Ahh, this morning I wake up to a very beautiful, fulfilling family picture.... merry cherry one. No intention of hitting at others, just a fun filled family picture. I loved.... does not matter whether I have any connection with them or not.... I have a weird habit of visiting pages of strangers and watching photos and posts and taking ideas.... with no wrong intentions though. I always give people the liberty to unfriend or block me. On the contrary, there are few in my 'so called' close vicinity who I do not wish to be with.... may be they have caused severe bruises to my soul at some point in life. My sincerest request to them is to spare me.... I have no problem if you keep the friendship among yourselves... I am happy with my gang and that is quite big.... both virtual and real. Am I hurting a few?..... may be but there is less harm in hurting people who plays with your emotions. Strangers.... I am honoured if you take interest in me.... I feel good but do it as an individual... I feel suffocated when tied wrongly. I have zero observation power.... in the process of learning it a bit, I get wild and feel like burning few of my most loved clothes. I am like my daddy... who had been less bothered about what is going around and was engrossed in his own world.
Coming to Mother's Day, 'some' of my real world and virtual world friends really made beautiful posts posing with their moms or with their original write ups or posting their specialised dishes. What pissed me off is when some went to the extreme of saying that their 'only' identity is their mom.... haha... are you questioning your birth? The answer came as whats app messages.... some of the naughty boys in my brigade shared such a post.... Happy Mother's Day to all those Fathers who made it happen. It was such a relief hihi.
I know I have a single by now parent.... my mother back at home... who is taken good care of by my brother and his wife... I call mom at higher frequency. Calling Bidisha as sis-in-law will be a kind of hurling abuse given what she is doing for 'her' family now.... I look up to all those women who handle mamma's boys with a smile, it is a tough job indeed. In my last year's post on Mother's Day, I made it clear why I will not celebrate such days but I have no qualms when others, I mean my virtual and real world 'friends' come up with it.
Coming to the beautiful post I see today..... I wished to name my chicken dish... Achari Tele Murgi.... but then I have some wonderful friends down west who love spicy curries we make and she / they have a strong bond with people who love chicken. So why not keep the name universal? These days I feel I should remain loyal to people who shows some kind of love to me even it is from strangers. May be in the process of staying loyal to few particular people whose only intention is to hurt you... one day you will find you turned grey untimely, your under-eye bags look prominent and you suffer from acute mistrust... of every other person you meet and you master the art of licking your own blood.
By the way..... my debutant film maker, painter, voracious reader and not so good cook but a food connoisseur elder son is in Kolkata for a project. I am visiting Kolkata next month again and very eager to meet him. His mother... my poetess friend Rupa Roy happened to be my mentor and is more friends with my husband as their wavelengths match.... If I tell him you know Rupa echoed you... his answer is ... intelligent people think alike. I always knew I am a dumbo parasite who was looking for a dependable lap to take refuge. Some chopsticks are really naughty but caring. Rupa's husband is a multi talented person and is like our elder brother.
Ideally I wished to share a sweet something today that is good for health too.... then let me think of a nice one.... So, to all meat / chicken lovers.... here is a chicken dish marinated with dry roasted spice mix and achari / pickle oil and cooked till tenderly soft. It is a dish full of flavours and done without much hassle. Shall we do it together?... we must..
INGREDIENTS :
Chicken : 1kg
Cumin Seed : 1tsp
Coriander Seed : 1tsp
Fenugreek Seed : 1/2tsp
Dry Red Chillies : 4-5
Bayleaf : 1
Cinnamon Stick : 2one inch
Onion [sliced] : 1big
Garlic Paste : 2tsp
Ginger Paste : 1tsp
Lemon Juice : 2tbsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Salt : As Required
Pickled Oil : 2tbsp + 3tbsp
METHOD :
Wash the chicken pieces well. Drain the water and marinate with lemon juice, turmeric powder and salt.
Dry roast the cumin seeds, coriander and fenugreek seeds, dry red chillies, bayleaf, cinnamon stick and get a little coarse powder.
Add the spice mix and 2tbsp of pickled oil to the marinated chicken and rub well. Keep aside for 1 hour.
Strain the remaining pickled oil and add to a heated wok. Add the sliced onion and fry till brown. Add the ginger and garlic paste and also the remaining spice pickle on the strainer. Saute till the oil separates from the spice mix.
Add the marinated chicken along with the marinade. Stir at high heat for 3-4 minutes. Lower heat to minimum and cover cook till all the water dries up stirring every 5 minutes. It may take about 30-35 minutes.
Enjoy with Rice or South Asian breads or any bread of your choice!
