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The biggest pleasure of daily life...

 If I asked this question to someone"what is your biggest pleasure in today's life?", there could be many interesting answers to it. For example your child's smile , your job, the book  you wrote, the post on instagram etc etc. But for me, the answer comes instantly without any doubt. It's " Carrot Halwa in winters and mangoes in summer". 

I have never been a foodie in my life. Since childhood, I have managed to adhere to a strict diet of two chappatis per meal, no oily food and rarely junk food( though junk food like pizza and momos were very rare and hardly available in those times.) But as far as my memory goes(till the age of three years) my love for carrot-halwa and mangoes has been eternal.

Nowadays winters are at its peak in northern India and I have pleaded with my maid to never let container go dry of Carrot Halwa in refrigerator. As soon as one batch finishes , another is ready beforehand. For me its a joy to have my daily filling of this delicious dessert. Being a doctor and a middle aged female its imperative for me to watch my weight. We as a family like to regulate and record our weight and discuss healthy eating options. So when my teenage children look at my dessert without fail everyday in winters, they roll their eyes, discuss the amount of sugar in it and make joke of me fussing over my weight. But honestly nothing deters me from my love.

I remember, making Carrot-Halwa was an event in my childhood. Since mom was overburdened with daily household chores, making this halwa involved whole family on some special sunday. My brothers and I helped our father, peeling and grazing carrots. It was made in a big oversized 'Kadhai' ,used for special events, where stirring it would be easy since carrots were to be boiled in milk with constant stirring. It was a joy for my mother to see my father taking full responsibilty of this entire operation. Since males in those times(speaking of 80ts and 90ts)limited themselves to earning and the right to order their wives even for a glass of water, this was a refreshing change for everyone at home. Papa took charge of everything from beginning to end, though he had an army of three children (me being the captain). He was filled with pride when everyone praised the Halwa at the end and mom got her pleasure seeing him engaged in the cooking process( a win-win for both). We children were ultimate beneficiaries with our tummy-full of this delicious dessert at the end of day. But this special event come to fruition only few times a season.

Now this generation of ours live in an era of abundance. Hence(following the footsteps of my three teenage children) I consciously refuse to limit this delicacy to few times in entire season.I hold my head high and have convinced myself that somehow I will go on intermittent fasting(if needed to regulate my weight) but let me see if I ever get tired of my this particular childhood love.




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