My Experiments with Food - I

A few weeks ago, one of my best-est friends treated me and my family to a sumptuous dinner - cooked entirely by her...It all began innocently enough, when her granny asked me, "So, what all do you cook?"
I nearly choked on my "sol-kadhi", and replied "Err...ahem..well, lets see, tea, coffee, Bournvita(that counts as cooking since you need to know the milk-bournvita ratio!), Maggi (Noodles as well as Soup)...err...ahem..."
My friend Anu, as always, came to my rescue and said, "She stays in a hostel, she doesn't have much chance to cook there!" and I took the opportunity to hastily change the subject and ramble about the virtues of "home-made" food over "hostel-mess-ka-khana"....Whew! That was close...

But the conversation (my brother's teasing not withstanding) encouraged me to try my hand at cooking too! :-) Well, to be honest, I have tried cooking the standard Upma-Poha-Sheera, but my culinary skills have taken a backseat for the past 3 years...since hostel-life happened...

My Mom often says "Those who love to eat, also love to cook!" and I couldn't agree more..
A self-confessed foodie and a die-hard food-aholic, I decided to try my hand at making pav-bhaji this weekend...

Well, I must confess, I did not make it from scratch per se, since my mother had already bought the necessary paraphernalia and had also cut up the veggies before I reached home on Saturday evening.Ah! All that I had to do now, was to cut up tomatoes and onions..and since I take pride in my "fine-chopping"-onion skills, it felt like a piece of cake...at least until mother handed over the "Veeli" to me...

"What's this?? Where's the knife??" I asked, bewildered...and got to know that our friendly-neighbour-next-door had borrowed it for the day...Bang went my plans of the "finely-chopped-onions-and-tomatoes"... Now, most of you must have seen a "Veeli", you might be calling it by different names, but here's a pic to show you exactly how it looks...(and how difficult it must be to cut things using it!)
But since I had promised I'll be cooking, I had no option but to try the "Veeli"

"Do what you can, with what you have and where you are" rang in my ears and so I spent the next half an hour huffing, puffing and literally "tearing" the onions across the "Veeli", all the time wondering how my granny still manages to do it so effortlessly!

I was not-so-happy with the gigantic-onion-and-tomato pieces, till..."Aha!! You know what, I am making "Khada Pav-bhaji!!!" I suddenly declared grinning from ear to ear :-D
Well, (thankfully) my brother had never eaten "Khada" pav-bhaji @ a restaurant, and so I was free to call "my-version-of-pav-bhaji" as an authentic "Khada pav-bhaji" ;-)
"You see, it's that version of pav-bhaji which takes less effort+less time (since the veggies are nor finely chopped) + more price(since you can actually see the veggies and the chef can't fool you with adding just lotsa tomatoes+onions)" I declared knowledgeably... ;-)

And so began the actual cooking...Sautee the onions until they turn pinkish, then add the tomatoes, add the masala and keep stirring, mother said.
Well, the onions seemed to take forever to turn pink and so I decided to help them by turning the gas to a higher flame :-)
"Cooking needs patience, like most other things in life...!"
"Food cooked on a low flame is tastier than one cooked hastily on a high flame" mother said, sensing my impatience.

Side by side, I started mashing the other actually finely-chopped(by mother) veggies, cutting up and baking the pav...and got so engrossed in doing it that I totally forgot about the mixture kept on the flame..Heck, it had just started turning brownish! :-|
That's when I realised "Cooking is all about multi-processing and multi-threading!" OS matters!

I added the red-chilli powder and salt in the correct proportions and finally, after much ado, instructions, simmering and garnishing, the "Khada pav-bhaji" seemed ready to eat! :-))

The people who dared to eat it declared it "Pretty good" and "Hmm...hmmm...hmmm" (No points for guessing,this was my brother :P) and it did taste nice if you ignored the huge-onion-tomato pieces popping up in every bite! ;-)

This ends the story of my first try at making a full-fledged meal...

Until next time,
(I will) Keep cooking!

PS: I do intend to try lots more dishes, hence the "Part-I" in the title..
PPS: Speaking of titles, and being Prof.Siva's student, I can't get rid of the itch to "cite" it ~\cite{The title is blatantly chorofied from a column of the same name that appears in DNA Sunday} and the picture of the "veeli" is taken from "www.fivetastes.com"

Ithaca - a poem by C.Cavafy

My friend Meenu had put the poem "Ithaca" as her buzz, and it's such an amazing piece of work,that I couldn't resist from putting it on the blog...

"Ithaca" is a poem by "Constantine Cavafy" , a Greek poet.

Ithaca

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,

pray that the road is long,

full of adventure, full of knowledge.

The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,

the angry Poseidon- do not fear them:

You will never find such as these on your path

if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine

emotion touches your spirit and your body.

The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,

the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,

if you do not carry them within your soul,

if your heart does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.

That the summer mornings are many, when,

With such pleasure, with such joy

you will encounter ports seen for the first time;

stop at Phoenician markets,

and purchase find merchandise,

mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,

and sensual perfumes of all kinds,

as many sensual perfumes as you can;

visit many Egyptian cities,

to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.

To arrive there is your ultimate goal.

But do not hurry the voyage at all.

It is better to let it last for many years;

and to anchor at the island when you are old,

rich with all you have gained on the way,

not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.

Without her you would never have set out on the road.

She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.

Wise as you have become, with so much experience,

you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

--Constantine Cavafy (1863-1933),
(translated by Rae Dalven)

I have a hectic four months ahead of me before I reach my "Ithaca"....(May be by the time I do reach it, or think I have reached it, it might choose to change it's location! ;-) )

Wishing you all a Happy Journey to your "Ithaca"!