#SoCS Nov. 21/2020

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “the last thing you put in your fridge.” Start your post with the last thing you put in your fridge. Let your mind wander from there. Enjoy!

20-11-2020

We finish dinner by 8.30 Pm. Before closing the kitchen for the day I set curds for the next day and keep the leftovers in the fridge. But usually the last thing I keep in the fridge is the bowl of curds.

I prepare curds at home but once a month I get a packet of it from the milk shop. I find it better to change the curd culture once a month.  Each morning I remove the layer of cream and keep it in a bowl. When it is full, I churn it in the mixer to remove the butter. Long back a wooden churner was used.

This is a beautiful photo of my husband’s grandmother churning curds. That was a daily ritual in most homes. Buttermilk was and is an important part of lunch or dinner. Actually, we eat curds for breakfast, lunch and dinner 😊. We use it or buttermilk in certain curries too.

When I think of curds and buttermilk and butter I remember the tales of Lord Krishna. My paternal grandfather read aloud to us from  Krishnavatara, stories of Lord Krishna. I can still picture him sitting in a cane chair and reading to us.

Our town, Udupi, is home to one of the oldest temples to Lord Krishna. Writing about temples, I remember our trip to Rajasthan in 2008. We went to Nathdwara, a very important temple to Shreenathji, the infant Krishna. I still remember the atmosphere of devotion there. Devotees were immersed in Lord Krishna. Two days earlier we had been in a hotel and got a ten rupee note with a seal on it. I asked the owner about it and he told me with great excitement that the note had passed through the temple at Nathdwara. He said it was a good omen.

Then we went to Chittorgarh fort, home to Meerabai, one of the greatest devotees of Lord Krishna. The temple where she sat and sang her bhajans is beautiful.

It is fascinating how the mention of curds led to butter and to Krishna, who loved butter. Our grandchildren too love curds and butter 😊

How To Make Butter From Curd in Mixer – Step By Step Process

Churning (butter) – Wikipedia

Shrinathji Temple Udaipur (Timings, History, Entry Fee, Images, … https://udaipurtourism.co.in/shrinathji-temple-udaipur

Chittorgarh – Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chittorgarh

Published
Categorized as reflections

By Lakshmi Bhat

I am a person who believes there is not enough darkness in the world to extinguish the light of a small candle. We live in a small place in South India. I love reading, blogging, stitching, traveling, photography, listening to people and many other things which make life so very nice and interesting. Blogging is a fun experience, it has brought me into contact with people in different parts of the world and it is good to read about their everyday life. In spite of the differences there is a sameness which is fascinating. I have learnt and am learning something everyday. I have learnt to write haikus. I enjoy combining the thought and the number of syllables. I have always read books and I was happy to write short fiction. I had thought I would not be able to do so. Stream of Consciousness and photo challenges are fun too. Yes, there is so much in life that is sad and that hurts us. Many a time I wonder why life is so unfair to so many. We all have problems in life but the problems of many seems unbearable. This makes me feel so helpless. It is not possible to help everyone but we can do our bit, we can do something to help some in whatever way we can. I go to the Home for the Mentally challenged in our campus twice a week. I have been going there since 2011. The members are an important part of my life. The Covid has made it difficult for me to go there regularly. There have been many challenges in life and we have faced them with a positive approach. Our grandson and granddaughter have made life so much more richer.

8 comments

  2. I know nothing at all about curds beyond the nursery rhyme with the little girl “eating her curds and whey.” I am fascinated by the process and the fact that you buy the curd from the store. I am interested in learning more. I did go to the site about making butter from curds but still have no understanding of curds.

    Like

Comments are closed.