Today definitely qualifies as a red-letter day...a bright-crimson-red red letter day...hell, make that neon-glowing red letter day! I know I prolly sound like m going overboard, but I really really am happy! Err...well, not exactly happy, but very definitely relieved! Ever since I moved frm Aamchi Mumbai to this valley of Silicon, the thing right at the top of my to-do list, was to get me a gas connection! N it ranked even above getting a bloody house to stay in!
Thing is, I used to dig those cookery shows on Travel & Living...n have always wanted to cook! I'd watch them the way bored housewives glue themselves to those atrocious saas-bahu serials during the afty! I wasnt bored or anything...just that I love the colors n textures of those freshly cleaned bright beautiful vegetables. My personal favorite was the one called "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations", followed closely by "Kylie Kwong Simply Magic". BTW whenever I'd watch these shows, I'd be reminded of that scene frm Monsoon Wedding, where Naseer's kid, who -- the kid, n not Naseer -- is shown to be very effeminate, in reply to his query as to what he wants to do when he grows up, cheekily tells him that he wants become a "khansama"...a chef! I harbour no such ambitions...n my wrist action is pretty firm ;-)
One of the reasons I like Bourdain, is coz he's partial to street food, which goes very well w/ urs truly too! N besides that, he also "writes" well...he'd string together descriptions of delicious food w/ rants, philosophy n lovely phrases. I wld smday love to go travelling around south-east asia savoring their street food. Armed, of course, w/ a camera!
I really must start saving! How I'm gonna do that, I have no clue whatsoever! After paying the installment on my home-loan, credit card bills, phone bill, rent, mine is pretty much a hand-to-mouth existence!
I so wanna go cry right now! :(
Wow! I started out this post in a rather upbeat mood...n here I was abt to spill my tears into a chipped coffee-cup! I'm prone to mood-swings! Almost everybody who's been w/ me has had this complaint at the top of the list...
But I'm digressing!
As I mentioned earlier the thing that was at the top on my to-do list after moving here was to get a gas connection, but I never really got around to doing it! I must've told everybody I knew abt my plans to get a gas connection SOON...tomorrow...next weekend...definitely tomorrow! I've bugged quite a few ppl abt info...as in which service is better...Jyothi, Elf, HP. Now HP was immediately out of the question...I dun have the requisite documents...apparently u need a ration card or voter ID to get an HP connection. Anyway, it's been almost six months, since I started this research project...I've made enquiries at FIVE different places...all quite spread apart, geographically. I dun have a vehicle...I've always preferred to walk, n that's what I did during these excursions...walked to all these places to compare prices, QoS, potential red-tape etc etc. But everytime I'd dillydally...on the strength of such stooopid excuses...like I've forgotten to withdraw the money from the ATM, so I'll do it tomorrow n THEN I'm DEFINITELY heading to that gaswalla...or since by the time m back frm office, it's already too late, n it'll be cruel to make that guy lug around that cylinder n stuff to my place...or that I need to look at sm more gas burners...
It was really crazy...n the guilt kept piling up...I mean it was a 10 min task...all I had to do was go n drop the dough in that gaswalla's hands n the rest wld be taken care of in less 15 mins!
But the truth is I also had my doubts as to whether I really needed a gas connection. I'm a minimalist, n I've always travelled light. I eat once a day, n that is in our glorious office mess. So there was no way, I was going to cook except on weekends! And then going out n buying all those ingredients, cooking n doing the dishes...I was wondering if it'd really all be worth it...I mean, it's one to thing to look at celebrity chefs toss in all the ingredients, which r pre-prepared into shiny utensils...n smthng totally different to...
Doubts like these kept me going -- rather not going -- for almost six months!
But I had to get the damn thing...it had become a prestige issue...I had told my landlord 5-6 times abt my plans...so finally I got bugged w/ the whole damn thing n decided the matter once n for all...I actually had to...had started seeing flying cylinders in my dreams for chrissakes!
So day before yesterday, I made sm final enquiries n today I plonked the moolah in that guy's palms...w/ the result that I finally have this huge millstone of guilt off my chest...n it had needlessly become such a TASK! Anyway, the stainless-steely shiny thingy now sits proudly on my kitchen platform.
But there's still lots that needs to be done...I still need to get a cooker, sm pots n pans...I have a few pans actually...n quite a few other things, thanks to a dear friend...god bless her! Or else my first self-cooked meal wld've been even more distant than it already is!
But I'm very happy...I've crossed the biggest hurdle! It's all downhill frm here...or so m hoping!
My first dish is going to be those cup-noodles, where just pouring hot water into it takes care of everything! I'm going to start small...to tell u the truth, I cant be too ambitious now, coz I have none of the ingredients nor half the equipment!
I must get back to my noodles now!
PS: If u have any good quick recipes, pl feel free to share them w/ me. Once I master them, I might even invite u over for dinner...
PPS: The noodles were ok...not too great, but ok. BTW I'm reading Upmanyu Chatterjee's "The Mammaries Of The Welfare State" for the second time -- I really do re-read books! AND enjoy them! Anyway, while reading it, I suddenly remembered that I had bought tea-bags n coffee the first time I had gone shopping after moving here. I remember I was very happy then...I had thought that all I have to do now is just get a gas connection. The reason I'm mentioning this, is because until just now the question of milk or sugar hadnt crossed my mind at all! Seriously! For ALL these months! I wield that Occam's Razor w/ a lil too much finesse, I guess!
Thing is, I used to dig those cookery shows on Travel & Living...n have always wanted to cook! I'd watch them the way bored housewives glue themselves to those atrocious saas-bahu serials during the afty! I wasnt bored or anything...just that I love the colors n textures of those freshly cleaned bright beautiful vegetables. My personal favorite was the one called "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations", followed closely by "Kylie Kwong Simply Magic". BTW whenever I'd watch these shows, I'd be reminded of that scene frm Monsoon Wedding, where Naseer's kid, who -- the kid, n not Naseer -- is shown to be very effeminate, in reply to his query as to what he wants to do when he grows up, cheekily tells him that he wants become a "khansama"...a chef! I harbour no such ambitions...n my wrist action is pretty firm ;-)
One of the reasons I like Bourdain, is coz he's partial to street food, which goes very well w/ urs truly too! N besides that, he also "writes" well...he'd string together descriptions of delicious food w/ rants, philosophy n lovely phrases. I wld smday love to go travelling around south-east asia savoring their street food. Armed, of course, w/ a camera!
I really must start saving! How I'm gonna do that, I have no clue whatsoever! After paying the installment on my home-loan, credit card bills, phone bill, rent, mine is pretty much a hand-to-mouth existence!
I so wanna go cry right now! :(
Wow! I started out this post in a rather upbeat mood...n here I was abt to spill my tears into a chipped coffee-cup! I'm prone to mood-swings! Almost everybody who's been w/ me has had this complaint at the top of the list...
But I'm digressing!
As I mentioned earlier the thing that was at the top on my to-do list after moving here was to get a gas connection, but I never really got around to doing it! I must've told everybody I knew abt my plans to get a gas connection SOON...tomorrow...next weekend...definitely tomorrow! I've bugged quite a few ppl abt info...as in which service is better...Jyothi, Elf, HP. Now HP was immediately out of the question...I dun have the requisite documents...apparently u need a ration card or voter ID to get an HP connection. Anyway, it's been almost six months, since I started this research project...I've made enquiries at FIVE different places...all quite spread apart, geographically. I dun have a vehicle...I've always preferred to walk, n that's what I did during these excursions...walked to all these places to compare prices, QoS, potential red-tape etc etc. But everytime I'd dillydally...on the strength of such stooopid excuses...like I've forgotten to withdraw the money from the ATM, so I'll do it tomorrow n THEN I'm DEFINITELY heading to that gaswalla...or since by the time m back frm office, it's already too late, n it'll be cruel to make that guy lug around that cylinder n stuff to my place...or that I need to look at sm more gas burners...
It was really crazy...n the guilt kept piling up...I mean it was a 10 min task...all I had to do was go n drop the dough in that gaswalla's hands n the rest wld be taken care of in less 15 mins!
But the truth is I also had my doubts as to whether I really needed a gas connection. I'm a minimalist, n I've always travelled light. I eat once a day, n that is in our glorious office mess. So there was no way, I was going to cook except on weekends! And then going out n buying all those ingredients, cooking n doing the dishes...I was wondering if it'd really all be worth it...I mean, it's one to thing to look at celebrity chefs toss in all the ingredients, which r pre-prepared into shiny utensils...n smthng totally different to...
Doubts like these kept me going -- rather not going -- for almost six months!
But I had to get the damn thing...it had become a prestige issue...I had told my landlord 5-6 times abt my plans...so finally I got bugged w/ the whole damn thing n decided the matter once n for all...I actually had to...had started seeing flying cylinders in my dreams for chrissakes!
So day before yesterday, I made sm final enquiries n today I plonked the moolah in that guy's palms...w/ the result that I finally have this huge millstone of guilt off my chest...n it had needlessly become such a TASK! Anyway, the stainless-steely shiny thingy now sits proudly on my kitchen platform.
But there's still lots that needs to be done...I still need to get a cooker, sm pots n pans...I have a few pans actually...n quite a few other things, thanks to a dear friend...god bless her! Or else my first self-cooked meal wld've been even more distant than it already is!
But I'm very happy...I've crossed the biggest hurdle! It's all downhill frm here...or so m hoping!
My first dish is going to be those cup-noodles, where just pouring hot water into it takes care of everything! I'm going to start small...to tell u the truth, I cant be too ambitious now, coz I have none of the ingredients nor half the equipment!
I must get back to my noodles now!
PS: If u have any good quick recipes, pl feel free to share them w/ me. Once I master them, I might even invite u over for dinner...
PPS: The noodles were ok...not too great, but ok. BTW I'm reading Upmanyu Chatterjee's "The Mammaries Of The Welfare State" for the second time -- I really do re-read books! AND enjoy them! Anyway, while reading it, I suddenly remembered that I had bought tea-bags n coffee the first time I had gone shopping after moving here. I remember I was very happy then...I had thought that all I have to do now is just get a gas connection. The reason I'm mentioning this, is because until just now the question of milk or sugar hadnt crossed my mind at all! Seriously! For ALL these months! I wield that Occam's Razor w/ a lil too much finesse, I guess!
6 comments:
:) i hope your culinary prowess progresses from cup-o-noodles to more adventurous bourdain-like stuff. if you haven't already, do read kitchen confidential by him... and thanks for visiting my blog. will drop by on yours often! :)
Thanks Kavita, for dropping in...
Good news is that I've graduated to Maggi Noodles -- not the two minute variety, mind u -- n scrambled eggs...
Slow n steady wins the race ;-)
BTW, I wld love to read Kitchen Confidential...tho' m not sure where it might be available...will look for it when I go book-hunting next...
If you love fish and can get hold of salmon steaks (or any other fish for that matter), try this link :
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-poached-salmon
Needless to say, you may have to Indianise it a bit. Leaves you lot of scope for experimentation.
Enjoy!
Rodders, I do love fish...infact more than chicken, but I dun yet feel confident enough to hang out my hook for a fish :)
But I definitely will strive towards it...
Dude, am here as there is no other way to contact you. How about your Gmail ID? Came across you from your comment on my blog. Hope to catch up with u soon
Naimisha, in a way m glad I din leave any contact info...atleast it made u go thru my blog :)
My Gmail ID is the same as my yahoo/blog ID...let's catch up smtime :)
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