The Incredible Journey Starts Here ....
Saroo, wakes up to find himself on a non-stop train to Calcutta. A place where he doesn’t speak the language, doesn’t know his surname, doesn’t know the exact name of his hometown and is all alone, hungry and homeless and unable to ask for help. He miraculously lived on the streets of Calcutta for months, narrowly avoiding people traffickers and drug gangs, whilst hopping on and off trains desperately trying to find his home village. Then, quite by chance, he was found by someone who took pity on him and took him to a police station and luckily, the adoption process began, aided by the infamous Mrs Sood, who was to become his saviour.
Red tape cut and paperwork accelerated, Saroo found himself on an aeroplane bound for Australia. He was to be adopted by the Brierley’s, a couple who chose not to have their own children but to adopt and save a child. Again, unable to speak the language and alone in a strange place he was introduced to his new family but this time he was safe. After a loving and supportive upbringing littered with outbursts from his adoptive brother, Mantosh, Saroo left home to follow a career in a hotel management. It was during this time he met up with other people from his own culture who persuaded him to look for his birth mother through the newly developed technology of ‘Google Earth’. For years it consumed him until one night out of sheer frustration he flicked forward along the hundreds of train stations he had investigated to see the water tower that had been imprinted in his mind since he was five. And there where one journey ended, another began. He discovered who he was, where he had lived and all about his long lost family. Now with two families, he was happy and finally at peace.
Saroo, pronounced Sheroo, had been mispronouncing his name all his life, as most children do when they mis-hear names.
The Incognito gang agreed this was a page turner of a book depicting an amazing tale of hardship. Both uplifting and heartbreaking, the story emphasised the importance of family and roots. It was difficult to assess the quality of the writing because it is a factual true story, but, nevertheless, it was a quick and easy read, whereby the story is more powerful than the writing. An incredible story that will stay with us.
This book is accompanied by a movie which follows the book very well although never in the same amount of detail and imagination as a book delivers. It is also distracted more by Mantosh who was a much tortured soul, but still worth a watch. You cannot help but shed a tear for the cute boy who played Saroo in his early life.
After a three week lockdown and over 10,000 deaths in the UK, Covid 19 has closed all our pubs and restaurants. So again, we are still isolating and sharing at home recipes on-line, longing to have something cooked for us by someone else.
Below is a copy of an Indian street food, sweet treat, Saroo longed for but could never afford. Then at a student gathering in Australia, he bit into a Jalebi which sparked his memory and a longing to find home.
Indian Fried Dough | Jalebi
Special Equipment: Deep-fry or candy or instant-read thermometer
INGREDIENTS
Email Grocery List- For the jalebi
- For the syrup
DIRECTIONS
Make the jalebi
In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, gram flour, if using, yeast, and sugar and mix well. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the oil, almost all of the water, and the food coloring, if using, into the well and stir until no lumps remain. The texture should be slightly runny, like pancake batter. (This is also known as “ribbon consistency,” which simply means that when the batter drips from a spoon, it falls like a ribbon onto the batter that remains in the bowl.) If necessary, add a touch more water. Let the batter rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Make the syrup
Place all the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Cook until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens slightly, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting to keep the syrup warm while you fry the jalebi.
Fry the jalebi
Place a wire rack over a baking sheet or grab a brown paper bag and place it on your work surface. Pour enough oil into a skillet or a deep-sided pot to reach a depth of about 1 1/2 inches and heat over medium-high heat. The oil is ready when you drop a tiny amount of batter into the oil and it immediately sizzles and resurfaces without changing color. (If the batter colors straight away, the oil is too hot. For those of you who crave certainty, attach a deep-fry or candy or instant-read thermometer to the side of the pot and heat until the oil registers about 350°F (176°C).)
Pour the rested jalebi batter into a piping bag, a plastic squeeze bottle with a pointed nozzle, or a large resealable plastic bag whose lower corner you snipped off with scissors. (We find a plastic squeeze bottle to offer the most control and ease in creating your jalebi squiggles.)
Squeeze some of the jalebi batter into the oil in a squiggly coiled circle or flowerlike shape approximately 2 inches in diameter. Repeat 2 or 3 times to create just enough jalebi so as not to crowd the pan. Fry the jalebi until they’re the color of golden honey on both sides. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, gently transfer the jalebis to the pan of warm syrup. Let soak, turning at least once or twice, for no more than 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the jalebis to the wire rack or brown paper bag. Serve immediately or let cool completely and rewarm in a low oven or in the microwave.
Our next read keeps us somewhat local, just down the road in Yorkshire, where Mr Herriot barely needs to leave his own back yard. Join us for entertaining veterinary shenanigans
Tuesday, 14 April 2020.
