Sunday, January 31, 2010

Mallus, Fish and Coconut Oil

It's been two weeks since I moved in with Minto and Praveen and I am having quite a bit of fun.

For starters I have cut down heavily on Outside Food and am having more home cooked food. Simple but tasty home cooked stuff. Bliss.

I always liked cooking. I never could, because I'm too lazy to learn. I never would because I do not like cooking for just myself. Life gets only as good as you can share it, I believe.

So I cook some stuff now and then. Recently I have specialised in the art of cooking Dal Khichdi. The Mallus like it, so I am happy.

We have unwritten rules for the kitchen. For each food item, one of us is the Head Chef and the rest have to listen to him and help regardless of all conflicts. Almost always yields good results (and we know who to blame if something goes wrong).

Today we got some Sardine and a Surmai Fish from the Hadapsar Mandi. We cooked Dal Khichdi with Sardine fried in Coconut Oil for lunch. It was strange because I had always heard Mallus had food cooked in Coconut Oil and I had only used Coconut Oil on my hair, body and door hinges. Putting tablespoons of Parachute Coconut Oil in the frying pan, watching it melt and thinking that I would soon have food cooked in it was, you know..


Lunch tasted good.

A nap and a shower later I took my Mallu roomies to Pune University road, which is quite far from Magarpatta City, to a Bengali Restaurant called Radhika for a taste of some good Bengali Cuisine. We ordered a platter with Mutton Curry and Fried Rohu fish. I also ordered Shorshe Ilish when Praveen declared he does not like the mustard taste. Even Minto found the taste a 'bit intense'. So I ordered another Hilsa without the mustard gravy which the Mallus enjoyed (probably). We finished up with Mishti Doi and Jolbhora Sandesh.

Surmai is waiting the Freezer to be cooked tomorrow for lunch.