Not everyone cooks because they are Chefs...some of us cook BECAUSE WE ARE NOT CHEFS

-Because Cooking can drive away the blues and makes us Happy
-Because Cooking brings the entire family on the same table to eat
-Because Cooking gives opportunity to thank God for putting food on our table
-Because Cooking allows us to continuously become better at it
-Because Cooking allows us to explore the likes and dislikes of others
-Because Cooking allows us to perpetually experiment
-Because Cooking allows to make begin afresh. Again and again
-Because Cooking allows to select the good and the appropriate
-Because Cooking allows us to explore the unknown
-Because Cooking allows us to learn
-Because Cooking allows us to teach
-Because Cooking allows us to inherit
-Because Cooking allows us to bequeath
-Because Cooking allows foreplay
-Because Cooking allows Submission
-Because Cooking allows Domination
-Because Cooking allows Devotion

The only thing which can come in the way of this is Fear and Doubt. But both are the advance Interest we pay on the troubles that don't exist. So why worry. Go Ahead.

I decided to experiment with my Pizza. The home-made sauce and the Salmon topping. Whether I should add Basil to the Sauce? Whether the Salmon should be cooked or Raw? Whether I should Sprinkle Oregano and Dried Chilli Powder? Whether I should dip it in Tomato Ketchup or Butter Chicken Gravy? All delightful questions. But I decided to experiment anyway because how else would I experience so many emotions and enrich myself as a Human Being?

And people think we cook only to become Chefs!

Most powerful is he who has himself in his own Power

And that remains my ultimate dream. No matter how much of humanity you want to control and rule over, unless one is able to conquer the SELF, one isn't a RULER.

Empires have been lost by yielding to temptation and the area where one breaks the rules the most and loses the opportunity to conquer the SELF is Food!

Mind is the Lover, Stomach is the Organ du Sex and Food (aaahhhh Food) is the eternal beautiful Virgin that struts around you tempting you to blast all the walls of Self Control to smithereens.

I generally try and avoid Culinary temptations unless I can't resist them and every time that happens it pushes my goal of conquering the SELF that much further. Not withstanding all the Meditation, Reading and Thinking one does on the subject of CONTROL.

After being away in breathtakingly beautiful South Africa during the week and not having had a chance to go anywhere near the Kitchen I banished myself to the Kitchen on my return and cooked up Less sinful Butter Chicken, Rice cooked in Chicken stock with Cardamom and Cloves for flavor, Onion Raita and Cabbage leaves for myself to substitute for Rotis.

And I think I didn't break the promise made to myself of not falling for the temptation of food, though I immensely enjoyed cooking.

Promises are like Cloud and its fulfilment is like Rain. I have more clouds to show for than I have Rain. But I am tying and one day I will bepowerful by having myself in my own Power.

YOU WANT ME TO EAT MY VALENTINE DAY's CARD??? eeeeeekkkkksssssss

But what if it looks like this?

I am not good at giving greeting Cards dripping of ooohhhhh soooo sugary sweetness on Birthdays, or Valentine's Day, or Its 15 days and 12 minutes since we met day, or Father's Day, or Mother's Day, or Children's day or Women's Day or Business folk have to commercially exploit this Day by calling it some Day or the Other Day!'

There is a conspiracy by the Greeting Cards people to make the rest of humanity feel guilty, incomplete, insensitive, unthoughtful, forgetful and cruel...just because they didn't give a Greeting Card!

Hey, would they have ever considered that people can just as well be nice, caring, thoughtful, loving, sensitive ALL THROUGH OUT THE YEAR to the people you want them to give the Cards to and not feel compelled to use the Crutches of a Greeting Card to show their Love with a 24 hour validity?

There is no love more sincere, candid and amorous then the Love of food. Even the simple act of giving water to those thirsty is an act of immense love. And the act of cooking is a Celebration of relationship with the one who honours you by savouring your food.

What you see above will be one of my greeting cards.....Only difference is

- It won't be made by someone else and written by a paid copywriter whose words will be clinically crafted on behalf of millions of people whom he will never see and put words in their mouths which they wont mean
- It won't come out of an Envelope
- It won't find its way to the shredder the next day
- It won't commercially exploit the one who is giving it

My Greeting card for today is called Cous Cous with Moroccan Vegetable Tagine!

There is a MASTER CHEF inside all of us...

Though only a few are blessed with the art of being able to cook Food.

But for those who cannot, take Heart. All of us are capable of making LIFE a delectable dish just by being aware of our own capabilities as Chef du Life.

Just as a Culinary creation is a MANIFESTATION of ingredients the Chef chooses and the method in which each dish is cooked, for those who cannot Cook, can still apply themselves to creating Happiness which is the best dish that can be served on the Platter of Life.

LIFE is a chain of events woven through the string of every breath we take and how events happen is entirely under our control as much as converting Milk into Yogurt is. This is no rocket science. It happens as a result of choosing the right ingredients, following a procedure and then leaving the rest to Divine Process. I am sure none of us ate Yogurt while being aware of that process. We just took it for granted.

Just by acknowledging and being aware of this gift we possess, we can actually Manifest an Idea or a Dream or an Ambition into REALITY with the same expertise of a Master Chef who can cook an award winning dish. But it can happen only if we make an investment of time in visiting the super market of thoughts and choosing ingredients wisely, being aware of the procedure and then leaving the rest to Divine Process.

Unfortunately most of humanity is prone to follies and goes through life hoping to reap a rich harvest without sowing the seeds of the desired event and nurturing the crop.

Unless we regularly run the Tractor of Conscience on the Field of our Mind, Plant the seeds of an event at the sub conscious level, Fertilise our minds with positivity and hope, weed out the pests of doubt and lack of faith and then leave the rest to the Divine Process it is impossible to reap a rich harvest of Happiness. But are we aware and do we try?

Reminds me of the story where a Man goes through his entire life praying to God that he wins a Lottery. But no Luck. He prays and prays and prays some more but doesn't win a lottery till he dies. When he meets with God he asks God " what was the use of my praying so much all my life and I still didn't win a lottery even once ". God replies " my friend you should have at least bought a Ticket ".

So what if some of us cannot create culinary delights...we can still create Happiness which is the first and best ingredient of any Life . Remember...there is a Master Chef inside each one of us.

Some times its best to use ones command over the Queen's fine Language called English and say Nothing

And that is exactly what I had decided to do today.

Writing is getting addictive and Cooking is already an addiction gone to a point beyond redemption.

I thought only Cooking was a Therapeutic experience for me, but as it turns out Writing is adding that dimension and jostling for space on the Holy Pedestal in my Life alongside COOKING. And I thought, at 42 its too late to happen. Correction... Almost impossible to happen.

Reminds me of reading about an American Senior high Achieving Bureaucrat who was appointed to the Patents office in early 1900's. He was extremely disappointed because he thought that his career had come to a dead end due to his transfer to the Patents office and he made that displeasure known. When asked the reason for his frustration, he said " There are already 90 Patents registered and everything that has to be invented has been invented. Whats left for me to do! ".

From then till now, a Few MILLION Patents have been registered and a few hundred are being registered every day.

Things continuously EVOLVE and nothing remains constant. AA Human Being is always WORK IN PROGRESS and as a species we posses umpteen layers which we can choose not be aware of OR... each layer can be unravelled, revealed and experienced through Awareness and Meditation or other Holistic methods one is comfortable with to delve deeper into the SELF. One thing is for sure, IT IS NEVER TOO LATE.

Like every dish that is cooked has to have a RECIPE with rightly chosen ingredients used in correct proportions for it to turn out Tasteful and immensely Enjoyable, LIFE too has its own recipe of certain very Critical ingredients, where the SELF within each of us is the Chef and the relationship with each and every BEING that we encounter, is a DISH. While a lot of ingredients remain common, some ingredients change depending on the Dish.

It may just help me if I delve deeper in the Kitchen of LIFE and take stock of the ingredients. Afterall how the dish turns out is going to depend on that!

Abilities of a Woman begin where the Man's ends

There are 3 men who decide to devote the rest of their life selflessly doing things for others and to be able to attain that divine gift they start praying. A Genie appears and grants each one of them 1 wish.

The 1st Man says, " Double my ability to do things for others . The Genie says "GRANTED ".

The second Man, not to be outdone, asks for his ability to be tripled. The Genie says " GRANTED ".

The Third man also wants to outshine his mates and asks for INFINITE ABILITY to do things for others. The Genie says I CANNOT GRANT YOU THAT WISH! The Man pleads, begs and grovels at the Gennie's feet and asks WHY? The Genie replies " IF I GRANT YOU THAT ABILITY, YOU WILL HAVE TO BECOME A WOMAN! "

Roughly about 50% of our Planet's population goes thru their entire life being just that. GIVERS. Be it as a Daughter, A Sister, A Wife, A Mother, A Friend, A Confidant, A Breadwinner and the Glue that keeps the family together. Need I say more?

Cooking is one form of continuously creating what others like, no matter whether the person cooking likes or not. But the person for whom food is made always likes it.
Ever wondered How? Why?

As I became aware of today. Being a Tuesday I was vegetarian but I made Fish in Soy/Ginger/Honey sauce, With Cous Cous and Rocket Salad with Walnut and Raisins for my Baby, who is 14 and we are currently fighting for the position of the tallest person in the house. You can guess how much of a baby he is.

And I wondered how many Mother's, how many times in their Lives, must have done this for us without tom tomming about it as I am doing.

The Man never gets out of the cradle, even the rope doesn't change. What changes is the hand that rocks the Cradle. Aren't we Men fortunate! I am learning to look at the Cradle I am in, making sure the rope is there and more importantly thanking God for blessing me with the hand that holds the rope.

It looks like a Chicken, walks like a Chicken, talks like a Chicken....it probably needs a little more time in the Microwave!

After years and years of trial and error and practice is one able to estimate without any professional Satellite aided hi-fi instruments, as to when the food is cooked just right and is ready for serving and eating with your loved ones.

Its one of those decisions of the day which should give you immense pleasure when you get it right. Unfortunately, we take that skill for granted. How about being AWARE of getting this right and patting yourself on the back for a job well done? Only if one had that rate of success with the other decisions one makes during the day to make a living. But Alas!

In Indian Cuisine we rarely eat anything which is uncooked or has reasonably realistic quantities of Oil and Spices in it. But this does make the food sinfully delicious. The only problem is that Indian Food is so good that after eating it, one feels hungry in about 5 to 6 days!

And then there are the Japanese who eat most of the food uncooked and sans Oil. Some one has commented that in Japan they call it SUSHI, in India we call it BAIT. Be that as it may, one rarely sees a fat Jap or hears of a Jap with Heart Ailments.
That is strictly our privilege to suffer!

After gorging on Indian food over the weekend one felt like eating Sushi. It also takes off the guilt you see.

If you ask Fish eaters, unless one is physically and spiritually involved in the process of selecting and buying the Fish, eating Fish is just not the same experience. And when it is in India, add to it the ISO 9002 CERTIFIED process of HAGGLING with the Fisher woman. But unfortunately this holy ritual doesn't exist in the super markets here.

After prancing up and down the Fish aisle many times over, the Norwegian Salmon succeeded in seducing me. Not being used to buying anything in 1, I selected two Fillets of Fresh Pink/Orange/Divine/Mouthwatering (call it what you may) Salmon.

Like some marriages are made in heaven, Thyme is a Herb which goes very well with Salmon, especially when infused in Olive Oil as a medium. I lovingly sliced the Salmon in fine strips with the same concentration of a 747 Pilot when he is Landing, and dipped those strips in Thyme infused Olive Oil and laid the slices out on a serving dish to allow the Salmon to soak in the flavor of Thyme and then added some Capers.

The white Paneer look-alike on the Star Shaped plate is FISH TAUFOO which went very well with Japanese Saba sauce dipping. Damn it was awesome!

Which reminds me, what did the Fish say when he hit a Concrete wall..." DAM "!

FOOD is an importantant part of a Balanced Life

A GOOD LAUGH is just as important to personal health as EATING RIGHT and EXERCISE.

If I had to list the top 3 healthy habits, they would be; BALANCED DIET, MIND NUMBINGLY SATISFYING SEX and LAUGHTER.

This may have been said often , but if we delve deeper and look beneath the obvious, all this is actually a Manifestation of intrinsic Character and fine qualities in a Person....just the tip of a solid Iceberg.

- To have Balanced Diet one has to have a Balanced Mind to correctly choose what we eat and posses the will power to not succumb to dietary indiscretions

- To have a healthy and satisfying sex life one needs to possess sterling qualities like Compassion, Thoughtfulness, Sense of humor, Sensitivity, Physical Fitness, Grooming, Appreciation of fine things in life, Ability to please the other person, Sense of Humor, Know how to give respect, Anticipate needs of others (the list is actually endless) for your Partner to unconditionally fuse with your own being and become one with you and set sail for "destination known, course unknown"

And

- Laughter improves our overall state of mind and sense of satisfaction with Life, raising our energy level, mood, out look on life and causing us to lean less on unhealthy "comfort" foods.

But these qualities take a lifetime to be developed and its always WORK IN PROGRESS.

Its not surprising how the three dimensions for a healthy life hold each others hands and form a Circle because they cannot exist in isolation.

To sum it up...." Life should be like a Chocolate. Being able to satisfy even when one is not hard "

There are 3 stages of a Man's life:

1. He believes in Santa Claus
2. He doesn't believe in Santa Claus and
3. He is Santa Claus!!

In this lifetime. what a delightful blessing it is to have;

- A Man who hears everything you have to say, with the greatest of interest, no matter how ridiculous you sound
- A Man who is the anchor to keep you within your defined co-ordinates, to ensure you don't go astray during stormy times
- A Man whom we need no clearance from when we have to take refuge in his Port of Shelter
- A Man who you can hug and get to feel the all embracing divine warmth hugging you back
- A Man who will forgive you no matter what and Shepherd you to the right path without being judgemental
- A Man who doesn't tell what to do, but lives and lets us watch him do it

What a privilege it is to be blessed with the presence of THE MAN....also known by God's other name.......Dad!'

It is when Dad is around that we believe in Santa Claus and then WE become Santa Claus when we are blessed with a Child. Then its Christmas time for the rest of our lives! (of course the Mother plays her silent but solid role of making Dad what he is).

Happiest memories of my life have been while being indulged by Dad in those special treats. Be it being rewarded one bottle of Energee (the good old MAFCO milk drink, also responsible for deduction in Marks because kids started spelling the word ENERGY as ENERGEE) per one round ran around Shivaji Park OR the eagerly longed for visits to the corner Sindhi Shop selling Dal Pakwan, Ragda Pattice, Pani Puri, and Falooda, OR the feeling of possessing untold wealth whenever Dad visited school and I felt that I could now buy everything the Canteen has to sell without worrying how much balance I had left, OR during my 10th Std Board exams as Dad and Mom waited outside the Exam Centre with loads of Puri Bhaji and Nimbu Pani to feed not only me but all my friends OR Dad returning from office on a week-end with Biryani and Raita from the Capital of Biryaniland - Delhi Darbar!

Its won't be difficult to guess that Dad had no idea of how to cook! As I delve deeper into those fond memories, "Food " has been the manifestation of diverse underlying sentiments like Reward, Indulgence, Abundance, Caring, Thoughtfulness, Sharing, Health and Well being.

Values taught and unknowingly etched on the sub-conscience at a very early stage of life but never specifically preached and diluted.

A Shayar has written a few nice lines in Urdu and its rough translation is
" SO WHAT IF I CANT GO TO A MOSQUE TO PRAY, LET ME PUT A SMILE ON A KIDS FACE ".

My own adaptation of that is "So what if I cannot visit a place of worship today, let me say my prayers by cooking for and feeding those I love " AMEN

If God had intended us to follow recipes, he wouldn't have given us Grandmothers and Mothers

There have been times when I have tried to be conventional and follow the Recipe Book (and given up closer to the start than towards the end of that ordeal) and then there have been joyous and incredibly liberating times when I have just experimented and gambled my way right from the Ingredients, to the Cuisine, to the Method of Cooking, to what ends up on the Table... including the Crockery on which the food is served. Oops......PRESENTED! I forgot to mention, I live with 2 Food Critiques:)

Add to that, my inherited liking for looking for Someone to eat and drink with, before looking for Something to eat and drink... and that's how this culinary endeavour morphs into a potpourri of exciting variables.

Very rarely have I gone into the Kitchen knowing what I am going to end up with. And for this I have to thank my 14 year old BIG bundle of joy Yashabh. He singularly deserves the credit for converting this imperfection of mine into an acceptable art form. Having been my experimental guinea pig from the day he started eating solid foods, Yashabh has only three requirements and his expectations are very basic when he is asked what he would like to eat.

His answer is either one out of " SOMETHING NICE or LOTS or SURPRISE ME!! " With this very specific and to-the-point brief to work with, my task is always exciting.

Today was one such day. I felt like making Jamaican Jerk Chicken and I ended up making Zanzibari Biryani and Shahi Gravy. Here is the F.I.R :)

Ingredients
FOR RICE /PILAF

1 Cup premium Long Grain Rice, Chicken Stock Cube, 4 Green Cardamoms, 4 Cloves and 4 Bay Leaves

FOR CHICKEN

3 Chicken Leg Pieces, 1 TBSP Ginger/Garlic Paste, Salt to taste, Pinch of Turmeric, 1 Tsp Coriander and Cumin seed Powder and 2 TBSP Curds

FOR SHAHI GRAVY

8 Cashew Nuts, 1 Cup Milk, 1 Finely Chopped Onion, 1 TBSP Brown Sugar and Oil for sauteing

Method
Soak Rice in Water and add all other ingredients and leave alone for about 20 minutes. Cook Rice in a manner that each grain remains loose.

Marinade the Chicken in a mixture of above ingredients for a few hours. Then preheat a Pan, add Oil and when Oil is heated place the Marinated Chicken Legs and cook them till they are nicely and evenly cooked to the bone and are light brown.

Soak the Cashew Nuts in the Milk right at the beginning. Fry the finely chopped Onions on another Pan till brown and add brown sugar to caramelise the onions and then add the remainder of spices. Once this concoction comes together put it in a blender with the Milk and Cashew Nuts till it becomes a fine gravy of even and smooth consistency.

Take a large plate and place the yummy Chicken Legs. Mainly around it (and a little over it) sprinkle the loose rice which is now richly fragrant. Serve it with the Shahi Gravy in a separate Bowl. BON APPETITE!

(Did I mention that Yashabh rates me on a scale of 1 to 10 for TASTE and then a similar rating for PRESENTATION!!)

The wobbly first steps....

Welcome to the Temple of Divine Food. Lettuce Pray!

We may choose not to be aware, but our Stomachs rule our Mind. For non-believers, please try staying hungry and be aware of the games the mind plays! Do it at your own risk though. But honestly, NOT RECOMMENDED.
Food and Sex have always fought for the pride of place, as THE BEST THING EVER and the results have varied depending on whether one is more Hungry or Horny!
The common thread between the two is both possess the magical powers to satisfy all 5 senses........ Hearing, Smell, Sight, Touch and Taste. I revere 'Food ' with the same Sentiment and abject submission.
However, the Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of FOOD and it hasn't been romanticised and worshipped in the manner it deserves to be, inspite of the fact that one has Food more often than one has Sex (stop counting and read on....). If you happen to know of someone who has Sex more often than he/she has Food, I want to personally bow down to him/her with the greatest humility and recommend that persoon to the NOBEL Award Committee!
If Sex is MAKING LOVE, Food is SHOWING LOVE. And Life is all about loving. If the food one creates, satisfies all 5 senses before it reaches the Stomach, you have shown love in many different ways, to those who mean so much to you. First and foremost YOURSELF.
Good food, no matter ín which Country it is cooked, the method in which it is cooked or the variety of ingredients that may go into it.........it has one common ingredient..........LOVE.
With that conviction I take my first wobbly step in the world of blogging.....