My mom tells me that when I was a baby, I used to take my rice cereal with cardamom, almonds, and Parle G biscuits. I, of course, have no memory of this, but what I do remember is eating these biscuits by the packet as a child. Parle G biscuits are a ubiquitous part of Indian kids’ lives. When I was a kid, they were on the list of healthy snacks, and I didn’t complain as they tasted an awful lot like cookies to me! I learned to perfect the art of the Parle G milk dunk: too short and it was too crispy, too long and you lost your cookie to the depths of the glass. They have been such a part of my life for so long that eating them is a rush of both nostalgia and comfort.
Now that we are in this strange time, approaching a holiday season like no other, knowing that I won’t be traveling home for Thanksgiving with my parents and extended family, Parle G biscuits felt like the perfect thing to reach for when making dessert. In this case, I combined the nostalgic flavor of Parle G with the similarly nostalgic flavor of mango and cream. Another one of my favorite treats as a child was mango pulp (we call it ras) mixed with a bit of milk and scooped up with fluffy fried bread called puri. The combination was delicious and so evocative of the comfort and nostalgia that this holiday season is supposed to bring.
