South Indian food for the soul

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”– Virginia Woolf

Ah! Rings so true….Our family has a crazy but a rather sincere love affair with food.It probably is the only common thing that brings us together everyday. We cook, eat and talk about it too. Every meal is as important to us that we just don’t want it to be something that fills our tummies. It has to be quite different from the previous meal and never a repeat of the previous day’s menu unless it is one of our absolute favourites like a Masala Dosa or Idly Sambar. If you are someone who is just as happy having a toast or two for supper, then you are probably going to find us to be a fussy lot.No matter how your relationship with food is, it is a necessity and it will always be a topic of conversation. For people like us, talking about it is just as nice as eating it.

Momalways says that good food is the basis of a good life. Good food doesn’t necessarily mean indulgence at every meal but a simple home cooked meal with the ones you love can be the best thing that can happen on an otherwise hard day. So, we have suchan emotional connection with food that we have even shed bucket loads of tears over cake disasters and burnt pans.

Okay, enough said about how much we love our food. But what does good food mean to us you may ask? Good food doesnt neccesarily mean indulgence at every meal. A simple home cooked meal with a good balance of all spices is just what is needed to keep one healthy and happy. For e.g, my mother cooks atleast two different vegetables for lunch alongwith a lentil based gravy to eat alongwith rice or wholegrains. Breakfast is mostly Idly or dosa(using different types of rice and millets) and dinner would be a light upma or sometimes the same as breakfast but with different side dishes. And fruits as such or in the form of milkshakes or juice at some point in the day. Although this is what is normally followed, there are days when we cook elaborately and also indulge. Because it is part of our culture to celebrate every occasion with a particular type of food.

I have also included a couple of pictures of our lunch and breakfast plates. A small cup of rice and lots of vegetables, lentils and a bowl of yoghurt is our idea of a healthy meal.On some days, we make a bread called chapati is made instead to eat with vegetables and lentils.

To sum it up, We believe that everything in moderation is key. Also, along with good quality ingredients, a little bit of love can even nourish the weakest of souls.