Kitchen Tales – 2

Till a few days back, I had completely forgotten that I never used to eat rice this frequently! Call it laziness, or pure lack of instinct, I was wondering how people could spend so much energy and time in making rotis, when rice was quick to make and took almost no effort. I then concluded that it was unfair to the rotis in not giving them a chance. Hence I have succeeded in buying myself more time in the kitchen in making rotis. Sometimes I hate having to spend so much time in first preparing the dough, and then standing in front of the gas while making them, but then this hate is usually overcome by my quest for the perfect roti – round and fluffy, and without having burnt my hand in the bargain! I have also bought some readymade ones just in case…

Some days back, I gave another try at making paneer, and this time I think it has come out better than before. I do think that something was missing – some masala or the other, but I hope to refine my process a bit in the days to come. I have anyways changed my cooking style – rather than mixing salt and masalas immediately after having added onions and tomatoes in the frying pan, I now wait and allow them to becoming paste-like before playing around with it.

Another ‘first’ I have prepared this week has been saboodana kheer. My mom doesn’t make it too often, usually only when she’s fasting, because of which I wasn’t even sure of how to begin. So I searched on the net, and not surprisingly, I fumbled across two totally different recipes – I decided to mix the two recipes and come up with a new version – my version!

I can’t cook, I use a smoke alarm as a timer! Today’s menu – Take it or leave it!!

Expert Talk? Crap…

There are so many so-called experts in the world today, that it is not even worth your salt to be counted as one. Many of these experts are fast turning out to be jokers in today’s world. Allow me to explain.

The natural tendency of human beings is to give more importance to experience. So you may find people who are vastly experienced in their fields to dictate terms to other people in the field. Even if their ‘experience’ means doing repetitive work for dozens of years. Once they establish a set practice, seldom do they try to bring a fresh dimension.

Out of the several finite possibilities, if someone takes up one position, then some other self-proclaimed expert will lend his/her weight to the other side. When a set of possibilities are equally likely, then you can be sure the dice will favour one possibility or the other, which in turn means that either (not all) of the experts’ stand will be vindicated. This in turn will elicit responses from the other ‘wrong-proved’ experts that will border on the familiar terrains of probability, even as the ‘right-proved’ expert will laugh all the way to the bank! Talk of incredibility, and how!

The trick is in the numerical iterations and the statistics, which you need to be good at; even more important is that you should be able to sense the general drift and play with the human traits of sniffing risks from a distance.

Elections in India are around the corner, and you can find so many experts everywhere, ready to give their cent’s worth of knowledge about who is going to form the next government. As if we didn’t know that it could only be A, or B, or C, or B + C, or A + C!! Similarly, in today’s world of fast changing economies, and the large-scale ups and downs, half the experts tell you the markets are going to go down, and a few tell you they are going to go up. A few of them, trying to play safe, will tell you it’s gonna maintain status quo. My sole point is – aren’t you just parroting the possible combinations? What is the value add in this? I’m not against experts, but beware of the pseudo-experts – they will do more harm than good for you.

God does not play dice with the world, or does He? Can the experts be held accountable for what they stand for? Always listen to experts. They’ll tell you what can’t be done and why. Then do it!

Kitchen Tales – 1

Last week I went shopping to fill up the empty looking kitchen. The empty shelves and drawers weren’t looking pretty, so I decided to get the regular kitchen stuff that is found in a typical Indian household – spices, vegetables and stuff like that.

After buying a number of things that were originally not on my list of ‘to buy’ things, I finally landed up at the spices’ section. There are so many varieties of stuff available, and I am not quite aware of which ones to buy, so I decided to buy most of what I could find! So I now have chhole masala, coriander powder, chana daal masala, chilli powder, sambar mix, garam masala etc. I also have 2 varieties of daal and chhole, and a 20 pound bag of rice! The only thing I need to do now, is to use them :).

The first proper dish I have tried over the last one week or so has been paneer masala. I began well – preparing the right kind of masala. The quantity of salt was also correct. But then I made a mistake – while adding water for the gravy, I added proportional amount of salt and other spices as well, which turned out to be too much once the water evaporated! At least it was eatable, thank God for that…

Making poha was the second significant achievement – its not too difficult to make. I asked a couple of my experienced friends how to make it, and they gave me different approaches, so I took my own approach and made it. I guess I was too hungry, because I did not let the water evaporate completely from the flakes, but it was still eatable.

Cooking helps you relax, and better still, makes you believe in yourself. While making some sabzi, I found it was not turning into the desired colour, so I realized I had added less turmeric, and more than compensated – lo and behold – the colour was back!

A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety. Hunger finds no fault with the cooking.

Shift-Enter…!

It has been half-a-score days since I shifted to my new studio apartment. For the first time, I am alone in an apartment. It is a strange kind of feeling, you tend to feel more responsible – the lease, the gas connection, the phone/internet connection, electricity connection – everything is in your name alone. No friend to remind that the respective bills have become due, and worst of all no one in the morning to wake you up, in case you oversleep the alarm clock :). My mom constantly asks me if I get scared!

It takes such a lot of effort to shift stuff from one place to the other. You have to first find a suitable place, then plan out the deposit and rents. Then find out how to get the utilities transferred in your name. The first few days are spent in getting a feel of the new place – the new kitchen, bathroom, sleeping area. Since I didn’t have enought “credit history”, I had to pay extra deposit!! Thankfully most of the work was either online or over the phone.

Staying alone has its own shares of nightmares – most of the times you have to rely on the internet to get stuff to pass free time. Plus, you don’t even understand what/how much to cook, that too for one person!

When I was in college, my roomie and me were fascinated by a movie Tum Bin – my friend because of the theme, and me because of the heroine :). There was a scene where the lead actor is shown to be living in a studio apartment – this scene captured our imagination. I’m glad I have been able to fulfil another of my dreams – living in a studio apartment,

Every now and again take a good look at something not made with hands—a mountain, a star, the turn of a stream. There will come to you wisdom and patience and solace and, above all, the assurance that you are not alone in the world. Whats more, When we cannot bear to be alone, it means we do not properly value the only companion we will have from birth to death – ourselves.

Nothing Else Matters…

I have been observing the society interestingly for the last few days. Not any specific community or country, but the world in general. So many of my myths have been broken, traditional mindset has suffered heavy casualty.

What are we in this world for? I really cannot offer any plausible answer – because one answer will not apply to some other country, and vice versa. A conglomeration of answers may be best suited in this circumstance. We’re here by accident, we never get to choose which country or which parent(s) we will be born to. Once we are born and get to the age where we can think independently, we think of us, and our family (if applicable). The only thing we think about is – how to be successful in life, how to earn well and lead a comfortable life. Misfortunes and bad luck are not in our control, and should they befall you, you cannot quite avoid them, or wish them away. Thats when your true character comes to fore, but lets not get into that.

Speaking of materialistic possessions, can we think of some limit beyond which we will not ask for or yearn for more? Frankly speaking, there can be no such limit, primarily because of the fact that our needs are unsatiable. The more we get, the more we will wish for. This cycle will never stop. Have we ever given a thought to the art of letting go?

In the last few months, the world economy has taken a severe beating. People who made merry during the boom time forgot the basic rule that what goes up will also come down (only to go up again). Job losses and related happenings have driven many people to take drastic steps. Recent news of suicides and depressions have become more common over the last few months. Is the present generation too weak to stand up and face grim situations? Have the people lost faith in themselves and their ability to withstand downslides?

In the name of religion, people are taking up violence; in the name of caste and communities, politicians are dividing the country for the sake of power. Common (wo)man is being taken for a ride. People are so much caught up with their own problems that the larger picture is getting ignored. Those who are fighting do not really know what they are fighting for. People are trying to shy away from their responsibilities, and putting the blame on others. Everyone is trying to protect their own rights, not understanding that when things are not fair, they tend to disbalance the social harmony. Have the people become blind to all this?

Differences will always remain. No two persons will think alike. But can we not find common ground? Be true to yourself, nothing else matters…