Paranthe and Punjabis: the brewing breakfast conversations.
Time and again, I've denied the dollops of ghee that are shoved on my paranthas ever since I was a child. Yet, my grandmother, always, somehow, has the upper hand. Her puppy eyes, pleas, and “kasmein” (oaths) have always melted my resolve in a moment's time. Ironic, how I always have found myself making oats, pancakes, and different types of sandwiches in my aesthetic fervor of matching Pinterest standards, yet, somehow, always come home to food,my grandmother makes on days I'm exhausted.
It goes without saying that every Sunday in a busy and bustling Punjabi household would always have an assortment of different kinds of stuffed breads, or paranthe. Especially when the entire family was home during summer vacations the kitchen would be crowded with ladies around the stove and the gents around the other one. While bade papa would make different kinds of omelettes, the ladies would work on the breads and the youngsters would always be going to and fro with teacups,serving food to others in shifts. Conversations would brew over green tea, tea and coffee about a bazillion things ranging from politics to annual family trips to careers, and to that one time someone got lost in Haridwar.
As I grow older, I reminisce and cherish these memories a little extra, as I see the elders falling prey to age and getting slower. A wistfulness of sort seeps in, but I know that every annual summer and winter meet up, something won't change, and those will be our beloved paranthe with the same people going about the same conversations. Nor would any of us refuse that extra spoon of ghee, kyuki bade kehte hain sehat banti hai. (The elders say it's good for your health)
Aloo, gobhi, gajar, muli, besan, pyaaz. The list may go on and on.
We went back out to deck 15 to check on the still misty George Town. The ship was now docked at the Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal preparing for her passengers to disembark. The maintenance crew in the meantime was giving the North Star its morning workout routine check.
Then it is off to Windjammer Marketplace to continue part two of our breakfast since we had not enjoyed the first meal. Took some roasted pork, half a grill tomato and a wedge of paratha which is an Indian flatbread and topped with some curry vegetables. My colleagues back home had been telling me that I must try the Paratha and the curries. The crispy flatbread or prata as we called it here had a slightly stretchy texture and with the spicy vegetables curry, they just melded together to become a delicate eat.
My dining companion also had the plain paratha but with another type of vegetables curry. The Egg Roll was a tad rubbery, not unlike the fluffy soft Japanese version. Never could resist taking the Sunny-Side Up Egg as I like my egg yolk still oozy.