Your soul is satiated with the food you have grown up with. This March provided me with the opportunity of having my mother in the kitchen. Now me being me, I dusted that old notebook where I had captured quite a bit of recipes. I was updated with the latest dishes which my mother was making these days. It was a soulful experience to capture a step-by-step approach to making mom’s fish curry which we rate very high in the pecking order. I even went to the extent of taking pictures before and after pictures of mixes of ingredients that go into the curries. My younger daughter also joined the party as we both liked her preparation. It was after so many years that I was holding a raw fish in my hand and cleaning it. Initially, my mother asked me to watch a YouTube video and make the fish curry. But being kinesthetically oriented, I wanted to capture each step of the process. It was a sight to see all the cut vegetables organised in a certain way, that too particularly the sight of Ginger, Garlic and Small onion just before they were smashed with the rotor blades. The way the freshly washed cut fish coalesce into that pool of watery paste was a sight to watch. I also learned of so many nuances of cooking. After all tacit knowledge needs to be transferred from one generation to another. Who knew that if you are not so much a spice-loving guy it is better to have half a green chilly compared to a red chilly? The quantity of oil which is required to cover the entire surface area of the fish pot goes a long way in determining the taste. The big takeaway was how much water and how long full flame vs half flame. Finally, the difference is a miracle herb that adds umami ( the 5th taste or the wow factor) to the whole mix. That was the epochal moment…
Curry leaves popularly known as kadi patta are a magical herb, which can instantly accentuate the taste and aroma of any dish. For ages, this magical herb has been widely used in various Indian dishes for its enchanting aroma and the burst of flavours it adds to the dish. Growing up I recollect the scene when towards the end of cooking my mother would ask me to get some kadi patta from our vegetable garden. At that time I didn’t give enough respect to this important herb and used to waywardly go out and pick two or three leaves wash them and used to complete the job. Adding the right amount of salt has always left me perplexed. It is the call which takes you from a good cook to a great cook.
Let us turn our attention to two other important constituents Fenugreek and tamarind. It is a balancing act. If the fenugreek quantity exceeds then you had it. The end product will turn out to be bitter. There were days in the past when I used to consume regularly this F**Greek early in the morning as it helps flush out harmful toxins. Coming to Tamarind, transported me to childhood memories. When we moved around our school or went for play there were scores of these tamarind trees and invariably couple of my friends would eat the raw ones. I recollect those friends now. I had tried raw mangoes, not tamarind and I have always dismissed it as a difficult thing to do. Here I am holding it in my hand rinsing it with water, repeating the process and waiting for the right time and aroma to put this tastemaker into that pot. That was the final thing and it is now a question of setting the table and taking this pot placing it in the middle of the dining table and letting the aroma get to you. In fact, unlike my neighbour who fries fish these days I also know which fish he is frying, this aroma was limited in our dining room. After all, we are neighbour friendly. This culinary experience was a nice way to enthuse my daughter who has promised to help me next time. Only time will tell. By the way, I have not told the name of the fish, Mark Twain cautioned, ” Do not tell fish stories where the people know you. Particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.”
If you say “I just haven’t found my true calling yet,” then cooking and particularly learning to cook with tips from your mother is the best way to find a bit on a dull Sunday. You’ll master decision-making, overcome the fear of failure, explore your curiosities, and discover your passion so you can find purpose in your life. I was having an interesting experience. I was learning new things. This is what Adam Grant calls psychological RICHness without adding Asafoetida (heeng, kaayam) which was missed in this preparation.
I was observing how my mother explained those steps and how much she enjoyed sharing the tips down to the T. Now that is her secret of ageing gracefully. Italians would express it as “Que Bonito” aka how beautiful!
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