Suhel Seth dines Sheila Dikshit
When one invites somebody as wonderful as Sheila Dikshit for dinner, the restaurantalso needs to be as charming. So in the midst of a debate on the powers of the DelhiGovernment, we decide to head for Dakshin, the haven for south Indian cuisine at theMarriott Welcomhotel in New Delhi.
We could have easily devoured the Delhi LG for his high-handedness but choose to beginwith some fiery rasam instead. Its said to do amazing things to ones appetiteand it did do wonders for my taste buds. If I was expecting an angry chief minister thanksto the bjps efforts at trying to deprive her of significant powers, I was wrong.Instead we were two very hungry souls devouring every dish that came our way.
When you are the CM of Delhi, some simple pleasures might escape you because of theconfines of officialdom; but not with Sheila. She has spent most of her life doing thingsshe always wanted to. Our conversation flits from her college years at Miranda House tolife with her late husband Vinod.
Just then the waiter sweeps past to serve some Dakshin Yera (deep fried prawnsmarinated in ginger, garlic and chilli paste): a dish from Tamil Nadu. The prawns areheavenly and the fact that they come from Tamil Nadu prompts me to ask Sheila for hercomments on a fellow CMs outbursts on the nationality of the Congress president.Sheila maintains a studied silence, takes a bite of Iyers dosa (which are theselovely mini dosas to be had with a variety of chutneys and pickles) and firmly says thatevery outburst doesnt merit a response. Our main course is a combination of KozhiMelagu Curry (tender boneless chicken cubes simmered in peppercorn-flavoured spicy curry);Masam Coconut Curry (boneless mutton tossed in coconut, ginger, garlic and garam masala)and some Keerai Masial (spinach cooked in gravy of tamarind, flavoured with ground spices)along with generous servings of appams. Our meal progresses wonderfully well and theraging debate moves from politics to the desserts we should go for. While she votes forIyers coffee along with some Badam Halwa, I bite into a beeda (a South-Indian paan).Delhi is safe in Sheilas hands just as the city is delighted with Dakshinsimpeccable foodcraft.