Suvir

The art of letting go - Slice of Life/Indian Express

When I was 20 I fell in love with an Australian artist in NYC. He moved in with me, and five months later I came home to an empty apartment. I began looking for clues to his disappearance and soon realised my student loan and any meagre savings had vanished with him. He left me broken, betrayed, and full of anger and regret. New emotions for me. He also left me with a choice. Would I allow this one person and one moment in time to become the lens through which I observed life and love? Would I opt to live in a body and mind drowning in a cesspool of depressive emotions? Or would I choose to let go of the hurt and move on to love again?

Fraaz Bean Aloo (French Beans and Potatoes)

 

This dish is as ubiquitous to Northern Indian homes as roasted potatoes might be to homes in Northern Europe. It is everyday fare that is made across the different homes. Each adding their own signature to its preparation. 

Make it with frozen beans but cook them uncovered and make potatoes smaller to hasten their cooking and not getting the beans browner than they need to be. 

You can omit the turmeric if you want them not to be yellow in hue. Often the case at an Indian table.

Boulevardier

Campari is one of those spirits that both Charlie and I love. A Negroni or even just Campari with orange is my go-to when not drinking Lillet with orange, on those rare occasions when I do drink. 

Not much of a drinker in the first place, it takes a delicious cocktail, a rather special wine, or a deeply delicious aperitif like Lillet or Cocchi Americano to convince me to stray. These are not easy to come by in most places. Even more difficult in quarantine and lockdowns.

What Will Be, Will Be

My Slice of Life column from Mail Today by India Today for April 18th, 2020. 

Read by following LINK here or keep reading below.

Rase Ke Aloo (Potato Curry)

I was often called Kamla Bobo’s Chadi (walking stick to my paternal grandmother Kamla Bhatnagar). My grandma ran the house. My parents, siblings and I lived with her in New Delhi. This dish was one of the couple of potato dishes that she loved. This was mostly made in the evenings. She enjoyed it with Chapatis, pooris and parathas. Equally. 

 

On those days when we were observing festivals, this was the recipe that was followed to the tee. On rare occasions, the recipe could be made a tad bolder with the addition of some Garam Masala in the end. Sometimes some cumin seed powder, amchoor and ground mustard seeds were added as well. Those Rase Ke Aloo’s would be had with Kachoris, a special puffy bread that was stuffed with ground hulled and spiced black beans.

Pooris - Fluffy Puffy Bread

 

A poori is a most beautiful edible treat to behold. In the kitchen as it is made and fried, and as it arrives on the table, to be consumed. Puffy and light, crisp outside and chewy in its bite, it is a miraculous invention and one that always pleases. 

We grew up eating pooris on tyauhaars (religious festivals) and at special dinners where a "fancy meal" was being served. Channas (chickpeas), rase waale aloo (potatoes), khatta meetha kaddu (sweet and sour pumpkin) and halwa (semolina pudding) are some of the dishes I associate with the making of pooris. 

They are delicious. Easy to make. Its all about practice, practice and practice when it comes to the making of pooris. 

 

Sweet-Sour-Spicy Pumpkin (Khatta Meetha Hara Kaddu)

 

All three of my cookbooks have a recipe for Kaddu (pumpkin). In the US I love using butternut squash for the recipe. You can use green pumpkin or sweet ripe pumpkin. They are both used in India. This recipe/video is made using green kaddu (green pumpkin).

Mili Juli Dal

 

You can use whatever lentil you have at home, and in whatever mix you want. Today I used arhar, chana, dhuli moong and urad, and moong chilka.

Dal is something most Indian homes eat in some way, shape or form daily. It is a staple in our homes. Inexpensive, nutritive and delicious.

Cold Love In The Time Of Corona & Social Distancing

As tricky as these times are, there is nothing remotely tedious about the enjoyment of comforting foods. It is most natural to feed ones cravings and find deeply satisfying satiety. 

Nothing brings Charlie and me more pleasure than a bowl or two, or even a pint of delicious ice cream. 

Real ice cream isn't easily found anywhere today. New Delhi is no better than New York it seems. Might only be worse. 

Hence it ought to be no surprise that I have hoarded up on 10 plus kilos of deliciously indulgent and brilliantly crafted Cold Love ice cream. Ice cream that is all natural. A rarity in our times. Made with the finest of ingredients, and with painstaking care given to every detail, in small batches, labeled and marked personally. 

This is ice cream fit to be intimate and in contact with during #SocialDistancing.