Cravings!!

Ever since I read some food fiction, my hands have been itching to write some. Although I have written some earlier(Ubbatis and ma in laws), I didn’t know that it was food fiction. :D. So here goes…….

****************************************************************

Amita licked her lips and sighed and then laid a hand on her swollen tummy and felt the baby turn. Ahh,  leave the physical discomfort, feeling a baby grow inside you was such a bliss.

Nilesh and she had met 5 years back at a cousin’s wedding. They met on and off and realized that they were compatible. In the meantime Nilesh established himself in his job and Amita finished her B.Arch and got into a job.

And so when they got married, waiting for a baby didn’t seem worthwhile and Amita promptly got pregnant.

But was she ready for the nausea,t the weakness or the cravings. No.

She was anaemic and so was perpetually tired. Nowadays she had started operating from home. Her colleague would meet the client and then brief her and she would work from home.

And the cravings. Sometimes she would yearn for something sweet, sometimes some chat. The cravings would come any time even at midnight when she was deep asleep and then she would get up and rush to the kitchen.

She was blessed to have an understanding mother in law. The poor lady took tried her best to fulfill all her wants. Because food from restaurants gave her upset stomach. Yes, her baby liked home food, Amu thought and smiled.

But if she thought herself blessed to have such lovely in-laws, rati, Nileshs cousin negated it. Rati could find faults with everything she did, whether it was her dressing style, the way she spoke or her cooking.

But right now her problem was something else. She had been to visit Sneha her cousin. Now Snehas family although Brahmins ate fish, unlike hers. Her in-laws didn’t even like having onion garlic although now for her sake they had ‘adjusted’.  That day at Snehas place some gingery smell floated out of the kitchen and since then she had been craving for ‘that’ curry. Although never in  her life she had tasted fish nor she thought she would but what could she do for her craving. She was salivating just thinking of the smell.

She picked up her mobile and told Sneha her predicament.’Ohh dear I am so sorry, but you can make the same curry with some brinjals or potatoes. Just cook some brinjals with onion and ginger when done, add a gravy of grated coconut, fried red chillies and tamarind. Let it simmer and then in the end drizzle some coconut oil, that’s it.’

Amu felt happy, the curry was simple but the problem was she was allergic to brinjals and potatoes. ……..well they made her bloat.

Evening was a feast at their home. Amu had made ghee rice and ale piyavu (onion ginger-the name of the curry). Well she had substitued the fish with some paneer and it had turned out yummy.

The only glitch was Rati had come down to visit them in the evening and stayed  for dinner too.

Amu always ate last the advantage being that she could eat-heartily without worrying that the food might get short. But today she felt it was a bad idea. Because  right in front of her Rati sat and ate and went on eating. And Amu wondered if anything would be left for her at all.

Everyone appreciated her, her father in law even kept a hand on her head blessing her except Rati who said; ‘The ghee rice could do with a bit more ghee and the curry, well it was a bit more sour.’

Sigh..Sister in laws, could you ever satisfy them…sigh.

********************************************************

Ale piyavu or Ginger onion curry is a very popular dish of Konkanis. The major plus point being that it uses minimal oil.