While this experience may have come in much earlier into the lives of most ppl, i am unfortunately a late starter... It was fascinating to watch it being done and the exotic results it produced; not to mention unbelievably delicious..
In the past 10 days my boredom with eating out and my dabbawalla's khana started to increase; Not to mention the amount i spent on eating out was burning a nice hole in my pocket.. My craving for Mc Donalds, Subway and all the rest started to decline, how much i wanted a nice dal, veggies and rice.. So at the start of the week, after quick consultation n very little deliberation my kitchen has a stove, gas cylinder, spices, basic vessels and vegetables... Woo hoo !!! Now the million dollar question ... what to cook, rather how to cook ???
Luckily i got help, awesome help that helped me turned simple ingredients [ and a bird ;) ] to a meal i will be very proud of for a long time...
But the basic process is what should be mastered. The cutting of the onions, those damn onions, who says they should be there in every dish ?? Two onions cut and the tears wouldn't stop... there i was trying to cut the onions properly, trying to protect and fingers from being cut and battling my oh so many tears.. then the chicken resting soundly under the marinate of curd and spices... we start to make the gravy... the flurry of onions & tomatoes, several masalas ( chilli, turmeric, garam and dhaniya - yes i know the names and even how they look ), salt and meat masala... Mix,mix,mix & stir, stir, stir vigorously of course else it will start to burn...
But the battle is not with the dish on one burner; the second sitting silently, like the calm before the storm is the rice; the rice that i know if not dealt with correctly will burn.. So one begins cleaning it and then bringing the water to a boil before letting the rice in... i cover the rice leaving just a tiny outlet and let it simmer...
The chicken is mixed into the gravy and again we are again to stir stir stir... eyes on the rice too.. its like watching a tennis match; eyes keep dashing from one side of the stove to another... Keep checking on the rice and finally the wildly vibrating cover of the rice dish screaming out that the dish is done.. my chicken also releasing a wonderful aroma... i turn off the gas and breathe normally again....
I just cooked my first meal !!!!! Bon Appetit !!!
No comments:
Post a Comment