Recipes from home...

A recent trip by my cousin sister to Mangalore has not only provided my grandma with a pleasant surprise and heartwarming happiness, it has also brought up a topic which I suspect we are all very passionate about; food. As a family, we have in our midst in the form of our parents, expertise in the art of cooking that we should all be grateful for. While some of it is being passed on to the next generation with a reasonable level of success, I fear the future generations will lose out if we do not act now. Roushelle's idea to collate as many recipes as we can find is one that I whole heartedly agree with.
I have been invited to lunches and dinners at other Mangalorean houses and have come away with nothing more than a brief memory of unsavory tidbits. All too often, they have been more misses than hits.
Having lived away from my parents for the better part of my life, without a doubt, one of the things I missed the most is my mum's cooking. And I am pretty sure; my cousins will have similar cravings for good home cooked food rustled up by their mums in a jiffy. I know my mum had sorpotel ready three days in advance of my touching down in Bombay on every trip I made. Dad took care of the beers.
On every trip that I have made to my cousin’s place in Doha, we have invariably spent the Friday afternoons cooking away, in the hope of replicating a recipe or two that our mum's cooked for us. If these attempts do not prove our passion for good food, then what will? I rest my case.
On another parallel, food plays an important part in our Mangalorean culture, indeed in any culture. Losing out on recipes will erode our culture for future generations, for our children. Let this not happen.
An idea sparked off by my cousin sister to create a recipe log of dishes we hold dear is something I whole heartedly support. I do hope the family will help in creating this recipe log which we and our children could share for many delicious years to come.

Bon Appétit

Sanman