தக்காளி குஜ்ஜு

Hope you have some idea from the post's title but its going to be different. I just got this spark, bulb glowing above my head, when I was helping and also cooking with my friend today. Don't worry, am not going to put in a recipe here.

I have been into cooking, for about a month now, but it has been almost 3 months since am out of my home actually out of my country to be precise. With my first dish being a bit spicy and stuff, I somehow managed to kick start my "Typical Bachelor's Life".

Praveen, chopping onions and Hari, cooking
And me, capturing the moment.

Today I was cooking Tomato Thokku, what we call it as தக்காளி குஜ்ஜு in my home. My friend குட்டி, Praveen as everyone knows him better in that name, and me were doing the tasting "மச்சி, கொஞ்சம் புலிப்பா இல்ல!?" (Isn't it a bit too tart!?). I wondered how my aunt, அத்தை, used to make such a juicy, spicy and everything rightly measured tomato thokku. I remember when I first tasted it when me and sister, Sowmiya, the youngest of my two elder sisters, went on a tour with her a very very long time ago, probably I must have been 11 or 12yrs old. From then on whenever we went on a family trip it was one of the prominent dishes in our menu. Chappathi and her tomato thokku, wow, I can still taste it on my tongue.

Whether it is chicken or vegetables, both more or less costs the same here in UK. Not only the cost but we tend to eat more chicken around here. We never used to make it in my home back in India because my mom doesn't prefer chicken always and also I don't ask her to make it. So, if it is chicken then it is my other aunt, my mom's elder sister (பெரியம்மா). She used to make really spicy SPICY damn spicy hot chicken. In my aunt's place, she not only cooks chicken but also mutton blood fry, intestine of mutton and also mutton gravy. I know it sounds like a pretty cannibalistic mess but down in South India these are some of the signature dishes. I never used to eat mutton but the chicken I would clean my plate (My aunt and mom would deny that).

There was this day in the beginning of my career, meaning the days when I started cooking, I made tamarind rice(புளி சாப்பாடு). Of course using a ready made mix. Since my roomies were busy and occupied with something I had to cook that day. I heated up the mix, fried it and mixed it with the rice. There was tamarind mix, rice and right amounts of everything else but, yeah there was a BUT, it was not much kind of edible. LOL. Almost most of it went into the trash bin the next day. I know my roomies wouldn't forget that dish. But the tamarind rice one of my grandma's used to make was simply superb. Each rice would stand alone, with ground nuts and rights amounts of oil and spices. Perfect to the last grain. But she is no more, hope my sisters and others in my family( if they are reading this) would know which grandma am mentioning because there are two of them and am going to tell about the other grandma now.

I can't remember what she is good at because she is almost good at everything. Whether it is chicken or carrot, everything is to a "T". Me and my friends were discussing here about what to cook for Diwali and when we were thinking about Gulab Jamun, it just reminded of her. She used to fill up big vessels with gulab jamuns for Diwali. We used to eat rice with powdered Dhal (பருப்பு பொடி) and Ghee, she used to prepare that in home. I can keep on speaking about her but she is no more too. :'(

When speaking about cooking and food, I definitely have to tell about someone who is not from my family but in my family. That sounds like a puzzle, right. She is kind of my mom too.

Sunday 12pm

"டே, இப்போ தான் டா என்திரிகிரேன். உங்க வீட்டுக்கு தான் lunch சாப்பிட வரேன்."

("Just now got up dude. Am coming to your home for Lunch.")

Second from left is my Mom sorry friend Ganesh's Mom. I am the one in the Blue Uniform.

That's all I would say on a sunday or any other holiday when my mom is not in the home and I would be there for lunch. She is my friend Ganesh's mom. Whether it is vegetarian or non-vegetarian, she is the best. I really miss her and her food.

P.S: I know, P.S, comes at the last but I have to say it here. Ahshik and the rest of you in the pic, forgive me for uploading this pic. I know everyone look really pathetic in this pic but I had to upload it. This captured the same day as the one in my previous post, in 2006.

There is this another aunt of mine. I know, I can hear you, how many aunt's do I have. Just bear with me, this is my last aunt. I am just thinking what made me write about her because I grew up, literally, by her cooking. Whether it be the sambhar or the sambhar or "THE SAMBHAR!!!". She just cooks it really beautifully. She is kind of my second mom and my dad's sister. She is this perfect cook. Almost tries everything and anything in cooking for once.

In my previous post, Diwalgic, I had to write about my elder sister and post her picture since she wanted me to do so. LOL. But this time I have to tell about her. She might be wondering why I am going to speak about her on a post about cooking because she is also pretty new to this field like me. I was in her home in Bengaluru(Bangalore) for a couple of days before I came here to UK. I was not shocked but surprised and happy on seeing how she does the household work and cooking. The first day she asked me to boil the rice before I have lunch and she left for the job. All I had to do was just place the cooker on the stove. You know, whenever I used to place the rice in the electric rice cooker here I remember the instance in my sister's home because the first few weeks that was the only job I used to do here. And you know what, her sambhar just tasted like the one my aunt prepares, remember the one who used to make good non-vegetarian dishes, its her,(பெரியம்மா, her mom).

My aunt (பெரியம்மா), My Elder sis, thats her mom on the left and my Mom

As usual, the best is for the last. I made rasam yesterday. I started with chopping onions(do they use onions for rasam, not sure), added tomato while frying and added tamarind puree while boiling and the spices too. Tasted it, oh, its too tart, add water, too tart, add water and again water. Finaly rasam was done, thankfully it was edible and tasted good. Even my friend குட்டி(Praveen) had it today. When it comes to rasam, it is definitely my mom. She makes this delicious dhal rasam(பருப்பு ரசம்). My mom is not a very good cook, she herself says so most of the times and I know it too but whatever she makes is good. Whether it be her rasam or carrot or kesari. As everyone says "Mom's cooking is always the best".