Have you been introduced to custard apples yet?

Many of us here have formed a passionate love affair with this exotic fruits. At first I was put off by the roughness of the skin and the harshness of the curves. I didn’t know how to crack the dense skin- do I bite, peel, rip, or cut? Yet everywhere I went I encountered stacks and mounds of these delicate little fruits. One wonderful day, a shop keeper popped a sitafal (if you thought, “that must mean custard apple” you were correct!) open and handed me a half. As soon as the hard, unappetizing outer layer was penetrated I had a whole new mystery to tackle. Inside I found many many little white pods clustered together in a form that reminded me of a pomegranate. I attempted to peel each pod and pop it into my mouth, but soon enough found it was much easier to grab a mouthful and to chuck the seeds as if you were downing a watermelon. As you can tell my years of eating fruits has greatly paid off, for had I never eaten a pomegranate nor a watermelon my ability to eat a custard apple with grace and style would be greatly lacking. And just as you would scrap every little bit of pulp off the wedge of melon, you do the same with these wonderfully delicate delights.

Now I must come clean. I am leading you to belief that my life is healthy by diving into fruit with such detail, but truth be told I dined at McD’s today. I didn’t want to, I protested slightly, but my coworkers wanted to go out for a bite to eat after work and I was by no means going to pass up on the opportunity to stay out past 7 pm. There are three or four McDonald’s in the city, but the one we went to is situated in the “times square” of A’bad. I use “times square” very very loosly- there was lots of traffic, lots of commotion, big buildings, fancy shops (ex: Big Bazaar which reminds me of a Big Lots but much BIGGER), and flashy lights. We ordered a round of veggie burgers (deep fried patties of mush), a fry, and some good ol coca colas. Crispy lettuce, blobs of mayo, and seaseme buns reminded me of the restaurant I dodge in the States; while the “shake your fries with a packet of masala” bags, runny ketchup, and potato-pea patties confirmed that I was far from home.

I bought a few custard apples before going home.