अन्न दात्री सुखी भवः

अन्न दाता सुखी भवः नाही  अन्न दात्री सुखी भवः 

At my home, this is something you will hear at every meal; coined especially for our dear Aai.

For everyone across the world, Mom's way is the way. Blogs abound with aayee's recipes, Mum's kitchen, Mums the word and so on. So what I write is nothing different. Because for me, 'Aai says so' is enough to alter recipes from the best of pro-chefs without a second guess.

With Aai, every time the table's set, you're pulled. Remember Tom & Jerry; the aroma that wafts from the kitchen, reaches out to Tom, catches him by the nose and pulls him floating to the kitchen. That's the exact feeling! I've only to close my eyes and I can always picture the entire spread laid out - steaming casseroles of 'patal bhajis' that still sizzle from the tadka, the fresh vegetables liberally sprinkled with coriander and the waran-bhaat  just out from the rice cooker. I've always wanted my kitchen and my table to be exactly like that - where everyone looks forward to the meal and feels blessed to be there; where oohs, aahs and then complete silence revere the taste.

A tough mission!

Anyone who has ever tried to get a recipe from a mother to make a dish exactly like her would know. Before anyone starts with the age-old "There is no recipe and measurements, Its 30 years of experience and love", let's just stop. I know that. I do. Period. 

But along with experience there is a certain thing called the main ingredient list. I do not mean measurements of 1 tsp, 10 gram and so on but just the list of ingredients and most importantly the steps in a particular order. How many a times have I fought against inclusion of jaggery in a dish or sprinkling of groundnut powder to realize many years later that Aai does the same. She just forgot to mention it. My husband loves these moments with ear to ear grins and gloats. Further, it is not just me. I know the exact same thing happens to my sisters and by extension would happen to everyone who has tried to get the just-so recipe from ma's and grandma's.

This blog is an attempt to get the most. Therefore, it goes without saying - measurements will be absurd with a fistful, just a dash, and about 2 fingers deep being standard metric system. The instructions will include black-hole concepts such as black steam (काळी वाफ ),  steam changing color, readiness indicators like 'रटरटणे', 'दणदणीत वाफ'and warning signs such as 'दांडारणे  '. God give me and you the courage to decipher and apply these!

Let the task begin with our eyes on the target - 'कडाडलेली भूक जागावणे आणी प्रेमानी शमावणे '. Hope you enjoy these as much as I do :)