chettu, akka and ammama

Last time aunt went on a trip, she reminded me my responsibilies: chettu, chaapa and ammama.

This time, the fishes are dead, and it will be: chettu, akka and ammama. And aunt didn't remind me this time.

I guess I grew up sometime this year.

My grandmother is sewing the edge of a new cotton saree as I type this. I wake up these days to music: the kut-kut of her knife on the chopping board. For you know it will be a good day.

She battles pain in her wrists, thanks to all those IVs, but doesn't give up. And she is slowly filling in her blouse, that hung loose all these days.

I am enjoying a three day break sleeping, sleeping more, and making maggi for grandparents.


Next on agenda is getting sis to eat two eggs a day. One for her, and one for lil Chintu, whose kicks I cannot feel yet. Come on sweetie, you can do better.

- window siller :-)



chettu: plants; chaapa: fish; akka: elder sis; ammama: grandmother.
brother makes rainbow inside the house.

Manchurian Paratha for the documentary soul

November 2009:

Dish in question: Manchurian Paratha
Chef: Maggie alias Egg
Sous chef : Window Siller
Agenda: To make something special, which will get us started on a film proposal.

Ingredients: Atta, one little carrot, four onions, vinegar, tomato ketchup, soya sauce, ginger, garlic, chilli powder, oil and lots and lots of ghee.

The dough for the paratha is made a little harder than what we make for rotis. We use a lot of oil and Egg makes them perfectly triangular. She was trained to make perfect geometric figures with the belan, pure math and no geography here.

Then we fry it until they become golden brown and all crispy. With loads of ghee of course. And cut them into square bits. Perfect squares again.

Now we dice the onions, add a teaspoon of vinegar and set them aside for 30 mins. In the meanwhile, we grate ginger and garlic and saute them in oil.

In a while, we add the onions, the thin slices of carrot, and a big spoon of soya sauce. Egg insists on adding 5-6 spoons of tomato ketchup. I would have preferred plain puree.

Now we add 1 tsp of chilli powder, 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1/2 a tumbler of water to the mixture and let the mixture boil.

When it is almost done, we add the paratha bits to the sabji, let it simmer for five seconds and serve ourselves to eat.

Some onion raitha, I suppose, will be good to go along. But we are done cooking.

Cooking is probably the easiest part of marriage

Sitting on Maggie's kitchen's slab,
peeling corn kernels and grating garlic,
eating until the pots were scraped clean,
riding in the drizzle,
riding back in the night with the hands held free,
and a good night hug was a pick-me-up like none other.

My fingers still smell of garlic, but I am ready to conquer the world all over again. :)

~~
And the recipie for the meal that Maggie whipped up in less than an hour:

Corn-au-gratin, garlic bread, corn soup.
(serves three)

Take two corn stems, peel the kernels and put them in the pressure cooker for about seven to eight whistles.

White Sauce:
Melt a cube of butter on the kadai, then mix a spoon of maida with it and heat it a bit.
Add a big tumbler of milk and a little water.
Mix it well and add a table spoon of salt.

When it is solidifying a little, add three handfuls of corn.
Shortcut to thicken any gravy: Mix a katori of corn flour with water, and pour the mixture into the kadai.

Now sprinkle oregano and very little basil powder.
If the consistency is smooth, the sauce is done.
Now grate a cube of cheese all over it, cover the kadai, and remove it from the flame.

Corn Soup:
Run the remaining corn kernels in the mixer until watery.
Add a little water and run it again.

Strain the mixture with a large sieve.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Garlic Bread:
Grate a bulb of garlic.
Mix it with butter and spread on bread.
Push it into the oven and lo! aromatic garlic bread.

~~
As a little girl I thought that marriage was all about cooking. But now being around married friends, I realise that cooking is probably the easiest part of marriage. Maggie nods vigorously.