In the Mix by Mandy Gonzalez

Author:Mandy Gonzalez
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 2023-04-04T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Less than an hour later, the Patel family and the Squad walked into a large event center in Chelsea. Everyone was now dressed in some form of Indian clothing—Hudson had changed into a kurta that matched his brother’s, while Relly was wearing a maroon one. Monica wore a green one, and April had on a purple one. As the youngest and smallest of the Squad, she ended up borrowing it from Sudhir, as Hudson’s swallowed her up.

Everyone was excited. Even the baby, ever fidgety, was quiet, taking in the sight of flower mandalas made of sand and diyas lit everywhere—on tables, on ledges, on the floor, on special lampstands. They were early, and a bharata natyam performance, originating from South India, was in progress. It soon gave way, however, to a Gujarati garba dance. Monica and April joined the fun, while Hudson and Relly went straight for the food. There were samosas and a variety of chutneys, as well as tandoori chicken, paneer tikka, bhajia, and more. And those were just the appetizers.

“Hudson, pay attention to the mithai.” It was Nani. She nudged her grandson toward the dessert table, which was overflowing with gulab jamun, laddoos, rasgullas, chum chums, halwa, jalebis, kheer—it was endless. “But,” she added, looking at him fiercely, “be sure to consider all the flavors you taste.” With that, she headed toward the dance floor.

Hmmmm…, Hudson thought. He looked at what was on his plate already: two samosas with imli. What can I do with this imli?

“What’s imli?” Relly asked, reading a label on the table. April and Monica, now getting food themselves after the garba dance gave way to a Punjabi bhangra performance, came closer to take a look.

“It’s tamarind sauce,” Hudson explained, pointing at the dark brown sauce on his plate. “I usually only eat it with samosas, but now I wonder…” His voice trailed off as he walked toward the dessert table. He stood there for a long time, examining what was on the table. Finally, he picked up his favorites, gulab jamun and laddoos. He broke off a piece of each with a fork and dipped them in the tamarind sauce. Tangy, he thought after taking a bite. The laddoo has promise since it’s not so messy. The gulab jamun—a fried ball of dough soaked in syrup—was better on its own, while the laddoo, also a round sweet but without syrup, was more malleable. Hudson could see himself adding other ingredients to it to make it his own.

“What should I try?” Relly asked, looking over the dessert table.

Hudson explained what each dessert was, surprising himself with how much he knew. Between them, his friends took a sample of everything.

“What’s this shiny stuff on top?” Monica asked, picking up a piece of kaju ki barfi, which was made of cashew nuts and milk. It was topped with a silver leaf.

“You can eat that,” Hudson said. “It’s an edible decoration.”

“Are you enjoying yourselves?” Hudson’s father was selecting his own desserts now. “Mmmmm… my favorite.

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