There is always that one dish, that every time you make and taste, takes you rushing back to your childhood. Whether it’s the memories of cooking with your loved ones re-surging as you recreate the dish on your own, or the wonderful aroma of the food bringing back old memories of your childhood kitchen. The Croft/Saiba Haque
Aroma Down Memory Lane Words By Saiba Haque
The Croft/Saiba Haque
Sense of smell and memories associated with a specific aroma or scent is largely intertwined. Even now, every time I smell Onions, ginger and garlic frying in ghee or mustard oil, it takes me back to my hometown of Dhaka. There are many street-delicacies from my native city which evokes a sense of nostalgia upon growing up in Dhaka city. From the sweet and delectable smell of date sugar being used to make numerous kinds of rice cakes (or as we would call, Pitha),
to the Dhaka-style Biryani being cooked on the way back from my school, to acquiring some beloved steet-food snacks such as fuchka and jhal muri after school. These are the foods that I can recall when I ponder about my childhood. Aside from term time in Bristol, as I currently live in Southall, a place synonymous for it’s variety of South Asian restaurants. Sometimes as I walk towards the broadway, the aroma of all those street-foods that I Although there are culturally significant Bangladeshi dishes that are widely common and would eat when in growing up in Dhaka would well-recognised, every household has a different interpolation of spices that makes for unique recipes in different kitchens. The aroma and taste of the Biryani made in my aunt’s come rushing back to me. kitchen would be somewhat different to that from my grandma’s kitchen. Hence, although street-foods from my city provide for fond memories, there are certain home-cooked dishes that are immensely memorable from my childhood. Smells and tastes of which can only be replicated at home; and even then, it may still differ slightly from the original version of the recipe. Partly because standardized measurements are rarely used in Bengali home cooking. Another personal reason being that my grandma tries to gatekeep her valuable recipes by not disclosing particular ingredients. Meaning that the dishes that she makes can only be made and replicated by her (yes, I also find this rather bizzare).
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