Today I made Khichuri- a dish I normally detest. It's something I've always associated with being sick, or being lazy - just a hodge podge- in fact I'm pretty sure that's what a hodge podge is- of a dish. 

But it's been years since I ate it and since I am running perilously low on groceries I decided to try it out. And lo and behold, I was transported to another time, like smells and food will tend to do. 

Suddenly, I was reminded of my grandmother who used to make the dish with fired eggplants and potatoes and the most delicous tomato chutney. I saw clearly the small round cane dining table we used to eat at, with the sound of crickets and cricket in the background. My grandfather urging us to eat more of those side dishes, looking forward to mangoes.

Funny, how nostalgic something I so dislike made me. It was great.