Man is a creature of habit.
And I am a slave to habit.
We were off vacationing in California for about 9 days, eating all kinds of food – Indian, Mexican, Italian, and American. Yes, we did eat at Indian restaurants but we used to order Chicken Tikka Masala and Palak Paneer etc, which is all fancy delicacies.But the linings of the mouth and tummy were yearning for plain yellow arhar-daal and steaming hot rice.
And this craving grew each day and while on the return flight, I was happy to reach home, so I can eat my daal-chawal. And soon as I entered home, I rushed to the kitchen to put arhar daal in the pressure cooker with a pinch of haldi and whole red chillies and put the rice in the microwave. In the background, I could hear P’s lame cries to help him get the luggage inside, but that’s normal and I quickly peeled and chopped a couple of garlic cloves for the baghaar.Yes,that’s the way mom cooks it, baghaar with ghee and garlic. And the consistency is important too. It should not be so watery that you can’t make out the grains of daal and should be fluid enough to blend with the rice. NO! this is not a recipe blog…so STOP!!
Now, a little about our eating habits. There is a very thin line between loving food and adoring it. So, I can be classified as a food-lover but P is the one who adores food and treats it with profound reverence. When we sit down to eat, I am so lustily hungry that I hastily devour food and am done in less that 5 mins. But P first adjusts the salt n pepper, then reaches out for accompaniments like dahi and achaar and then he eats slowly, enjoying and savoring each morsel. Often times, at weekends, just to add a touch of romance, he lights a candle and puts in a DVD before eating, so we can enjoy a dinner-and-movie at home. But the hungry and impatient me –by the time, he searches the disk and puts in the player; I am about 3/4ths done!So much for a romantic dinner!!
Also, I believe that rice is supposed to be eaten so hot that it burns your fingers. I remember when we sat down to eat with my sis and bro-in-law in the early days, the BIL stared at us sisters for a minute, and said:
Tum behnein to jalte hue chawal khati ho!
But that day when I sat down to eat daal-chaawal after 10 days; I felt a reverence for it. So, I ate one plateful with greed and hastiness and then I stopped. I paused to soak in the aroma and goodness of the rice and to let my innards warm by the hot meal. And then I resumed eating, paying attention to each bite and thanking God for the comfort food.
The one who ends last thinks a lot – old saying.
And the one who finish first ?
ha ha haa…
oh hooo hooo…
:)) ROFL
Ohh we guys are just like you…rush home after a vacation and eat daal chawal and my husband has a wise reason for it too…he says this helps to eliminate all the junk we ate during vacation..
yup daal chwal ki kasam…
whoa…right you are 😀
though its dal chawal rasam for me . but the reverence is the same
very true,nothing is better than homecooked food.and this realisation comes only after you return from a vacation,trying all kinds of food.
Good old days with dal rasam and rice were the best.. these days i spend most of my time eating out of packed fatty things cursing. Home sweet home 🙁
Very true ! There is no place like home and no meal like the home cooked one.
And we realize the value only after missing them for a few days.
There's nothing like good ole daal chawal..that too with a dollop of ghee and a good mirchi ka aachar to go with it.
well..let me give you the credit for giving me "what to cook for dinner tonite?"
Interesting post! As of now have got bugged by good old daal chawal! 😉 But will try to remember the lesson from your post. 🙂
Take care.
your post made me crave for Daal chawal at 8 AM in the morning – And I love the comment about "tum behene" by your BIL.
aah! the simple dal chawal with some papad…u can be anywhere in the world and feel right at home eating daal chawal. My hubby can be anyhwere in the world but always craves for his daal chawal and since he is a south indian…he would swap daal for rasam… and me the north indian has to have her dal 🙂
Hehe…I soo understand this…mayb not abt dal but abt fish & the way we make it.
And I too gobble up my food in no time….but then I guess most women are like tht, they cannot to afford to waste time…theres so much to do:-)
P.s: " In the background, I could hear P’s lame cries to help him get the luggage inside, but that’s normal"
LOL;-D