Today, June 2nd 2022, marks the start of the celebrations in the ol’ home country for the platinum jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen.
Sitting far away in India, I nevertheless thought I should write my own little tribute today to a lady whom I admire and respect hugely.
And so “Hello to the Queen” it is đ
I’m not being informal, I assure you – “Hello to the Queen” is the wonderful name of an Indian pudding, believe it or not.
Sadly, I haven’t eaten one, so I can’t tell you how it tastes, but here it is on a menu from a little cafĂ© high in the Himalayas:
I first spotted this quaintly named dish on menus in Leh, in Ladakh, and I’m told that “Hello to the Queen” is found typically in hill stations and especially those frequented by foreigners.
There is some speculation as to the origins of this dish, and I give you the following fascinating back story from the brilliant writer Mayank Austen Soofi. Mr. Soofi starts with a description of the dish:
“Served in a glass bowl, the dish consists of scoops of banana-studded vanilla ice-cream lounging on a mound of cookies, and the whole thing is generously smeared with hot chocolate sauce. It demands such a simple preparation that you can easily rustle it at home. But the Queen is truly enjoyed only in a room filled with sugar-starved tourists, preferably from Israel.
There is a reason for that.
Apparently, Hello to the Queen is a kind of made-in-India dish that appears only on the menus designed for foreign tourists who hang out in hotspots like Pushkar, Manali and Goa. Its origins are mysterious. Even the all-knowing Wikipedia is silent on the Queen.
Luckily, an online discussion forum on the Lonely Planet website has somewhat interesting stories about the Queen.
The origins of Hello to the Queen are the topic of much debate, some say it heralds from Israel. The Israelis say it doesnât. The truth is insignificant. The fact is it is the most incredible and indulgent of all desserts I have had the pleasure to feast upon. Imagine if you have a layer of biscuit, topped with hot fudge sauce, raisins and cashews, with a fat dollop of vanilla ice cream https://www.thedelhiwalla.com/2015/09/18/city-food-hello-to-the-queen-ajay-guest-house-paharganj/perched on top and lashings of cream.
One of the things that weâve been noticing on the dessert menu of most restaurants around India is the very intriguing Hello to the Queen. A group of Israeli girls explained that the dessert was a travellersâ favourite around India and was particularly popular with the Israelis (âShalom la Malkahâ). As the story goes, it all started with an Israeli man in a Pushkar cafĂ© who, after a long day of enjoying the local charas, began to get the munchies. He asked the waiter to bring him ice cream⊠with chocolate, and whipped cream, and bananas, coconut, marshmallow and cookies.”
A sweet tribute, right? (Pun absolutely intended đ )
Congratulations to a wonderful lady on a wonderful anniversary.
Not surprisingly, one of my favourite Indian puddings
En pensée avec toi à 13h en regardant le jubilé durant notre repas avec maman. Big bisous
We still puzzle over âGreen Sailorsâ that was on one of the menus we came across on one of our trips out of Delhi. We wondered if it might be green salad, but as âSladâ which we assumed was salad, was also on the menu, we were stumped for ideas, and no courage to order it. Have you ever encountered Green Sailors on a menu?
Penny, this is classic. I have NO clue. But you should’ve lived life in the fast lane and ordered it!