TIPSY PUDDING

 Tipsy, the word itself is adequate to make most faujis start salivating; for the unfortunate and uninitiated this tipsy does make us go a little crazy, not that we are sane anyways. Tipsy is not a feeling of being ‘pleasurably high’ after a sundowner, but a dessert which when served to the cadets after a rigorous camp is a sight to be savoured for life. The Dharavi dwellers in front of the municipal water taps would be put to shame by the melee which results when a big patila full of this delicacy is placed on the table. The cadets are normally expected to take their fill in their mess tins which they carry with them, which serves as a universal dish for everything from a khichdi to eggs or toasts to veg with gravy. Mess tin is a set i.e. it has two dishes which fit into one another catering to the ravenous appetite of the trainees. 

We are also issued with mug enamelled,  for our morning evening cuppa, which finds multiple usages, as it doubles up as the mug for shaving, bathing and even for the big job in the morning. You must be wondering why am I describing the utensils rather than the pudding itself, well the fact is unless you grasp the nuances of collecting the  tipsy, you will not be able to relish the heavenly taste, that will linger long after you are done with licking your fingers clean. So the bowl is placed on the table and the hungry pack of wolves are let loose on this poor hapless vessel. At first the serving spoon is put to some use, thereafter, the mess tins and mugs enamelled are dipped into the gooey dish and then in sheer desperation the hands are resorted to, to fill whatever can serve as a dish, so caps, water bottles, scooped palms everything is fair in love, war and for the tipsy. There have been occasions when someone lost his watch in the bowl, which was found by someone else a little while later, which was duly returned to the owner after licking the last traces of this cuisine. There can never be enough of this tipsy as second, third and nth helping is very much par for the course.

I am sure I have aroused enough curiosity by now for the reader to know what this mouth-watering dish is all about. Well calling it a mere piece of cake is sheer travesty and the chefs have every right to take an offence. It comprises many layers of juicy fruits, exotic dry fruits, fresh cream, custard ,jam   or marmalade, crumbs of Marie biscuits  with sponge cake as the base, immersed in fruit syrup with cherry toppings. Of course each chef has his own recipe where he or she creates this masterpiece and each one must be feeling like a true artist. I can imagine him/her looking at their creation admiringly as though it is Monalisa  herself which they have painted. Be honest, isn’t it worth diving into or dying for ? 

Tipsy is a love affair, all of us are enamoured by the aroma and naturally it lasts a lifetime. Even today when many of us have gracefully retired and are senior citizens, tipsy makes us give up all our resolves. Given a choice between salvation and tipsy I am sure all of us would plump for the latter without batting an eyelid. Buddha was lucky, he was not tempted by tipsy as the chefs then had not yet come up with this celestial offering, else he too would have succumbed. Why do you think, we haven’t had any other incarnations after that? Although I am all for the Be Indian Buy Indian, and savour all desi cuisines but when it comes to tipsy I am afraid my vote would go for tipsy and tipsy alone, as it is second to none.