ಹುಳಿಯನ್ನ v/s ಪುಳಿಯೋಗರೆ

After savoring Smt. Bhagya Sheshadri"s puliyogare recipe , and reading the nice reader comments I thought of spicing it up a bit more narrating a real contest that took place over 57years ago!

The year was 1952, place Kanakapura, the venue Municipal High School and yours truly a witness. My native Kanakapura was an idealistic society then with harmony all around. Yet, one day, after school, my elder brother G.S. Nagaraj, a smarta and his Iyengar classmate Rangaraj got into a discussion about huliyanna/puliogare superiority. The drill master Sgt. Janoji Rao, a retired Jawan from the Burma theater, who heard the argument jokingly suggested an neutral “taste test" to decide the issue! The other teachers chimed in for the fun of it.

Nagaraj & Rangaraj took it seriously and related the incident to their respective mothers. Family pride kicked in. The sporty and confident mothers encouraged their sons and agreed to stand behind them. Excitement filled the air in the two homes.

The stage was set for the contest. Blind tasting rules were agreed upon. Five teachers Messrs. Janoji Rao (a maratha drill master), Moulvi Sahib (Urdu), Krishna Iyengar (English), Syed Sagirullah Khan (Science) and the smart(a) head master B.T.Suryanarayana were chosen to be the judges.

Two weeks later two marked containers were delivered for taste test, comments and voting to each teacher"s home by Sri. Govindappa the sole man for all seasons school custodian. (Govindappa got eating rights but not voting rights). Suspense engulfed the two families that prepared the dishes.

Two days later the secret ballot results were announced by Sgt. Janoji Rao. Result: HK Huliyanna 5 Gold medals and Iyengar Puliyogare 5 Silver medals! HK Huliyanna won, bandli/ soutu down! Despite the starting family pride, no family fued ensued.

Interestingly, two years ago, my brother G.S. Nagaraj returning home for good from USA visited the near centenarian Moulvi Sahib in Kanakapura and the two reminisced the old days!

Looking back, the 1952 Kanakapura huliyanna/puliyogare contest to me (a wine enthusiast) is the equivalent of the historic Paris wine tasting of 1976 when the California wines dethroned both the French Bordeaux & Burgundy wines thus profoundly changing the world of wine! To top it, the blind taste Judges were all French too!

I wonder if the large Sri Lankan Tamilians now settling in Paris will try hard to establish a French connection to Puliyodarai! The French Bordeaux wines go quite well with both Huliyanna & Puliyogare. However, Huliyanna perfectly pairs with Burgandy for lunch & Bordeaux for dinner. My tongue can vouch for that. Bon Appetit!