Day 10: A Culinary Serenade

Guest blogger: My dear mother-in-law (aka “Maman” and “Babushka”)Editor’s warning: Do NOT read this post while fasting!Ramadan is here and with it come resolutions and determination, forbearance and commitment. It also brings back memories of spending Ramadan with loved ones who are no longer with us. I have such explicitly wonderful memories that I shared with my mother and grandmother during this month. Their cuisine was legendary. Many friends meeting me after many years would regale about the splendiferous table they had shared with us during Ramadan.I remember my grandmother, who we called Nanna, make her way to the pantry/kitchen area at 4pm. The servants would bring out all the necessary pots and pans needed for cooking. The ingredients were placed within easy reach, and so began the preparations. Nanna sat there conducting a culinary serenade of delicacies.The dining table would be resplendent with savory and sweet dishes. Also included were the Ramadan ‘specials’. This included not just the regular meat and potato filled samosas, but also samosas filled with coconut cooked in molasses; these were my favorite. There were various bowls of 'chaat', the chickpeas that we love. We also had the black gram flour fried with cumin and onions. ‘Pakoras’ are synonymous with Ramadan. We had pakoras with spinach, pakoras with aubergine, pakoras with squash. And a variety of lentil dishes -- lentils soaked overnight till they plumped up and were garnished with onions, chilis and cilantro. A variety of meat dishes -- shami kebab, on special days seekh kebabs, tandoori chicken and raita. Then we had a variety of different kind of breads -- parathas, pooris, parathas stuffed with meat, dal pooris filled with lentils. My Nanna introduced us to her original ‘gali roti’. This was two round pooris with a sweet paste of lentils sandwiched in between; they were fried gently and were delectable. I have never had these anywhere again.The desserts were kept on the sideboard. There was rice pudding, rice pudding with coconut and molasses, carrot halwa, egg halwa, vermicelli soaked in thick milk topped with almonds and pistachios with a dash of rose water. On the 27th of Ramadan, we had extra special desserts. Nanna made ‘makooti’. This was a gelatin based dessert, with saffron and pistachios and almonds sprinkled on top and poured flat in a thin layer on a quarter plate. There was also ‘shahi tukra’, another speciality.What would Ramadan be without cold drinks. We had the usual lemonade made with fresh limes. There were milk based drinks with rose water and saffron, sometimes almonds were added as well. Two of the most memorable were drinks in which special seeds were added. These seeds were supposed to have a cooling effect on the stomach. They were called ‘tukhme balanga' and ‘tukhme rehaan’. They were tiny black and brown seeds and once soaked became a little gelatinous.Memories of Ramadan, bringing our loved ones closer to us. Our prayers for them as we remember. We always REMEMBER.Day 10, Tradition 10: Nanna’s Table