Dulce De Leche - Caramel sweetness

I love you Argentina! Yo Te Quiero!

Dulce De Leche! 'Sweet of milk', yes that is the literal translation, caramelized condensed milk. A very plebeian, basic sweet, used like jam on hot buttered toast or eaten by the sinful spoonful. 

1986 came back this morning at The Leela Gurgaon, we had taken the kids for breakfast and on the pastry counter in the coffee shop I found a long lost friend, a jar of Dulce De Leche.

1986 was the year when I visited my parents in Buenos Aires. The year that Argentina won the football world cup, the year that Maradona showed the world that God indeed had a hand in his victory.

So many memories came back, my first cup of Cafe con crema, a wonderful strong espresso, crowned with  whipped cream, savored lazily at roadside cafes. My first bite into an alfajore , a chocolate covered biscuit sandwich with Dulce de Leche in its soft crumbly center. 

The strong sensual smell of fine Argentine leather. My initial hesitation as I cut into my first medium rare steak of the finest beef, juicy and pink on the inside. Glasses of Vino fino Tinto or red wine that my father specially bought and kept for me whenever I visited Buenos Aires.

Memories of simple breakfasts, thick slices of toasted whole wheat bread drizzled with honey and flowing ribbons of toffee flavored Dulce De Leche.

Sweet memories of the beautiful and warm portenos, the people of Buenos Aires, so elegant, so gracious,so brave, having weathered a horrible political and financial crisis.

Walks through Plaza San Martin, often pulling my jacket across my chest to keep out the chilly wind in the evenings.

It's funny isn't it, the simplest of things, a whiff of perfume, a few lines of a  song, the taste of a dish can transport us across time.