Hearty Healthy

It’s too hot and humid, and with a power failure, I was sweating like hell. Just a few minutes before, I had taken my shower. Having my last portion of lunch, I was searching desperately for something in my fridge, but I actually forgot to buy one. My all-time favorite item, which I can even take a truckload if needed in any form. It is generally considered to cool the body in tropical climates.

I don’t know how and when exactly I developed a taste for it. One of my favorite childhood food items was a heaping spoonful of it. I’d lick it like a lollipop until all traces of the thick delectable were gone. As I got older, I used to mix it with a portion of vegetable curry(s) as well as lentils given to me beside the last course. Now, I regularly indulge and make sure to have it at last after two main meals. Without that, it’s something incomplete for me. I hope you guessed it by now… yes, I am talking about yogurt known for its characteristic taste and consistency.

Being born and brought up in a cosmopolitan town had known the taste of India from my childhood. Due to the employment opportunities created by the Bhilai Steel Plant, people from all over the country flock here, and the culture here provides a scintillating example of “Unity in Diversity”.

We had a south Indian neighbor when I was a child. I used to love auntie’s food over my mom’s, despite her trying her best to make the best food, which I never appreciated. Like the proverb says “ghar ki murgi daal barabar” (Self-possession is always undermined, and other’s possessions seem better). The memory still brings forth strong emotions when I think of it. I have one memory of eating this dish called Curd-rice as a small kid, which Auntie used to prepare by mixing curd and rice with a pinch of salt to taste if yogurt is a bit tangy. For them, it is a common practice to finish any meal with curd rice. While our other neighbor was from the North, so often used to have Raita - a special preparation with yogurt; normally served chilled. Though there are a lot of variations in raita, of which boondi is most common. Vegetable Raita involves adding grated cucumber and mint paste or using tomato, cucumber, and onion raitas or diced carrots. Sometimes tempering it with mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, channa & urad daal with a pinch of asafoetida. Actually, Raita is a good foil for spicy North Indian dishes like parathas, tandoori chicken, etc.

Now being born in a bongo family, we have Misti doi, a thick sweetened yogurt that tastes as sweet as pudding, which is served and sold in an earthen pot. Presently staying in the western part, Shrikhand is taken in the form of dessert made from strained curd. A soft muslin cloth is tied up and hung to drain all the water for a few hours from the curd. Sugar, salt, saffron, cardamom, diced fruit, raisins, and nuts are then added for its taste.

Apart from all these, curd is widely prepared at home where it has an important place in traditional cuisine. It can be made from a small amount of store-bought, plain, freshly cultured yogurt by adding lukewarm milk thoroughly. The quality of curd depends on the starter used. The time taken to curdle varies with the seasons, taking less than 3 hours in hot weather and up to 10 hours in cold weather.

During our stay in Europe, I used to wonder seeing one complete row of umpteen varieties of yogurt from fat-free to bio-organic in a superstore. Not only natural and unflavored yogurt but also yogurt with fruit, vanilla, chocolate, and various other flavors are common. To offset its natural sourness, yogurt is often sold sweetened, flavored, or in containers with fruit or fruit jam on the bottom. And whenever we traveled to different parts of Europe, we found a different texture and taste for the same. It tastes completely different just across the border; in 2003 European Union debated to give a standardized name to yogurt, but later abandoned that project.

Well well, wherever you go, you will find curd; maybe of different versions in terms of taste and characteristics. So, while I have my daily dose of friendly bacteria, you can certainly think about whether it’s worth having or not.