Every experience is a paradox in that it means to be absolute, and yet is relative; in that, it somehow always goes beyond itself and yet never escapes itself. ~~
Everything in our life is so relative – Live in a cold country & one learns to appreciate the ‘sun.’
This made me think back to an experience very early on, back when we first moved to Finland. One of our acquaintances asked me, “Why would you ever think of moving here from a warm country?” At that time coming from Baroda (Vadodara) where the temperature reaches +42℃ in summers, I immediately defended that “it’s not warm, it’s hot!” Now, a couple of years down the line, I appreciate a nice warm summer day. But then again, the experience of temperature is relative: 20 ℃ in Vaasa feels hot, like the 40s in Baroda. And while 32 ℃ in Kuala Lump
Every experience is a paradox in that it means to be absolute, and yet is relative; in that, it somehow always goes beyond itself and yet never escapes itself. ~~
Everything in our life is so relative – Live in a cold country & one learns to appreciate the ‘sun.’
This made me think back to an experience very early on, back when we first moved to Finland. One of our acquaintances asked me, “Why would you ever think of moving here from a warm country?” At that time coming from Baroda (Vadodara) where the temperature reaches +42℃ in summers, I immediately defended that “it’s not warm, it’s hot!” Now, a couple of years down the line, I appreciate a nice warm summer day. But then again, the experience of temperature is relative: 20 ℃ in Vaasa feels hot, like the 40s in Baroda. And while 32 ℃ in Kuala Lumpur is hot and humid, 32 ℃ in Baroda would be comfortable.
With these thoughts of relative temperatures and conversations, my mind goes back to the basics – back to the food, and here are some thoughts that I had penned:
The Pasha in Finland tastes like Shrikhand,
Or the Japanese Tempura reminding me of our Bhaji,
Or the Malaysian Chinese sweet bean or savory Bun our Modak –
Is it the taste that lingers?
Which we tend to compare
Or is it the food that takes us back home; I wonder!!
But have learnt to enjoy all the cuisines to my heart’s content
Thanks to our varied exposure
Ready I am to experiment
A new dish, a new flavor that can be added to my palate!
Coming back to summer; the ongoing season where everything is bursting with colors, green and more shades of it against the blue backdrop of skies. And what’s a better way to enjoy it than to barbeque or have a nice grilling time with family and friends? Being outside soaking in the sun and fun filled conversations.
Paneer skewers – or paneer tikka is what we enjoy along with tofu-based or lentil-based sausages. Paneer (cottage cheese) is marinated in yogurt and different spices and oil. Usually, I use the local yogurt as I realized the sourer the yogurt is, the better the flavor. The yogurt should not be runny, so I put the yogurt over a sieve /strainer while I go about peeling the garlic, chopping the ginger, and combining them well. Then I add the strained yogurt which is thicker now (with the water strained out) to a bowl, add in ground ginger garlic, turmeric powder, chili powder, garam masala ( that is a readymade ground spice mix made with different condiments like cloves, pepper, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, bay leaf, etc.,) salt, mustard oil, chopped coriander, and some dried fenugreek leaves and a generous squeeze of lime. Mix it well and then add cubed paneer pieces to it. Covered, and into the refrigerator for a couple of hours to marinate. Just an hour or two before I grill, I chop the paprika and onions and marinate them in oil, and lime juice, along with some salt and black pepper. Then before grilling, arrange the paneer pieces, paprika, and onions alternately on the skewer and grill them. With the weather being unpredictable and rain playing a spoilsport, I used the oven at 225 ℃ and grilled them for about 9-10 minutes and broiled them to get the charred effect. The marinated and grilled paneer cubes also work great in a home-baked bread sandwich.
Corn on the cob is the next grill favorite and reminds me of the times in Baroda when it rained. We used to get this corn from the vendors who would grill them over coal. We would relish the corn with lime and chili salt sprinkled over it. Later, I enjoyed simply boiling them. Or sometimes I would make corn bhel, an Indian street food snack. To the boiled corn kernels, I would add finely chopped red onion, tomatoes, salt, and lime juice. Mix it well, and then add a tempering of lots of chopped garlic and red chili powder. All is then mixed, garnished with chopped coriander, and sprinkled over with some chickpea flour sev.
Making bean-based patty is what I tried next and enjoyed it with home-baked burger bread. Soaked and cooked the blacked-eyed beans, and once cooled, mashed them. Then I added some garlic ginger mixture, some coriander powder, salt, and chili powder to the mix. Added breadcrumbs to be able to make it all come together, and then pan-grilled to perfection.
There starts our summer fun and with it going back ‘home’, the relativity, home is where your heart is or “Home is not a place…it’s a feeling.” Or as I had mentioned earlier it’s where our favourite food is!
Every experience is a paradox in that it means to be absolute, and yet is relative; in that, it somehow always goes beyond itself and yet never escapes itself. ~~T. S. Eliot
Everything in our life is so relative – Live in a cold country & one learns to appreciate the ‘sun.’
This made me think back to an experience very early on, back when we first moved to Finland. One of our acquaintances asked me, “Why would you ever think of moving here from a warm country?” At that time coming from Baroda (Vadodara) where the temperature reaches +42℃ in summers, I immediately defended that “it’s not warm, it’s hot!” Now, a couple of years down the line, I appreciate a nice warm summer day. But then again, the experience of temperature is relative: 20 ℃ in Vaasa feels hot, like the 40s in Baroda. And while 32 ℃ in Kuala Lumpur is hot and humid, 32 ℃ in Baroda would be comfortable.
With these thoughts of relative temperatures and conversations, my mind goes back to the basics – back to the food, and here are some thoughts that I had penned:
The Pasha in Finland tastes like Shrikhand,
Or the Japanese Tempura reminding me of our Bhaji,
Or the Malaysian Chinese sweet bean or savory Bun our Modak –
Is it the taste that lingers?
Which we tend to compare
Or is it the food that takes us back home; I wonder!!
But have learnt to enjoy all the cuisines to my heart’s content
Thanks to our varied exposure
Ready I am to experiment
A new dish, a new flavor that can be added to my palate!
Coming back to summer; the ongoing season where everything is bursting with colors, green and more shades of it against the blue backdrop of skies. And what’s a better way to enjoy it than to barbeque or have a nice grilling time with family and friends? Being outside soaking in the sun and fun filled conversations.
Paneer skewers – or paneer tikka is what we enjoy along with tofu-based or lentil-based sausages. Paneer (cottage cheese) is marinated in yogurt and different spices and oil. Usually, I use the local yogurt as I realized the sourer the yogurt is, the better the flavor. The yogurt should not be runny, so I put the yogurt over a sieve /strainer while I go about peeling the garlic, chopping the ginger, and combining them well. Then I add the strained yogurt which is thicker now (with the water strained out) to a bowl, add in ground ginger garlic, turmeric powder, chili powder, garam masala ( that is a readymade ground spice mix made with different condiments like cloves, pepper, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, bay leaf, etc.,) salt, mustard oil, chopped coriander, and some dried fenugreek leaves and a generous squeeze of lime. Mix it well and then add cubed paneer pieces to it. Covered, and into the refrigerator for a couple of hours to marinate. Just an hour or two before I grill, I chop the paprika and onions and marinate them in oil, and lime juice, along with some salt and black pepper. Then before grilling, arrange the paneer pieces, paprika, and onions alternately on the skewer and grill them. With the weather being unpredictable and rain playing a spoilsport, I used the oven at 225 ℃ and grilled them for about 9-10 minutes and broiled them to get the charred effect. The marinated and grilled paneer cubes also work great in a home-baked bread sandwich.
Corn on the cob is the next grill favorite and reminds me of the times in Baroda when it rained. We used to get this corn from the vendors who would grill them over coal. We would relish the corn with lime and chili salt sprinkled over it. Later, I enjoyed simply boiling them. Or sometimes I would make corn bhel, an Indian street food snack. To the boiled corn kernels, I would add finely chopped red onion, tomatoes, salt, and lime juice. Mix it well, and then add a tempering of lots of chopped garlic and red chili powder. All is then mixed, garnished with chopped coriander, and sprinkled over with some chickpea flour sev.
Making bean-based patty is what I tried next and enjoyed it with home-baked burger bread. Soaked and cooked the blacked-eyed beans, and once cooled, mashed them. Then I added some garlic ginger mixture, some coriander powder, salt, and chili powder to the mix. Added breadcrumbs to be able to make it all come together, and then pan-grilled to perfection.
There starts our summer fun and with it going back ‘home’, the relativity, home is where your heart is or “Home is not a place…it’s a feeling.” Or as I had mentioned earlier it’s where our favourite food is! ur is hot and humid, 32 ℃ in Baroda would be comfortable.
With these thoughts of relative temperatures and conversations, my mind goes back to the basics – back to the food, and here are some thoughts that I had penned:
The Pasha in Finland tastes like Shrikhand,
Or the Japanese Tempura reminding me of our Bhaji,
Or the Malaysian Chinese sweet bean or savory Bun our Modak –
Is it the taste that lingers?
Which we tend to compare
Or is it the food that takes us back home; I wonder!!
But have learnt to enjoy all the cuisines to my heart’s content
Thanks to our varied exposure
Ready I am to experiment
A new dish, a new flavor that can be added to my palate!
Coming back to summer; the ongoing season where everything is bursting with colors, green and more shades of it against the blue backdrop of skies. And what’s a better way to enjoy it than to barbeque or have a nice grilling time with family and friends? Being outside soaking in the sun and fun filled conversations.
Paneer skewers – or paneer tikka is what we enjoy along with tofu-based or lentil-based sausages. Paneer (cottage cheese) is marinated in yogurt and different spices and oil. Usually, I use the local yogurt as I realized the sourer the yogurt is, the better the flavor. The yogurt should not be runny, so I put the yogurt over a sieve /strainer while I go about peeling the garlic, chopping the ginger, and combining them well. Then I add the strained yogurt which is thicker now (with the water strained out) to a bowl, add in ground ginger garlic, turmeric powder, chili powder, garam masala ( that is a readymade ground spice mix made with different condiments like cloves, pepper, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, bay leaf, etc.,) salt, mustard oil, chopped coriander, and some dried fenugreek leaves and a generous squeeze of lime. Mix it well and then add cubed paneer pieces to it. Covered, and into the refrigerator for a couple of hours to marinate. Just an hour or two before I grill, I chop the paprika and onions and marinate them in oil, and lime juice, along with some salt and black pepper. Then before grilling, arrange the paneer pieces, paprika, and onions alternately on the skewer and grill them. With the weather being unpredictable and rain playing a spoilsport, I used the oven at 225 ℃ and grilled them for about 9-10 minutes and broiled them to get the charred effect. The marinated and grilled paneer cubes also work great in a home-baked bread sandwich.
Corn on the cob is the next grill favorite and reminds me of the times in Baroda when it rained. We used to get this corn from the vendors who would grill them over coal. We would relish the corn with lime and chili salt sprinkled over it. Later, I enjoyed simply boiling them. Or sometimes I would make corn bhel, an Indian street food snack. To the boiled corn kernels, I would add finely chopped red onion, tomatoes, salt, and lime juice. Mix it well, and then add a tempering of lots of chopped garlic and red chili powder. All is then mixed, garnished with chopped coriander, and sprinkled over with some chickpea flour sev.
Making bean-based patty is what I tried next and enjoyed it with home-baked burger bread. Soaked and cooked the blacked-eyed beans, and once cooled, mashed them. Then I added some garlic ginger mixture, some coriander powder, salt, and chili powder to the mix. Added breadcrumbs to be able to make it all come together, and then pan-grilled to perfection.
There starts our summer fun and with it going back ‘home’, the relativity, home is where your heart is or “Home is not a place…it’s a feeling.” Or as I had mentioned earlier it’s where our favourite food is!
