

Yet at the end of the meal, I was gleeful- the contentment on my face reflecting a student’s frame of mind who has been long starved of simple ‘homemade’ food and has just about managed to survive on nasty pot noodles over and over again. Thank you aunty, for filling up this little gastronomic void!