A table with the Shahs

With three diabetics in the family,Falguni says they have cut down on sugar. But some habits die hardlike the bhakris thick wheat flour,ghee rotis and sev for breakfast and a variety of fried potato snacks for evening tea. While the elders in the family like the traditional bhakris,khakras,sev-mamra puffed rice and poha for breakfast,Falgunis daughters Hiral and Janki,have discovered the joys of hot upma.

On Friday,after a breakfast of muthiyas steamed dumplings,the family is ready for a lunch of fried bhindi,dal,rice and rotis. We always eat potatoes for lunch. On Wednesdays,we dont cook dal and make moong sprouts instead. On Sundays,we sometimes eat jaggery rotis, says Falguni.

Evening tea comes mostly with farsana collective term for Gujarati snacks such as dhokla,handvo Gujarati savoury cake,dal vada a crispy fried snack made of chana dal and dry snacks like sev and gathiya deep fried gramflour strips.

Dining out is a regular feature on Sundays,but Falguni says her in-laws like home-cooked food. When my daughters insist,we go out to eat a sandwich or a pizza. But we have old people at home who are not comfortable eating out so we do not do it on a regular basis, she says.

With inputs by Avinash Nair amp; Lakshmi Ajay