6 hours, 15 minutes, 7,8,9... seconds. No, you aren't counting how much time you have been trying to sleep, its the amount of time elapsed since you had your last meal. You wonder how YOU haven't thought about food in the last few hours. You think its blasphemy. Now, you have finally found the bug in the code and the code runs successfully. 3 pm. The cell vibrates. Mom calling. You answer the call only to hear your mother say "When are you coming home? Lunch has been ready for an hour"...Lunch, the word sounds divine. You don't see any shop on either side. You can smell a samosa being fried but all you can think of is the plate you eat in at home. Your stomach makes awful noises just when you're passing by some friends standing there. Hoping they didn't hear it, you hurriedly catch an auto rickshaw. You see yourself sitting on the dining chair with the spoon in your hand. Just when the spoon is about to reach your lips, the rickshaw comes to a screeching halt. You pay some money and you rush towards your door. You ring the bell with your eyes half closed, you hear your mom's voice "Food is kept on the table". You rush inside somehow unconsciously removing your footwear towards the table. But no, mom gives you that warning glance which says "Not clean, no food". you rush to the washroom to the wash basin when you see a smoky hand. It beckons you towards the food. You follow that aroma only to reach the dining table. The plate is in front of you. Your mom serves the rice and the smell makes you only more hungry. Then something, then something, you just don't realize anymore. You can wait no more. The spoon is already filled with rice and entering your mouth. The food is hot , almost burning your taste buds. But all you feel is a tingling sensation with a sudden satisfied feeling when the food is swallowed and you feel it pass through your oesophagus. The next spoon, you manage to relish it and shout"Food is lovely".Your stomach seems to exist now. The food in it also seems to make the stomach exist. The taste lingers on your tongue while you wat for the next morsel to reach your mouth.Nothing can describe such ecstasy.
Ok, you food loving hungry people. You may go and have a snack and come lest ur keyboard is wet already.(:P) (yes, I am thinking about you Pofama, you definitely need a walk to the kitchen right now) This is the effect food has on us. Very rightly, food comes first in the three basic needs. Specifically, ghar ka garam garam khaana filled with mummy ka pyaar :).
But has it ever happened to you that your mom has cooked the best possible food....just that it isn't spicy enough for YOU or it is too bland for YOU or it has too less salt for YOU.???? If yes, have you told your mother so?? My bets are on the fact that you didn't...cuz you were scared your mom might never make food for you leaving you hungry for life..ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!
Ok..first, moms would never let you go hungry(that's the best part) and yes, it has happened to me. I'm the only person in my chotasa pyaarasa family who loves spicy food and soups that always have lots of salt and pepper. But why does majority always win??? Cuz my mom will make normal non spicy food only cuz my dad and sibling can't bear to find a piece of chilli which is less than an inch long. Also, I did tell my mom and what answer did I get? "Either eat this or make yourself".
I know the first option is the most viable one but then as a saying in tamil goes "naaku rombu neellam" .Although it literally translates to "tongue is too long"(cmon guys, you think I'm a chameleon), it means that You're too specific about taste which I absolutely am and instead of submitting to the sad fate of wishing for spicier food in spite of it being tasty, I decided to do what I do best now, the second dangerous option, TO MAKE IT MYSELF.( Ok, too much exaggeration but mummy ka khana is best na?)
So, there started my tryst with destiny.(I am becoming too filmy) I have always been passionate about cooking. Really! My mom has never had to use the typical dialogue which is used to death in reality and in the movies too.....in case you're wondering what dialogue that is, its "Teri shaadi hone ke baad tera pati khana pakayega kya? " ( :P ) All the more, at the age of 12 , when I wanted to do mainstream cooking ( read adding the salt and the spices and mix the food in its proper consistency) , but my mom made me train like a proper cook( read cut onions, tomatoes, cleaning the place, get the vegetables etc ) which I really got bored with cuz I wanted to jump to the final thing. But yes, I did manage to cook mainstream by age 15. (No, I don't mean cooking maggi when I say mainstream :P)
I do make the best possible tea which my grandparents look forard to having everytime they visit home. I also make the crispiest dosas without the copious amounts of oil which my parents can't resist looking at and wonder how the student is so much better than the teacher. The aroma of the onions roasted for upma will reach your noses and make you fly to reach the kitchen with your mouth watering. And yes, I remember a friend saying "the food you make always tastes great to you". Nope, not to me. I am someone who will criticize my own judgements at times in case of food. Really, one thing which defines me as a chef (yes, I am authorized to call myself one)is experimentation. If the great chefs before us didn't experiment , would we have the variety of food that we crave for in front of us??
Yes, I experiment like hell and obviously without the knowledge of my mother( :P) During the holidays when I absolutely pestered my mother with my boredom, she assigned me the work of making rasam( a south indian soup sort of dish made with tamarind juice....haven't you ever had it? ) most of the days. And everyday, I would add something that my mom doesn't..something as simple as some ginger or some lemon or just fry the jeera with ghee and hope to God, my mom doesn't find it tastes weird. These were the initial stages, so I still used to wonder how my experimentation would end up. Luckily( I'm just being modest) it turned out good everytime. So, I advanced and went on to make even the Hakka noodles which might have come from China itself(ok, too much self pimping but it did taste good) . Really, experimentation in the simplest of foods like even a bread sandwich can make it taste so heavenly, "food divine" it is(Copyrighted by Srinath).
There is such a big advantage when you can cook yourself, that too good food.
1)Whenever you're hungry and considering you want the food to be perfect, you can whip up a good breakfast and feel happy about it too.
2) Your mother is relieved that you don't shout impatiently from the bedroom "Mummy!! bhook lagi hai!! khaaaanaa!!"
3) you can actually cook some nice dessert for someone's especially a foodie's birthday and make them smack their lips with delight everytime they remember their birthday( yes, i did it for my friend Srinath on Nisha's request, it was heavenly!!)
4)You can cook for your mom and make her smile with the prospect of taking rest for a day(Yes, I have done this too on her birthday and it fills you with a satisfied feeling.)
Don't worry, this doesn't mean the days of you sitting on the table with the expectant look in your eyes and banging the table while waiting for the food is gone. Still, the days when you return home with that half droopy hungry face, you really won't be bothered about whether is spicy or whatever and gobble the food at the speed of light. But other days, even maggi can become a main course dish or a starter or anything if you wish it to be. Learn to cook, fend for yourselves, life is so much more satisfactory this way!! :)
(Credit for the cartoon goes to anna....Thanks for the site)
