Gods also miss their mom’s home-cooked meals. Today the Lord of Cricket Sachin Tendulkar took to Instagram and revealed his favorite Maharashtrian meal cooked by his mother. For someone who has spent decades travelling across the world and winning some of cricket’s biggest tournaments, the most memorable meal can sometimes be the simplest cooked with heart at home.The cricket legend shared a video of himself enjoying a traditional Maharashtrian meal that brought back memories of his childhood and his mother’s cooking.The simple yet delectable spreadThe spread was simple but nothing compared to a mother’s meal. The video shows him with varan bhat (dal and rice) with a generous amount of ghee, batata bhaji (potato) and his favourite kolambi bhaji (prawn curry).In the video shared, the former India batter recalled how much he missed home-cooked food during his cricket tours. He said he used to miss home-cooked meals so much that a few days before returning, he would call his mother and tell her exactly what he wanted to eat.The familiar combination of dal, rice, potatoes, ghee and prawns was not merely a meal he looked forward to. It was a comforting ritual for him.The meal he would ask his mother to prepare before returning homeWhile Tendulkar fans remember his performances with the bat, his video shows the most human side of him. In the video, he explains that he would call his mother two or three days before returning from a cricket tour just to tell her that he wanted varan, bhat, potato bhaji, and the prawn curry.“No one can cook like my mother”
No one can cook like my mother
The most emotional part of the video comes when Tendulkar says that his mother’s cooking has a taste of its own and that, “no one can cook like my mother”.He says that his mother no longer cooks as frequently as she once did. Although she has shared her recipes with the family, attempts to recreate the dishes have not quite matched the original flavour.This is a familiar sentiment in many Indian households. A recipe may be written down, ingredients perfectly measured, yet a dish prepared by a parent or grandparent can still feel different.For Tendulkar, the taste of his mother’s cooking is tied to years of family meals, childhood memories and the anticipation of returning home after demanding cricket tours.Varan bhat, ghee and the comfort of Maharashtrian foodVaran bhat is a simple combination of lentil preparation and steamed rice. Varan is commonly prepared using toor dal, cooked until soft and seasoned with ingredients such as turmeric, salt and spices, depending on the household’s recipe.Batata bhaji, meanwhile, is a potato preparation that can be made in several regional and household variations.Then we have kolambi bhaji that brings seafood into the meal, with prawns cooked using spices.Together, the dishes create a combination of flavours rooted in memories.His reminder about eating with one’s handsAnother thing that stays with people in the new video is Tendulkar eating with his hands. As he prepares to enjoy the meal, he says that the dish could be best enjoyed with hands. These simple and personal moments reveal a side of the icon that exists away from the expectations on the cricket field.
