The Foodie Fam

This painting by William Claesz reminds me of the quote:-

‘There are two kinds of people: one who eat to live and others who live to eat.’

 

Now you might say I am clearly in group one, but sadly only a handful of people fall in this category and you, my dear readers, are somewhere in the grey region.

 

There are various stages of being a foodie and I am proud to announce that my entire family has a spot somewhere on the great foodie chart.

 

Clearly, the genetics are at a blame here. Cause it all began with my grandfather. My Daddu (grandfather) is really passionate about food.

 

His love for food grew over the years. It was as if the doctor restricting him against certain things made his tastebuds rival the set barriers.

 

For Daddu a party means food. Maybe that’s why he a few years ago started to celebrate his birthday two times.

As according to him he found an old birth certificate with a birthdate in May. The only mystery is that this ‘certificate’ never came in anyone else’s hands.

 

This way he had a summer and winter birthday too, giving him a chance to have parties with delicacies of both seasons.

 

He loves to pre-imagine and dream about all foods and delicacies that have to be served. He portrays food sometimes in a way as if he can taste it.

 

Being a diabetic patient sugary foods are a big NO for him yet he finds ways to sneak bits of it on his plate.

Like once when I was visiting him, he started to talk highly of a new ice cream shop near his house. Even though I told him multiple times that I was in no mood for ice cream he kept insisting.

 

Finally, I gave in and said, “Fine I will bring some. Which one should I bring for you?”

And he innocently replied, “Well, if you are forcing me this much then I will have the Vanilla one but do bring it in a big cup.”

 

So, indeed Daddu bags the top spot on the foodie chart and then there is me right at the bottom (Yes, I am so humble).

 

I had already told you guys that food is just fuel for me. I am not saying that I have celery and salad for every meal. I am not a rabbit after all.

Not being a part of that handful of people I too am enchanted by food. I am trapped by the smells of pizza, burgers, noodles…but I am not obsessed with it.

Sure, fast-food acts as a good change but I treat it with equal attention as normal home-cooked food.

 

Clearly dreaming about the next meal is not my cup of tea. So, whenever my mother asks what to cook for the next meal, I find myself in a tight spot.

 

Like you tell me, what’s the big difference between Mutter-Paneer and Aloo–Mutter? Both are the same gravy dishes.

 

In such moments of peril, my younger brother comes in like a flicker of light and helps my mother choose the dishes not just for that meal but for the entire 2 days.

 

Doing so, he rises up on mom’s favourite child graph.

 

But honestly speaking I am not jealous of him.

 

Instead, I find his relationship with food quite cute. My brother loves food.

There is a difference between my brother’s love and Daddu’s obsession with food.

For starters, he doesn’t dream about the next meal but is quite open in expressing his choice of the things to be cooked.

 

Also, my brother is not only concerned with the finished product but also, takes time to analyse how the dish is made. Staying in the kitchen he has even learned to cook some things.

 

If this is not love then I don’t know what is.

 

It is indeed the purest form of love, when he sits down to eat and wants no distraction during it.

 

It is simply lovely the way he sets up his plate with the appropriate side (like curd, chutney, pickles, papad, etc.) and selects his cutlery.

 

My brother has his personal Merit list for food. And I hereby announce to all the dishes that it is a great honour to be there.

 

When my father got into a cooking frenzy during the lockdown, his mission was to send a few dishes onto that list. Let’s say the experiments went alright as I am still here after being a test subject.

 

But to put up my father on the foodie chart would surely be tricky.

 

My father is like a few of those people who say they ‘eat to live’ and ‘Oh! I am diet conscious’ but they too have a weak spot.

And my father’s ultimate weakness is desserts. Yes, my father needs to end every meal with something sweet.

 

And usually, this task falls upon the packet of Rusk. Rusk is a cross between simple biscuit and fruit cake and it is my father’s favourite.

 

Such is his craze for Rusk that you can think of any salted delicacy yet he needs to end it with this lame thing. I mean at least after Maggie this should not be eaten.

 

But then my father drinks tea for the sole reason he can have Rusk to eat with it.

 

And this is just scratching the surface of his sugar craze. He totally adores all kinds of sweets especially Gulab Jamun, waffles, Nutella, Kit Kats, Cornflakes, and so on so forth.

 

During his cooking frenzy, the top dishes (i.e., the edible ones) were only the desserts.

His desserts like Coconut Pudding and Rusk Nutella have become an all-time favourite.

 

My dad to control the growing numbers on the weighing machine decided to eat no sweets at dinner. But guess, a box of doughnuts can break all rules.

 

Next comes the case of my father’s father-in-law or my Nanu. He falls in the category of ‘Forced Foodie.’

Actually, my Nani is an awesome cook and also, she is in love with cooking. Now both these things are in a way quite bad for someone who tries to eat less.

 

Cause any attempts at dieting in my Nani’s house fail miserably under the ravishing smell of curry.

The irony is that loving to cook doesn’t lead to loving to eat in her case. As my Nani is more than happy to feed everyone gallons but eats little herself.

 

Now comes the case of my grandmother (Daadi) who has to try hard to control my Dadu’s food rush.

 

But we can’t really diet for anyone else. (Too bad I had some actresses in mind to work out for me).

 

Finally, comes my dear mother who, upon asking where I should put her on the foodie chart, told me that the person who cooks kind of reaches an agreement with food.

They are not obsessed with, nor in love with it, especially if they have to cook for themselves.

But yes, if we go outside for food then she too would be a great foodie.

 

So, here my dear readers you too can place yourself anywhere on the foodie chart with 1 being a Me and 5 being my Daddu.

 

On this note, I take my leave because now I need to search for a hiding spot from my entire family as I have just revealed their foodie status and they might not like it (They probably won’t like it).

 

Hope I can write to you all next month too, until then Bon Appetite.