Called up Amita, one of my closest friends and spoke with her for a LONG time! My phone ran out of charge and I stared rather dumbly at it before it struck me why the call was disconnected. Plugged it for charging and went right back to talking…Nearly 2 hours!
Cribbed galore about having to stay away from Bombay and home, exchanged grief on having to worry constantly about our parents, the extent of home-sickness, the isolation one feels in the USA, how both of us came here as married women and not totally of our choice… how we missed our independence, the near-callousness in leaving our parents… OH! Blessed our respective husbands(I blessed her hubby too!) for being the total darlings they were and giving us patient hearings and warm shoulders whenever needed…
I felt so so good after talking to her… Like ‘God is in his Heaven and all is well with the world’ types.. So much so that I ended up adding extra salt not only to the pulao but ALSO to the raita(Made for neutralising the extra salt in the pulao, by the way!)
But the pulao looked brillant, tasted extra-salty, not too bad, though… Imagine golden-brown basmati rice, yellow sweet corn, green peas, ghee-roasted cashews and raisins, finely chopped coriander as garnishing.. Plus raita with tiny pieces of cucumber with a smattering of chlli powder scattered on the top and coriander.
Should have taken a pic, looked that good….:-)
Mazaa aa gaya..!!!
Btw, those were Pinchoo’s lines before he left for work after lunch, “Happy girl.. salty girl!”
rileen says:
Bachao !!
Help !! Everyone’s out to torture me, with descriptions of Indian food, English books etc etc …….
Pleasures once taken for granted, now all too rare.
Sigh.
Just being melodramatic
March 10, 2004 — 11:28 am
deelight says:
Wow…that makes my mouth water! You’re getting to be quite a cook eh! I can imagine the loneliness and isolation. Is it easy making friends there? I guess once you get working / occupied, it would be different.
March 10, 2004 — 11:10 pm
Lakshmi says:
Is not impossible.. The first friends you make will be your better half’s friends, I guess… There doesn’t seem to be a concept of friendly neighbours; I hardly know my neighbours…
You’re coming here soon, aren’t you?
March 11, 2004 — 4:45 am
deelight says:
Nah babe! Im not coming there as of yet but perhaps will visit s’time!
March 11, 2004 — 11:49 pm
trycatchdenz says:
Tip of the Day – Effect of that excess salt in the “Pulao” can be nullified by adding some boiled potatoes.
Cheerz,
Denz
March 11, 2004 — 4:06 am
Lakshmi says:
Wowie!
ThanX for the tip, Denz…Didn’t know that you were THAT experienced..:-)
March 11, 2004 — 4:46 am