Who can cook??

So, everyone says women should know how to cook... It's assumed that you know your pink dal from your green one, and your garam masala from, I don't know, maybe hing! And, you're supposed to know all this much much before you go to live alone in another country, especially because you're vegeterian by choice in a country where fish is considered veg food!

And ofcourse, I didn't know any of this. The closest I ever ventured into the kitchen was to make tea (and it was really good, if I may add!) for my Mom sometimes, when I was in 8th grade. Some time later, my Gran'dad decided to take matters in his own hand (because I could very easily refuse Mom when she asked me to come and make something with her and the cook) and he tried to teach me to make rotis. I made the chapati in the shape of Orissa. He gave up.

Years later, when I had started working in Delhi, the bai didn't turn up and my Mom was away, so I had to make meals through the whole weekend.. I remember I tried to make Kadi Chawal but I got the proportions all wrong for both the kadi and the chawal... so what we had was like solid kadi and watery chawal... However, I was forgiven... sigh, such an understanding family I have (except for my brother who laughed at me, nodded his head and said "Didi, who is going to marry you at this rate?!".. thankfully, he was kidding)..

But the panic button was pressed when I was about to leave for Paris. They gave me one week's notice to make arrangements, and this was obviously not enough time for me to learn to properly identify and cook pink, green, half green (damn, I still dont know the names!) dal, rice, chapati, AND sabzi! It was like information overload! So, my Mom very sweetly made a recipe book for me, which painstakingly explained how to make simple everyday food. And she knew me well enough to actually label the masala packets too, because she knew I wouldn't know the difference between chaat masala and amchur (are they the same thing?? they're not, right?!).. yes, I love my Mom and yes I also know she's pampered me!

Anyways, just because I had a recipe book and labelled food items in hand didn't mean I could start cooking right away! I had to identify the actual food in the grocery store too... and there lay the challenge - one, because I didn't recognize some of the more interesting vegetables, like louki, or ghiya (and thankfully, I didn't eat these either), and second, because the names were in French... anyways, help was sought from colleagues, not without being a laughing stock first... that done, the first day I made something, I burnt it. So I actually called my boss, who was staying at the same hotel and asked him the words I think he'll never forget "Boss, how to cook dal?!"... I think he had a fit - laughing.... he said "Maine socha team mein ladki aayegi aur humare liye khana pakayegi, lekin yahan to ulti ganga beh rahee hai!" - like I don't have anything better to do in life than cook for an entire team of hungry men (even if I knew how to)! So my boss, who is a very good cook, taught me how to make dal, curry, samosas, paranthas, pooris, chhole, rajma, kadi, round chapatis, and bhindi ki sabzi, among many others!! The poori story is funny because I didn't know how to make pooris, but decided to be nice and offer to help my (same) boss's wife in the kitchen... when I started to put dry aata on the poori to flatten it out, she sighed, looked at me squarely, and told me to go watch the movie with the guys and get out of her way in the kitchen!

From someone who knew zilch about cooking anything 3 years back, I've come a long long way - Wednesdays are usually "my day to cook" here at my aunt's place... and this Wednesday, I made shahi paneer, pulao and methi aloo ki sabzi for dinner, ALL by myself! (Ok, so I had a little help from bawarchi.com - so?!) And I knew it was really good because my cousin, who is very very finicky about the taste of food (especially when it comes to paneer) had four helpings of the shahi paneer!!

The real europe...

Some of my snaps from Paris, taken on a boatride on the Seine river on a clear March afternoon.. snapshots of the real Europe... :-)




La Conciergie, where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned in her last days before the guilloutine...






Notre Dame..








View from the boat...

The French connection...

I can't believe that I've lived in Paris for 1 1/2 years and haven't written a word about it in these 1 1/2 months on this blog! Tsk tsk... this is just not done, esp when I have so many stories to tell, not the least being about the French aversion to all things 'English'!

So I was working in Gurgaon, slogging my butt off in a 9 to 9 software job with no rewards (immediate or otherwise) and no appreciation... luckily the HQ of the clients I am working for is in Paris, and so the dream of visiting the city of romance lingered somewhere in my sub-conscious mind.. I am not sure if my boss read my mind or whether it was my incessant chatter about Paris this and Eiffel that which made him think of handing me an assignment there, but lo and behold one fine Monday morning (if such a thing is possible), he comes to me and says "Ruchika, you're going to Paris"!! (Let me just add that my mom was the happiest to hear this news, since going to Paris for a vegetarian like me meant I'd have to cook food myself and which would mean I'd learn cooking!! )

As I touchdown in Paris, I get the feeling of 'coming home'.. strange familiarity which perhaps arises from watching too many movies or reading books (having unsuspectingly read 'da vinci code' just 4 months before I actually set foot in Paris)... I discovered that the Mayor of Paris has a strong liking for all things old and does'nt like modern architecture much... which is why he has relegated the La Defense modern business centre to the outskirts of Paris, and the main Paris area retains the old world architecture, with even buildings painted almost the same colour! So the city has a charming, cultural heritage site look (barring the 'Indian market' area, I have to concede)...

What makes Paris special is the feeling that there is love all around you, esp in the summer season! You walk down the Seine, stand in the middle 'Pont de Alexandre III' (the best of the 11 brigdges on the Seine connecting East and West bank) and look out onto the Sacre Coeur church in the distance, the Louvre expanding over the horizon and the Notre Dame painting a picturesque view in the middle of the river, and you think "this is when u fall in love"... and believe me, at this point everything and everyone looks good and the world seems a better place to live in! No wonder its THE destination for honeymooners!

The first time I saw the Eiffel tower (tour eiffel), it was as if I just stumbled over it.. one evening on the way back from office to my hotel, I just decided to hop off the metro and take a walk around the Champs Elysees.. now I didnt even know I was close to the Eiffel at that time! So I just kept walking along the Champs Elysees, breathtakingly bright and lit up... and I turn a right corner and whoa! there it is, the sparkling Eiffel right in front of me! It was lovely standing near the Seine at nite (in Jan) and watch the Eiffel glitter as it does every hour for ten minutes.. now the Eiffel isnt as beautiful as the Tajmahal (uhh... I can tell u some French people think so too!), but its very majestic and captivating nonetheless, esp at nite... it was one of the best evenings I had in Paris...

I know that most of you have already heard of my many Paris stories and experiences and are probably bored of it after so many months, but hey, let me preserve my memories somewhere in cyberspace so I can look back some day and re-live my experience... look out for more on my French experience with the 'real europe' series and the 'Parle vous Hindi?' blogs...