tales of Suchita

There is a certain joy that I feel every time I think about food. It’s an innocent joy, a very quid pro quo where a delicious piece is kept in front of me and I get to have a sensual experience of enjoying it.

If there is one item that a bunch of very talented people have cooked for me, it is biryani. So, for the last post for #BlogchatterFoodFest I want to pay ode not only to the biryani, but also to the people who have made it for me.

Starting with Famida ki chicken biryani. She was with us for a short while but she used to make the best biryani I have ever had. For her, making it was an entire day process. She started in the morning and we’d eat it for dinner. She would painstakingly roast the onions brown to sprinkle on top of the finished biryani. She would even colour a few rice strands orange to give it that restaurant feel. Her gravy used to be like makhmal and vibrantly orange.

Next is Shrichand ki biryani. Unlike Famida’s biryani, his is brown. He serves it with boondi raita and salad and it tastes like someone made it with a lot of love and care. The best part is, he also provides cheerleading services in the form of “aur khao didi” and “khao, khao, khao” every time you tell him “bas ho gaya.”

Now I have to mention the biryani I had in Lucknow. A friend’s mom made it for us and would you look at the photo! It’s like I can smell it all the way in 2025.

It was our first post-covid meeting of friends. We were saying bye to a friend who was moving to the US for her post-doc and aunty prepared an entire menu for the 2-3 days we’d be there. It was divine, obviously.

And finally, the biryani that Asha ji just made for lunch today which I had with dahi. Simple, home affair that tasted delightfully of dhaniya and garlic.

See, there’s a reason I don’t cook. I just feel there are so many who do it so well, they need people who will eat what they make and groan with every bite, loudly proclaiming how good the dish is.

Aka me!

So next time, if you want a cheerleader, call me.