Memories of another kitchen

Today I an sharing with you a small write-up I did for a weekly by the name of "Intelligent Pune". It was a fun experience for me and thought all of you would like to read it too. For all my bloggo-buddies from Pune you can buy this weekly at a newspaper agents. To see the actual page online visit www.intelligentpune.com . The article is called " I miss my Desi-Tadka" Its not possible to read the article online though so here it is for you.

All people living abroad get home-sick sometime in life but have you ever heard of the term gadget- sick? Well now you have . I get gadget-sick quite often since I came to the UK. I miss all those simple but traditional gadgets that are such must-haves in any Indian kitchen. They assist you in the most cumbersome tasks and make life so much easier.

I was particularly gadget sick today and the contraption I desperately wanted was the coconut scraper (yeah that one with the curved blade which scrapes coconuts beautifully). Here in the UK although coconuts are quite easily available ,the problem is scraping out all the coconut without scraping and cutting yourself in the process. I managed to get through today by using the frozen grated coconut, but I kept seeing images of the lovely sharp scraper I have at home in India.
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It’s funny isn’t it , how the most ordinary items that one normally takes for granted become so precious when they are not available to you easily. I did not know that it was possible to miss non-living items so much. I mean I almost miss them more than I miss my friends back home. I hope none of them reads this

Items heading my list are:

A pestle and mortar( Khal Batta): I miss this even more when I see English chefs use it on their cooking shows on TV

Coconut Scraper: Today I would have given anything for this one as I needed tons of freshly grated coconut for the Modaks

Chakli Maker (Sorya): Come Diwali and I am asking everyone I meet if they have one of these to make beautifully shaped Chaklis.

Rice or Sheera Mould: This one I actually shamelessly borrow quite frequently from a friend. I am sure she is going to hide it one day and tell me that she’s lost it.

A Modak steamer: I am going to have to make a makeshift modak steamer tomorrow for Ganesh Chaturthi,

Idli mould and steamer: This one we do have but five friends share one steamer and mould. Can you beat that?

A powerful dry-grinder: These are practically non-existent here. You have to buy an expensive coffee bean grinder to grind your spices.

Last but not the least is my Anjali Fantastique chopper. This I have carried with me from India because I cannot live without one of these in my kitchen. But if this one breaks I cannot get a replacement unless I go to India which is not exactly just around the corner

Back home so many of these items would be just lying around in the kitchen cupboards without me giving a second thought to their existence. I mean I thought of capturing my Indian Spice Box (Masala Dabba ) on camera only when I came to UK . But I know I’ll cherish these small things now more than ever when I return to my Indian kitchen.

Do you also miss any of your traditional gadgets ?