Taste Buds’ Memoirs

While we all are excited about our upcoming travel adventure, some of us, including me, are equally excited while scrolling through pictures that make us relive the fun times. For every foodie, no travel tale is ever complete without diving into the culinary world – can’t ignore the taste buds, can we?

On a lazy Saturday afternoon, after having spent a couple of hours on a 2000 piece jigsaw, we decided to surf through some old pictures. Walking down the memory lane, here are some memories that still tickle our taste buds:

Valentine’s Day Lunch at Abisko National Park, Sweden

Abisko is way up North – beyond the Arctic Circle. We were here in February to try our luck to see the Aurora Borealis- during cold, frigid Arctic winters. Quite obviously, the greens were in their slumber mode. The one and only restaurant at the Abisko National Park served food that did justice to the weather – plenty of red meat. We utilsed the kitchen at the hostel and tossed some yummy pasta and fried eggs for us everyday. We had been cooking every single day of the vacation and were craving to get some food on the table, without having to stand in front of the stove!

Well, Valentine’s Day was our lucky day. The restaurant was serving warm pancakes with cherries and clotted cream for lunch. It was the day that the vacation feeling truly kicked in! Add the joy of having seen the aurora borealis dance the night before, this has been the most memorable Valentine’s Day till date!

Tomato Keftedes at Santorini, Greece

Santorini is famous for its vineyards – decide which vineyard you wish to visit and hit the tasting table. We enjoyed the vineyard tour and tasting session at the Boutari. The tasting made us ‘happy’ enough to buy a bottle of wine, which we decided to enjoy with some local delicacies. As famous is Santorini is for the wine made from the Assyrtiko Grapes, it is equally famous for red, juicy tomatoes.

The tomato keftedes that we had as an accompaniment have been unparalleled in taste till date. I have tried various recipes from the internet, but none come close to the ones that we ate at Boutari. I think it is time to reconnect with my Greek friends to get the authentic recipe and recreate the magic at home!

Amritsari Kulchas at Amritsar, India

Amritsar is a food lover’s paradise! For Ankur, this city is food heaven. None of the authentic Amritsari dishes are compliant for anyone on a diet – food is rich and spicy and the locals delight in ensuring that guests are fed well.

Amritsari Kulcha is a stuffed flat bread, made in a ‘tandoor’ – an earthen oven. It is stuffed with potato and onions. The bread is crisp on the outside (you hear the crackle as you break it) but soft on the inside. It tastes best with a HUGE dollop of butter and chick peas gravy. We are off to Amritsar next week. I am sure Ankur will skip the two meals prior to the kulcha lunch to make space and do justice to his favourite dish.

Falafels at Amman, Jordan

Finding vegetarian food in Jordan was a challenge, especially as the concept of vegetarianism was not known to the locals. Hence, when we figured out that there is a restaurant in Amman that serves vegetarian food only, we were over joyed.

Hashem’s serves falafels, hummus, fava beans, fried potatoes and hot mint tea. The stuffed falafels are very a speciality. The place is popular amongst tourists and locals alike and you will run into all kinds of people, especially as you may have to share your table. If meeting locals and eating authentic local is what you truly want, Hashem’s is the place!

Has this post made you feel hungry? Time to head to the kitchen and create magic!