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Diwali-sweet Or Sour

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Agatha83, Oct 27, 2017.

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Oct 30, 2017 #21

Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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Dear satchi,

Thank you for your warm response. In all the 4 decades of my married life, my relationship with my house helps has been smooth. Financially I may not have paid them much, but an emotional connect with them has always helped me in smoothing out those wrinkles which appear now and then.I always appreciate their honesty and during many occasions I have praised them for possessing such a golden virtue. When even the rich are greedy, why blame these people who come from the lower rungs of the society!

Agatha83

Agatha83, Oct 30, 2017

Agatha83, Oct 30, 2017

#21

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Oct 30, 2017 #22

satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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Absolutely agree with you Agatha. I need to remind myself of the last line again and again. It just gets frustrating when one gets the feeling that one's own needs are being exploited and when one feels one is being blackmailed. But you are right. They are needy. Even the Mallyas and the Ambanis of the world crave for more despite all they have!

satchitananda, Oct 30, 2017

satchitananda, Oct 30, 2017

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Oct 30, 2017 #23

kkrish IL Hall of Fame

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Agatha83 said: ↑

Right form the day of my marriage as a struggling teenager, me being a complete stranger to the kitchen, it was meenakshi's cook book which has always been in in good
Click to expand...

Ah! My soul-sister. Same here.

Agatha83 said: ↑

Her 3 part books, covered everything from sumangali prarthanai samayal to shraartha samayal. There is absolutely nobody to beat her till now.
Click to expand...

I second that wholeheartedly.
I love reading Volume 3 just to learn how how festivals, virathams, and shaarthams are celebrated/observed. Her "Kalayana Samayall" with the grocery list is a treasure that gives glimpses of history.

kkrish, Oct 30, 2017

kkrish, Oct 30, 2017

#23
Oct 30, 2017 #24

Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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Dear krish,

Yes, I went through the entire 3rd part of Meenakshi’s ‘ cook and see’ as if I was preparing for an exam. It was all thrilling those times, young as I was, ready to experiment with any recipe!

Agatha83

Agatha83, Oct 30, 2017

Agatha83, Oct 30, 2017

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Oct 30, 2017 #25

Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

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Agatha83 said: ↑

The cooking videos on youtube always fascinated me, bursting with tutorials of colorful lipsmacking snacks and its preparation. But I had to put a stop to my visual treats just there. My desire, either to purchase delicacies or make them at home, was not feasible, as all three inmates of our house were senior citizens with severe health issues, starting from dementia, dental problems, sugar, and cholesterol. Our conversations revolved around medicines, cures, bowel movements, doctors and hospitals.

My house cleaner brought me back from the “patient” world to the world of reality by giving me an ultimatum for her continuing with her work in the house – 2 months salary as bonus plus home made sweets and a bag of fireworks for her kids. Her reason for home made sweets was that last year all the snacks presented by her respective employers, resulted in her family having a severe bout of food poisoning and so she would have none of the shop stuff. If I was not interested in her deal, she was ready to quit and join my next-door neighbor, a wealthy lady ready to welcome our honest cleaner, with open arms, higher salary, and tempting goodies. This was outright blackmail for me but I had no other means of escape!

I had another emotional black mailer in my home, who was none other but my octogenarian bed-ridden mom. She demanded an entire box of ghee-laden KRISHNA sweets Mysore pa, threatened to complain about my lack of care if I refused. Sometimes, yielding to her temptations, I would hand over an entire box of sweets, that would lead to a surge in her sugar levels. A stay in the the hospital the very next day, where she got all the undivided attention and pampering, right from the nurse to the doctor, would rev up her spirits and would be back to normal. So to avoid such a situation, my daily shopping list included a big packet of milk Gova and packaged fruit juices which fulfilled her sugar cravings. For my mom, every day was Diwali to be celebrated with sweets.

Savouries were not my cup of tea, what with my expensive dental treatments, causing a hole in my shrinking bank balance. I had to think twice before crunching on any hard savory, since I was not sure whether I was going to end up with a cracked snack or my tooth.. The dentist, an old timer refused to offer dentures, preferring RCT instead, leaving me with a bunch of sensitive old teeth, which were not ready for either RCT or sweets.

Thus I was not in touch for a long time with making sweets or savories. But this time the cleaner had challenged me with her demand forcing me to come out of my comfort zone.

With just a week ahead of Diwali, I was furtively searching the Internet for recipes of sweets and savouries, which would be less expensive and less labour oriented, due to the disappearance of my trustworthy long time cook book of Meenakshi, which had perfect measurements and tutorials of making any dish. With an unfriendly and tiny kitchen which lacked even a basic exhaust fan, I was terrified at the very thought of having got to stand in front of the gas stove for hours. Kaju Katli, Badam halwa, pistachio rolls and milk based sweets were less labour intensive, but high on the cost factor and low on the shelf life. So finally I settled for the seven cup cake and Thenkuzhal, which had just a few ingredients and would be stomach friendly with a longer shelf life.

After toiling hard for two days in the kitchen, I could heave a sigh of relief when my efforts turned fruitful yielding a substantial quantity of sweet and a karam, the taste of which were satisfactory. I couldn’t but stop remembering my grandma and my MIL, both of them who slogged hard for days together, during Diwali time, making endless rounds of Badusha, Athirasam and other back breaking sweets, unmindful of the smoky kitchen and other inconveniences.

A few days ahead of Diwali, I presented the cleaner with a gift hamper consisting of 2 new SS containers filled up with sweet and karam, an envelope with few crisp 500 rs notes and a bagful of Fireworks. Impatiently when she opened the SS container with sweet, the strong aroma of ghee not only filled the room, but also lightened up her face, the glow of happiness and appreciation, which could not match any of the fiery sparklers. Her tears of gratitude, not only cheered me but also wiped out all the beads of perspiration shed in the kitchen along with my troubling anxiety. Before I could bid goodbye to her I could hear my mom shouting at me, demanding her second course of Sooji halwa!
Click to expand...

Mouth watering thread.
2. You concluded with sooji halwa. It gives an impression that making this sweet is not of back breaking category.
3. You filled me with sweet memories of my beloved mother planning for almost a week and three to four days in executing her plan prior to the Festival of Lights in preparing dishes sitting on floor and the sweet & snacks aroma wafting through warm air hitting nostrils in the neighbourhood. She taught me to twist the dough in seamless manner in a circular fashion.
4. House maid and her daughters would go out of the way to help my mother and sister and even stretch their stay a tad longer and carry out extra work cheerfully knowing that rewards would go proportionately up.
5. You had in your thread captured meticulously the emotions involved in tackling the maid-servant's possible black mailing and binging mother.
6. Hats off to your sweet light thread.
Thanks and Regards.
God Bless Us All.

Last edited: Oct 30, 2017

Thyagarajan, Oct 30, 2017

Thyagarajan, Oct 30, 2017

#25

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Oct 30, 2017 #26

Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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Thyagarajan said: ↑

Mouth watering thread.
2. You concluded with sooji halwa. It gives an impression that making this sweet is not of back breaking category.
3. You filled me with sweet memories of my beloved mother planning for almost a week and three to four days in executing her plan prior to the Festival of Lights in preparing dishes sitting on floor and the sweet & snacks aroma wafting through warm air hitting nostrils in the neighbourhood. She taught me to twist the dough in seamless manner in a circular fashion.
4. House maid and her daughters would go out of the way to help my mother and sister and even stretch their stay a tad longer and carry out extra work cheerfully knowing that rewards would go proportionately up.
5. You had in your thread captured meticulously the emotions involved in tackling the maid-servant's possible black mailing and binging mother.
6. Hats off to your sweet light thread.
Thanks and Regards.
God Bless Us All.
Click to expand...

Dear Thyagarajan,

Sooji halwa is my mother’s favorite, which I made exclusively for her because of her poor dentures.
I am so sad that everyone in this forum talks proudly only about their moms and not about their DW, when it comes to cooking.
My house help works in 5 houses, with very limited time to spare for my house cleaning. So can’t expect anything other than the routine work.
Thank you for your gracious FB!
Regards,
Agatha83

Agatha83, Oct 30, 2017

Agatha83, Oct 30, 2017

#26
Oct 31, 2017 #27

kkrish IL Hall of Fame

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Agatha83 said: ↑

I went through the entire 3rd part of Meenakshi’s ‘ cook and see’ as if I was preparing for an exam.
Click to expand...

Hahaha! I could imagine.
I too would try numerous new dishes till one day when my husband quietly asked, "will it be too difficult for you to make just rasam?"
My hubby, not wanting to take any more risks turning guinea pig for my cooking experiments, saw to it that I got a full time job soon.

But Meeankshi Ammal continues to be my guide, even today. I make boondhi laddus, jangiris, and balushahis, every Deepavali following her recipes. They are our staple for Deepavali. The sweets are very well appreciated by our circle of friends because of the freshness compared to the old sweets we get in the Indian stores where we live.

kkrish, Oct 31, 2017

kkrish, Oct 31, 2017

#27

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Dec 3, 2017 #28

Jeeves Silver IL'ite

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Agatha83 said: ↑

The cooking videos on youtube always fascinated me, bursting with tutorials of colorful lipsmacking snacks and its preparation. But I had to put a stop to my visual treats just there. My desire, either to purchase delicacies or make them at home, was not feasible, as all three inmates of our house were senior citizens with severe health issues, starting from dementia, dental problems, sugar, and cholesterol. Our conversations revolved around medicines, cures, bowel movements, doctors and hospitals.

My house cleaner brought me back from the “patient” world to the world of reality by giving me an ultimatum for her continuing with her work in the house – 2 months salary as bonus plus home made sweets and a bag of fireworks for her kids. Her reason for home made sweets was that last year all the snacks presented by her respective employers, resulted in her family having a severe bout of food poisoning and so she would have none of the shop stuff. If I was not interested in her deal, she was ready to quit and join my next-door neighbor, a wealthy lady ready to welcome our honest cleaner, with open arms, higher salary, and tempting goodies. This was outright blackmail for me but I had no other means of escape!

I had another emotional black mailer in my home, who was none other but my octogenarian bed-ridden mom. She demanded an entire box of ghee-laden KRISHNA sweets Mysore pa, threatened to complain about my lack of care if I refused. Sometimes, yielding to her temptations, I would hand over an entire box of sweets, that would lead to a surge in her sugar levels. A stay in the the hospital the very next day, where she got all the undivided attention and pampering, right from the nurse to the doctor, would rev up her spirits and would be back to normal. So to avoid such a situation, my daily shopping list included a big packet of milk Gova and packaged fruit juices which fulfilled her sugar cravings. For my mom, every day was Diwali to be celebrated with sweets.

Savouries were not my cup of tea, what with my expensive dental treatments, causing a hole in my shrinking bank balance. I had to think twice before crunching on any hard savory, since I was not sure whether I was going to end up with a cracked snack or my tooth.. The dentist, an old timer refused to offer dentures, preferring RCT instead, leaving me with a bunch of sensitive old teeth, which were not ready for either RCT or sweets.

Thus I was not in touch for a long time with making sweets or savories. But this time the cleaner had challenged me with her demand forcing me to come out of my comfort zone.

With just a week ahead of Diwali, I was furtively searching the Internet for recipes of sweets and savouries, which would be less expensive and less labour oriented, due to the disappearance of my trustworthy long time cook book of Meenakshi, which had perfect measurements and tutorials of making any dish. With an unfriendly and tiny kitchen which lacked even a basic exhaust fan, I was terrified at the very thought of having got to stand in front of the gas stove for hours. Kaju Katli, Badam halwa, pistachio rolls and milk based sweets were less labour intensive, but high on the cost factor and low on the shelf life. So finally I settled for the seven cup cake and Thenkuzhal, which had just a few ingredients and would be stomach friendly with a longer shelf life.

After toiling hard for two days in the kitchen, I could heave a sigh of relief when my efforts turned fruitful yielding a substantial quantity of sweet and a karam, the taste of which were satisfactory. I couldn’t but stop remembering my grandma and my MIL, both of them who slogged hard for days together, during Diwali time, making endless rounds of Badusha, Athirasam and other back breaking sweets, unmindful of the smoky kitchen and other inconveniences.

A few days ahead of Diwali, I presented the cleaner with a gift hamper consisting of 2 new SS containers filled up with sweet and karam, an envelope with few crisp 500 rs notes and a bagful of Fireworks. Impatiently when she opened the SS container with sweet, the strong aroma of ghee not only filled the room, but also lightened up her face, the glow of happiness and appreciation, which could not match any of the fiery sparklers. Her tears of gratitude, not only cheered me but also wiped out all the beads of perspiration shed in the kitchen along with my troubling anxiety. Before I could bid goodbye to her I could hear my mom shouting at me, demanding her second course of Sooji halwa!
Click to expand...

Jeeves, Dec 3, 2017

Jeeves, Dec 3, 2017

#28
Dec 3, 2017 #29

Jeeves Silver IL'ite

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What a lovely read this makes!!
It is quite sometime since I made sweets and Kaaram in our kitchen!! My Mom used to say " ENNai pukayaMam" in the house...ie..,make something for DeepavaLi...!
But I do make something!!
Made a nice read and brought back memories of Mother and Grandma toiling in the kitchens making goodies !

Jeeves, Dec 3, 2017

Jeeves, Dec 3, 2017

#29

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Dec 6, 2017 #30

GeetaKashyap IL Hall of Fame

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Agatha83 said: ↑

The cooking videos on youtube always fascinated me, bursting with tutorials of colorful lipsmacking snacks and its preparation. But I had to put a stop to my visual treats just there. My desire, either to purchase delicacies or make them at home, was not feasible, as all three inmates of our house were senior citizens with severe health issues, starting from dementia, dental problems, sugar, and cholesterol. Our conversations revolved around medicines, cures, bowel movements, doctors and hospitals.

My house cleaner brought me back from the “patient” world to the world of reality by giving me an ultimatum for her continuing with her work in the house – 2 months salary as bonus plus home made sweets and a bag of fireworks for her kids. Her reason for home made sweets was that last year all the snacks presented by her respective employers, resulted in her family having a severe bout of food poisoning and so she would have none of the shop stuff. If I was not interested in her deal, she was ready to quit and join my next-door neighbor, a wealthy lady ready to welcome our honest cleaner, with open arms, higher salary, and tempting goodies. This was outright blackmail for me but I had no other means of escape!

I had another emotional black mailer in my home, who was none other but my octogenarian bed-ridden mom. She demanded an entire box of ghee-laden KRISHNA sweets Mysore pa, threatened to complain about my lack of care if I refused. Sometimes, yielding to her temptations, I would hand over an entire box of sweets, that would lead to a surge in her sugar levels. A stay in the the hospital the very next day, where she got all the undivided attention and pampering, right from the nurse to the doctor, would rev up her spirits and would be back to normal. So to avoid such a situation, my daily shopping list included a big packet of milk Gova and packaged fruit juices which fulfilled her sugar cravings. For my mom, every day was Diwali to be celebrated with sweets.

Savouries were not my cup of tea, what with my expensive dental treatments, causing a hole in my shrinking bank balance. I had to think twice before crunching on any hard savory, since I was not sure whether I was going to end up with a cracked snack or my tooth.. The dentist, an old timer refused to offer dentures, preferring RCT instead, leaving me with a bunch of sensitive old teeth, which were not ready for either RCT or sweets.

Thus I was not in touch for a long time with making sweets or savories. But this time the cleaner had challenged me with her demand forcing me to come out of my comfort zone.

With just a week ahead of Diwali, I was furtively searching the Internet for recipes of sweets and savouries, which would be less expensive and less labour oriented, due to the disappearance of my trustworthy long time cook book of Meenakshi, which had perfect measurements and tutorials of making any dish. With an unfriendly and tiny kitchen which lacked even a basic exhaust fan, I was terrified at the very thought of having got to stand in front of the gas stove for hours. Kaju Katli, Badam halwa, pistachio rolls and milk based sweets were less labour intensive, but high on the cost factor and low on the shelf life. So finally I settled for the seven cup cake and Thenkuzhal, which had just a few ingredients and would be stomach friendly with a longer shelf life.

After toiling hard for two days in the kitchen, I could heave a sigh of relief when my efforts turned fruitful yielding a substantial quantity of sweet and a karam, the taste of which were satisfactory. I couldn’t but stop remembering my grandma and my MIL, both of them who slogged hard for days together, during Diwali time, making endless rounds of Badusha, Athirasam and other back breaking sweets, unmindful of the smoky kitchen and other inconveniences.

A few days ahead of Diwali, I presented the cleaner with a gift hamper consisting of 2 new SS containers filled up with sweet and karam, an envelope with few crisp 500 rs notes and a bagful of Fireworks. Impatiently when she opened the SS container with sweet, the strong aroma of ghee not only filled the room, but also lightened up her face, the glow of happiness and appreciation, which could not match any of the fiery sparklers. Her tears of gratitude, not only cheered me but also wiped out all the beads of perspiration shed in the kitchen along with my troubling anxiety. Before I could bid goodbye to her I could hear my mom shouting at me, demanding her second course of Sooji halwa!
Click to expand...

@Agatha83

Your write up was a wonderful treat with perfect amount of sweet and karam. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Thanks.

GeetaKashyap, Dec 6, 2017

GeetaKashyap, Dec 6, 2017

#30

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