Maria's Top Ten Comfort Food list inspired me to bring out my own favourite foods and list them (no order of preference here).
The Devil's List of Favourite Comfort Foods
1. Barbequed Prawn Pizza - I have never not felt like eating this one...just the thought of having this mouth-watering, cheesy, tangy pizza can comfort me. I went to Pop Tate's last month and ordered it only to find that they've discontinued it and we had to make do with Bbqd Chicken Pizza which was sadly lacking in everything including some good old tiny but succulent prawns.
2. Egg Mc Muffin with Smoked Salami - I was floored by the taste of smoky salami (perfectly done) laid on a bed of fried egg. Cheese on top, which I could have done without. I had one of these and one and a half Sausage Mc Muffin (which was great but not as lovely as this one) and well...we went without lunch that day.
3. Pasta (Mushroom Alfredo, Lasagna, Chicken mince...you name it, I want it!) - Even having a few strands of pasta in soup (almost any soup) makes it a more enjoyable experience for me. Even a simple white sauce (nothing but cream and flour and onions and garlic) makes pasta more divine than anything...except the top two comfort foods.
4. Chicken biryani - You dont need anything else other than a thick curd raita to accompany this one pot meal. Tender marinated chicken cooked with long grain rice and topped with caramelized onions...a feast of spices and flavors; a soft aroma beckons even those who claim to be on a diet. This is frankly all you'll ever need...ever!... with a nice glass of wine.
5. Kheema with Egg - Mutton/Chicken mince cooked in onions, peas and spices with a beaten egg poured over and cooked with the mixture at the end... a treat any time, anywhere! Eaten with soft, baked pao (Indian bread), a wedge of lemon and onion rings (not fried).
6. Egg or Flat Noodles/Fried Rice - Just cannot decide between the two; usually if the person accompanying me for lunch doesnt like noodles, we end up ordering rice. Love both equally...especially when tossed with a few meats and bite-sized pieces of fried egg/omelette.
7. Dim Sums - How can I ever forget these glorious little packages of heaven? I can eat them no matter what...which season I'm in, what mood I'm in. Dim sums always excite me even though they're reduced to choosing from chicken/fish fillings rather than pork, mutton, beef, crab...I think I only miss pork more. Although I wish I could visit China White again...that was the only restaurant where we could really enjoy our dim sums...lotus leaf wrapped ones in sticky rice especially!
8. Chocolate cake in custard - This is my most loved but forgotten dessert over time... growing up, I'd make custard only to have it this way. Now, I suspect no one other than yours truly will enjoy this. Sadly, I am tempted to but avoid getting desserts home so making it will definitely invoke a round of binging (especially as no one else at home wants the firm and soggy combination).
9. Sausages - any kind, grilled or fried or boiled...I love them all. The best ones I've had are the cheese and onion chicken sausages.
10. Hot Chocolate Cake/Fudge Brownie with Vanilla Ice cream - I love this combination especially if there's dark chocolate cream on the cake or brownie. I hate the sizzling brownie thing they serve in almost all restaurants in Bombay...where the brownie sizzles on an iron platter heated for the purpose and topped with ice cream with chocolate sauce poured over the combination for smoke effect. Why bother with that when you can just have a microwaved or oven-warmed brownie/chocolate cake with a scoop or two of deliciously cold vanilla ice cream melting over it as you try and salvage every spoonful?
This is it as far as I can think. I'm sure to wake up in the middle of the night with a few more items but till then... this is it!
I sure would love to know everyone's top ten or at least top five favourite comfort foods.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Holiday...
What can be better than looking forward to the rains all cozied up at home with four unread books?
1. Sushi for Beginners
2. Rachel's Holiday
3. The British Museum Is Falling Down
4. Victoria Line, Central Line
Work hasnt arrived yet. I have pending personal tasks piling up helplessly...and yet, I'm feeling on the absolute top of the world. High!
1. Sushi for Beginners
2. Rachel's Holiday
3. The British Museum Is Falling Down
4. Victoria Line, Central Line
Work hasnt arrived yet. I have pending personal tasks piling up helplessly...and yet, I'm feeling on the absolute top of the world. High!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
We've been waiting for you
The rain pattered down on Friday night - it was late when I finally put the book away and switched off the light to open the curtains and look down to a gleaming, wet street and a muted patter of raindrops on every metal awning in the neighbourhood. Saturday and Sunday were blissfully rainy...we had a long drive to look forward to and a visit home to my mother's. As we sped away to our destination, the rain clouds followed us and darkened the evening earlier than the usual summery time of 7:30 pm. Sunday was wonderfully wet and it gladdened us to be out in the rain - a hot fish lunch followed by a trip to the movie theater for the much-awaited Angels and Demons.
The movie was wonderful...I liked it better than the Da Vinci Code in terms of action and a tight script. Not one second had me rolling my eyes and hoping for something else. Even Tom Hanks was more convincing as Robert Langdon this time although he wouldnt have been my first choice for the role. Every film this actor makes is nothing short of amazing. Watching the movie made me realise the importance of watching cinema on the big screen and I was glad to not have missed it. The entire team of actors was brilliantly cast - the Pope's chamberlain, scientists, police, security team... not one actor looked like he only just came in to play a role. The scenes within the Vatican city, the beautiful churches and architecture of ancient buildings, the suspense and the ruthlessness with which each threat was carried out were all prime reasons to go and watch the movie (earlier panned by critics as one of the weakest cinematic offerings of Hollywood).
All in all a good weekend with great food. The skies are alternately sunny or gloomy. We hope for more rain soon, even a light drizzle just to assure us that it wasnt a one time miracle; that our fields will get the nourishment they need and the people will get a much needed respite from the harsh sun.
The movie was wonderful...I liked it better than the Da Vinci Code in terms of action and a tight script. Not one second had me rolling my eyes and hoping for something else. Even Tom Hanks was more convincing as Robert Langdon this time although he wouldnt have been my first choice for the role. Every film this actor makes is nothing short of amazing. Watching the movie made me realise the importance of watching cinema on the big screen and I was glad to not have missed it. The entire team of actors was brilliantly cast - the Pope's chamberlain, scientists, police, security team... not one actor looked like he only just came in to play a role. The scenes within the Vatican city, the beautiful churches and architecture of ancient buildings, the suspense and the ruthlessness with which each threat was carried out were all prime reasons to go and watch the movie (earlier panned by critics as one of the weakest cinematic offerings of Hollywood).
All in all a good weekend with great food. The skies are alternately sunny or gloomy. We hope for more rain soon, even a light drizzle just to assure us that it wasnt a one time miracle; that our fields will get the nourishment they need and the people will get a much needed respite from the harsh sun.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Are we there yet?
MRF Tyres has postponed its Rain Day indefinitely. So much for the meteorologists who predicted that the skies will tip over liquid manna over parched fields some two weeks ago.
I was depressed a few weeks ago over the pointlessness of my life. A year and a half ago, I was over-stressed and knew I wanted to do something else. Forget about keeping my promise to myself, I have fallen back into a rut that I keep trying to crawl out of. An astrologer once told my mother that all my ideas are confined within my head and that's one of my major obstacles. He hadnt even seen me. And he was right. I tried to prove him wrong but I keep sliding back.
Watching a few videos of the Golden Girls between work schedules cheered me up but gloom stands just around the corner and predictably, every few weeks, I plunge into it headlong.
I want the rain to bring a change of scene outside my window but dont react to the nagging need for change within me. I want clear signposts to show me which way I'm headed... losing the point of the whole journey. I used to take steps towards what I wanted and now, am slacking off and letting go a whole lot more.
I dont know how long it's been since I wrote...there are dusty cobwebs around my mind's eye that are being tossed about as I write. I read more blogs now than I have for all the weeks before today. Feels good to find one's fingers tapping away as the mind dictates. I know that I'm picking myself up from the dumps. I just need this post to remind me to do that every time I slack off.
I'll pray for it to rain... without sitting at my window and glaring at the sun.
I was depressed a few weeks ago over the pointlessness of my life. A year and a half ago, I was over-stressed and knew I wanted to do something else. Forget about keeping my promise to myself, I have fallen back into a rut that I keep trying to crawl out of. An astrologer once told my mother that all my ideas are confined within my head and that's one of my major obstacles. He hadnt even seen me. And he was right. I tried to prove him wrong but I keep sliding back.
Watching a few videos of the Golden Girls between work schedules cheered me up but gloom stands just around the corner and predictably, every few weeks, I plunge into it headlong.
I want the rain to bring a change of scene outside my window but dont react to the nagging need for change within me. I want clear signposts to show me which way I'm headed... losing the point of the whole journey. I used to take steps towards what I wanted and now, am slacking off and letting go a whole lot more.
I dont know how long it's been since I wrote...there are dusty cobwebs around my mind's eye that are being tossed about as I write. I read more blogs now than I have for all the weeks before today. Feels good to find one's fingers tapping away as the mind dictates. I know that I'm picking myself up from the dumps. I just need this post to remind me to do that every time I slack off.
I'll pray for it to rain... without sitting at my window and glaring at the sun.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Will it rain today?
The day has awakened with half a promise...exactly half of the blue-white cloud sky is filled with darker, more menacing black clouds. Yesterday there was half a drizzle. Today, at least there's more cloud cover. Although sunlight maintains her presence persistently.
If it rains today, may it mingle with the sunlight streaming over the clouds and make a pretty, long rainbow. I need to chase one.
If it rains today, may it mingle with the sunlight streaming over the clouds and make a pretty, long rainbow. I need to chase one.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Poem in Your Pocket
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
It may not have anything to do with the election fever today but it does alter my frame of mind from despair to hope. Leah, it was a good idea to suggest carrying a poem in my pocket; I carried this in my heart.
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
It may not have anything to do with the election fever today but it does alter my frame of mind from despair to hope. Leah, it was a good idea to suggest carrying a poem in my pocket; I carried this in my heart.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
So...It's Election Week!
I'm deciding whether to vote for the guy who started this amazing bus that takes us to all the places we normally visit but end up changing two or more buses on the way. Now we dont feel like we're in a village on the outskirts of Bombay; we're more with it now. Better connectivity and all that. Not to mention that I can just zip on to an air-conditioned KingLong any time I feel like visiting South Bombay, which the ugly circuit (celebs who're only in the news for attending and throwing parties) calls SoBo now. Why not call it Manhattan while you're at it?
Anyway, we still have power outages (load shedding) for up to 3 hours a day split up into schedules of one and a half hours at a time. I'm lucky that water's still available through the day and night. We do have little riots breaking out among the underprivileged sections of our little town but that's everywhere! SoBo has little swimming pool parties, brunches, horse racing as it's summer activities while they move around these venues in air-conditioned comfort. They probably never open any window to get in anything other than air-conditioned breezes. And we read about these things every single day while the sweat drips down our necks. I dont think there's a SoBo word for sweat.
Yesterday, I went down for a walk in the evening (around 7 pm) and still managed to sweat buckets before I even got warmed up. Going to the library and standing under a few fans helped me gear up for the final lap home.
So it was a pleasant surprise to see political personalities campaigning out in the sweltering heat and sunshine. The only time in five years that anyone bothers to leave their cushy homes and offices and mingle with the people (only they do it in trucks with a few chosen commoners). They speak of problem-solving and getting water problems sorted out but it is pushed to the backburners when they come to power. Today, I read that one of them is against educating rural people to use computers. They will be out of work if they do that is his reason. At the same time, they want to work for those in villages, provide them electricity and water. No one does that because every five years, the same things are being promised to these people. Where in heck is anyone going to learn how to use a computer in such circumstances?
At the same time, the class divide keeps increasing. There's SoBo on one hand while on the other are thousands of slums that stay where they are while realty rates increase so much that the salaried class can feel the pinch of investing in a flat big enough to house all their family members.
One day, I hope to see electricity and water striked out as promises. We cannot take India to any global level if her villages and half of her cities are still in the dark.
Anyway, we still have power outages (load shedding) for up to 3 hours a day split up into schedules of one and a half hours at a time. I'm lucky that water's still available through the day and night. We do have little riots breaking out among the underprivileged sections of our little town but that's everywhere! SoBo has little swimming pool parties, brunches, horse racing as it's summer activities while they move around these venues in air-conditioned comfort. They probably never open any window to get in anything other than air-conditioned breezes. And we read about these things every single day while the sweat drips down our necks. I dont think there's a SoBo word for sweat.
Yesterday, I went down for a walk in the evening (around 7 pm) and still managed to sweat buckets before I even got warmed up. Going to the library and standing under a few fans helped me gear up for the final lap home.
So it was a pleasant surprise to see political personalities campaigning out in the sweltering heat and sunshine. The only time in five years that anyone bothers to leave their cushy homes and offices and mingle with the people (only they do it in trucks with a few chosen commoners). They speak of problem-solving and getting water problems sorted out but it is pushed to the backburners when they come to power. Today, I read that one of them is against educating rural people to use computers. They will be out of work if they do that is his reason. At the same time, they want to work for those in villages, provide them electricity and water. No one does that because every five years, the same things are being promised to these people. Where in heck is anyone going to learn how to use a computer in such circumstances?
At the same time, the class divide keeps increasing. There's SoBo on one hand while on the other are thousands of slums that stay where they are while realty rates increase so much that the salaried class can feel the pinch of investing in a flat big enough to house all their family members.
One day, I hope to see electricity and water striked out as promises. We cannot take India to any global level if her villages and half of her cities are still in the dark.
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