Gluttony sans Chuttney

The Homecoming story continues …. Today after so many years, Srini was feeling very happy and before leaving for Mala’s house he dialed his mother in the US on Facetime…

Sinu…you look so happy. I am sure you got a good darshan!

Yes, Yes Amma… I did.

Amma did not know the reason for the double Yes but for Srini it was double darshan… one was of the deity inside the sanctum sanctorum and then the utter joy and surprise of darshan of his love of yore after many years.

Srini put on an extra round of Hugo Boss perfume and combed his hair well before driving away to Mala’s house where he was welcomed by a tall and well-built man.

Bala, I presume… said Srini as if he was meeting Dr. Livingstone in the forest of Africa.

Yes… welcome Srini. Mala has been speaking about you ever since she met you yesterday.

Srini smiled and walked into the nice house with a small garden outside. Mala quickly made strong filter coffee and they had it together while Bala and Srini did some small talk. Bala then asked… how long are you going to be in Madurai?

Oh... the jealous hubby wants to pack me off quickly… and even though his return ticket to Chennai was booked for the next day, Srini said… I am in no hurry… could go tomorrow or even stay a couple of more days.

If you are leaving tomorrow, I strongly recommend that you must taste the variety of food Madurai has to offer. Mala is an expert guide in this regard. She takes all our guests around the eating joints. She could even start a vlog on the city’s cuisine.  Unfortunately, I am a pucca veggie and often stay back at home during her food fiesta tours.

Srini was very happy to learn that Mala would accompany him alone for the rest of the day but still said… it is so sad that you are not coming. We would have a great time together. You can still come and have the traditional food with sambar and chuttney.

No… no... Srini… you please carry on. I also need to be at home for Chandru here has some project that I will help complete. Enjoy the day and in case you decide to delay your travel to Chennai, we can meet again tomorrow.

Mala and Srini waved Chandru and Bala bye and hopped into the waiting cab. As the cab started moving, Mala spoke… Why are you sitting so far away… don’t worry, I promise not to repeat what happened at Saarang…and started laughing, much to the amusement of the driver seated in front.  An embarrassed Srini shifted closer by a few inches and no more.

Let us start with the most famous drink of Madurai… the Jigarthanda. So, the literal meaning of this word would mean the drink that cools the liver (jigar) but it is actually a metaphor for heart in Persian. This is made of milk, almond gum, sarsaparilla root syrup, sugar and ice-cream.

Mmmm… this is cool and really good said Srini while wiping off the drink from his lips with the paper tissue… ekdum Jigar Thanda ho gaya!

And now let me take you to another of Madurai’s specialty… this is Konar Kadai of Simmakkal and has been serving the best Kari Dosa since 1943.

Kari Dosa.. what is that? I have never heard about this dosa. If you wanted to have dosa for lunch then why did we leave out Bala?

Arrey Sinu.. kari dosa is made with the rice batter as base as in any dosa. Atop this is a layer of eggs and finally you have topmost layer of mince-meat sukha (dry), pronounced and written locally as chukka.

This is amazing stuff. Who would believe that in the temple city, you could get a dosa that is a double dose of non-vegetarian.

This food is slightly heavy and you need a little break before you eat anything else.

Mala, if you do not mind, I would like to pick up some Sungudi sarees for Amma. She always wore these hand tie and dye cotton sarees in the summers.

Of course, Srini. I know a good place which is reasonable and have a good variety…saying this she directed the driver to turn around and drive in another direction. The car stopped near a large store and they got off. All the people in the simple showroom were ladies and they were very eager to show all the varieties of sarees and dress materials they had. Srini was completely bowled over by the prices that were so cheap that he even refused to think of converting INR to USD. He picked up a couple of sarees and dress materials and was very happy with his purchase. As they sat in the car, he handed Mala one of the packets containing the most expensive saree that he had bought… please do not say no. All this would not have happened, if not for you. So, please take this as a small token.

Mala smiled and accepted the packet without any fuss.

Now let me take you to another super food of Madurai… the bun parotta.

What is a bun parotta? I have had bun-muksa in Mumbai but never a parotta.

Making this is an art. Come and see it for yourself. This is Madurai’s famous Sri Meenatchi Bun Parotta.

Srini saw one man first mixing the flour dough, nice and soft. Then, he made a number of small balls out of the lot. The next step was for the next man to then convert, with his bare hands, the ball into flat bread just like a roomali roti except that they put a lot of oil on the dough and it is much bigger and completely elastic. After rolling it well, the man, picks up the flattened piece of parotta to wrap it in the form of a ball with layers… quite similar to a ball of wool. This is then put in a huge pan of oil and deep fried till it looks like a bun. The excess oil is squeezed out and then served with chicken chukka and brain fry. It just tasted heavenly for Srini.

Do they only make non-veggie stuff in this city? I took a look at the menu card and they were selling everything from rabbit meat to quails, from fishes of all sorts to shrimps.

The city is a melting pot of cultures. You can get both veg and non-veg food in every corner and people are very open to eating habits of others and never bother with it.

Super… wish more people in the land would live like souls of Madurai. What next Mala?

I know your stomach must be almost full or overflowing but you must try another easy to digest food. This is called the Burma Iddiappam. The grandmother of the lady in the stall was born and bought up in Burma and that is how the shop got its name. you can find many other shops with this name but where I am taking you, is the original one.

Great… even if I am full or more than full, I rather drown in the food of this city than go home without tasting its special flavours.

Srini, sure was having a wonderful time with Mala in company. He now went with her to the street joint where he saw a middle-aged lady sitting with two workers making the iddiappam. She served them two rounds of iddiappam, once the white one made of rice and the other brown one which was made of jaggery. She would pour some coconut milk and sprinkle a little jaggery over it and Srini ate with his hands, enjoying every bite of it. This was really special food run, something he would never experience anywhere else. After finishing and washing his hands with the water stored in the plastic can nearby and put his hands on his tummy… I surrender… enough and no more came the cry from within.

Come, let us now visit the beautiful water tank we have in the city. This is called the Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam built in 1645 by King Thirumalai Nayak and has a Vinayaka temple in the middle. Plus the latest attraction here is the street food that is sold in carts all-round the periphery.

Aaiyoo Mala… no more food.

Got it Sinu. Let us walk around the lake and allow the food to get digested.

Srini started walking with her. He wanted to hold her hands while doing this last walk but stopped himself. After walking for a while, Mala saw something and said…

Sinu, you must have Paruthi Phal… this is one last thing you should taste. This is a hot drink made of cotton seeds, jaggery, ginger powder, cardamom and thick coconut milk is an excellent healthy drink that helps improve digestion and blood circulation. You will not get this anywhere else. It is really special.

Srini enjoyed drinking this Madurai special drink and then asked the driver to first go to Mala’s place and then to his hotel. En-route, Srini got a bit bold and jokingly asked... will you come and join me at the annual alumni meet?

She looked at him and simply laughed… Sinu... getting naughty, eh... and nodded her head as if saying no. She then asked him... your reunion is still a few days away, why don’t you stay back at Madurai for a some more days.

Now it was Srini’s turn to nod his head to say no… if fear if I stay longer here, I may not go back… he said jokingly.

The car reached Mala’s house and as she got off, Bala was there to receive her. Both bid Srini bye.

Srini, reached his hotel, quickly changed and hit the bed but was not able to sleep immediately. He started remembering every moment he had spent during the day with Mala, every conversation he had with her, her every move, her smile… in the end he kicked himself for having lost her when the time was right. He then remembered a book he had seen at a book fair and thought that he will send it to Mala. He smiled at himself and slept well in her company.

SS