Appearances CORN be deceptive

It was the month of July. My girl was just a bub. My cousin’s pen pal had decided to visit and stay with her. Every day they would take her to some new part of Goa and this time she asked me if we would like to join. 

I jumped at the chance cause unlike my cousin who was brought up in Goa I was from Bombay, a city girl, and Goa was an occasional summer holiday destination. Though I always visited Goa with my parents in the summer I had only recently come to love the tranquility and beauty of Goa when all the tourists would disappear and Goa seemed to be all mine. 

Hello, monsoon!

So we all jumped into the car and I was excited that my daughter was on a little adventure with me too. As we reached one of the higher points in Goa I had barely an hour to take in amazing views on the hill before we saw the dark clouds creep in. All we had for cover was one tree. Drenched we giggled with joy. Most of us didn’t have the pleasure of being soaked since we were kids.

 As we all huddled back into the car the shower disappeared as quickly as it appeared. We decided to roll down the windows to somewhat dry ourselves off and head home. A few miles into our drive was when the smell of corn wafted through those car windows. My cousin hit the brakes. “Who wants some corn?”, she yelled. We all did of course except for our dear little visitor who was wisely cautioned not to eat off the streets of India. And as we all settled down to eat one, our American friend politely asked us if she could have a bite. Let’s face it, you can’t resist warm buttery corn when the weather is just begging you to have one. Freshly roasted over a fire, rubbed with a little lime, and chilly she was instantly converted and proceeded to eat two, spice, and all.

Now let me add here that it wasn’t like I hadn’t eaten roasted corn before but it was like the heavens came together that day to leave one perfect happy little memory in my brain. Sometimes food memories are so simple yet they bring so much joy. Just like drinking kadak chai in college from little glasses on the street, or gobbling that delicious vada pan as an adult on the way back from work. Now every winter in Dubai, I always treat my family to some butter, chilly, and lime roasted corn and it never fails to bring a smile to all our faces.

Spread the love ♥
Continue Reading