High Tea at Sunset

by Mandira Moitra Sarkar 

 My earliest memories of tea time remain interspersed with the sounds of the jeep arriving at the porch signalling Dad coming home at the end of his  ‘kaamjari’, the excited barking of the dogs and my sister and I running across the long verandah to greet him.

Signalling the close of a working day, the world seemed at peace with itself ... the setting sun casting its beautiful glow over the emerald green tea bushes and the blazing bougainvilleas looking as though someone had set off a light within.

A very heavily laden three tiered trolley would shortly make its way from the kitchen to be wheeled in to the verandah where we would all sit for tea. Everything was arranged in some sort of predetermined order - the plump tea pot covered with a hand embroidered tea cosy filled with fresh brew straight from the factory and glasses of steaming milk from the cows - (all children usually had their personal cows!) sat on the top tier with accompanying plates, starched napkins and cutlery. The second tier had savouries whilst the bottom tier was for cakes and biscuits.

I still find it amazing how we had high tea every single day of the year with at least four things, but on no two days did the menu look or taste remotely similar. There were seasonal specialities like samosas made with a delicate homegrown potato and cauliflower filling - a sign that winter was nigh - and hot roasted ‘bhutta’ or corn on the cob picked straight from the ‘maalibari’ served with butter and slivers of lime in midsummer. There were melt in the mouth nankathais that would put a Parisian bakery to shame and sandwiches with the most exciting of fillings from ‘chutney’ to ‘sausage’.

Every different Memsaab and cook had their own specialities. Given that there was no equipment like electric beaters, piping bags or even a temperature controlled oven, it is astounding the standard and quality of what came out of those huge wood-fired Agas and cool tile lined kitchen counters. Those days are long gone -- most cooks like Monglu, our cook, have passed on and the Memsaabs now live very different albeit social lives in bustling metros.

However I cannot help thinking those tea times live on in their own way in the homes of the numerous ‘chai ka baby and babas’ scattered all over the globe, through recipes, through embroidered linen and little silver bells. In my house it is my mum's tattered Duliajaan cookbook handed down to me, those amazing chutney sandwiches, white fluffy nankathais or even the light of the early evening sun on a summer evening falling on my freshly mowed lawn.

Mandira Moitra Sarkar's Nankathai Recipe 

These are melt in the mouth Indian cookies with a crumbly buttery texture.

100 gms Ghee

1/2 cup powdered Sugar

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup semolina

1/2 tsp powdered cardamom

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

 Nuts for garnishing

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Beat the ghee and sugar until light and fluffy. To this add the flour, semolina, baking powder and baking soda which had been sieved. Mix to form a soft dough. Make small balls and put on a greased baking tray - they will spread so make sure there is adequate space in between. Put a cashew nut or almond as garnish and bake for 15 minutes making sure it cooks but does not brown. Gently remove from the tray whilst hot and put on a baking rack .

Mandira Moitra Sarkar's Chilli Cheese Toast 

Chilli Cheese Toast - pic by Mandira Moitra Sarkar

I love visiting my friend Heather for lunch …apart from the company and conversation, she also makes the best cheese on toast.. Her version is simplicity personified. The best cheese you can buy. put on thick slices of bread and grilled to perfection with a few drops of Worcester sauce. However my childhood version of chilli cheese toast will remain the ultimate comfort (and calorific) food. Served during tea times and when we barged into the kitchen to ask Monglu our cook for a snack. Great with a cup of afternoon tea and for once, ignore the healthy baked versions!

1. Grate 1 cup of strong cheese - processed cheese also works but cheddar will do.

2. To this add, 1 egg, 1 tbsp. self-raising flour, 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves, finely chopped green chilies to taste and 1/2 tsp. finely ground pepper. Mix till you get a paste - almost like a cake batter.

3. Lay 6 slices of white bread (preferably a day old) on a tray, and using a spoon carefully spread this mixture into the bread - bring to the sides but do not let it spill.

 4. Heat oil in a pan - at least 2 cms of oil and then gradually lower one slice of bread at a time - cheese side up. Use the hot oil to spoon over the cheese mixture till a "skin” develops and the bread side gets nice and crispy. Then gradually turn over and brown the cheese side.

5. Drain on a paper towel, cut into half or into triangles and serve hot. You can also add green pepper or corn to the mixtures.

Is this your first visit here? Welcome to Indian Chai Stories!
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My name is Gowri Mohanakrishnan and I'm a tea planter's wife. I started this blog because one of the things that I wouldn't want us to lose in a fast changing world is the tea story - a story always told with great seriousness, no matter how funny - always true (always), maybe a tall tale, maybe long, short, impossible, scary, funny or exciting but never dull.
 Happy reading! Cheers to the spirit of Indian Tea!

Meet the writer: Mandira Moitra Sarkar

'I consider myself a true Chai Ka Baby. Apart from being born in tea, I am probably one of those few people whose grandfather was in tea and whose parents were actually married in tea . So the groom, bride, best man, wedding, honeymoon, children etc. etc. were all from tea!!! I have had three proper homes in tea - parents, grandparents and Mama ( maternal uncle) all being tea planters in addition to friends. I currently live in leafy Surrey in a chai inspired colonial home ( I think so at least!) with my car mad husband and very grown up teenager. After 17 years as a management consultant, I finally started Surrey Spice which aims to bring proper Indian food inspired by the regions, seasons and festivals of India. Apart from cooking , I love to travel and am a passionate blogger - and still live (mentally) amongst the verdant tea bushes of Assam.'

Here are links to more stories by Mandira on this blog : https://teastorytellers.blogspot.com/search/label/Mandira%20Moitra%20Sarkar  
https://teastorytellers.blogspot.com/p/mandira-moitra-sarkar-cooks-up-story_6.html
Read about Manidra's Kitchen here: https://www.facebook.com/MandirasKitchenSurrey/