Adrak ki Chai

Yes. The delhi winter is almost over. Today the sun is shining nice and bright. It still feels cold inside the house. But today’s blog is all about the winter just gone by. The nip in the air began in December. Gradually it got colder and colder till in January it became quite shocking for me.
The alarm jolts me awake at 7!! This is a far cry from Bangalore where I could jump out of bed before 6 without an alarm. I shut it briskly and go back into the warmth of my razai. Finally I am up at 7-30.
I look for my slippers. Where? O! No! I have again left them neatly by the door. Aaah! a painful trudge barefoot on the cold cement floor till I reach the comfort of plastic.

As the first water gushes out of the tap its freezing cold and suddenly without warning the water is steaming hot! I have again messed up with the mixing … I never get that right at the first go.

I leave the room heater on. It’s a sad thing with two red rods bravely combating the cold that constantly enters the room through gaps in the doors and windows.

Later in the day I am sitting all huddled up in a razai. I am reading a book, conveniently delivered to me by an online library system called bookmeabook!! My hands that peep out to hold the book are cold and surprisingly my feet are cold too. And I can almost not feel my nose at all!

Suddenly a dear one (my daughter achu) brings me a hot cup of adrak ki chai. You must have adrak ki chai in a cold delhi winter morning to really enjoy bliss. Aaah! In kannada we say .. swargakke eradey mettalu !! Just two steps to heavenly joy!

Here is a rustic recipe for adrak ki chai that I learnt at a dhaba in mussoorie.
1 cup of water
1 ½ spoons of sugar
1 spoon tea leaves
½ inch fresh ginger
¼ cup of hot milk
Boil water and milk together. Add the sugar. Bring the mix to boil. Add tea leaves and just when it begins to boil switch off the flame. Add crushed ginger and cover with a lid. Allow it to stand for 3 minutes before you serve. It is important that you use fresh ginger and that you crush it with a rolling pin or in a traditional kutni.
Enjoy the soothing aroma of fresh ginger and the heady aroma of strong tea.

Today’s painting is for the quilt the book and the ginger tea that helped me through the delhi winter.
I suppose I am being selfish complaining about the cold while wrapped in the luxury of a warm house and warm family while the delhi homeless suffer on the streets. Tell me how much would it cost to build a night halt place…like we see Will Smith using in Pursuit Of Happyness??

Would you like an insight into Delhi summer soothers? Bubbles that Cheer
Read on.