The Sunday Blog ft. Chicken tarakari

I realized my break from this blog had become quite long; longer some people’s relationships. There are times I feel we use this metric of comparison so often that it could be added to the standard text. Its also flexible, you could fit it to any unit –

“Hey Ram, how is the sushi?” “Better than our relationship”

“Leela, why didn’t you come last Tuesday?” “I was stuck in a meeting longer than my last relationship”

So and so.

Yesterday my mum and I over call broke down her famous chicken tarakari recipe which i made for lunch and which I converted into chicken biryani for today’s lunch. In a generation which believes in takeout boxes and home deliveries finding the time and urge to eat something hand made and home cooked has become the perfect indulgence. I have recently discovered the tantalizing taste of elaichi, the pungency of labanga, the aroma of tejja-patra, the perfect blend of spices and oil that make home food, well, home food. In our lives busier than the busy and unmindful of what we pump into our bodies how long can we survive as a plastic box generation? Not to mention the monthly expenses. You know how engineers complain about month end? I guess our hospital thought to change the trend and credit salary in the mid of the month, so that when the entire world asks you to pay the rent, the bills, the maid – you’ll be broke at the month beginning itself and questioning the entire cycle of life. How does a 28 year old manage to spend an entire paycheck on herself anyway? Do we have liabilities? No. Do we have responsibilities? No. Are we single? Yes. Then how? That’s a magic black hole all of us are riding with no end to it.

In other news being 28 has also certain other liabilities to it. Living 1400+kms away from home might have bereft me from pesky relatives who can make my life a living hell asking when I will get married but it most definitely hasn’t given me the free card with my own age group. If you open Instagram these days you’ll either see a couple getting married or a pre wedding shoot or the senior generation having babies. Instagram has become the new Facebook where the incessant mush of these people makes us wonder, our generation which spent its entire childhood judging a set of uncles and aunties had harbored such exquisite specimen of its own?!

No, Leela we aren’t interested that you are missing Ram for the 300th time in the 13th hour of the day. No Ram we are not counting the days to your wedding. I mean, CALM DOWN.

Weren’t we the sensible lot?

Weren’t we the ones who vowed to change the world?

Then how did we become the dal – chaawal generation who judges people who wants to have a bit of keema-pav and mutton biryani till my consultant stops fucking my mental peace every day and pushing me into emotional breakdowns every fortnight with yet another toxic barb directed at my soul. Surgical residency is hard as it is without waking up everyday to yet another post about people in conjugal bliss when your parents advertise some Cherub who wants you to give up your food practices out of duty or shade your skin color on a shade card. My father called me the other day and asked me how I was – I was so stressed I ended up giving a calendar of events aka my exam schedule for the entire year. What is it about medicine that makes you forget who you are, how you are eventually? I used to be a sweet little girl who wanted to change the world once, now I feel the greatest change I can bring about is in my sleeping schedule and in binge-watching ‘Sex and the city’ in between work and cramming for prelims.

Anyway, like they say the night is darkest before dawn. Here’s hoping we’re at the end of the tunnel.

Adios,

P.

A hopeless adult’s guide to ‘Chicken tarakari’

• 1 inch ginger
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 500 gms chicken
• 4 cloves
• 1 tejj-patta
• 4 cardamom
• 1″ cinnamon
• 100 ml mustard oil
• 1/2 tomato
• 2 medium sized onion
• Haldi
• Chilli powder
• Chicken biryani masala
• Salt, as per taste
• Pepper
• Rock salt
• 7-8 cashews ground to paste

1. Wash chicken pieces thoroughly and keep them aside with a pinch of haldi and a squeeze of half a lemon.
2. In a medium bottomed pan heat some mustard oil and put ginger-garlic paste. Once it starts sputtering add chopped onion and fry until translucent. (Alt tip: Can make ginger-garlic-onion paste and use it as well)
3. Then add chopped tomato (Alt: 2 tbsps curd) and fry till a mush.
4. Add the rest of the spices and breathe up the good aroma (Pro tip: I preferred grinding the spices in my mortar and pestle first. Opens up the aroma a lot more)
5. Then add the washed chicken pieces to it and add water as required. Boil it on medium flame for 15-20 minutes taking care to stir it in between.
6. Voila! Garnish and gobble the same.