The Tadka Story: The Tadka Gang
The humble Tadka, tempering for any Dish , Dal, Curry, Tagine … is the final transformation to make a simple dish an extraordinary dish.. the Midas touch of the cook ,chef and master chef…But this story, is in the cold rainy winter night of Chakki river near the Mamun Cantt near Pathankot at the foothills of Himalayas in Northern India.… night of flash floods, wet, damp, cold ..you couldn’t feel your toes. Tucked under a bivouac or tarpaulin we had made a cozy shelter between two Vijayant tanks…
That night I was introduced to The Tadka Gang ..grim gangly and now cheerful Gang of Four sometimes Five soldiers , buddies brothers in arms , would bring Dal from the cookhouse and one of them who was off duty .. during the evening or lunch time would turn this humble Dal to an exotic dish, Ghee brought from home (village) onions tomatoes green chili etc. (picked up from afield, or a farmer, or previously bought and carried) made in a exotic Tadka..and mixed into and reheated on a hidden stove.. as cooking in the lines( living quarters )or operational areas wasn’t allowed.
The Tadka Gang usually indulged in a casual cocktail hour prior to devouring this exotic meal of tadka Dal and rotis onions and Canteen bought pickles. They chatted, reminisced about home, bitched about bosses. They were a band of brothers who bonded over tadka. They covered up for each other in peace or at war. Very close informal group which we often see in the corporate world, a bunch of guys who eat together, party together and generally hangout.This tadka gang then started tempering every dish to make it more palatable, and one would need a party ticket to join this gang or an invite.
How can a humble , modest, pan of tempering unite people from different communities and backgrounds, its an interest group. Maybe the internet needs to learn a lot more from such simple stories.
United by the Pan.
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