Are you High... on Food?

Have you ever been food high? I bet you have! How does it feel when your taste buds and all the tasty nerves are transferring only happy and content signal to your brain? It seems like we have been transported to our personal food heaven and time has stopped for that moment. The trigger for this reaction can be different for different persons. Someone may find solace in chocolate, some in chicken or paneer or mutton, some may even find heaven in bitter guard! Who cares! It’s different for each individual but in rare circumstances you have four people completely toppled over for the same food item. That’s what happened on this Sunday!

This Sunday will be saved in my calendar as my best food Sunday ever! From childhood, we had a ritual in our family- to have mutton on Sunday. Yeah, we are bongs and we love food! What do you expect? Every Sunday my Dad would take me to the market and buy the softest and yummiest mutton (also famous as Reaji Khashi in Bengali); while I would ensure that the shopkeeper puts my favorite piece (leg bone with the juicy bone marrow also known as Raan) in our bag. The mutton would be cooked to perfection in a dish known as “Mutton Kasha” and I would savor the leg piece till the last drop of its juicy bone marrow is sucked dry and all the bones are grounded completely. This would be the only thing that we would have for lunch and dinner on a Sunday. This was a consistent no fail ritual for almost 20 years, i.e. until I moved out of my house to pursue my career. Yeah, I pursued my career all right, but in the process screwed up my food routine completely- meaning no or hardly any mutton on any day. So, just imagine my delight when I get to see a huge plate of the most delicious, flavorful, yummy and cooked to the perfection Raan Biriyani in front of me, that too, on a Sunday! The mere sight took me to some other realm. The best part was I was not alone; I had 3 equally salivating, mutton crazy foodies along with me. And to give this event a perfect ending we had the most perfect mouthwatering caramel custard and feerni.

The mutton was cooked just right, the meat was touching falling off from the bones and the masala was rich enough to deliver the right taste, not too spicy, not too bland. The rice was what biriyani rice should be, long, slender and correctly colored, boiled to the appropriate extent. The chef ensured that the dish could be eaten completely by giving the taste which will leave you on the edge of wanting more and being just full. It was one biriyani which I have enjoyed the most in my life, after Arsalan.   

Obviously, after having such a fulfilling meal, anyone would be high- food high. So there were we, food high, lazily craving for a place to lie down and stretch while having an unknown bliss and smile on our faces. Being food high is very much different from being high from any other substance (alcohol, weed, etc.) In all substance used high, your brain is under the effect of sedatives and it leads you to hallucinate or sometimes causes loss of your locomotive control. Plus, it is very harmful and dangerous to your health (per the labels). But food does not do that. You are in a happy place, sure, but your brain is not under effect of any sedative. If you are feeling sleepy, that’s because your body needs the rest after the heavy meal. And you never lose locomotive control, neither do you hallucinate. It’s actually a good thing, because a happy meal leads to the release of endorphins (happy hormones) which in turn lift your mood and is very good for your body. Also, the only emotion you feel when you are food high is happiness, which is not always true in the other case. You just have to ignore the calories you gained because of this meal. And if you are a foodie, the calorie part of the conversation never disturbs you, even in your dreams.

When you have someone enjoying food along with you just the way you like it, the fun and content simply doubles. That’s what made this food trip so perfect. It’s a thing you would understand if you are a true foodie. The excitement when you are actually researching about the place before going there- like the menu, the reviews and the ambience, the planning, the timing and the anticipation- all of these effort pays off when you get exactly or sometimes even better than what you had expected. And when you have foodgasms with the first bite, you know you are in the right place.

Now that you are food high, only your taste buds work, and they are so very happy that they top all other four senses of your body. In our busy lives, our poor taste buds hardly get the chance to indulge in something which they love and for as long as they want to. Most of the other times, they are bullied around by other senses of the brain to hurry and not judge the taste. Seriously? I mean that’s their job- to judge and classify the taste. It’s like they are being ignored their birth right. That is absolutely not fair, but most of the times we can’t help it. However, sometimes, we should make that time to listen to and please your taste buds. After all, satisfying them is part of the reason we run around so much in our lives. Besides, no one can survive if taste buds rebel. Remember the after effects of a viral fever and heavy antibiotics?? Ugh!! If you are a foodie, it becomes kind of an obligation to listen to your little buddies in your tongue and give them their due justice. And a Sunday like the last one, keeps my taste buds going for the next week!

So, my dear friends, irrespective of whether you are a foodie or not, please surrender to your taste buds once in a while and get food high!! :) :) :)