The day has arrived - Chaat
- s3518418
- May 7, 2014
- 3 min read
Projecting happiness.
The moment has finally arrived. Today is the day we meet for the first time - alone. Well not quite alone; we’ll have the lounge to ourselves for all of an hour while my mum, dad, sister, little brother and grandparents sit in the dining room next door, and pretend they’re not listening to our conversation. No doubt my sister will be texting live updates to my cousins of all the information she gets from my little brother who will be eavesdropping in on everything we say. I know those two brats too well. He does it all the time and it’s annoying, but I still love him all the same. As for my mother, well she will be drawing out plans for the biggest wedding India has ever seen while my father stresses out over how he’s going to pay for it all.
When I think about it, It’s really funny how my parents never really saved any money for my education but have enough to marry me off to someone they, and I don’t even know.
I mean I did do an entire course of ‘home sciences’ at Delhi University which teaches girls to cook. How convenient. It didn’t matter that I wanted to do something exciting and creative with my life like film making; no I had to study home sciences to learn how to cook for my future husband. Yay me! But I’m not angry or bitter. I love food and it’s a big part of my life. It's brought me closer to my family, particularly my grandparents who not only to love cooking but share all their years of cooking wisdom with me. Is it too late to run away and be a celebrity chef and have my own cooking show? I'm in love with 'Master Chef' and I watch it every single night, jotting down every recip that the contestants cook. But I don't like the judges. They're rude and obnoxious, especially the big fat one who devours everything he sees without chewing a single thing. It’s like he inhales his food like a vacuum cleaner inhaling dust.
Something I learnt from my grandparents was how food is connected to our heart and soul, which reinforced my favourite story - 'Mistress of Spices'. Indian cuisine is meant to be very aphrodisiacal in nature, mainly due to the spices. Every drop of spice we add means something which can change so many aspects of our lives.
But today, this decision, it makes me think about my life and what's missing from it... Like the opportunity to do what I want and when I want would be nice, and yes, I would like to meet someone nice and fall in love like they do in the movies. But, I'm not naive and I know that life's not always like that. In saying that, it would also be nice to choose my future husband and not just have an arranged marriage with someone I don't know. I guess, it is what it is. It's been a part of our cultural tradition since the start and I must do it to please my parents.
I can't begin to explain how scared and nervous I am right now. I always knew that this day would come and now it has. But why do I still feel so alone? Oh Cilantro, stay with me and help me project happiness, so I don't scare my future husband and in-laws away. What a shame that would be.
I am cooking some chaat for them. Here's the recipe. Don't forget to add the Cilantro for happiness!
Bhel Puri
Ingredients
Puffed Rice (1/2 cup)
Tomato (1/2, if big)
Tamarind, grind to a paste with water (4-5 tsp)
Onions finely diced (1/2)
Potato boiled and sliced (1)
Cilantro Chutney (1 tsp)
Chaat Masala
Cilatro
Sev
Salt to taste
Method
Mix all the ingredients well in a bowl. Add sev on top and sprinkle cilantro on top for garnish.
Papdi Chaat
Ingredients
Papdi (Can be bought at the supermarket)
Tamarind, grind to a paste with water
Onions finely diced
Potato boiled and sliced
Cilantro Chutney
Chaat Masala
Cilantro
Sev
Salt to taste
Method
Arrange the Papdi in a plate.
Add the potatoes on top of the papdis. Sprinkle onions, salt, chaat masala and chilli powder on the potatoes.
Garnish with Coriander Chutney and Tamarind paste on top.
Sprinkle Sev on top and serve.
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