“Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf
Witches’ mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digg’d i’ the dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Silver’d in the moon’s eclipse,
Nose of Turk and Tartar’s lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver’d by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add there to a tiger’s chaudron,
For the ingredients of our cauldron.”

–  Act IV Scene I, The Tragedy of Macbeth

If I have to identify Halloween with a passage it would be The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act IV Scene I, where the three witches circle a cauldron, mixing in a variety of grotesque ingredients while chanting together.

Slimy Pink Jelly Worms In Biscuit Soil

It was up in the hills of Kalimpong, that my younger sister Nitika and I, first got acquainted with Shakespeare as well as Halloween. Once Sandy our elder sister reached senior school, “The tragedy of Macbeth” was part of her syllabus. She was fascinated by the Shakespearean language and would go into her own theatrical delivery of dialogues from the book. Nitika and I watched in fascination, a bit amused by her drama and a tad baffled because the language made no sense to us. One evening, Sandy excitedly spoke about Halloween. There were no stories given about the origin of Halloween. She had heard about how it was celebrated from her friends and shared with us, “People dress up as witches and ghosts and anything that’s gross, slimy or scary becomes a part of it.” she told us. “Let’s dress up as witches, girls, just like the three witches of Macbeth.”

The mud is created by using finely ground Oreo biscuits.

In that far away, huge house on the hill, we only had the Ghosh family and their daughter Sanjukta as our neighbours. As a result, we had to depend on each other for companionship. Once back from school, we used to spend a lot of time climbing trees and plucking guavas from the trees that lined our pathway. Sandy was a voracious reader and loved Enid Blyton books. Along with Sanjukta, she had formed the “Adventurous Four” group where every Sunday we four would meet in a shoddy shed and try to solve imaginary mysteries. Honestly, Nitika and I hardly knew what was happening but we played along with the other two senior girls. There was no internet those days and hardly any television to watch since the reception was awful. Yet, we never got bored. There was something exciting to do every day,  Sometimes it was Mom’s cooking classes, dancing on disco numbers or listening to Sandy as she narrated the story from a book she had just finished reading.

That day it was the Halloween party. Mom joined in the madness. She made each one of us a typical witch hat with a conical crown and wide brim and dressed us up like Mori girls in loose dresses, vintage prints and accessories. We sat around the dining table and made a list of things that we would cook in our respective “cauldron” or dishes. With a “Spooktacular” menu in mind, a whole range of ingredients was lined up on the table and given sinister names. Toffees as rat’s droppings, cherry juice as dragon blood, vanilla ice cream as candle wax, witches blood for ketchup, phoenix tears for sugar and so on. Imagination was used to give names and create fantastic dishes. We made Monster Sandwiches, Giants Nail Dirt with Caramelized Popcorn, and Cat’s Booger which were slimy, sluggish pink jelly worms served on a bed of biscuit soil. By the time dad returned from his office, the three witches were ready with the table full of dishes with eerie names. Needless to say, the Halloween party was such a hit and mom and dad enjoyed it just as much.

Make sure the straws are pulled to their full length. Hold them together with a rubber band making sure the bendable neck portion is inside the jar.

Place the straws in a jar that can hold up to 4 cups of liquid.

As October 31st is a couple of days away, I decided to make the jelly worms in biscuit soil once again. I found a recipe on www.delish.com It is extremely simple though a bit tricky. The tricky part is pouring the jelly mix into the bunch of straws that are used to create the jelly worms. Please make sure that the straws used are expanded to full length and the bendable neck part of the straws are below in the jar.  It is important that the base of the straws touch the jar in which they are placed. While pouring the liquid do not worry if you see the liquid filling up the jar. It is bound to happen but there will be enough liquid in the straws to produce the worms. The end result is spectacular and looks just the same as what Mom used to make. The pink worms appear slimy and if a couple is rolled in the mud they look even more real. This Halloween, do give this recipe a try. Trust me, the little “witches and monsters” at home will not be disappointed.

Hope you all have a very Happy Halloween!

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Halloween Special - Slimy Pink Worms in Biscuit Soil

Keyword

recipes

Prep Time

20 minutes

Passive Time

21/2 hours

Servings

Ingredients

• 2 packets Strawberry Jell-O mix
• 3 packets Gelatine (Unflavoured)
• 3 cups Boiing water
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 100 straws
• 2 packets Oreo biscuits

Keyword recipes Prep Time 20 minutes Passive Time 21/2 hours Servings Ingredients 2 packets Strawberry Jell-O mix 3 packets Gelatine (Unflavoured) 3 cups Boiing water 3/4 cup heavy cream 100 straws 2 packets Oreo biscuits

Instructions

1. Add Strawberry Jell-O and gelatine powder in a pan. Pour hot water into it and stir till the grains dissolve. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
2. Stretch all the straws to their full length and stand them inside a big jar that can hold at least 4 cups of liquid. If the straws fall to the side collect them and hold them together with a rubber band. It's important to note that the bendable part of the neck is facing down and touching the bottom of the jar.
3. Take out the jelly from the refrigerator while still warm and add the double/heavy cream. Stir well. The consistency will be watery.
4. Gently pour the jello liquid into all the straws. Do not worry if the jello starts to seep into the container levelling up. If the straws are tightly fitted in and flush at the bottom, the liquid will still fill into the straws.
5. Place the whole jar with the straws into the refrigerator gently and let it set for about 2 hours.
6. In the meanwhile, remove the cream from the oreo biscuits. Once done, put the biscuits in a grinder till its fine ground. Spread it on a serving platter. This becomes the "soil" for the worms.
7. After two hours take out the straws from the fridge. Gently extract each straw from the jar. It's a bit of a messy affair. Holding the top of the straw tightly with one thumb and forefinger, use the other thumb and forefinger to tightly apply pressure down the entire length of the straw thereby propelling the jiggly little worm from the straw and onto the serving platter.
8. Sqeeze and spread out the remaining jelly worms onto the platter at different places. The slimy jelly worms in oreo "soil" is ready to be eaten.

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