Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Why this blog?

"Not being obligated to feed anyone but yourself can make it very easy to just settle for whatever you can find or have delivered. Calling for take-out or substituting snack food for a meal can be tempting."

In my six and a half years of living away from anything resembling a family unit and a kitchen, I've done enough for my digestive system to walk out on me. For a few months, my breakfast was a glass of Coke and two cigarettes. Even instant noodles was a treat.

Yes, I'll admit, I was too lazy to cook. And my first few jobs did not pay me enough, so I could not eat out all the time. After all, I had to pay rent, I had to pay the bills. Add to this my lactose intolerance and aversion to fruits, and you get the picture. I just did not eat healthy. In my Delhi flat, my 4'x4' kitchen was a small cubicle that I would walk into only for a glass of water.

In my last few months in Delhi, I had worked out an arrangement with my landlords, who were Amritdhaari sardars. In exchange for dinner for a month, I had to pay them Rs 1500/-. Good healthy food, and cheap. This also meant I would not get any fish/meat/egg, because they were vegetarian, but it was ok, I could always stuff up on meat outside. The food was healthy, there were enough green vegetables, and I was happy.

It is only in Chennai, and only in the last few months, that I have become an avid cook. Well OK, I still don't serve five-course meals, but I can make good, healthy food that me and my friends adore.

This blog is therefore, not a recipe blog. However, I do intend on making this an account of a single Bengali woman's quest to cook food that tastes like what Maa made, in cities that are far from her home.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Oh! This is all so tantalizing! Verily does that old Bangla saying go, "Lobhe paap; Paape mrityu!'
(In gluttony lies sin; and in sin lied death!)