Four-year old cooks and GEMS!

 

And a very special post today from a very special guest – my only younger daughter! Kanch was always curious about what went on in the kitchen – not from a culinary sense, but more from a purely gustatory curiosity – “WHAT’S FOR LUNCH TODAY? was a question that loomed large in her life! Her athletic career and her penchant for fitness make her adapt everything to healthier options!

 

Over to Kanch:

 

“I was about 4 years old, and took it into my head to ‘make up a recipe’ all by myself (anyone who has had any experience at all with 4 year olds can see where this is headed).

 

So, I determinedly march into the kitchen and grab bread, curd and Gems (no, it really did make sense to my semi-formed 4 year old brain), assemble them together and ta-da! I’m ready with my very own creation that I proffer to the unsuspecting members of my family.  Arch and Appa take one look at the plate I eagerly hold out and very quickly make their excuses (and who could blame them!). My mother, however, is cut from a different cloth. An altogether kinder cloth; the kind that doesn’t let her refuse her rather pesky 4 year old’s humble offerings. This is just another reason why I’m not hung on becoming a parent; having to taste the rather disastrous cooking experiments of a runt AND pretending to like it? Uhh, no thanks!

 

 (pic courtesy: internet)

 

Anyway, cut to several years and several such ‘experiments’ later, and I’ve actually turned out to be a pretty decent cook. (I stay away from Gems now).

 

 Here’s one of my more successful recipes:

 

 

 

I like using a mix of vegetables that are NOT potato (this is a good way to get a whole bunch of veggies into your diet)

 

So I use

 

Beetroot

 

Carrot

 

Beans

 

Paneer – grated – and don’t boil it!

 

Cauliflower

 

Use any/all of the above, depending on your personal preferences, and on what’s your fridge! Boil about 2 cups of these and mash them along with minced green chili (1), minced ginger (1/2 tsp), chopped fresh coriander and mint – (1 tbsp each), chili powder – (½ tsp), a squeeze of lemon and salt.

 

A little boiled mashed potato to act as a binding agent.

 

 

Fresh chopped or grated cucumber, radish and onion tossed in vinegar and salt and chat masala.

 

Again, use any/all of the above.

 

 

Chappatti

 

Topping: – Grated cheese – optional

 

Recipe:

 

Assemble!