As a child, summer vacations always meant a long stay with my grandparents in Baroda, Gujarat. Now, most Gujarati residences would be a bungalow made complete with a ‘hichka’ (swing) and a garden. The daily cooking would use ingredients like curry leaf, mint, lime, raw mango, etc easily available in the house garden. One of my favorite memories of that home is me relaxing with a book on the swing in the front yard. The hichka was set up in the shade of a large, flourishing lime tree. I have experienced few moments as peaceful and calming as those spent on that swing; the song of the koyal filling my dull city ears; the citrusy smell of the lime mixed with that of the flowers.
Of course now, the concept of a summer vacation is over. The entire structure, texture and feel of the house have changed. However, the lime tree still stands, still giving plentiful of its fruit. As is custom, I returned from Baroda recently with a few kilos of limes. As a sort of tribute to these memories, I baked a lime meringue tart. The recipe is available here. And although it was way to tart for my liking, it turned out quite well.
I still have two jars of the lime filling in the fridge, begging to be used. Once sweetened further, I hope to experience again the childhood memories the fragrance evokes.
Totally unrelated but fun to listen:
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