Beautillion

"As soon as the doors of the Virata court opened, my stomach began to rumble. Oh how I had missed the food!

For twelve years I had done the best I could with the food that we had been able to plant and forage for in the forest. Rabbits and deer were easy to hunt and berries easy to find, but after so much time, we found that there was only so much that could be done with the meager ingredients we had. We ran out of salt after just the first year, and any sugar we wanted to eat had to be wrestled from beneath a swarm of bees! Oh, how my hands still sting with the memory of those battles!

But here, with the scents of the food wafting from tables piled high with delicacies- I thought I might be in a dream. Honeyed roasted nuts, freshly baked bread seasoned with olives and spices, oil for dipping, figs drenched in honey, seared peacock with pears and plums, and there, in the middle of it all, one of my favorites- pistaudana!

Now, children, I know it's not much- rice with minced meat, but this was one of the first things that I learned how to cook! Even now, it reminds me of early years of wrestling with my brothers and training with Drona. A simple food for simpler times! But I'll tell you the secret behind a wonderful pistaudana- it is all in the spices. Star anise, cloves, cardamom, bay leaves, peppercorns, ginger, and cinnamon. Before roasting the meat, add all of your spices to the pot and toast them. Don't brown them, but sear them just enough to make then fragrant. Add ghee and roast your meat, then add rice and broth and cook it until the rice is finished. That way the meat and the rice can stew with the spices. To finish it, chop up some fresh parsley and garnish. As your grandmother Kunti would say, it is food that sticks to your bones. Ah- my mouth is watering even now, boys!

All of us were mesmerized by the food, but we knew we had to introduce ourselves to the court and find our places there before we would be allowed to fill our grumbling bellies.

Uncle Yudhishthira was the first to introduce himself. Still stinging from his loss twelve years earlier, he decided to master the game of dice. Thus, he became Kanka, and would join the court as a member of the royal assembly. There, he would play the role of a learned brahmin and would play dice with the king.

Arjuna was next, choosing the name of Brihannala. He would spend his time at court teaching dance and music to the young women there. "

"Uncle Arjuna teaching dance?" asked Sarvaga, baffled.

Bhima chuckled. "Oh yes, boys. Uncle Arjuna has plenty of stories to tell himself. Maybe if you ask him tomorrow he might even tell you a few."

The boys eyes gleamed with the thought of many more stories to hear, but for now they contented themselves to draw their blankets to their chins and listen to the rest of their current one.

"The twins, Nakula and Sahadeva, chose to work with the animals. Nakula, who had always been good with horses, took the name of Granthika and went to work in the stables. Sahadeva became Tantipala and, having always been the more quiet and contemplative of the two brothers, spent his days tending the cattle and managing the cattle-sheds.

Draupadi became Sairandhri and, being an expert at braiding and styling her own hair, decided to do the same for the other women at court and Queen Sudeshna.

My name was to become Ballava. As to what service I would provide while at the court? That decision was an easy one! I would spend my days in the royal kitchens surrounded by wonderful herbs, spices, fruits, meats, and anything else my roiling belly could wish for. I would become a cook."