The Punjabiness in Dilli

*The title of this post may or may not be directly or indirectly related to the text that follows
**Read at your own peril, don't crib if it doesn't make no sense to you
***A note of thanks and a pocketful of Macadamias to the Nuttiest Nut for triggering the thoughts that led to this post...May your hair shine and glow and become black again :P

We were celebrating the birthday of a gangster (no no don't take that otherwise, Skeety means to say one of the friendly gang members) and another gangster reads the menu and says very cutely 'Ye dimsum kya hota hai'.
THUD
Skeets wanted to hide under the table. No Skeets is not making fun here, rather, just thinking of the various Punjabis she knows and how they react to 'alien' food. This gangsta is known to make peculiar faces at the sight of alien - meaning Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese or Mexican menus. He needs Punjabi food for surival. Dal, Paneer and the likes work best.
Moving on to the Nuttiest Nut.
Staying in London for about three years now, while talking to Skeety on the phone the Nuttiest Nut refers to Mozzarella in Carrozza as 'wo jo cheese ki tikki si thi na'. Skeety fell off the stairs on hearing that. Grr...
Also remembering a handful of other people who brand sauces or dips as 'chutneys'.
*Where's the wall
*Here
*Bangs head!
*OUCH that hurts :(
Okay all the above were Dilliwalas and walis and Punjabis in particular.
The Punjabi league is like that.
They love their gobhi alu, rajma chawal, dal makhani and so on.
*Breaks the rhythm
Skeety is yet again wondering WHY is she writing about food HERE.
*Stares into the abyss
*Starts scribbling again
Skeets was putting a lot of thought into food per se and here's the outcome:
Vada pao and burgers are similar...
Rajma is eaten in many forms, they become baked beans on toast as they transcend boundaries...
Rice becomes Risotto in Italy and Biryani in Pakistan (ok for that matter India too)
Pasta, Maggi and Noodles are shadows of each other...They dance around and change forms...Add/Substract various spices and lo! You have a different dish each time.
Back to POP (point of post): It is amazing to note how baked beans on toast will leave a punjabi unsatisfied (almost as if he/she has not had a meal) while rajma chawal will act like ambrosia.
Same ingredients, same earth, different tastes and reactions.

Delhi Diaries- A hazy morning, a very warm afternoon and a wonderful evening...

Delhi, Skeeter's city (ok ok yours too) can churn up the most surprising moods. Skeeter was going through the archives and found these pictures. Reflected back on when and why these were shot. The answer are here.
One morning, Skeeter woke up to a hazy sky. It'd rain soon. This happens many a times...The weather goes bad and you are cribbing and cribbing and some more when one morning you wake up to this:

A dhaba near the old office in central Delhi served AWESOME alu paranthas. With mixed achar (pickle they call it), makhan (Skeeter won't call it butter here) and a big dollop of dahi (yoghurt you know it as :P )An evening when you can have elaichi chai with the self would find you somewhere near a nice bamboo swing when the rays of the sun bid adieu to you by kissing the cuppa with their warm glow.

They say Delhi is rough. They say the people are ruthless. They say Delhi is this. They say Delhi is that.To Skeeter Delhi is warm, caring and a lot more. It is her beloved city.

P.S.: Work's getting crazier but Skeeter is fighting for the time to write here...She wins!