Picnic Lunches of Nainital

Khurpa Tal, a village few kilometers from Nainital. Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Khurpa_Tal_lake_near_Nainital,_Uttarakhand.jpg

There are so many wonderful spots in and around Nainital for a picnic that it is not a surprise that picnics are a common hobby with friends and family. One only has to walk a few kilometers from one’s home in Nainital to an enchanting spot in the lap of nature to relax and enjoy a picnic in aside from the famed Tiffin Top (Called Dorothy’s Bum by some naughty Europeans) in case one wanted to have company of other families too.

I recall my picnic lunches in Nainital and it is the common one for many families, Alu Paranthas with pickle, or plain triangular Paranthas (pan fried unleavened flat bread) with a stir fried meat or vegetable dish, sticks of cucumber, carrots and radishes for salads, hard boiled eggs with salt packed in small newspaper pouches, followed by a sweet Barfi (a sweet preparation from milk). All of these foods are delicious cold and keep well for several hours without refrigeration. There was a flask of tea for grown ups while the kids got just plain water or a lemonade.

Europeans on the other hand carried the same things except that there was beer for the men and sandwiches instead of Paranthas. A chocolate bar, biscuits or a cake replaced the Barfi. The other items of the picnic basket remained the same.

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