Lots of things have happened in the last week. Major among them are my trip to Wayanad, IBM’s offer letter not reaching me, me learning how to cook (status: still rudimentary, but fast reaching expert levels) and me envying all the people in the world who don’t have an infected boil on their backs (IT SUCKS).

Last week, I was learning to cook. Because of my erratic waking and sleeping hours, I inevitably ended up missing breakfast everyday till Amma finally got sick and stopped making breakfast for me altogether. And so we came up with this idea of making breakfast, at night!

Now, before I entered the kitchen, I delivered a strict warning to Amma in which I asked her to stay in the kitchen but to touch NOTHING during the course of my cooking. Nothing at all. I would do everything. I almost ended up regretting this warning.

First day was Dosa day. Now, the batter was already prepared (thankfully, because making the batter is a really messy work). So all I had to do was pour a ladle full of batter onto the pan and then with the base of the ladle make it into a round shape. It then that I discovered that my unbelievably pathetic skill as an artist/painter had over the years, through my school days and college years, not changed one bit. It was still pathetic. In the pursuit of layering the batter in a round shape, I ended up making maps of India and Africa. One piece even looked like it had an ocean inside it (characterised by a huge area within the layer conspicuous by its absence of batter).

The next day was also Dosa. The same shape creating festival continued, but at the end of it, Amma announced that it was much better than the Dosa the day before. What!! That means the Dosa I had made the day before was BAD???

The next day was Chappati day. Chappatis and some curry made of tomatoes. As usual, Amma could not touch anything once I entered the kitchen. The curry preparation went off peacefully but the chappatis were a different story altogether. No mater what I tried, they just refused to take the round shape we all know chappatis should have. I ended up experimenting in geometry and managed to create lots of shapes except the round shape. I distinctly remember a triangular chappati, a rectangular and a trapezium shaped chappati. But in the end, with lots and lots of ghee and Amma’s impeccable instruction, even this turned out good.

Last day of my cooking before I left for the wedding was Appam-stew day.

Nothing much to report except that the combo tasted DELICIOUS.

Of course it should. I made it!!