Washington based food blogger weaves her longing for Mumbai and Goa online

Edlyn DrsquoSouza started her blog after moving to Washington in 2012 PICJane DrsquoSouzaWhen you dream of a place all the while after you are gone its almost like you never really left writes 29yearold Edlyn DSouza in one of her many musings on her blog Titled egeedeecom this space was born out of her longing for home soon after she moved lock stock and barrel to Washington in 2012 after getting hitched Edlynrsquos quirky creations on the plate have earned her a fair amount of recognition on social media After all its not everyday that we get to see an alugobi potpie or a coconut milk gola doused in hibiscus syrup Shersquos however not a fan of the term foodie Food is something most humans share a love and desire for I approach it with the same love and I keep things simple and seasonal as much as possible Edlyn saysBorn and brought up in Goa Edlyn moved to Mumbai as a teenager to join St Xavierrsquos College Back then however she wouldnrsquot cook much Like most collegegoing teens she would go around town sampling gastronomic offerings Now sitting thousands of miles away she says I miss everything about walking to the end of the naka and eating 20 different kinds of things at all hours of the day I miss the convenience of khandvi the refreshing sip of Aarey lassi on a hot day our paani puri wala the caramel custard at Food Inn Colaba and the chai mdash emphasis on the chai She continues I try not to recreate these foods as I remember them because I know Irsquoll be disappointing myself The reason they were so good is because they satisfied that need in the moment Instead I use those memories to write inspired recipeshellip Irsquove become one of those in my days peopleThe blog she says is more a journal than an account of recipes When I moved to the US my life turned on its head I was depressed lonely and I had to feed myself on top of it all Food became this tangible thing through which I could connect back to my roots My husband had a camera stashed away and I had a blog just sitting idle I had new ingredients to work with so I put the two together to stop myself from going crazy The stories are sometimes related to food and sometimes notWhile she has had overwhelming feedback on her blog ask her about it and she says ldquoI like being able to facilitate small discussions because thats how I look at a recipe What can I change I get that people want to see Indians only making their idea of Indian food but I have so many ideas and to stick to butter chicken and naan is sillyrdquoEdlyns PicksShrikhand with granola figs and honeyEdlyn recalls how every time shersquod take in a spoonful of the shrikhand shersquod find it bitingly sweet so shersquod never go for seconds ldquoIt was too sweet for me and never sour enoughrdquo She had to think of a way to temper the sweetness She opts for granola made from scratch comprising oats hazelnuts pistachios pumpkin seeds and cardamom seeds ldquoThis recipe is for those whorsquod like to try making granola on a stove A majority of homes in India donrsquot have ovens and toast all their grains and spices on the stove This felt naturalrdquo And why figs ldquoBecause no lie thatrsquos my favourite flavour of Natural icecream which I first sampled in a Juhu Scheme outletrdquoCoconut golas in hibiscus syrupThis could well be a gourmetrsquos nod to the classic Mumbai gola Having grown up in Goa Edlyn only got ldquoexposed to this world of street and beachsiderdquo food when she moved to Mumbai in her late teens she says She talks of how she threw caution to the wind as she relished them ignoring parental warnings about how they originate in gutter water ldquoI would go on to consume as much gutter water as I wantedrdquo she says Years later when Edlyn thought of creating her own version of the gola she made one with coconut milk staying true to her coastal roots added a dash of vanilla to that and then doused it in hibiscus syrup Gourmet gola is readyChoco cherry granita with coconut whip and cardamom crunch sprinklesStrangely this concoction took her back to her days at St Xavierrsquos College Edlyn mentions how she learnt the word ldquogranitardquo at an overpriced cyber cafeacute yes it was those days near her college that had ldquogaming teenagers checking email and doing class projectshellip while sipping on their fruity granitas sitting in front of their PCsrdquo mdash something that she says ldquoseemed very unlikely in the world of rules that is Indiardquo This granita is a throwback to those days when she and her friends would hang out at that cafeacute only ldquoto make fun of everybodyrdquo And to make it she used coconut palm jaggery that ldquocame with me in my suitcase from GoardquoEggplant koftas with poblano sauceWhen the first ldquoIndianrdquo restaurant opened up in her Goan neighbourhood the malai kofta would be Edlynrsquos favourite thing to order ldquoIn a malai kofta the koftas are usually made with potatoes cashew nuts raisins and spices and served in a creamy gravy I switched it up by adding eggplant almonds chickpeas and spices and no gravy because my dream is to make everything snackablerdquo