Home luxuries

Here in Koraput we live a very simple life.  Entertainment opportunities are limited, to the best of my knowledge there is not even a cinema in the town - unusual in India where film is very popular.  But it is very small, despite being the administrative centre for the surrounding Koraput district.  The availability of different foods is also limited.  It's unusual to transport food far (which is surely better for the planet?) and much of the fruit and veg sold in the market is grown locally and carried into town on the heads of the producers and sellers.  It's a good time of year for harvest at the moment and there's a pretty good range of vegetables on the stalls, most of which looks wonderfully fresh..  I'm not so sure how good the variety will be as the seasons change.  I am told that the range was very limited before the monsoon started, I suspect that that's when I'll really start craving favourite foods from home.  At the moment, except for the occasional desire for something savoury like cheese, there's enough range of flavours in the local foods to keep me happy.

So what did my husband do after a meal with out good friends A and K at our home village last Saturday?  Go to great lengths to describe the foods and wine.  A is a great cook and also makes interesting wines.  Some are pretty lethal and consumption shiuld be limited to small quantities but my favourite is her champagne which is pretty  low alcohol while it's young.  It seems that blackberry champagne was on supply on Saturday.  As for the pudding, it's just not fair.  There was a rice pudding that I endeavoured to eat with my fingers from a leaf plate still covered with curry, dahl and rice a couple of days ago which was an interesting experience, especially for my companions who were amused at my struggles.  My other sweet intake has been minimal, limited to a fruit salad I made, some pancakes made by Carol on our first night here and a 'party cake' supplied by 'the best shop in Koraput'.  Jon took great delight in describing the pudding - a long loaf made of chocolate about 5mm thick, then inside that it's been filled with frozen yoghurt flavoured with Tia Maria and crushed choclocate covered coffee beans, and every 2cm there is a layer of flaked chocolate, then another layer of frozen yoghurt.   About 3 chocolate layes in all.  Can someone snd one of these out to Koraput please?