My favourite food

“Did you get those packets of aromatic holy sticks,” my uncle wakes me up with a panicking groaning voice. Oh there no house warming happening at home. It’s our love for food which we have to hide. It’s the story of every Gujarati household eating non-veg.
It’s no lazy Sunday but rather a festive as its time for family get together. There no jalebi or fafda or khandvi as we are stereotypically quoted but its Amma he hath ka Chicken Masala and Prawns Fry.
Amma is all geared up for the day just like a master chef for her kitchen. She wakes up at 7 in the morning as she believes morning chicken and prawns is the fresh. She cleans and marinates the chicken like making dough. On the other side the house is filled with the raw smell of the prawns. Doors and windows are shut and house is turned into a gas chamber fearing neighbours will know and will stop talking to us. I still remember when we had such get together during childhood the names of the dishes were never disclosed to us. We were simply told the code names, gems for prawns and spicy chewing gum for chicken. We never bothered to ask questions and simply relished the taste.
The spicy smell of the chicken masala increases as the whislte of the pressure cooker blows one by one. “Srrrrr”, voice comes as oil drops dances as it’s poured on the hot tawa for frying the prawns. The crispy fried prawns are served with green chutney accompanied by the finely chopped mixture of onion, tomatoes, green chilies and tangy vinegar added to the salad. The spicy red Chicken Masala becomes very evident when the lid of the pressure cooker is opened and all of us take the soothing smell of the dish which is served with hot phulkas.
After all the preparation its buffet served at the table. The noise of the gathered 20 people suddenly stops as everyone starts eating. With every bite of the mouthwatering dish, it’s a day to relish and feast to enjoy. The comparison between the time taken to make the dish is never proportionate to the time it takes to gulp the entire buffet.
Such are our Sundays celebrated with fun, family, games and of course the food. After the feast ends the important part starts, two packets of aromatic holysticks are waved across the house to sway away all the much loved smell so that the windows and doors can be opened.