The Triangle that Unites India...Samosas.

I know many of you reading this blog, and Rakhi Sawant,love the monsoon rains. I am not a big fan of monsoon rains.Only time I loved this monsoon rains was when I was in school and the early morning heavy outburst would mean no school,and today I mostly love rains only when it pours in the morning,which effectively means I am not suppose to go to the Gym and can stay back and do some serious reading (which effectively means,when translated into Gujarati that I will spend time putting up idiotic status update on my Facebook page, troll on twitter, and interact with wimmens.)

Now when you think of monsoons the first thing that comes to mind,are two passionate lovers,drenched in water,wet sarees,sing a duet under an umbrella,oblivious of the rains.(Pyar hua iqraar hua )

The purpose of this blog is not to sing paeans about the monsoon rains and romanticism associated with it,but to consider the thought of Samosas that comes to mind with the first drizzle.

If you have been living in Calcutta (I  hate calling it Kolkotta) and if you have not heard of Tiwari"s Samosas it only means you’ve been living under a rock in some remote medieval outpost,where the only sound bites you heard were of Bhadraloks shouting hilsa fish and Mamata's Di"s tantrums.But the bhadraloks and general populace of Bengal still prefer calling it Singharas

I,for one,would like my singharas fillings heavily spiced (Tiwari's style),crust over fried,almost brownish.My daughters first crush with the Junk food was a samosa and she would only eat its crust and fillings were left for us parents to savor.

A samosa or samoosa is a fried or baked pastry with a savory filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, lentils, The size, shape and consistency may vary, but typically, they are distinctly triangular.

One great thing about samosas or singharas (U prefer) is its universal appeal.There is no such thing as authentic samosas.you have all sorts of it depending on the region.Eastern India has its fillings with mashed potatoes.Down south you find aloo free samosas.In Delhi they have invented a Bastardised form of samosas where the fillings might be anything from chowmein to babycorn, carrots, and even Maggi noodles(Chinese Samosa)

In Pakistan, they stuff them with heavily spiced meat.

The samosa has been a popular snack in the South Asia for centuries. It is believed to have originated in Middle East (where it is known as sambosa) prior to the 10th century. Abolfazl Beyhaqi (995-1077), an Iranian historian mentioned it in his history, Tarikh-e Beyhaghi.it was introduced to theArabian subcontinent in the 13th or 14th century by traders from the region.

Amir Khusro (1253–1325), a scholar and the royal poet of the Delhi Sultanate, wrote in around 1300 that the princes and nobles enjoyed the "samosa prepared from meat, ghee, onion and so on".

Ibn Battuta, the 14th-century traveller and explorer, describes a meal at the court of Muhammad bin Tughluq where the samushak or sambusak, a small pie stuffed with minced meat, almonds, pistachio, walnuts and spices, was served before the third course, of pulao.

Many otherwise rational people disdain street chowmein as tasteless, starchy junk; papri-chat is too sour for some, jalebis too sweet for others,pani puri to unhygienic  But everyone likes a samosa. They unite us.

Some Hygienic kind like their samosas baked.Saves calories.I even once tried ordering samosas at a five star joint once,but later on refrained since the menu card had some funny nomenclature for it:"baked pastry stuffed with lentils hand-picked in the emerald green lap of the Vindhyas, accompanied by a golden lentil soup that was gently simmered over the smouldering kisses of angels.”(Calorie conscious idiots...Ufff..)

Nako re baba...I'll rather stick to road side stuffed samosas.

Seriously if you ask me,its not Bankim Chandra Chatterjee"s Vande Matram or Rabindra Nath Tagore's Jana Gana Mana that has united the nation,but this Triangle called Samosas.

So this monsoon when billion people trudge to their work millions of samosas will sizzle in millions of kadhai,and millions will pass through those sizzling kadhai,with only thought in their mind,bunk work,and savor those samosas with garma garam chai,as the clouds gather.

One of them will be you,so what are you waiting for?