Uggani And My First Best Friend
Uggani, or puffed rice upma, is a Rayalaseema special. Now, I don't really have roots in Rayalaseema. But somehow, some of my fondest memories connected to this dish come from a family that did. And if I'm being honest, when I think of Uggani, I don't first think of the recipe. I think of my first best friend. My God. I never actually thought about it until I started writing this post. I've had beautiful friends throughout my life. Friends from school, college, work and every phase in between. But I think she was probably my first best friend. Funny how it took a plate of Uggani for me to realize that. Food does that sometimes. It quietly opens doors in your memory that you didn't even know existed. My friend and I met in school. Her father worked in government service, and their family lived in government quarters about five or six kilometers away from my home. It was a tiny little one-bedroom house on the ground floor of an apartment building. Even as a child, I u...