Mum 101

Have been hearing the “You only appreciate it when you pay for it” lecture from my mum, ever since I joined up for the cooking class – she’s happy I’m (finally) showing an interest in the kitchen, but part of her is annoyed I have to go out to get educated. Among other things, mum’s a gourmet chef in her own right - she cooks several different cuisines, and is very particular to always cook “authentic”, often going to the extent of importing various spices and herbs not available in Mumbai.

I try to explain to my mother that she’s always busy at work & that she doesn’t really have time to teach me – or at the (very few) times I’ve tried to learn before, she’s always gone too fast for me (like most artistic people, she has an AWFUL temper) and loses her head that I don’t know “basics” at my age.

Today however was a good day. She decided to be nice to me for a change and showed me how to make a very simple – yet amazingly succulent Goan Prawn Curry (like Sharda, she too showed me several variations on the dish).

She went pretty slow for me and even gave me an opportunity to write everything down & do pretty much everything myself. Since she was by my side, the whole thing turned out perfect.

Totally enjoyed my lesson (& the meal afterwards) and definitely intend to catch mum more often… though I’m not sure when (it’s only because of the floods that she’s home these days).