The taste of winter

The pollution may have destroyed the Delhi winter; but there are still some treats to enjoy

There was a time when I used to be ecstatic at the thought of the approaching Delhi winter. There were bonfires to organize on cold evenings, sunny afternoon brunches to attend, picnics to enjoy with family and friends. Walks in the gentle afternoon sun were a particular delight. And there was something particularly life-affirming about getting up on a chilly morning and sipping a steaming cup of coffee while watching the mist clear.

 

Those days are long gone. Now I dread the arrival of winter because it is the season when pollution levels in the capital reach stratospheric levels. And instead of heading out to enjoy the great outdoors, I have to hunker down in my room with two air-purifiers on at full blast to make sure that my asthma doesn’t get triggered by the foul air. The smog outside lasts through the day with the sun barely managing to peek through, and heading out for even a brief period seems like a punishment rather than a pleasure.

 

So, are there any joys left of a Delhi winter? Well, since you ask, the only thing that makes the season worth its while is the food. I have always been a great believer in seasonal eating and this is the time when my perennial favourites hit the market. Here, in no particular order of importance, are just some of them:

 

·       Sarson da Saag: It is always a momentous occasion in my household when I make my first sarson da saag of the season. It requires copious quantities of ghee and ginger; lashings of the creamiest white butter; leavened with the heat of some dried red chillies in the tarka. The makki di roti that accompanies it is softened with some grated mooli and gobhi in the dough. And it’s served up with some good old-fashioned gur. I usually make enough saag to last us a week; and then, I just rinse and repeat until the sarson season is over.

·       Alu Methi: If I had to choose a favourite vegetable, it would be methi, without a doubt. And there is no denying that alu and methi is a match made in heaven: the plump softness of the potato takes on the slightly bitter edge of the methi to create an earthy dish that is truly satisfying in the bitter cold.

·       Bathua: Some people like making a saag of this leafy vegetable, but I like it best in a creamy raita. Just boil the leaves with a pinch of salt until tender, squeeze the excess water out, add it to some salted dahi with a dash of red chilli and freshly roasted and ground cumin (onions are strictly optional). 

·       Moongphali and santara: There is something magical about sitting in the winter sun – no matter how weak it is! – and slowly unfurling an orange from its peel, removing the strings until its glistening core is revealed, and then popping every segment into the mouth where it explodes like a flavour bomb. Every mouthful of orange should ideally be alternated with a handful of freshly-shelled peanuts roasted in sand so that they have a salty edge to them. That mixture of sweet and salty is, for me, the taste of a Delhi winter.

 

Winter is coming

And I could not be more delighted…

 

Growing up in Calcutta, I was always overcome with excitement when the shiuli tree near my house started flowering. That was the first sign that Pujo was coming, and that four days of festivities were in my immediate future. These days I live in Delhi, and there is no shiuli tree to remind me of the arrival of Pujo. But all is not lost. There is an enormous Saptaparni (also known as Alstonia, or even Devil’s tree) tree overhanging my balcony, whose flowering heralds the beginning of winter in Delhi.

 

Last night, as I returned home late after dinner, I was stopped in my tracks by a heady scent that told me that, yes, winter was just around the corner. Notwithstanding the late hour, I stepped out on my balcony, and settled down on my wicker chair, just breathing in the sweet perfume of the flowers. For me, that is the scent of the Delhi winter, the season that I long for all year round. 

 

Yes, I know, Delhi winters are not what they used to be. There is the ever-present specter of pollution, as the farmers in neighbouring Punjab set fire to the stubble in their fields in what has become a depressing annual ritual. The Diwali crackers – set off by idiots who clearly have a death wish – only add to the horrific miasma hanging over the city. Combine this with vehicular pollution and the cold weather which makes all the pollutants sink to the bottom of the atmosphere, and you have a perfect poisonous cocktail that can take years off a person’s life.

 

I know all that. And God knows, I suffer with everyone else, perhaps even more so because of my chronic asthma that is triggered in this season. But, but, but…on the rare occasions when the skies finally clear and the haze fades to expose a clear blue sky, there is nothing quite so beautiful as a crisp winter day in Delhi. 

 

So, what’s the best way to make the most of days like these – especially given how rare they have become?

 

Well, for me it all begins with a winter special breakfast. Crisp aloo parathas, smeared liberally with homemade white butter, washed down with cups of milky tea, all served on the corner of the balcony that gets the morning sun. It’s hard to get any work done after that, because, food coma. But honestly, it’s well worth taking the morning off to indulge every once in a while.

 

Other winter staples make an appearance at lunch and dinner: aloo-methi subzi, sarson ka saag, makki ki roti, bathua raita, and so much more. This is the season to indulge your taste buds, and to pile on an extra layer of fat to deal with the cold winds of winter. 

 

Talking of layers, this is also the season to air all your winter staples that have been skulking in the back of your wardrobe all year. It’s time to wear those super-soft luxurious cashmere sweaters, drape those butter-smooth pashmina shawls, and pull them all together with tailored coats that give a polished edge to your look. 

 

Once you are all layered up, and have pulled on a pair of comfy boots, it’s time to head out to enjoy the great outdoors. It could just be a stroll through Khan Market, stopping for a cappuccino and a macaroon along the way. It could be a guided tour through such historical sites as Humayun’s Tomb or the Red Fort. Or it could simply be a walk in the park, enjoying the crisp breeze blowing your face, and feasting your eyes on the seasonal blooms that brighten up the greenery at this time of year.

 

Wherever you head and whatever you do, remember to make the most of perfect winter days. These days they are few and far between. Before you know it, the temperatures will begin to rise again, and the sizzling summer will be upon us. And it will be a long wait before the Saptaparni flowers again.

Winter is coming

Here’s how you can best enjoy the season in the times of Corona

This is my favourite time of the year in Delhi. When the mornings and evenings turn noticeably cooler. When the afternoon sun loses its searing intensity and softens into a benign rather than malign presence. When the nights draw in faster than ever and you can pretend that the day is done by 6 pm and get set to enjoy your evenings.

Yes, for those of us who live in the north of India, it has become clear over the last week or so that winter is coming. But the question that faces us all is what it will bring with it.

The bad news, of course, is that we are being told by the medical community that Covid cases are bound to go up as the temperatures godown. This has been borne out by events in Europe and America, where the cold weather has brought in a fresh wave of coronavirus cases. In fact, so high is the infection rate in some countries that they have had to enforce fresh lockdowns to try and break the chain.

We can only hope and pray that we don’t see this happen in India as well, as the cold intensifies. But given that viruses like these flourish at lower temperatures, we are bound to see a spike in cases here as well. So, the only solution is to hunker down in our bunkers, maintain social distancing, always wear a mask in public, and keep washing our hands as if our lives depended on it (spoiler alert: it does!).

So, if you are someone like me who longs for the arrival of winter every year, how can you responsibly enjoy this season in the times of Covid?

Well, allow me to count the ways…

The best place to enjoy the bounty of the season is in the privacy of your own kitchen. Winter greens are flooding the market now, and you can indulge in all your personal favourites. For me, that means gorging on sarson ka saag, drowned in industrial quantities of home-churned white butter, scooped up with a makki ki roti. It means adding a healthy dose of fresh methi leaves to every subzi I cook,
from potatoes to gobhi to paneer. It means snacking on freshly-harvested mooli, cutting the bitterness of the radish with a mouthful of something sweet like a peanut chikki. It means feasting on flavourful oranges, biting down on each segment and letting the juice explode in your mouth. It means…ah well, you get the picture.

The start of winter is also the best time to take a long walk in your neighbourhood park. There is a cool breeze to power you along rather than a sharp wind to throw you off your stride. You are not weighed down with multiple layers of clothing to ward off the cold. And better still, you need to work extra hard to break a sweat. (Not to mention that it’s not quite so uncomfortable under the mask!)

If the idea of leaving the sanctuary of your home for a walk seems a bit daunting as Covid cases refuse to go down, then just settle down in a corner of your house that gets the dappled afternoon sun, take an hour off to read a book while you enjoy a hot cup of coffee or tea, or simply slip in your headphones and listen to some music. When the sun finally sets, you can enjoy the cool evenings while sitting on your
balcony with a glass (or two) of wine and your better half.

As for me, I am waiting impatiently for the weather to get even colder, so that the Saptaparni (Alstonia) tree that overlooks my balcony starts flowering again. The smell of the blooms is so heady that if I could bottle and sell it, it would make me a millionaire many times over. But frankly, just breathing in that fragrance makes
me feel like a million bucks. And, at the end of the day, that is all that truly matters.