Just Walking Around

Sakhar Chapati and other memorable childhood snacks…

The other day read an article in The Times Of India about the Marathi Actor Amey Wagh who played Banesh (Faster) Fene in last years one of the top Marathi grosser “Faster Fene” talking about his favorite childhood tiffin snack of Tup Sakhar Poli made by his mother and given in his school dabba. Most of us too have had this snack while growing up as kids. The taste of freshly made chapatti smeared with healthy amount os Tup or homade ghee and then sprinkled with sparkling crystals of sugar and slightly heated on the Tawa to make it a little crispy.Bitting into this yummy snack would leave a mouth watering after taste which would linger on for hours together. A similar version can be made with the mixed fruit jam smeared on the same chapatti and rolled to make jam roll , but its no where near the Tup Sakhar Chapati.

Another favorite tiffin snack was the Thikhat Meethachya Purya , those fluffy puris made with whole wheat as basic ingredient and only salt and red chilly powder mixed in the right proportion to make them a little salty and a little spicy. These could be eaten all by themselves or with the ever faithful Tomato Ketchup. A lipsmacking snack which could be had anytime either at lunch time during tiffin break or as a energy recharger in the evening just before going down to play. A sweet version of these also was a hit with us kids . The puris made with mixing ripe bananas into the atta and then frying them golden brown. But these needed to be had right out of the kadai , hot and sweet and if you had a mint and dhania chutney to go with it toh kya baat.Yummy and delicious. A special version of this sweet snack was the Banana Mulka or Banana Appam made with ripened banana and jaggery mixed to form a batter then wheat flour added to this mixture as a binder , salt to taste , Elaichi powder to give is a flavor and sometimes a little semolina or Rava as we call to give these fritter that crispyness. Deep fried to dark brown and served hot these small round bhajji type mulka are heavenly to taste also filling for the energetic young kids.

We did not have the concept of breakfast during school days as the school itself was from 10am to 5pm with 2 lunch breaks . So most days breakfast was a mugful of milk with Parle G or Prasad Toast. But sometimes if we were bored we had desi cum continental breakfast. Yes desi-continental in terms of Rice flakes our Maharashtrian Patal pohe dunked in a bowl of Milk and sugar.A healthy and wholesome snack. The same snack could be made into a salty one by using yogurt instead of milk and pinch of salt instead of the sugar. And if you could get Mom to use her magic by giving it a tadka of finely chopped green chilies , some roasted peanuts , crackling mustard seeds and few curry leaves the snack could be turned into a mini meal by itself. To be savored by all in the family. A close replica of the Curd –Rice or Tahir Sadam from down south.

Another favorite tiffin snack and the most simple to make was the chutney sandwich with its sweet –salty green chutney spread over 2 slices of bread mostly a Wibs or a Modern bread. And yes a white bread there was no option of Brown bread or the mutli grain that you get today. But this little snack would be shared during tiffin time and gobbled up to the last crumb. The chutney sandwich was also a favorite at birthday parties and was most popular next only to the humble Samosa-Wafer combination.Makes my mouth water up just thinking about these nick-knacks.

Most times the tiffin was filled with the chapatti bahji which was made at home to save on cooking time. 

But at times when this got boring a request would go out to Mom for a Frankie type veg roll or a paratha to make lunch time in school a little bit interesting. Now a days instead of the veggies my Wifey makes an indulging Cheese roll for my kids which get devoured by them during tiffin time without even a small morsel coming back. Though what comes back are compliments from fellow students in their class eagerly shared with their Mom at the end of the day.

On certain days of the week like a Wednesday or Friday we were allowed to take non-veg items to school. Nothing fancy but a small variation like the Anda Paratha with Chapati as the base and wisked egg omelette on top , roasted to perfect union and then rolled up to make a lip smacking snack was a to die for snack as also much awaited break from the regular bhaji chapatti 

.The other spicy option was Bhurji Chapati made with tomatoes , sauteed onion, a pinch salt of some chopped green chilies and a pinch of red chilly powder added to the scrambled eggs to make a perfect dish to go with the drab chapatti.A tasty and filling tiffin time option.

I still remember those school lunch break . A time to pool in the variety of snacks among our regular group. Sharing the food and some lively banter. Joking ,Laughing and sometimes pulling each others and generally having a great time.A  well deserved break from the stern teachers and days long studies.

Here’s wishing all my readers year full of Gastronomic adventure and a fabulous New Year 2019. Enjoy the food , Stay healthy and Happy Reading…..