Take away value

Papad. Photo by Catherine Rodgers

     Biking back from the gym yesterday I stopped by Shalimar for samosas and pakoda vegetable fritters to give to my daughter for an afternoon snack. Realizing that dinner would soon follow I added some Tandoori chicken, cauliflower aloo gobi, yellow lentil daal, and curried green beans. It was a good thing as the pakodas were too spicy for her and she was starving and dove into the daal happily while I made the pakodas disappear.
     Another woman came in while my order was being prepared for take away and remarked, although I could hardly hear her, how ( food? ) of every sort of color could be seen there. Looking at the Punjabi bartha eggplant dish, lamb tikka, spinach and potatoes, brown and yellow daals, colorful licorice kish kash in jars, spices in packets, and crispy breads on the counter, and I said, "Yes, isn't beautiful? " I asked the man behind the counter, "Who makes this everyday?"  He said one man with two men helping prepared all the dishes everyday. The other woman and I looked at each other, impressed.
     I am still not sure if she was referring to the food or the colorful people who frequent the shop. In any case, the take away value of the Shalimar experience has increased triple-fold knowing that in this little corner so much diversity peacefully converges everyday. Shalimar, Porta Romana, 25, Milan, Italy.