Childhood Memory: Pizza
Sometimes, a pizza joint near your house is a life saver in situations when you don't wanna cook anything et al. Or when you are low in energy over all, but there is some energy left just to chew and chomp.
So pizza is nothing new even when you are on vacations, it becomes a "REAL" meal and a really hearty one :D I miss surviving on vegetarian pizza eating days while on vacation in Vegas. And, it was the first time I ever ate spinach in my pizza in 2015. I am big spinach fan but NO, that pizza was absolutely one of the worst tasting things in Vegas :) Sorry spinach-on-pizza-lovers.
So eating a pizza tonight takes me back to two childhood and a decade old memory about my first ever pizza tasting.
In India, pizza (not in the original form) entered few popular joints in the 1980's and in New Delhi we came to know the word like a snack of a dried wheat bread with ketchup topped with diced tomatoes, onions and some shredded green peppers. The size was like 6 inches and that was it with some white sauce dripped on it. (I am sure it was not cheese, because in 90's cheese was very expensive in Delhi).
The first time I ever tasted it, was in 1997, when my papa's coaching classes were on the floor above the local pizza-snack joint! He used to get us one pizza daily which was a little larger, say 8 inches. And he paid around Rs. 60 (Approx 90 cents now)! But we used to wait for him eagerly to return from his classes in the evening so we could feast on the pizza :)
This continued for a month, before the local pizza joint shut down. Or it as was papa's way of restricting us from the pizza we started to love!
In 2000's Dominoes entered the Indian market and it was monopoly time for this international giant, (so came McDonalds and our love for fries).
I remember, my papa ALWAYS wearing his blue cap with Dominoes logo, given to him as an endorsement for the first customers for trying their special (international & and expensive) Dominoes pizza. I believe it is my father who loved the pizza more than us.
Now when pizza's taste became set on taste buds,then again for the first time I tasted something very different and UNUSUAL. My sister, my then boyfriend (now husband) and me went to a mall in 2007 (in Delhi) and ate an actual Italian pizza at an Italian joint.
On tasting it, we found that that pizza bread, sauce and toppings were pretty different then what is offered at Dominoes or Pizza Hut! And it was the first time we tasted EGGPLANTS on a pizza! For us it was pretty shocking back then. It was a true Sicilian Pizza and cost us a fortune when we paid the bill in 2007.
I just checked on the pizza hut Indian menu, and they are adding toppings like garbanzo beans, minced spicy beef, cottage cheese and whatever Indians love on their pizza. Surprising! But never an eggplant!
For us, Pizza is still savored and relished like a "treat" and we try to save a wedge or two to eat later :D
So pizza is nothing new even when you are on vacations, it becomes a "REAL" meal and a really hearty one :D I miss surviving on vegetarian pizza eating days while on vacation in Vegas. And, it was the first time I ever ate spinach in my pizza in 2015. I am big spinach fan but NO, that pizza was absolutely one of the worst tasting things in Vegas :) Sorry spinach-on-pizza-lovers.
So eating a pizza tonight takes me back to two childhood and a decade old memory about my first ever pizza tasting.
In India, pizza (not in the original form) entered few popular joints in the 1980's and in New Delhi we came to know the word like a snack of a dried wheat bread with ketchup topped with diced tomatoes, onions and some shredded green peppers. The size was like 6 inches and that was it with some white sauce dripped on it. (I am sure it was not cheese, because in 90's cheese was very expensive in Delhi).
The first time I ever tasted it, was in 1997, when my papa's coaching classes were on the floor above the local pizza-snack joint! He used to get us one pizza daily which was a little larger, say 8 inches. And he paid around Rs. 60 (Approx 90 cents now)! But we used to wait for him eagerly to return from his classes in the evening so we could feast on the pizza :)
This continued for a month, before the local pizza joint shut down. Or it as was papa's way of restricting us from the pizza we started to love!
In 2000's Dominoes entered the Indian market and it was monopoly time for this international giant, (so came McDonalds and our love for fries).
I remember, my papa ALWAYS wearing his blue cap with Dominoes logo, given to him as an endorsement for the first customers for trying their special (international & and expensive) Dominoes pizza. I believe it is my father who loved the pizza more than us.
Now when pizza's taste became set on taste buds,then again for the first time I tasted something very different and UNUSUAL. My sister, my then boyfriend (now husband) and me went to a mall in 2007 (in Delhi) and ate an actual Italian pizza at an Italian joint.
On tasting it, we found that that pizza bread, sauce and toppings were pretty different then what is offered at Dominoes or Pizza Hut! And it was the first time we tasted EGGPLANTS on a pizza! For us it was pretty shocking back then. It was a true Sicilian Pizza and cost us a fortune when we paid the bill in 2007.
I just checked on the pizza hut Indian menu, and they are adding toppings like garbanzo beans, minced spicy beef, cottage cheese and whatever Indians love on their pizza. Surprising! But never an eggplant!
For us, Pizza is still savored and relished like a "treat" and we try to save a wedge or two to eat later :D
Thank you for stopping by my blog and being glad that I am back to blogging Slowly but surely, I hope. YES you need restart your blogging. Loved reading yours.
ReplyDeleteI'm dieting a little these days, to take off 20-30 pounds. Need to stop sugar intake as it makes me ache and fogs my brain. So I'm trying. The funny thing is images of pizza have been popping up in my brain every day. And then I come here and you mentioned pizza. hahaha Love pizza so much.
Teresa