I have always loved food!! A variety of food – both in my eating experiences & cooking at home recipes.

I also love predictability, routine, and having everything mapped out. But, like they say change is the only constant, and, I have been trying to keep pace with the thing called life over the last few months.

So, once the dust settled, the kind of dust that usually comes with the winds of change, I decided to get adventurous, with my cooking!!

Cooking has always been my happy place, where I can pretend I’m a top chef without reality TV cameras. From menu planning (or “what’s in the fridge?”) to the joy of chopping vegetables, I relish selecting the freshest ingredients and filling the room with the sweet smell of a dish well done.

So, I had made the physical move, can I make the culinary move? Can my cooking keep up with the vast variety of spices from across the world that the grocery stores aisles are lined up with?

Each time I resisted, they called out more passionately. They said “Add to cart”. I felt like I had found new friends in the pasta sauce, thai curry and fajita spice mix. The kimchi & bbq sauce winked at me like long lost friends, while the ranch was happy discovery.

Let’s dive in to the flavour party!!

For months, I basically turned my kitchen into a carnival of food fest – it was like a Thai curry throwing a crazy party with Japanese miso soup crashing in, and then parathas and rotis were all like, “Hey, why not invite the Mexican taco, all dressed up in a tortilla?” The classic raita and chutneys suddenly had to share the stage with guacamole and salsa like newcomers in the scene.

At first, my taste buds were having a blast, thinking they’d stumbled upon the ultimate jackpot of flavour madness!

While I continued to explore aisle after aisle, it slowly started to feel like a good day dream going off rails along with my shopping cart!

After a blissful phase, my pantry went totally haywire. Like, those package sizes are way bigger than I ever imagined, and trying to whip up everything before it goes rogue?

The Challenge

But you know what? The real change happened in my head, or more like my taste buds – every day, the food just didn’t hit the same way anymore. It didn’t taste bad or anything, but it just wasn’t vibing with my soul like it used to.

Then started my hunt for the meal that would delight my heart and taste buds!! Meanwhile my digestive systems were praying for the light to emerge at the end of my bloated gut!

Search for soul food!!

I figured it was time to take a breather from my gastronomic journey, so I decided to go for a 3-week break from anything that comes from a store that is ready to munch on, saying goodbye to those overly processed sauces and mixes for good!

That meant I had to cook from the scratch and the one thing that I have happily scratched endlessly over the years is my Dosa pan. Dosa has always been my favourite friend in every situation so far. My motto has been “Every emotion needs a crisp masala dosa.”

The Dosa party led me back to the pages of the recipes from my mom & mom-in-law. They had proportions that were perfected over the years and flavours I could totally recall by heart. Along with the recipe was usually a secret ingredient or a cooking tip that they had whispered with a dash of life lessons.

The soul searching had led me to the trail of those long forgotten food memories.

The warm cosy rasam while recovering from a fever. The celebratory Gulab Jamoons for all the small and big wins. The hot gossips shared over equally hot pakoras.

The spicy biryani that a friend would pack specially for me. The shared meals after a hectic day at school or work. The family heirloom recipes that a my extended family has texted after treating me to a great meal and hearty laugh.

The last few weeks have been a wonderful journey on the train of memories as I got back to making Idlis and Dosa while happily dunking them and my taste buds in hot sambar and spicy chutneys.

Finding my way back home

After the hit of dosas, came my favourite food memory – my mother’s akki roti – not the universal all purpose floor roti or chapatis but a typical hand beaten directly on the pan roti made from rice flour or sometimes even finger millet (ragi) flour.

Amma had various additions to the roti depending on the season. From fresh mustard leaves to aromatic dill ones, from good old onions to freshly grated coconut with a dash of ground pepper – Amma had a quick fix to get the humble akki roti to transform into an eat-athon for us when we were kids.

Now, when I whipped up this same akki roti with a nice pat of butter and a scoop of fresh onion chutney, my moody teenager goes, “This tastes just like what Ammamma (Grandma) makes!” At that moment, I felt like I had found my way back home after my a little food vacation!

What’s a Food Vacation!!

It is that chill time when you get to explore new eats and relax for a bit, stepping away from the daily grind. It’s the kind of food trip I’d love to try every now and then, but the best part is having a cosy, warm food home to come back to after the adventure.

I’d still want to embark on a culinary quest, discovering bizarre dishes and exotic cuisines, while wrestling with mysterious ingredients that may or may not belong in a science lab! But hey, that would be like a delicious vacation from home cooked food – a food vacation!!

I finally found the right mix of both the worlds – every food experiment is best followed up with something comforting. Every comfortable cooking stint needs to come with plans to include some food adventure.

So, folks let me know what is your favourite food and food memory?

PS: This entire 21 day gut reset program was taken in accordance to the advise of a certified dietician. Please take advise from health care professionals before deciding to embark on lifestyle programs. *This is not a weight loss program or related to weight loss concerns*

This post is dedicated to my dietician for her support.