Sunday, June 27, 2004
Just Another Manic Monday
If you've noticed, my blogs tend to be very weekday-centric, and it's not as if I intended them to be that way. It's just the way they turn out——subconscious stuff I suppose. You get out of bed, go through the mechanical motions of getting ready for going to office, drag yourself out. Tell yourself, "It's just another day", and there you have it.
What would I have done with my day, if it hadn't been "just another" one? Just another one sold out to someone else for a paycheck at the end of the month? That's it isn't it? Selling out my time and day and inclinations for my livelihood. Working day in and day out in hostile environments, doing inane stuff that's not going to take me anywhere...what is one to do? How is one to make any sense of these inanities that takes up more than 12 hours a day, 6 days a week...how is one to hang on to what really matters in life?
Career is one dirty word for me. I work for my family. I sell myself to the highest bidder. The day I wouldn't need to do that anymore, I'll happily kick all this away!
I'll cook and clean and look after my household. I'll read books, I'll spend time with my friends. I'll laze around on a hammock and count clouds in the sky. And most importantly I'll be there when my family needs me; without having to calculate how many paid leaves I have left.
Oh God grant me this luxury! For that is what it has become, a luxury to be able to spend time with your own.
What would I have done with my day, if it hadn't been "just another" one? Just another one sold out to someone else for a paycheck at the end of the month? That's it isn't it? Selling out my time and day and inclinations for my livelihood. Working day in and day out in hostile environments, doing inane stuff that's not going to take me anywhere...what is one to do? How is one to make any sense of these inanities that takes up more than 12 hours a day, 6 days a week...how is one to hang on to what really matters in life?
Career is one dirty word for me. I work for my family. I sell myself to the highest bidder. The day I wouldn't need to do that anymore, I'll happily kick all this away!
I'll cook and clean and look after my household. I'll read books, I'll spend time with my friends. I'll laze around on a hammock and count clouds in the sky. And most importantly I'll be there when my family needs me; without having to calculate how many paid leaves I have left.
Oh God grant me this luxury! For that is what it has become, a luxury to be able to spend time with your own.
Friday, June 18, 2004
The Subtle Art of Bengali Cuisine
This started as a conversation with a friend of mine:
Pizza, I'm sure many of you would agree, is absolutely NO comparison to good continental food. It's really an art, turning out good continental food, I mean. Much like understated, subtle Bong food. I mean not just anyone can get a shukto right or a simple kancha muger daal, illish machher morich jhol or a mochar ghonto (with or w/o chhingri machh), you know what I mean...it's just not about dousing everything with spices and drowning it in oil! Everything has to be just right...even for a chhechki or lau-khoshar torkari. The exact spices & the exact timing. Even the shape of the vegetables. Have you ever pondered about all the different shapes of alus that go into different dishes? Machher jhols, mangsher jhol, bati chochchori, dimer dalna, potoler dalna, alur dom, jhur-jhure alu bhaja...think about it...
In Abhi's words, this exactitude of spices & timing is something so fondly christened by our mom's and grandmom's as 'aandaj'!
I got so inspired by this that I went and cooked some good 'ol mangsher jhol with you-know-howly-shaped alus yesterday! Oh heaven! Even if I say so myself. Mangsher jhol and bhaat on a carefree Sunday afternoon...that's what childhood memories are made of. Fragrant cooking, papa in a white kurta/pyjama, opening out all the windows and playing 70's melodies on a LP record-player...Manna Dey...Hemanta...Anand...Julie...Bobby...and crabs! Papa used to get crabs on Sundays & Ma'd cook them into something wicked!
Pizza, I'm sure many of you would agree, is absolutely NO comparison to good continental food. It's really an art, turning out good continental food, I mean. Much like understated, subtle Bong food. I mean not just anyone can get a shukto right or a simple kancha muger daal, illish machher morich jhol or a mochar ghonto (with or w/o chhingri machh), you know what I mean...it's just not about dousing everything with spices and drowning it in oil! Everything has to be just right...even for a chhechki or lau-khoshar torkari. The exact spices & the exact timing. Even the shape of the vegetables. Have you ever pondered about all the different shapes of alus that go into different dishes? Machher jhols, mangsher jhol, bati chochchori, dimer dalna, potoler dalna, alur dom, jhur-jhure alu bhaja...think about it...
In Abhi's words, this exactitude of spices & timing is something so fondly christened by our mom's and grandmom's as 'aandaj'!
I got so inspired by this that I went and cooked some good 'ol mangsher jhol with you-know-howly-shaped alus yesterday! Oh heaven! Even if I say so myself. Mangsher jhol and bhaat on a carefree Sunday afternoon...that's what childhood memories are made of. Fragrant cooking, papa in a white kurta/pyjama, opening out all the windows and playing 70's melodies on a LP record-player...Manna Dey...Hemanta...Anand...Julie...Bobby...and crabs! Papa used to get crabs on Sundays & Ma'd cook them into something wicked!
Some More from Abhi's Corner of the World
Something for the Discerning Vodka Lover!
An old favourite I found on the net...something to try for a very MERRY Christmas.
Vodka & Red Bull Christmas Cake
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
Lemon Juice
4 large eggs
Nuts
1 bottle of Vodka
1 can of Red Bull
2 cups dried fruit
Method:
1. Sample the vodka to check the quality.
2. Take a large bowl, check the vodka again.
3. To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and mix
with a little red bull and drink.
4. Repeat.
5. Turn on the electric mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large
fluffy bowl.
6. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again.
7. At this point its is best to make sure the vodka is still ok.
8. Flavour with red bull to taste.
9. Try another cup - just in case turn off the mixerer.
10. Break two leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of d ried
fruit.
11. Pick fruit off floor
12. Mix on the turner.
13. If the dried fruit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry it loose with
a drewscriver.
14. Shample the vodka to check for tonsisticitity, flavour with a
little Bed Rull.
15. Next ssiffft two cups of salt. Or something ? Who giveshz a shi**
16. Throw a pinch of Bed Rull over your shoulder
17. Pick up the can, mop the floor
18. Check the vodka
19. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
20. Add one table.
21. Add a shpoon of shugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.
22. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over...
23. Don't forget to beat off the turner
24. Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the vodka and
kick the dog.
25. Fall into bed.
CHERRY MISTMAS
Please feel free to mail your drinking tricks to me. I promise to try
them out and reply coherently.
An old favourite I found on the net...something to try for a very MERRY Christmas.
Vodka & Red Bull Christmas Cake
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
Lemon Juice
4 large eggs
Nuts
1 bottle of Vodka
1 can of Red Bull
2 cups dried fruit
Method:
1. Sample the vodka to check the quality.
2. Take a large bowl, check the vodka again.
3. To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and mix
with a little red bull and drink.
4. Repeat.
5. Turn on the electric mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large
fluffy bowl.
6. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again.
7. At this point its is best to make sure the vodka is still ok.
8. Flavour with red bull to taste.
9. Try another cup - just in case turn off the mixerer.
10. Break two leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of d ried
fruit.
11. Pick fruit off floor
12. Mix on the turner.
13. If the dried fruit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry it loose with
a drewscriver.
14. Shample the vodka to check for tonsisticitity, flavour with a
little Bed Rull.
15. Next ssiffft two cups of salt. Or something ? Who giveshz a shi**
16. Throw a pinch of Bed Rull over your shoulder
17. Pick up the can, mop the floor
18. Check the vodka
19. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
20. Add one table.
21. Add a shpoon of shugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.
22. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over...
23. Don't forget to beat off the turner
24. Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the vodka and
kick the dog.
25. Fall into bed.
CHERRY MISTMAS
Please feel free to mail your drinking tricks to me. I promise to try
them out and reply coherently.
