My Food...growing up with different cuisines...

My Food

Visakhapatnam in the 50’s was a small nondescript town or so I learned much later when I got past the nursery school. Born into a vegetarian family, the food was typical of the area, but then more of it later. I had the fortune of spending my childhood in Calcutta as my father was posted there. My introduction to food was completely Bengali…aloo dum, doi bath, mishit doi, shondesh, rossogolla and more surprisingly, rice with milk which was something very new for us being from Andhra where this is not part of the cuisine. Occasional visits to Park Street and Maidan gave me an insight into jhalmuri, the delights of Flurry’s (a Swiss confectioner…yes…it was truly a Swiss confectionery) and the rare visit to Trinka’s for dining out. Life was on a roll for the kid.

My father got posted to Hyderabad in 1960 and so we moved to that ‘epitome of haute cuisine’ which I was to discover in my teens. School gave me the opportunity to eat out once in a while as also the family outings…however, these were to our favorite cuisine…the Andhra vegetarian cuisine…and so Taj Mahal Hotel in Abid’s and Koti were well frequented with a rare diversion to Kwality’s where cutlets and ice cream were the most loved. Punjabi neighbors gave us an opportunity for tasting ‘maa ki dal’, rotis, masoor dal, dishes made with mustard oil, makki di roti and other staples of Punjabi cuisine.  A dear classmate, Deepak Roy, when he came to know that I spent some time in Calcutta, frequently called me over to his home for lunch and…wow…everything I loved in Calcutta was refreshed in my mind and stomach!

I had to leave school and shift to a ‘tutorial’ college due to disruptions in the Hyderabad area due to an independence struggle for Telangana. So, it was back to Visakhapatnam and Grandparents and this time with a more liberal atmosphere. My uncle introduced me to Chicken Biryani at Alankar’s and I loved it…went back for many times. It was fantastic. I started exploring more eateries and tried to diversify, however, these were limited by the amount of pocket-money available. During this time I was introduced to a variety of cuisines because of my classmates calling me over to their homes…the first was Sindhi, then Gujarati, Maharashtrian and Rajashthani as also Kerala which enlightened me no end about the different states of our country and their cuisine.

Back in Hyderabad for my undergraduate studies, the field was wide open as also my pocket money. The Chicken Biryani and Mutton Biryani at Madina Hotel in Pathergatti were to die for and was the place to go to for authenticity. Alps near Secunderabad Station, Golden Restaurant and Paradise Restaurant came a very distant second. In the early 70’s Hyderabad had not yet awaken to cuisine from foreign shores and Chinese was unheard of. Irani restaurants abounded and as a college kid, sustained myself on chai, pau (tea made with milk only), bun-maska, bun-malai (the malai was usually sweetened with sugar) and pastries…! These Irani restaurants have, today, virtually disappeared from the city of Hyderabad/Secunderabad and one mostly sees ‘tiffin centres’ all over in every street and lane! Muslims in Hyderabad were renowned for their food and attending a marriage was looked forward to…huge thaalis with a humongous amount of food (mutton or chicken biryani with raita and mirchi ka salan) and eight to ten people partaking…togetherness was invented by them…!

Once again, I had to go to Visakhapatnam for my postgraduate studies and this time, stayed in a hostel…the freedom that comes with it is unforgettable…and Chinese had just begun to invade our country as also Punjabi dhabas…there was one dhaba in the middle of the city near Jagadamba cinema hall…a hole in the wall affair…but the food was finger-licking good! And just close by, Skyroom offered delectable Chinese food (do not go there…these days, their standards are abysmal)! Our country very much remained unexposed to American or European cuisines…!

During my studies at Andhra University for my post-graduation, I was selected to join the Indian Navy. That was like manna from heaven and with a bit of relish, left studies to go on an adventure and see the world…!