Saturday Special at the S's

Food has never been my strong suit though I love to cook. My interest in cooking is purely because of V who truly believes, he lives to eat!! Being in NJ, with just one depressing season for most part of the year, to add some color to our lives, all we are entitled is to have get togethers at someone's place, either a potluck or a feast at the host's cost. My main catalyst for these social occasions has always been the crowd and never the food. With one of my neighbor's recent lunch invitation, for the first time I have forced myself to look for something better than just the mob:)

The S's hail from Palakkad and the awesome foursome (read husband, wife + 2 kids) are embodiments of hospitality. They are extremely artful in making you feel at complete ease when around. Between her very busy schedule of attending birthday parties, luncheons, servicing friends and families stop overs, travelling within and outside the country as frequently as possible, running the shelter for her girls friends sleep overs, organizing community functions, catching up with her native mates who dominate the neighborhood, following a few multi-lingual daily soaps in leading channels dedicatedly, not missing even a single movie that gets released in the 2 easily accessible theatres, she hardly finds time to breathe. Nonetheless the busy lady managed to extend a lunch invitation to us and another friend who lives in the neighboring community.

Though it was the elders at my place who were the actual reasons for the meal call, we planned to mark full attendance. I was overly enthused not about the big feed but to check out her ethnic costume collection and the appropriate accessories that she had stacked from her recent visit to the motherland!! I tried taking a guess at her menu and was somehow sure she was going to treat us to an enormous lunch buffet in authentic Kerala Style and my guess was perfect! As though reading my mind, she called to check if any of us had any apprehension to Jackfruit!!

In the whole universe, to the best of my knowledge the only state where this invasive species enjoys a status more than just a fruit is Kerala. When most part of the world is still unaware of the existence of such a massive produce and the population who have awareness don’t necessarily have any special fondness, it is only in this coconut island that every soul devours this fruit. Apparently it also happens to be the "State's fruit"..no wonder it finds its extensive use in every other household. The inmates do a thorough justice to all parts of the fruit. They are capable of using this fruit in every category of a meal - right from an appetizer to a dessert!! For an instant I even thought she was planning an elaborate Jackfruit meal! Good lord, she spared us from the inconvenience!!

I tried to probe on the menu for everyone else’s sake but as always she didn’t give even the slightest hint. On the D-day Jay was down with a bug and we had to take turns for the lunch. V and his parents made the first trip and I was planning to join the S's later. It was well past the lunch hr when I stepped in and I could smell the aroma of the foods right at the foyer which immediately started working hard on my digestive juices. I was literally starving because I had strategically skipped my breakfast!

I walked straight to the dining table and was taken aback on my plate...it was the banana leaf that she had got for this occasion driving 70 miles one way. When all gatherings these days are driven by self service and powered by paper stationeries, banana leaf and host service was a sweet welcome. It reminded me of the festive occasions back home. I was deeply touched and by then the other friends who claimed to be waiting for my arrival to start, was already on their third helping.

Taking my seat at the head of the table ready to hog, I couldn't help notice a pitcher right in the middle of the table filled with a transparent liquid which I assumed was water, with an inverted half coconut acting as the cover on top. I was anticipating rice when Mr.S took the half coconut away and offered the liquid from the pitcher. It was not water but tender coconut. The half coconut was a representation of the source of the drink. What creativity!!

I was sipping my drink and Mrs. S served the sweet - Jackfruit payasam. As I understand from the detailed explanation S offered on the recipe of this sweet, the fruit needs to be extremely ripe and the base preparation is a very cumbersome one eating up hrs of time. It was not until the end of the 20 minute monologue we understood that her real effort was only in explaining the process and not in the actual preparation. S had conveniently used the base (jam) she had brought and stacked from India!!! Still effort is an effort and the sweet tasted delicious. I helped myself to 2 glasses which is very unusual given my affinity for sweets!!

The main course included 2 vegetables (cabbage and plantain), Poricha Kuzhambu and Maambazha Puliseri. All of them were very well-made and yummy! One needs to have a tongue for the Maambazha Puliseri and not all who choose to try their hands on this dish can make it edible. S is definitely a specialist. Seemingly she has a lot of admirers for her Puliseri and am one!! I was stuffing myself passionately adding myself a few extra troublesome pounds. Amidst the fast-food and an average, one dish wonder families S stands out with her culinary skills and the varieties.

It was very hearty scrumptious meal and I look forward to more such invitations in the future:)