Full house happy house

Diya is making French toast

Aadi is cuddling with Khan

Khan is exploring new textures

Mishti is chill'in after a crisp morning walk

Suvo is comfortably snoring

I am blogging so I can remember 

In this moment All is well

❤️

George Bernard: "There is no sincere love than the love of food"

What happened here?

AAAND We are baaack .... cooking for fun again!!

It took this recipe from Ranveer Brar to get us back into the kitchen ... just for the fun of it. 

We used to enjoy cooking so much ... back in the good old days before kids and work and everything else ran over our lives. I remember making 13 dishes from scratch for Thanksgiving and inviting all our friends, the year before Diya was born. And this year, Diya made 13 dishes from scratch and invited all her friends and their families. What happened to the 2 decades in between? When did cooking become a dreaded but necessary chore; when did we slide into eating frozen Costco meals or door-dashing multiple times a week ... sometimes different people in the house ordered from different restaurants at the same time. 

Diya wants to make Indian food more often and (given I'm no chef) I do not use precise measures or even recipes ... so we turned to youtube. Anyway, I ran into some of Ranveer Brar's recipes and just had to try. Dal makhani was re-born and lamb masala finally got the right consistency. Then couple nights ago this recipe poppep up into my feed and I was mesmerized by the complexity of it and found it suddenly nostalgic. My Dadi is from Lucknow and I have tasted these dishes in my early childhood when I lived with my Dadi & Baba. I could feel the memories wash over. Not just the delicacy of making the food, the refined tastes ... but also the language and the etiquette that goes with it. It was packed up in some corner of my heart and came rushing to me. When did I leave all that behind?

Suvo, who was sitting next to me reading his 100th or 200th sci-fi book this year, got interested and peeked into my screen. So I removed my air-pods and we both watched the short video. I thought - there is no way I am making this complicated dish. It did not seem "efficient" :). 

Next day - I came back from work to see Suvo had ordered biriyani and chicken korma for lunch. I supposed my moong daal and bhindi did not inspire him much. He was really craving those tastes. The biriyani was good but the chiken korma fell flat compared to what we imagined this dish would taste like. Well, what do you know, the next day I came back from work to find the kitchen prepped to make this dish. Suvo had shopped all day for all the ingredients - including rose water, jayatri and bhuna chana besan!! He had even prepped the chicken and mixed the yougurt and soaked the kajus! Such enthu. I was tired after a grueling day at work and the long drive to and from Warren. But I did not have the heart to say no ... and guess what ... once I started cooking .... somehow, after a long long time - my stress drained away. 

The recipe requires love and gentle dedication. Any rushing will destroy the flavors and the process is quite irrecoverable. It was almost meditative. The house smelled divine. The food tuned out amazing. We did not talk at all through dinner. Total absorption. 

Aadi loved it - asked to add some coconut to it (something Ranveer Brar had mentioned in the show). Aadi never watched the show but he knows his flavors! Diya came in today and took a bite from last nights leftovers and immediately hoarded the rest of the chicken for her to eat later - she had lunch plans with friends and did not want her Baba to finish it! Well, so .... we are making it again for dinner - haha. This recipe rekindled our love of cooking and brought everyone back into the kitchen enjoying the same meal together. This deserves entry into our blog ... (also for easy access for future cooking :p)

LUCKNAWI CHICKEN MASALA Preparation time 10 minutes Cooking time 25-30 minutes Serve 2-4 Ingredients For Chicken Masala 2-3 tbsp Ghee, घी 1-2 tbsp Oil, तेल 1 Green chili (less spicy & diagonally sliced) हरी मिर्च 5-6 no. medium Onions, sliced, प्याज 2 no. Bay leaf, तेजपत्ता ½ inch Cinnamon stick, दालचीनी 1 no. Black cardamom, बड़ी इलायची 2 no. Green cardamom, हरी इलायची Salt to taste, नमक स्वादअनुसार ¼ cup Water, पानी Little water, पानी ½ tbsp Ginger garlic paste, अदरक लहसुन का पेस्ट Prepared Curd Mixture, तयार किया हुआ दही का मिश्रण Salt to taste, नमक स्वादअनुसार 1 tbsp Tender coriander stems, finely chopped, धनिये के डंठल Marinated Chicken, मैरीनेटेड चिकन 1-2 cups Water, पानी 1 cup Water, पानी Prepared Cashew Nuts Paste, तयार किया हुआ काजू का पेस्ट Prepared Tadka, तयार किया हुआ तड़का Shredded Chicken, हड्डी रहित चिकन For Boiling Cashew Nuts Water as required, पानी Salt to taste, नमक स्वादअनुसार 12 -15 no. Cashew Nuts, काजू For Marination 1 kg Chicken, चिकन Salt to taste, नमक स्वादअनुसार 1-2 tsp Oil, तेल 1 tsp Degi red chili powder, देगी लाल मिर्च पाउडर ½ tsp Lemon juice, नींबू का रस For Curd Mixture 1 ¼ cup Curd, beaten, दही 1 heaped tbsp Coriander powder, धनिया पाउडर 1 tsp Turmeric powder, हल्दी पाउडर ½ tsp Degi red chili powder, देगी लाल मिर्च पाउडर For Dry Masala 1 heaped tbsp Black peppercorns, काली मिर्च के दाने 3-4 no. Black cardamom, बड़ी इलायची 1 ½ no. Mace, जावित्री 8-10 no. Green cardamom, हरी इलायची Salt to taste, नमक स्वाद अनुसार 1 heaped tbsp Roasted gram flour, भुने चने का बेसन For Tadka 1 tbsp Oil, तेल ½ tbsp Ghee, घी 1 no. Green chili, slit into half, हरी मिर्च 1 no. medium Onions, roughly sliced, प्याज ½ tsp Degi red chili powder, देगी लाल मिर्च पाउडर 1-2 tbsp Prepared Masala, तयार किया हुआ मसाला 1 tbsp Kewra water, केवड़ा जल 1 tbsp Rose water, गुलाब जल 1 ½ tbsp Dry fenugreek leaves, roasted, भुनी हुई कसूरी मेथी For Garnish Green chili, slit, हरी मिर्च Coriander sprig, धनिया पत्ता Process For Chicken Masala In a handi or sauce pot, ghee, oil, once it's hot, add green chillies, onions and saute it for a minute until translucent. Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, black cardamom, green cardamom and saute it well. Add salt to taste, water and mix it well, cover it with the lid and cook it for 8-10 minutes on medium flames. Grind the onion with the help of a hand blender or steel spatula. Add water, add ginger garlic paste and saute it for a while. Add prepared curd mixture, salt to taste and cook it well for 5-6 minutes. Add tender coriander stems, marinated chicken, water and let it simmer for a while. Add water, prepared cashewnut paste and get it quick boil. Add prepared tadka, shredded chicken and mix it well. Transfer it to a serving bowl or dish, garnish it with green chili and coriander sprig. Serve hot with roti or naan. For Boiling Cashewnut In a pan, add water, salt to taste, add cashew nuts and get a quick boil. Strain and transfer it to a mixer grinder jar. Grind it to a smooth paste and keep it aside for further use. For Marination In a bowl, add chicken, salt to taste, oil, degi red chili powder, lemon juice and mix it well. Keep it aside to marinate for a while. For Curd Mixture In a bowl, add curd, coriander powder, turmeric powder, degi red chili powder and mix it well. Keep aside for further use. For Dry Masala In a pan, add black peppercorns, black cardamom, mace, green cardamom, salt to taste and dry roast it for 2-4 minutes on medium flame. Transfer it to a mixer grinder jar, add roasted gram flour and grind it well. Keep it aside for further use. For Tadka In a pan, add oil, ghee, once it is medium hot, add green chili, onion and saute it for 2-4 minutes until translucent. Add degi red chili powder, prepared masala, kewra water, rose water, dry fenugreek leaves and saute it well. Keep it aside for further use.

Fibonacci

 

Random journal entry …

 

11/12/23                                                         Fibonacci

 

The date reminded me of Fibonacci sequence. And that sparked a self-satisfied joy. I still love numbers! When did this love affair begin? Some time in high school? Or even before?

I remember a library. Not the first encounter with one, when we lived in Medical School Campus – there, I borrowed story books. But another. Smaller, with narrower shelves. A metal bookshelf in the corner. About 5 feet tall and maybe 2-3 feet wide, dusty, and seemingly forgotten.

The books were thin, no tomes on this shelf. They had mostly black, grey or moss green hard bindings. Very much like the canvas and cardboard bindings Babuji used to make at home to harden and preserve our textbooks so they could survive handing down from siblings and cousins. Only his were always a deep maroon color and smelled of homemade arrowroot glue. It was the immediate familiarity of the bindings that drew me into exploring the books on this lonesome shelf.

The number series book had a black cover. How fascinating it was. Who was the author? Ramanujan? Unlikely … but somehow the name resonates deep. How I turned the pages with wonder … if only I could unlock the mysteries set in these pages, off-white and yellowing with age … concealing the knowledge of old times. The simple typewritten font exposed a number-series. A sequence of numbers extending to infinity in their own cryptic dance. Their secret rhythm and moves folding onto themselves and then unfurling, revealing itself only to the best mathematician. Tempting, growing, swelling, extending …. reaching crescendo into perpetuity.

I wished I could dance with them.  Take one step, one more, then two … follow the series, past the ‘dot dot dots’, off the page, beyond the written words, into the unknown …. where the future promises the sum of all past and present.

[P.S. – Aadi is fascinated with my obsession with numbers. Repeatedly asks me to explain why I set my alarms at 7:43 or 8:42 … maybe this entry will help him understand 😊]

2023 Japan - Week 1

One day at a time …

Diya graduated Magna Cum Laude with Presidential Award for Academic Excellence and honors in multiple subjects. We are so proud of her and at the same time humbled by how she persevered through all the difficulties that a child should never have to face.

 A year ago, when she was in ICU with months of recovery ahead of her - we could not imagine this outcome. But she showed amazing resilience and determination and fought everyday and every inch of the way to get here. And now she is headed to Broad School of Management at Michigan State University- the #1 school in the country for Hospitality Management to pursue a career she decided when she was 3 yrs of age - to be a Chef and run restaurants! 

This child amazes me, this child inspires me. ❤️