Roti...food of love

I debated on this photo for a long time tonight. In the end, I realized that it was more than the photo for me.

Roti IS the food of love.

It feeds millions of families across the world and is as simple as flour and water. There are other familiar forms like chapati and naan, but a simple roti is the best. There is no fluff or fancy. It is a simple, yet heartwarming, food designed to fill your belly.

It is made with hands that wipe the tears from childrens eyes and soothe the the woes of others. It takes time to get used to the boiling hot water that you knead throughout the flour. It takes practice to roll the perfect circle. Even the cooking is methodical.

When I met my husband, he often said "I won't marry any woman unless she can make roti." Well being an American sure put me to the bottom of the stack. I couldn't make roti much less spell roti. But overtime, I spent as many hours with his family as I could and started to learn how to make it. Amma would smile when my roti would turn out looking like Hawaii or Texas. She would remind me to let it cook "just a bit more" so that the circles were a darker shade of brown.

Once my husband even tried to show me how to make it, but the result was completely inedible and made for great frisbee for the dogs next door. I obviously did finally master the art of making roti (and making them round!), as were now nearing our 8th year of marriage.

With our children, roti has a magical appeal. If I can keep them from eating the entire roti before they've eaten any other part of their dinner, I am lucky. Most times I have to take it away and give it only in little pieces so they don't shove it all in at once.

So for our family and many others, the common little roti brings family together and keeps us well.