Nishita is a dear family friend, her brother and I were part of the same school carpool. For years, Nishita and I would spend Sunday evenings together, walking from our homes to a Hindu temple nearby. On our way back, we’d often stop by ‘naughty food’ stores and bond over the mouthwatering goodies on display. What is it about chocolate mousse that makes it so d*** ethereal? 

When it comes to dessert I’ve always had extremely basic tastes. A plain old sponge cake with a cup of warm tea goes a very long way. A bowl of creamy chocolate ice cream can cure many Monday blues. Till date my birthday cake is a vanilla sponge topped with buttercream frosting in pastel hues from the local baker. And I’m all of thirty years old.

Looking Back

I think it might have something to do with growing up in the nineties. The Indian palette then was still primarily ‘Indian’. The only exposure we had to foreign desserts was the occasional box of Toblerone or Quality Street Toffees, transported by a generous cousin from a foreign land. I recollect a time when Black Forest Cake and Pineapple Cake reigned supreme. In fact not much else comes to mind when I think of really indulgent desserts.

But one fine day my palette broke free from the grasp of Mongini’s and experienced something new and entirely delightful. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the exact time or place I tried my first bowl of chocolate mousse but I remember being very happy after. There was something about the layers of chocolate; so smooth, rich and creamy. It made me feel like my mind had floated out of my body and had gone to another dimension. And it left a wonderful aftertaste.

The thing about chocolate mousse was that it wasn’t easily available. You couldn’t just pop into your neighborhood bakery and pick it up. I think I found a great version of it at Brittania Café in Bombay’s old Ballard Estate. My brother was with me at that time and we picked up a few boxes to go and ran home to eat them in our sweatpants. But you didn’t really need to wear sweatpants to eat it. It was so light and airy that you didn’t feel guilty after. Those were the days!

A few months ago while browsing around the Kitab Khanna bookstore with my bustling (now) three year old son I chanced upon a children’s book called ‘Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose’. And boy oh boy did that bring back memories. I hadn’t eaten my favourite dessert in years! What with the likes of Macaroons, Profiteroles and Panacotta taking over the gourmet dessert scene, no one seemed to make a good old Chocolate Mousse anymore!

Looking Ahead

So when the entire world went on lockdown, due to the deplorable Coronavirus, I put on my chef’s hat one night and set to work. I wanted my son to have a taste of this wonderful dessert that had featured in many of my childhood fantasies. I was nervous because I didn’t know if I would get the same texture and taste that I had longed for so many years ago. The end result was satisfactory beyond my imagination. To my delight my son seemed to relish is thoroughly as well. It felt good to share this little part of my life with him. I guess that’s the beauty of food, it can very quickly transport you to a time and place or moment that no longer exists.

Written by Nishita Gupta and edited by Jashan Sippy.

‘Food, the Feeling of Home’: A series of stories exploring nostalgia, the power of food, our memories and stories of ‘home’. Want to share your story? Send it to us at info@sugarandspace.in