The delicate business called 'Marriage'

The business of marriage is a delicate one. Especially for the guy. Being married for four years now I think I can say this with some authority.

Take Doug and Carrie for instance....this is a husband-wife duo in a popular sitcom called 'King of Queens' which is a regular feature on North American cable.

A picture of Doug and Carrie from 'King of Queens' (picture taken from here)

In one episode, Carrie asks Doug if he thinks she comes across as scary and strong (which she is- a strong personality, that is)..and the question itself scares Doug, who gets all uncomfortable and asks uncertainly 'Is this a trick question? Like the other time when you asked me if you had a moustache and that I should tell the truth and then when I told you the truth you got all mad at me????' Hilarious!!

And then N and I were having our coffee yesterday morning when we came across Ray and Debra (from 'Everybody Loves Raymond', another comedy sitcom on cable here).

Ray and Debra in 'Everybody Loves Raymond' (picture taken from here)

At the beginning of the episode, Deb and Ray, who have been married for a few years, decide to experiment with 'trying to be nice to each other'....something which gets difficult when Ray has to eat Deb's turkey sandwich (Deb's a not-so-good-cook)....so once all niceties evaporate, they come to a truce---he gets to throw her sandwich in the garbage and she gets to call her 'idiot'...good one, I say!

So I turn to N and tell him how much I pity his breed...in all fairness, these poor chaps have a tough job.....every time we ask them a trick question, they have to come up with an answer that is truthful, yet un-hurtful, yet un-patronising!!..or like N quipped, an answer that is 'nice....and to know what 'nice' is , all you need to do is be married long enough and you will know (most probably by bitter experience i.e. answering wrong to the trick question..doing this just once is enough to learn the lesson!).

Coming to trick questions, the mother of all trick questions is that involving a mother-in-law!!Take Ruchi in this video for instance..its not really a trick question for the husband and its a classic case of what is called in Bombaiyya language as 'kaadi karna-cum- kulhaadi pe paaon' ..check out this video!

Fortunately for N, me and N's ma, we have neither the kaadis nor the fire!..N's ma and I get along superbly (touchwood!!!)...while on we are on this topic, here's what N's parents sent us for our fourth wedding anniversary last week....a super, duper surprise---a basket full of love and goodies!!!

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An announcement: starting on Friday, 25 Dec until 31st Dec, I will be posting 7 food recipes!!.I am taking part in Nupur's (of One Hot Stove) 7-day recipe marathon!

I have an interesting theme in mind on which the recipes will be based...to find out more, come back next Friday.

Excited,
V

P.S. When I told N about my plan to enter into the recipe marathon, he was first a bit worried about how much time I was going spend on this over the holidays...but when I told him that he would get to taste 7 yummy(?) treats each day, he was so much more supportive...hmmm, the business of blogging is quite delicate too, wont you agree?? :)

The tale of I, me and potluck samosas

Scene: Last Thursday [day before the office department potluck], evening setting, I am in the bus on my way back home around 6 pm:

I: What to make?what to make?
Wiser ME: How about a ready-made salad platter?
I: No, no thats too 'ready made'...I toh want to make something baba..that too something that says Indian and that too something that everyone will like and that too something that is easy
Wiser ME: Hmmmm
I: Dont forget all the hype about my blog...people have been fooled by the 'dikhawa'..they think I am a good cook!
Wiser ME: Oye shucks!..what to make?what to make?
I: Shut up...thats my line....(dimaag ki batti suddenly lighting up...tinggg) hey how about samosas?
Wiser ME: Nooooo.....you have made them just once before and that one time was big-time disaster...dont you remember?
I (miffed): hmmmff...(I dont want to remember my bombed experiment about 4 years back...the samosas came out fine when hot but wilted like sunflowers in 10 mins!!..and I served them to my poor guests at a party..no one wanted to eat the soggy'mosas)
Wiser Me: Isnt it a safer idea just to just buy some samosas?
I: No, no thats too 'ready made'...i toh want to make something baba
Wiser Me(irritated): Then make the samosas...but I dont have a good feeling on this one!

So I get off the bus, go to the market, buy the potatoes and peas, brave the cold (Wiser Me seemed really wise at this point) and come back home!

I make the stuffing first:
1 lb (1/2 kg) boiled, peeled and mashed potatoes
1 cup peas (boiled)
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
salt to taste
Mix all the ingredients together and let set aside! (yup, its that simple)

Then I search the blogosphere for a dependable-looking dough recipe...and I find Monisha's Coconut Chutney blog!!
Here's a pastry recipe that seems to just what I am looking for (even Wiser Me seems hopeful, after looking at Monisha's pics):
1/5 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina (rawa)
1/2 cup baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter
Sift all the dry ingredients together, add the butter and knead with as little amount of cold water as possible. The dough should be firm but flexible. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside.

Dinner break...N pops his head into the kitchen and declares 'readymade samosas seem to be a better option' (N-the-wise has always been a supporter of Wiser Me...hmppf)!

Cut to post-dinner (which means I have let the dough rest for about an hour), I start making the samosas:
Make small sized dough balls, roll each into a small circle, cut into two semi circles, line the edges with flour paste, make into a cone, fill with a tsp of the stuffing and finally seal the samosa!(for better samosa-making instructions, check out Manjula's video here)

About 30 mins later, by the time I reach samosa #25, I am dead tired (Wiser Me is almost dancing with 'I-told-you-so' song!!)

I put all the samosas into a box, put them in the refrigerator..will fry them tomorrow morning.

Scene: Friday morning (day of potluck)..i start frying frying the samosas around 7 am in the morning (start seeing WiserMe's point...could have got extra half an hour's sleep...but its too late now..sigh!)......am done by 7:30! I save a few for N for the evening.

Scene: Office..lunch time..my samosas are served...not only have they stayed crispy, they are fabulous!!!everyone loves them...it is a hit!!!!!!(smirk, smirk, Wiser Me:D)

Samosas- served with two chutneys: the green coriander-mint chutney and the red (readymade) tomato-chilli-garlic sauce

Scene: Evening...I fry the remaining four for N...he loves them tooo!!!!!!And hey, he tells me its his lab potluck next week...may be I can recreate the samosa magic??
I: Oye shucks...what to make?what to make?
Kahani abhi khatam nahi hui, mere dost :)

Not-so-wise?!
V

Weekday meal idea: prawn pakoras, sprouts usal and curd rice

Cooking is therapeutic for me. It really is!

Most people I know cook more on weekends than on weekdays (a few go as far as making advance meals for the week on the weekend and stashing away portions in the freezer for the week)...pretty smart use of time and energy? I agree....but that's not how I do things. For some unknown reason, I like to cook on weekdays...dinner happens to be N's and my most important meal of the day and I like to make sure its fresh and warm...which is why I guess, even after I am exhausted from working all day, I cant believe how much I enjoy making fresh meals each weekday. Does this make me weird, I wonder?

Here's what I made yesterday night:

Prawn pakoras (completely my experiment, but they came out really good!), Sprouts usal/stir-fry (easy breezy and healthy), curd rice (since I some leftover cooked rice from the day before) and chapatis (Indian flatbreads) Here are the recipes for the pakoras and the usal:

Prawn pakoras (fritters)

Ingredients:
For the marinade:
10-12 Prawns (good sized, cleaned, de-veined and salted)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp pepper powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder (substitute with garlic paste if you don't have the powder)

For the fritter batter:
3/4 cup besan flour
a pinch of asafoetida (optional)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp hot oil (makes the fritters light and crispy)
salt to taste

-Marinate cleaned and salted prawns with the powders and set it aside for atleast 30 mins
-After 30 mins, heat oil for deep frying.
-Meanwhile, make the batter using water as needed (the consistency should be quite thick, such that the batter coats the prawns easily)
-Deep fry each prawn till golden brown
Tada...prawn pakoras are ready! they go really well with ketchup!

Sprouts usal recipe:
Ingredients:
2 cups sprouts (I used matki/moth beans)-pressure cooked till cooked but firm
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
5-6 curry leaves
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 onion
1 tsp chili powder
salt to taste
coriander leaves to garnish

-Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the asafoetida, curry leaves, turmeric powder and saute for a few seconds
-Add the onions and cook until transparent
-Next, add the cooked sprouts, salt and chilli powder and mix well. Cook on a low flame for about 5 mins until all flavours combine well.
-Turn off the heat, garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

N-the-seafood-freak loved the prawn pakoras experiment so that one was a success (will be making them again for sure).

Ooh la la..that definitely was a nice weekday meal!!...So whats on your menu? Would love to hear some easy, healthy weekday dinner ideas!

Full,
V