Titaura candy to jazz up your day

The beauty parlour close to my house is run by a Miss Trunchbull like personality, with whom we have only just managed to break the ice after three years. Usually, she ignores us as she expertly trims someone's hair, or does this weird walk like an Egyptian thing with her head when she is threading our eyebrows, or sharing some juicy gossip with someone who has presumably known her for more than three years. But the other day, she smiled at us and that transformed her face. It was a brief smile but it made her less intimidating. She is super efficient, barking out orders at the other girls who work there - mostly from the North - Eastern states and Nepal. They seem intimidated by her too.

They are relaxed when she is not around and they laugh and giggle and horse around. I was getting a much needed pedicure to come back with some new, 'glowing' feet and one of the employees who had just walked in popped this red slab of sticky looking candy into the beautician's mouth who had her hands full - that looked like fruit leather ( like  Aam papad).

She looked at me, smiled and asked if I wanted it. I asked her what it was. "Titaura" She said. I asked her if I could have a tiny bite. She gave me an emphatic no, rolled it and asked me to pop it into my mouth fully. I did. She waited, studying my reaction, amused.

My mouth is watering as I write this. Oh what can I tell you? It is this sour, salty, spicy, sweet, tangy candy that exploded all these flavours in one bite and made me see stars. The girl grinned.

Titaura or Paun is made from the pulp of  Nepali hog plum, called Lapsi. It is mixed with salt, sugar, chillies and dried. If you ever get a chance, TRY IT!