A familiar thing

It was a nice sunny day. Gardens have gotten greener, birds have started chirping tunes and flowers  have come out of their hiding. Beautiful spring makes you spring up in a beautiful mood. As I was biking around familiar routes in town, my mind wandered into a familiar territory. I heard people laughing and speaking loudly in a language incomprehensibly familiar to me.  I saw lanterns burning down the walkway.  Figures clad in black & white clothes approached me. I could now smell the familiar flavor of apple & mint. I knew where I was. And I knew what was coming next. I was tasting the unique flavor and enjoying its crispy outer cover. I wanted it right away. “I want falafels”, I mouthed. Right then I understood I was day dreaming. Day dreaming while biking under the scorching sun while my throat was longing for a gulp of water to soothe its thirst. Ignoring the fact I was a dreaming rider on a bike, I immediately charted a plan of action in my head.

I got back home from a 9 mile biking and the next thing I did after washing up is to prepare for the dish. I doubt if J has tasted it previously. But I knew that what I am about to make will blow his mind. I shoved a cup of soaked white chick peas into my food processor. Chopped an onion while crying in joy and threw it in right next to the peas. Gave a little churn and then added 8 red hot dried chilies and sang to myself, “Oh I like it spicy mama!”. I added in some garlic, cumin seeds , coriander seeds & chopped coriander leaves and gave a whirrrr. In seconds, it was done. I could sense the good aroma and felt immediately happy. For the final touch I added a pinch of baking soda, salt & semolina. Gave it all one last turn in my mixer and transferred to a big bowl. I had to make sure my measures were right. So pinched out some mix, rolled into a nice little ball and gave a tap on its head. Just when he was ready to go, I rolled him right into heated oil and watched him fry to radiant golden brown. “Come on my little friend”, I voiced while I carefully picked him up and got him dried on a towel. The little guy is ready for a bite. “Mmmmmm…Yummm”.

J will be home in 10 minutes and I just can’t wait for him to try it.