Three delights in food

Three delights I remember in my childhood are

Bread Butter Jam

Masala Milk or paal

And Rose milk .

Of course not that I got them often .

Close to my house there was a bakery owned by a malayalee in downtown Mylapore ( downtown sounds nice after coming to US 😁)

To your information yours faithfully spent his childhood in this conservative temple strewn narrow streeted part of Madras ( no Chennai vennai those days it was Madras pronounced Madhraas .)

The place was mostly middle class hard working people ,most were brahmin households and vegan was in the air .

Making non veg was surreptious and fish never with its trade mark smells for we all cared for our neighbours as much as they did to us ..

People were simple honest friendly helpful and with no disdain .

The buffaloe rearing milkmen were boorish after 7 pm with local spirits in thier tummy but by morning would become timid pet cats while they skilfully mixed water with milk under the strict security cameras of doubting maamis .

As i mentioned most bakeries and tea shops were run by malayalees to whom Madraas was Dubai then .

Most were called Naayars by the locals though they may be a Poulose or ibrahim kunju from Pala or kottakal .

Coming back to my original story bread butter jam was a quick snack in local bakery I saw when i went to buy bread .

Fat school boys would get down from cars and bite into one while thier doting mothers would watch them indulge .

Masala milk used to simmer by evenings in corner tea cum pan cum cigarette shops and plump mamas would sidle up after thier early dinner for a quick hidden ciggy and a perfumed masala paal .

Rose milk from legendary Kalathi stores which still sells it ,was a temptation for all and a rare reward those days .