I toyed with various beginnings for this blog post...
Do I go with the cliches and say "I cannot believe it's been one year!"?
Or do I start modestly - "I'm so grateful to everyone for all the love and support and encouragement..."?
Maybe I should go for cheeful and chirpy - "Yaaaayyy! 50 posts and 1 year!!! How cool is that??!"
Nuh-uh. Too many problems.
Option 1 - It IS a cliche.
Option 2 - Modesty has never been my thing, I would rather gag and die.
Option 3 - I sound like a teenager on crack... not cool!
So I decided to give in to my inner demon -
"Mere paas naukri nahi hai, gaadi nahin hai, BlackBerry nahin hai, maa bhi nahin hai (oho, you equally filmy person! She is in Maldives)... Lekin mere paas ye Blog hai!"
For the benefit of those unfamiliar with Bollywood, I have just committed blasphemy in the eyes of all Amitabh Bacchan and Deewaar fans:
So... now that I have established my filminess, let me explain myself. For me, this last year has been a roller-coaster ride. More so than the usual pile of shit that life throws at all of us every year, trust me! And The Weekend Epicurean has been my source of sustenance, my sanity in all the insanity, my venting space, my letting-go-of-mad space and my window to a world of possibility. Actually scratch that. My window to a world where doing nothing "worthwhile" and yet being at peace is possible.
Now that I have got that out of the way, here's how we are going to celebrate - you and I :) To mark the first anniversary of this blog, I subject you all to my favorite food memories! No, not the written kind... I'm sure you all have had enough of my reminiscences (what? really? haww! there are so many more to come!!) So I want to share memories of a different kind now.
Films and Food is the staple diet I grew up on. And all our Bollywood films are incomplete without food... So Film Food is the menu for today!
TRAGEDY
Confused? Ok, what happens in all old Hindi films when the idealistic son comes home running to his poor-as-a-church-mouse mom saying, "Maa main first class first aaya hoon!" (I have graduated top of the class)? Of course the sacrificing mom has gone without her daily dose of tear-inducing glycerin drops to have a bowl of "Kheer" or "Gajar ka Halwa" at the ready! And that's how I believe Gajar ka Halwa (Carrot sweetmeat) became a known entity in every household. Even orphaned street kids apparently forget their misery when they see "Halwa". No wonder there have been eulogies in praise of this ubiquitous dish:
ROMANCE
Have you ever wondered what you will do when you want to introduce to your parents a most unsuitable guy as the love of your life? Or if you are a guy, in what words you will express your love for the girl of your dreams? Uh-huh... don't sweat it. The Indian way of dealing with issues like love, marriage and other such accidents is a good cuppa tea:
COMEDY
But if you are a true connoisseur of films and food like I am, you will have to give the award for the most creative food song to this one:
I mean what more can a person ask for once you have shouted from the rooftops that you are his chicken fry and he is your fish fry?? Leaves no room for argument surely!
FAMILY DRAMA
The Indian household is one where mothers/mother-in-laws and daughters lovingly fight over vegetables (its actually more of a tug-of-war over who holds the reins of the kitchen - she who runs the kitchen runs the house!), the whole neighbourhood knows what special dish you are cooking today (no thanks to the lovely aromas - its not the nose, just the nosiness) and my personal favorite - where the ultimate test of love is when your fiance fasts on Karwa Chauth along with you and you break the fast together :)
ACTION
And as for fights and stunts, I don't think I can even begin to choose the number of fruit stalls, vegetable carts, cakes and pies that have been thrown, destroyed, used and abused in Indian films! Let's just say it completes the 'masala' entertainment that makes us Indians who we are...
So in keeping with my whole Film Food concept, here is something that encapsulates all the above genres and emotions in its masala/spice to make the perfect accompaniment for any meal... It has the bitterness of tragedy, the sweetness of romance, the tingle of comedy, the wholesomeness of a family drama (ok, I think I just made that up), and the punch of an action flick! A green-and-red chilli pickle.
Ingredients:
Green Chillies - 100 gms (Indian long green chillies)
Red Chillies - 50 gms
Mustard seeds - 2 tbsp
Fenugreek Seeds - 1 tbsp
Vinegar - 2 tbsp
Kalonji/Onion seeds - 1 tbsp
Fennel/Saunf - 1/2 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
Salt - 2 tbsp
Mustard Oil - 1/2 cup
Jaggery (optional) - 1/2 tbsp
Wash and pat dry the chillies. Slit them in the centre and take out the seeds if you don't want your pickle to be fiery-hot.
Dry grind the mustard and fenugreek seeds to a coarse powder. Add the red chilli powder and salt and mix well. Take a large plate or shallow dish and rub this spice powder into the chillies well. Now place the chillies along with the entire pickle mix in a dry glass or ceramic bottle with a wide mouth and pour in the vinegar.
In a small tempering ladle, heat the mustard oil till it starts smoking. Add the fennel and onion seeds till they start sputtering. Now pour this oil into the glass jar and on to the chillies. Mix well with a clean, dry spoon. If you like your pickles a little on the sweeter side, add some jaggery or sugar as per your taste.
Keep the jar in the sun for at least 3 days before you start consuming the pickle. This will let the spice mix permeate and the chillies will lose their burning-a-hole-in-the-roof-of-your-mouth hotness.
Trust me, the resulting pickle is not suicidally hot! It's just tangy, spicy and extremely addictive!
The way I like it:
Goes great with parathas, dal rice and rotis.
This entry is a part of the "Blogger of the month" contest for The Tasty Tangles.
www.facebook.com/tastytangles.
Pls click on the link and vote for my post! https://www.facebook.com/TastyTangles
If you wish to participate, you can read the rules and regulations here:
http://124.30.44.228:8080/
Do I go with the cliches and say "I cannot believe it's been one year!"?
Or do I start modestly - "I'm so grateful to everyone for all the love and support and encouragement..."?
Maybe I should go for cheeful and chirpy - "Yaaaayyy! 50 posts and 1 year!!! How cool is that??!"
Nuh-uh. Too many problems.
Option 1 - It IS a cliche.
Option 2 - Modesty has never been my thing, I would rather gag and die.
Option 3 - I sound like a teenager on crack... not cool!
So I decided to give in to my inner demon -
"Mere paas naukri nahi hai, gaadi nahin hai, BlackBerry nahin hai, maa bhi nahin hai (oho, you equally filmy person! She is in Maldives)... Lekin mere paas ye Blog hai!"
For the benefit of those unfamiliar with Bollywood, I have just committed blasphemy in the eyes of all Amitabh Bacchan and Deewaar fans:
So... now that I have established my filminess, let me explain myself. For me, this last year has been a roller-coaster ride. More so than the usual pile of shit that life throws at all of us every year, trust me! And The Weekend Epicurean has been my source of sustenance, my sanity in all the insanity, my venting space, my letting-go-of-mad space and my window to a world of possibility. Actually scratch that. My window to a world where doing nothing "worthwhile" and yet being at peace is possible.
Now that I have got that out of the way, here's how we are going to celebrate - you and I :) To mark the first anniversary of this blog, I subject you all to my favorite food memories! No, not the written kind... I'm sure you all have had enough of my reminiscences (what? really? haww! there are so many more to come!!) So I want to share memories of a different kind now.
Films and Food is the staple diet I grew up on. And all our Bollywood films are incomplete without food... So Film Food is the menu for today!
TRAGEDY
Confused? Ok, what happens in all old Hindi films when the idealistic son comes home running to his poor-as-a-church-mouse mom saying, "Maa main first class first aaya hoon!" (I have graduated top of the class)? Of course the sacrificing mom has gone without her daily dose of tear-inducing glycerin drops to have a bowl of "Kheer" or "Gajar ka Halwa" at the ready! And that's how I believe Gajar ka Halwa (Carrot sweetmeat) became a known entity in every household. Even orphaned street kids apparently forget their misery when they see "Halwa". No wonder there have been eulogies in praise of this ubiquitous dish:
ROMANCE
Have you ever wondered what you will do when you want to introduce to your parents a most unsuitable guy as the love of your life? Or if you are a guy, in what words you will express your love for the girl of your dreams? Uh-huh... don't sweat it. The Indian way of dealing with issues like love, marriage and other such accidents is a good cuppa tea:
COMEDY
But if you are a true connoisseur of films and food like I am, you will have to give the award for the most creative food song to this one:
I mean what more can a person ask for once you have shouted from the rooftops that you are his chicken fry and he is your fish fry?? Leaves no room for argument surely!
FAMILY DRAMA
The Indian household is one where mothers/mother-in-laws and daughters lovingly fight over vegetables (its actually more of a tug-of-war over who holds the reins of the kitchen - she who runs the kitchen runs the house!), the whole neighbourhood knows what special dish you are cooking today (no thanks to the lovely aromas - its not the nose, just the nosiness) and my personal favorite - where the ultimate test of love is when your fiance fasts on Karwa Chauth along with you and you break the fast together :)
ACTION
And as for fights and stunts, I don't think I can even begin to choose the number of fruit stalls, vegetable carts, cakes and pies that have been thrown, destroyed, used and abused in Indian films! Let's just say it completes the 'masala' entertainment that makes us Indians who we are...
So in keeping with my whole Film Food concept, here is something that encapsulates all the above genres and emotions in its masala/spice to make the perfect accompaniment for any meal... It has the bitterness of tragedy, the sweetness of romance, the tingle of comedy, the wholesomeness of a family drama (ok, I think I just made that up), and the punch of an action flick! A green-and-red chilli pickle.
Ingredients:Green Chillies - 100 gms (Indian long green chillies)
Red Chillies - 50 gms
Mustard seeds - 2 tbsp
Fenugreek Seeds - 1 tbsp
Vinegar - 2 tbsp
Kalonji/Onion seeds - 1 tbsp
Fennel/Saunf - 1/2 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
Salt - 2 tbsp
Mustard Oil - 1/2 cup
Jaggery (optional) - 1/2 tbsp
Wash and pat dry the chillies. Slit them in the centre and take out the seeds if you don't want your pickle to be fiery-hot.
Dry grind the mustard and fenugreek seeds to a coarse powder. Add the red chilli powder and salt and mix well. Take a large plate or shallow dish and rub this spice powder into the chillies well. Now place the chillies along with the entire pickle mix in a dry glass or ceramic bottle with a wide mouth and pour in the vinegar.
In a small tempering ladle, heat the mustard oil till it starts smoking. Add the fennel and onion seeds till they start sputtering. Now pour this oil into the glass jar and on to the chillies. Mix well with a clean, dry spoon. If you like your pickles a little on the sweeter side, add some jaggery or sugar as per your taste.Keep the jar in the sun for at least 3 days before you start consuming the pickle. This will let the spice mix permeate and the chillies will lose their burning-a-hole-in-the-roof-of-your-mouth hotness.
Trust me, the resulting pickle is not suicidally hot! It's just tangy, spicy and extremely addictive!
The way I like it:
Goes great with parathas, dal rice and rotis.
This entry is a part of the "Blogger of the month" contest for The Tasty Tangles.
www.facebook.com/tastytangles.
Pls click on the link and vote for my post! https://www.facebook.com/TastyTangles
If you wish to participate, you can read the rules and regulations here:
http://124.30.44.228:8080/
