Aaloo ka chaaloo beta!

Aaloo ka chaaloo beta Kaha gaye the Bandar kee jhopdi mein So rahe the

So, the humble Aaloo finds a place even in the child’s nursery rhymes. The aaloo, king of vegetables has secured a place in the palate for itself which no other vegetable has.

The well-read will argue that potato is no vegetable. Solanum tuberosum is a tuber, a (subterranean) stem modification. To that, okay, I agree. But that does not lessen the Aloo’s importance one inch.

Be it aloo-gobi, aloo-paneer, aaloo-baigaan, aaloo-karela, aloo-palak, aaloo-methi, Aaloo is like the quintessential Naapit (barber) who is present at every occasion, be it a mundan, sacred thread, a marriage, a shradhh or a pind-daan! We Bengalis will even never miss putting large pieces of Aaloos in chicken, mutton, eggs and biryani.

And Aaloo can thrive on its own too; which soul in the world does not relish jhooro-jhooro aaloo bhaja to go with dal on a Bengali dining table to Aaloo kee sabji for the pooris to sirf aaloo for Upvaas to the French Fry at Mc Donalds?

However, friends, Aaloo also has also witnessed some regional preferences. While my trainees from the Southern part of the Vindyas complain about the (over)usage of Aaloo in the canteen, “Madam, too much Aaloo, Gas...” , those arriving from the Northern side look for Aaloo in every recipe.

Nevertheless, aloo is here, they say from the Western World and is here to stay. If the list of curries is not enough, look for the aaloo in all the delectable morning breakfast items to snacks to dinner preparations. From Aloo-paratha to samosa, vada paav, gol gappa, aloo-kaabli...what could we have done without aaloo!