When I lift Agastya up to inspect my cooking, he looks at me expectantly. I say “that’s matar paneer.” He solemnly repeats the phrase “matar paneer” as if at a naming ceremony, and proceeds to ask for the dish by name several times, “Mommy, I want matar paneer,” as he grows hungrier in readiness for…
Month: January 2010
Matar Paneer
This morning I wake up bright up and early. I am going to make my mother-in-law’s matar paneer for the first time. Her delicious recipe comes from various North Indian neighbors, such as “Singh Bhabhiji” from her old residential colony in Bombay. So I call mummy who is back in Vizag to talk about the…
Kattu, toor dal with garlic
In the winter, Agastya starts sniffling. One sniffle turns into the next and we start on a progression of back-to-back colds. Sometimes they start with a fever, sometimes with runny sneezes and sometimes with a bad cough. They last a week, sometimes two, and a new cold often starts before the old one finishes. I…
Calcutta Chow 