Growing up in Bombay has a lot to do with it. Potatoes (Batata) and onions (Kaanda) are staple diet for me. I can eat potatoes morning, noon, night, and still want more the next day, and still more all week.But back to onions. There's just something about them that makes
me feel that no meal (I mean at the very least, no Indian meal) is complete without it. Chop it up fine and sprinkle it over daal or rajma or even some achaar, or saute em' in a little oil, add a few spices and then cook the rest of the vegetables all this while eagerly anticipating the moment you're going to bite into your dish, especially anticipating the taste of the onions soaked up in the spices. Mmmm!
Can you imagine eating the best streetside pav bhaaji without topping off the bhaaji with some onions? Or bhel?
And not to forget sandwiches or burritos. A good veggie bread sandwich, toasted or untoasted isn't complete without onions. A good burrito is also not complete without onions. That reminds me, another good use for onion is mixing them up with some hot jalapeno pep
pers in a food processor to make some tangy hot dip for your tortilla chips.Italian food without sauteed onions just seems so blaaah sometimes! And imagine a garden omlette without onions (and peppers for that matter)! How can you eat greasy hashbrowns at Waffle House without having them smothered with onions?
I've even discovered a complete good-breath-destroyer little variation to eating potato chips. That's right. Add some chopped raw onions to your bowl of potato chips.
And it's not just me that them onions have me by my onions (ahem!). Onions (their scarcity rather) have brought down several governments in India. Back home (i.e. India), any government that does not keep the price of onions down under control is playing with fire. Who cares if onion scarcity or higher prices will reduce the number of people with bad breath by 66.67%?! (The other 33.33% are made up of garlic, and garlic + onion lovers - according to leading researchers in the area. That should convince you about its authenticity since I used the word research to back my claim!)
One day I will describe to you in boring detail how much the potato has been a part of my life since my earliest memories of eating. And I'm sure you'll be looking forward to that moment when your time will be totally wasted once again.
(pics courtesy: spacebar.blogsome.com, www.cok.net/lit/recipes/)
4 comments:
I have never seen you post a comment on something like this. Its totally different from the regular posts you do
Why this sudden change, and why express the sudden love for onions and potatoes...curious??
hehe...I share your love for the onions. I avoid eating them during the day to avoid bad breath. We should have a pot luck and everyone should make something from their state. Hmm you will have to think hard about what you are going to dish out something from Maharastra or A.P.
Ahh - Onions! You touched a raw (pun intended) nerve there my friend. Hope D sees this post and stocks up on your depleted supply of onions ... the red ones from farmer's market and not the yellow ones from Food Lion :P - bleh
-Venky
I never eat raw onions in the daytime either...but I love onions...I think the analogy of "peel the onion" is one of the best tributes to the bulbous plant..and of course, now this one :)
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