FLOWERS, FOOD AND A POCKET FULL OF FUN

Onam

I would wake up bright and early and put on my brand new set saree (a traditional South Indian outfit which is unique to Kerala due to it being white with gold borders and design, as seen below). Adorning myself in gorgeous jewellery bought from India from the recent trip, I would make my way with my family to the celebrations taking place in town.

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Originally a Hindu festival, it is a celebration that brings together people of all religions. Legend says that Kerala was once ruled by a king named Mahabali and Onam is a celebration of his return from the underworld. This is a rough translation of a song that's often sung on this day:

"When Maveli ruled the land,

All the people were equal.

And people were joyful and merry;

They were all free from harm.

There was neither anxiety nor sickness,

Deaths of children were unheard of,

There were no lies,

There was neither theft nor deceit,

And no one was false in speech either.

Measures and weights were right;

No one cheated or wronged his neighbor.

When Maveli ruled the land,

All the people formed one casteless races"

There are many beautiful rituals and practices that take place over the course of the celebration and I'm going to briefly tell you about my favourite aspects of Onam:

പൂക്കളം (Pookalam)

This is a work of art. In a group, you gather flowers and create a beautiful floral carpet in front of your house in an attempt to attract Mahabali to visit your house.

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ഓണസദ്യ (Feast of Onam)

Quite simply the most magnificent thing about Onam is the banquet that everyone eats together. Around 26 vegetarian curries is served with rice on a plantain leaf. 

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തിരുവാതിര (Thiruvathira)

As a lover of dance, I always loved taking part in this performance. The dance is performed in a circle and is traditionally carried out by women.

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വടംവലി (Tug of War)

This is exactly what the title says but twice the fun.

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There we have it. A breakdown of one of my favourite festivals of Kerala. 

This year will be the first time in my life that I'm not celebrating Onam with anyone. I loved going and seeing everyone in the Indian community but things have changed over the year. Relationships and ties were broken and the sense of happiness is now tarnished with the question 'what if..?'

Oh how I wish I could spend Onam in God's own country...

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ഓണാശംസകൾ (Happy Onam) to all those reading my blog!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Trying different cuisines is one of my favourite things to do. I adore the way different traditions have different recipes and methods of cooking and even eating food.

Normally, I don't go to Indian restaurants. As much as I think that accommodating this cuisine for the people it targets is great, I do believe that the authenticity of a traditional Indian curry is soon disappearing. Indi-Go is a brilliant Indian street food supplier. The samosa chaat and the bhel papdi took me back to the bustle of the streets of Mumbai.

Samosa chaat

Bhel papdi

Pani Poori

I have never tried Vietnamese food and I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed. I had this meal at the Pho restaurant and it was absolutely divine. You get given a very good portion so you do get your money's worth. With the choice of a variety of sauces, herbs and spices to add to your own accord, you can make each dish your own.

Pho ga

#6 PAVLOVA

I've recently had a huge craving for pavlova. I haven't had it in ages and I love the mixture of textures that you can taste with each mouthful. As part of my summer bucket list I thought I'd give it a try. I've heard that making meringue is quite difficult but it was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be. Anyway, here's how I made it in case anyone wants to try it.

Ingredients for the meringue:

• 4 egg whites
• 250g of caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon of cornflour
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

- Start with whisking the egg whites using an electric whisk until you get a foam-like appearance.

- Slowly start putting in the sugar little by little. The mixture should now thicken and have a glossy appearance. Once you've finished adding all of the sugar, add the vanilla essence, cornflour and lemon juice.

- Once you're happy, pour the mixture out onto a baking tray. You're supposed to use baking paper rather than foil but I forgot to buy it so I had to make do with aluminium foil!

- Put the tray into the oven (which is at 150 C) and bake for an hour.

Ingredients for the topping:

• Double cream as required + caster sugar as required
• Strawberries, blackcurrants, raspberries and redcurrants
• 5 tablespoons of sugar

- Whisk the double cream along with the sugar until the mixture is as thick as whipped cream

- Mix the fruits along with the sugar on the hob until the sauce has been reduced.

- Once the meringue is done, put the whipped cream on top of it along with the fruit mixture

And voila!