We bongs refer to sunny side up as egg poach or poached egg. Though now I know a poach and a sunny side up is not the same, growing up I didn’t know the difference. And dim poach or egg poach (I mean sunny side up) is my all-time favourite preparation of egg. I like to delicately cut into the white part without disturbing the bright yellow (sometimes orangish-yellow) yolk. Then, using my fork I deftly lift the yolk without breaking it and put it in my mouth. The taste and the feel of the warm soft egg yolk melting in my mouth I slowly relish. That’s as sensual as an egg can get for me!

My first memories of poached eggs go back to the days when I was a little girl, just three years old maybe. Yes, some of my early memories date back to the time when I was that little! My twin sisters were babies then. In the evening, my mother would put my sisters to sleep while my father would feed me dinner – buttered rice and poached egg was the standard menu. Like most kids, I would not want to have rice after taking a few gulps and just want to relish the egg, with the yolk unbroken. My father, like any smart parent, would threaten to break the yolk if I didn’t finish the rice first. That would do the trick. I would quickly eat rice and open my mouth wide for the whole egg yolk.

I don’t how I fell in love with the bright yellow yolk of poached aka sunny side up egg. It’s even better if it’s orangish-yellow made from the egg of a duck or desi murgi. Was it my father who suggested that’s how the yolk is to be eaten or was it the little me who decided that I wanted to put this beautiful yellow delicate thing in my tiny mouth?

Savouring the whole yellow yolk of a sunny side up egg is, to date, one of the most sought after culinary experiences for me. Reminds me how life is made of these beautiful little moments that we often miss!