I'd like to claim I'm not a fussy eater. Yes, I do not experiment much, but I have been taught to respect food and to finish everything that was served to me on my plate. Yet every now and then, there are some impossible choices that are offered to me and I've to think quickly to try and weasel out of the situation.
Q. डब्यात दोडका हवा का भोपळा?
A. मी Ketchup किव्हा Jam नेतो ना!
Q. डब्यात दोडका हवा का भोपळा?
A. मी Ketchup किव्हा Jam नेतो ना!
Translation
Q. "Do you want 'Ridge Gourd' or 'Pumpkin' in your tiffin box?"
A. "Can I take ketchup or jam instead?"
This is a choice that has been routinely offered to me as a kid by my mother and now by my wife. Needless to say I hate both of them, and I can never pick one over the other. A somewhat similar choice my mother used to give me was between 'Gavar' (cluster beans) and 'Ghevada' (green hyacinth beans). What made this worse was that my father liked both (and still does)! And so this choice was thrown at me typically once every month.
Q. पुरणपोळीवर दूध हवंय की तूप?
A. साधी पोळी आहे का?
This is a choice that has been routinely offered to me as a kid by my mother and now by my wife. Needless to say I hate both of them, and I can never pick one over the other. A somewhat similar choice my mother used to give me was between 'Gavar' (cluster beans) and 'Ghevada' (green hyacinth beans). What made this worse was that my father liked both (and still does)! And so this choice was thrown at me typically once every month.
Q. पुरणपोळीवर दूध हवंय की तूप?
A. साधी पोळी आहे का?
Translation
Q. "Do you want milk or ghee on the sweet flatbread?"
A. "Do we have any ordinary flatbread?"
'Puran Poli' is a kind a of sweet flatbread which is usually prepared during festive occasions. It is usually eaten either with Ghee or with Milk. Most people I know would actually take either option with equal liking. I'm some sort of an odd man out here, in that, even before I consider the option, I've to deal with the fact that I don't really like the sweet flatbread and almost always try to find out if there are any ordinary (non-sweetened) flatbreads available.
Q. खीर गरम हवी की गार?
A. रोहितला दे! माझं पोट भरलंय.
Translation
Q. "Do you want the Vermicelli pudding warm or chilled?"
A. "Give it to Rohit. I'm too full"
Kheer (Vermicelli/Rice pudding) is called by different names in different parts of the country. Most people love it. Unfortunately I don't. It's primary component is milk and that's where things start going south.
When we were kids, we didn't get canned milk. Also, there was no concept of 1% or 2% reduced fat milk. If the milk tasted watery it was probably because it was adulterated! So the first thing we'd do when we got the milk in the morning was to boil it.
Hot milk (or any other delicacy based on hot milk) forms a layer of cream on top of the liquid. My father loves it ... It barely goes down my throat without bringing tears to my eyes. From childhood, you'd either develop an extreme liking to milk or an extreme distaste for it. As the cream went down your throat it was a miracle if you didn't choke, gag or feel like throwing up.
And so a choice between hot and cold kheer didn't really matter because some part of the brain had developed a block against it any form of milk with suspended blackboxes. Luckily for me, my brother pretty much eats anything that is sweet. So it wasn't hard to push the bowl of Kheer towards him.
What's common to all three responses is the look of disgust that my mother gave me!
Q. खीर गरम हवी की गार?
A. रोहितला दे! माझं पोट भरलंय.
Translation
Q. "Do you want the Vermicelli pudding warm or chilled?"
A. "Give it to Rohit. I'm too full"
Kheer (Vermicelli/Rice pudding) is called by different names in different parts of the country. Most people love it. Unfortunately I don't. It's primary component is milk and that's where things start going south.
When we were kids, we didn't get canned milk. Also, there was no concept of 1% or 2% reduced fat milk. If the milk tasted watery it was probably because it was adulterated! So the first thing we'd do when we got the milk in the morning was to boil it.
Hot milk (or any other delicacy based on hot milk) forms a layer of cream on top of the liquid. My father loves it ... It barely goes down my throat without bringing tears to my eyes. From childhood, you'd either develop an extreme liking to milk or an extreme distaste for it. As the cream went down your throat it was a miracle if you didn't choke, gag or feel like throwing up.
And so a choice between hot and cold kheer didn't really matter because some part of the brain had developed a block against it any form of milk with suspended blackboxes. Luckily for me, my brother pretty much eats anything that is sweet. So it wasn't hard to push the bowl of Kheer towards him.
What's common to all three responses is the look of disgust that my mother gave me!
