Over the years, on the occasion of Mother’s Day, I’ve shared something of my late Mother with you – from her influence on my sense of self to the quarrels we’ve had trying to make her a perfect cup of tea. Today will be no different, this time it is about channelling her in the making of certain things and maintaining her rituals. It keeps us close.
Lent and Cross Buns
We’ve not too long come out of the Lenten season and Easter, and this was one of the major periods of my Mother’s cooking and eating that has stayed with me (even as I rebelled once I left home). The non-eating of fish or meat on Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent I handled well, but you see the all-day fasting on Good Friday? Torture! These days, while I do not set out to fast on Good Fridays, I find myself eating late in the day, either vegetarian or seafood.
Every Holy/Maundy Thursday, without fail, I make Cross Buns, not because I want to eat Cross Buns but because it is what my Mother did. I share mine with friends, and over the years, they have come to look forward to it. Growing up I hated Cross Buns. I did not like the taste and it was also because it was the only thing we were allowed to eat early in the morning of Good Friday. And get this, on one occasion, I decided that I was not going to eat the Cross Buns until 10 in the morning (you know, shortening the fasting time). Mother promptly let me know that my fast would then be broken at 10 in the night! Y’all think mothers easy, eh? They ain’t! LOL.
Buns and Mauby
Every time (though it is not often) I make Coconut Buns and Mauby, my Mother is there with me. Mommy made the best Mauby, and every time I do, I appreciate, marvel, and understand a little more of what it means to brew the Mauby daily over the period of fermentation, letting it ripen. The layers and notes of flavour developed are indescribable. Drunk chilled or with a few cubes of ice, it is one of life’s pleasures. Every sip I take, I smile and think of my Mother.
Mom’s Coconut Buns were soft mounds of sweetness peppered with raisins, spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. The shape of her Coconut Buns were free-form and she dropped them by the spoonful. I, on the other hand, tend to put mine in muffin pans, while the shape is different the taste is the same.
A few years ago, Mommy was coming to visit. Among the things I made that day was Coconut Buns which I figured she’d have with tea later in the afternoon. That day, I had decided to put less milk in the batter (than my mother usually does), and instead of baking the buns in muffin pans, I baked them free-form like she does on a baking sheet. The buns had a lovely crust and soft insides.
Feeling fussy and proud as ever, I brought Mom a bun and a cup of tea. Mommy picked the bun, took a bite said, “What is this, rock buns?!” I am laughing so hard right now but let me tell you, I did not find it the least bit funny at that time. I am still laughing as I type this.
Dhal
My Mom was not a big dhal eater when we were growing up. She’d make it on occasion. I think it was one of those things that she had had so much of in her own childhood, she grew to dislike it. And that is true for many of us – our food habits change in many ways over the span our lives for a variety of reasons. Later in life, Mom took a liking to dhal. She preferred not to eat it with rice, occasionally with roti, but frequently, her preferred way to eat dhal was to have it like a soup, from a cup with a spoon. And the consistency had to be right – not watery, but thick, and pulpy.
I love dhal and over the years I have immersed myself in the process of dhal making from the types of legumes used, varying the spices for tadka/chunkay to the vegetables added and consistency. During the months Mom stayed with me, she’d ask me to make her dhal every week, which she’d have as her midday meal. She told me I made “lovely dhal”. Yes, there were wins too!
One of the things I learnt about cooking dhal from my mother, as a young teenager, was to let the flavour of the pulse/legume come through and not to muddle it with adding a lot of seasonings, like green seasoning. Dhal is essentially about the pulse, the texture when cooked and the flavouring from the tadka.
Shrimp and Veggies
Vegetables cooked with shrimp is an everyday staple in many households in Guyana and frankly, most people do not fuss about the amazing white-belly shrimp that get overcooked in the process of waiting for the vegetables to finish cooking. My Mother was one of those people who was always seeking to learn new ways of doing things, trying different methods, and constantly learning, not in a way of seeking perfection but of thinking how something might be better.
Many years ago, I had an aha moment whilst on a trip back home as I watched mommy cook callaloo and shrimp. After rinsing and patting them dry, she tossed the shrimp into the smoking hot karahi with oil, tossed them for about 30 seconds, removed them from the pan and set them aside. She then added in onions and other aromatics to sauté before adding the callaloo/spinach/bhagee to cook. The shrimp only got added back to the pan a minute before the spinach was done cooking. When the meal was served, the shrimp were still plump and not like tiny bits of eraser. That technique has stayed with me, and it is the only approach I take when cooking vegetables with shrimp.
I’ll stop here for now. There’s so much more to say and to remember. I miss you Mommy. So much.
Happy Mother’s Day to all those celebrating.
Cynthia
cynthia@tasteslikehome.org
