My Monsoon Menu- Divine! | Blog by Jishnutha,12, Kaniha
Monsoon means hot food! 12-year-old Jishnutha from Kaniha writes about her mom’s special south Indian monsoon menu.
My Monsoon Menu
Every minute seems like an hour for me on a monsoon Monday at 1 PM in my school. I start to yearn for the school to disperse. As the raindrops dance outside my window and petrichor travels my nose, I hear the school’s last bell ringing and my legs rush to catch the bus.
As the bus slowly rumbles, my stomach loudly grumbles. I turn deaf to my friends’ chit chat and imagine my mother tempering food in her kitchen.
When my bus stop arrives, I am the only one prancing to my house without an umbrella. Today the sensory cells of my nose are working one step ahead than usual. Within two minutes I slip into my casuals and sit on the mat to relish the moment. I give a cue to my mother that I’m ready for my favorite food. The smell of the damp earth is suddenly switched into the scent of hot rice laid on the banana leaf with homemade cow ghee sprinkled like the dewdrops settling on the leaf. The flavorsome drumstick sambar accompanies the hot rice. After mashing the sambar rice, I take a morsel of sambar rice with the succulent raw banana fry which takes me straight to heaven and I keep on coming back to earth for the finger-licking food.
After completing this, I move on to Phase 2 which is the hot tomato pepper rasam. And this time, the partner for the rasam rice is the crunchy papad. My tummy always saves room for dessert, it’s payasam time! Moong dal mixed with jaggery syrup and topped with cashews, raisins and coconut slits stimulate every taste bud of my tongue. I’m completely stuffed with my favorite monsoon menu.
If the food could ever speak, it would definitely fall in love with me. It’s time to say goodbye…. I’m going to have forty winks! My tummy and I live happily ever after.
