I must admit that if theres one thing that stands out in terms of rapid development where skills are concerned, its my cooking ...i always THOUGHT i could cook...but that was just a state of mind....thinking that you can actually accomplish something is very different from doing it.........before i came over here i had never actually done a full dish ..yes there were some experiments in the kitchen but nothing worth mentioning....anyway i thought that once i settle down my main food would be english food...french fries, baked beans, eggs..potatoes and what not...little did i know the value of indian food then...
My first challenge was to cook rice...er...i know it sounds simple..but id never done that before..how much water... how much rice...how long.... thank god , hes given us a mind to experiment.... my first attempt at rice ended up more like smash potatoes....but it wasnt long before i got on track...and rice became my main meal....not for long..i got fed up of rice! So it was time to move on to the next experiment...chappathis.!...oh yeah i ve tried these before..so i was prepared when i had to settle for something like pappadams the first time....i eventually managed to get it right...but like most men who cook, i didnt bother to write down the proprtions of water and flour..so everytime i attempt chappathis the result is unpredictable!
Having accomplished two major successes with main courses, i shifted my endeavours to conquer the world of curries! For those of you who are not aware..the first thing the British link to the word "Indian" is the word "Curry" ! and i wasn't about to admit that i didn't know how to make curry..so there began my most succesful experiment...an attempt to make chicken curry...and bingo ..it was a huge hit! Oh yeah...i forgot to mention..i test my results on my poor housemates!..my guinea pigs ! Anyhow...as i told my mother ..im sure i can make the chicken curry better than you Amma.
With the success of the chicken curry egging me on..there was going to be no stopping me..what followed was a spate of experimental dishes...egg curries, fish curries..and all sort of vegetable ones..ladiesfinger, potato, mushroom, lettuce, beans(yuk!)...some of them were good and have found itself into my menu but others were disastrous and ended up sitting its life out in the fridge before i decided it was time to give it the boot!
One particularly interesting dish is the one i call as "Fish Tsunami" because it was created as the result of a disaster!..my intention was to create the good old Kerala fish curry...anyhow..i ended up with a very interesting dish made of shredded fish(Tuna), tomato puree and creamed coconut.
You must all be thinking that i already have quite a bit of variety in there ...hmm i didnt think so..the more i stay on ..he more i think about the food back home...the more i do that, the more i'm inclined to recreate it here....my latest attempts have been very staisfactory and i've made masala dosa ( instant dosa powder), poori masala and lentil curry (dal / parippu)...sometimes i wonder if i was a cook in my previous life.
I`ve saved the best for last ...its my piece de resistance..my very own creation....grilled garlic chicken with lime....its simple...grate some cloves of garlic and an onion...mix with salt and add a bit of curry powder( all the regular spices)..then boil the chicken lightly, or cook in microwave...now marinate with the above mix nad grill till ready....when its done squeeze out a lemon all over it...serve with french fries or boiled vegetable....mmm thats excellent....the french guy staying in my house and his friends will gladly attest that for u...i made the dish for a party he gave for his friends and now they are after me for the recepie.
As you can see my diet has evolved to become almost completely Indian... im surprised and never thought it would be this way..i ve never been a great fan of food, but now i really do miss all the lovely food that i used to take for granted...simple things like fish fries and rice or the vegetable dishes that i once detested.....they make my mouth water now...as im writing this..many of you back home will be feasting on good old Indian food....dont take it for granted..youre having the best!
