THREE MIRACLES

There are times in our life, which leave an everlasting impression on us.

If I were to recall those times in my life, I had tasted the most perfectly prepared sweets, I could easily pin point three occasions.

The first was in 1975. It was my second sister’s marriage. The entire house was agog with excitement. Relatives had come in advance to our house and endless preparations were on to make the wedding a memorable one.

Those days we did not have marriage contractors. We had to do everything ourselves, from sourcing of materials, to management and execution.

We had arranged for a cook. His name was Natarajan. He was supposed to be very good in his trade.

We decided to make Mysore Pak for sweets.

Natarajan asked for Besan flour , sugar, ghee and proceeded to make the sweet.

He had a large kadai, lit a flame and within minutes made delicious Mysore pak. 

Mysore pak is supposed to have a hard surface, but it should crumble on biting. It should have a lot of natural holes in it, which is a part of the making process.

Once in the mouth it should disintegrate, with the flavor of ghee and spread the sweetness of sugar evenly on the tongue.

When you eat the perfect Mysore pak, you will not talk, your eyes will close in the bliss of the taste.

This mysore pak was perfect. In texture, taste and flavor.

Till date I am yet to taste a mysore pak as divine as the one I had eaten 38 years back.

The next miracle happened in my marriage in 1982.

The cook had made a sweet called badusha. Basusha is a challenging sweet. It has to have, just the right amount of sweetness [ not too sweet nor too bland], has to have layers, and should be soft and  crispy  enough to sink your teeth in, but should not be soggy. It is a difficult and challenging sweet, which most of the times is a let down.

But this time the Badushas were perfect and scored a 10 out of 10. It well perfectly oblique, with a small dent on either sides and  had a typical ring which were in twirls, just like one of the rings of the Saturn planet. It was also covered with sugar syrup which had dried and formed uneven crust on the surface. Perfect to see. And divine to eat. The Badushas were so soft with the lingering taste of sugar. They were simply yummy. 

Later I had many Badushas in my life but none came close to the wonder which I had in my marriage.

The third miracle sweet came last week on April 14^th . My colleague, of my previous firm, came home to visit me. The day before on 13^th ,  she had prepared Laddus in her house. She had been preparing Laddus, recently  many a times, and with each episode her Laddus had become better in taste. 

Laddus are made up of small beads of fried flour, soaked in sugar syrup, and rolled into small balls, with just one cashew, one raisin and one clove embedded in each of the Laddus. They are yellow in color. The beads should be soft, but firm and should cling to each other and maintain the shape of a ball and not fall apart. For if they are pressed too hard then the Laddus will be hard. Just the right amount of pressure is needed, so that they easily break into 2 halves, if you want to share it with some one.

Good laddus are easy to come buy, and I have had my share of good tasty Laddus.

But this batch was simply perfect. Delicious, mouth watering and a delight to savor. I refrigerated them and ate half a Laddu each night for desert, sharing the other half with my better half. I did not want the Laddus to be over. We stretched the  deserts for a week, and with great relish and greater regrets I ate the last of the wonderful thoughtful gift.

Never had I enjoyed Laddus so well in my life. Thanks to my colleague.

Good food is something we take for granted. But good sweets are the crowning glory for people with a sweet tooth.

Especially for me, born and brought up in Bengal, where no meal is complete without sweets. I relish ,savor , remember with fondness and nostalgia, all the times where I had been lucky to eat the perfect sweet. So far it has been just three times in a life spanning 58 years.  Well there are tomorrows, and who knows which perfect sweet waits for me in the future? 

MYSORE PAK

LADDOOS 

  

BADUSHAS