Mom's Recipe Book

It's a Sunday afternoon. Adi's gone out to play and I don't know why but I am missing my mom's tea time snacks that I grew up munching when I used to come back from school.

No Fuss about Food

My mom says that even as a child, I never fussed about anything, particularly food. Except the smelly jackfruit, mom says that you could give me any type of food and I would eat it without any fuss. Even spinach! She says I loved the different types of cakes that she used to make that always for me. 

My Mom's Best Cooking Days

Our home in Africa always had baking smells. In the afternoona, Mom would bake cookies, cake, and each time it would be a different type. My friends used to love the chocolate mousse she used to make. For every birthday, she used to bake the cake for me. But she wasn't that confident with the icing so we had some other expert help her with that.

Mom loved spending her afternoons making naadan snacks like 'unniappam' and 'murukku' and the 'ada' and 'sukhiyan' she used to make were simply out of the world.  Hmm, I am already dreaming of 'ada' for tea time!

(Source: Kothiyavunnu)

Mom's Lost Recipe Book with Grandma's Secrets

But mom lost her diary of recipes when we returned to India. This is because a lot of the baggage got lost and had been misplaced when we were back. The recipe book was a thick green book with handwritten recipes that she had collected all her life from all over the world. The book also had timeless recipes given to her by her mom. My grandmother is one person who everyone reveres as a most amazing cook.

My Grandma was a Real 'MasterChef'

Top politicians like AK Anthony, Oomen Chandy, Vayalar Ravi and many eminent others used to flock to my grandmother's dining table because they loved eating the food my grandmother used to make. People who have tasted my grandma's food says she was a culinary queen. But she never wrote down her recipes anywhere. She knew them by heart and shared her culinary secrets with my mom. Just a whiff of a curry and Grandmother knew what the ingredients were, what the dish would taste like and so on. I miss her so much. 

I think I'd do anything to get that book. It's not just about the recipes. It's about mom's identity and passion. When she lost that book, I think she experienced it as a deeper loss. She never wrote down recipes again.

I really wish I could find that diary for my mom.