I am back from my vacation and it seems I need a another one to recover from the strain of this one. Travelling to meet relatives, performing social obligations etc are just what India is all about. Ofcourse it is exciting and there are so many stories to share and for Mimi to discover who her relatives are. She was such a hit with her grandparents (both sets), her uncles and aunts. She picked up new lingo on the way and has been chattering non stop.
After such a long hiatus from this blog, it seems like I need to start afresh. It is almost like I am lost and to find my footing again with my writing, baking and cooking is going to take some time. Being back at work has been even harder. It was almost like being thrown into a cyclone. They say the eye of the cyclone is where there’s no chaos and on the contrary, its the calm and serene. Everyday it is a struggle to find that eye or find my center in the middle of giant cyclones and carry on with my day.
The simple ingredients: Rice flour, fresh coconut, scrapped jaggery and cardamom
Perhaps I am not even making any sense and all my thoughts are scattered at the moment. But I am sure in the days to come, things would settle down as it can’t be this chaotic forever.
Well these depressing thoughts aside, I had the chance to learn how to make these delicious rice cakes sweetened with jaggery that we call Nai appam. Mostly we make them for special occasion and as offerings to our Hindu Gods and Goddesses. As a child, I remember devouring these even before they were offered to the special deity. There is also a savoury version of the same recipe which I hope to try and bring to this blog soon.
The apparatus: Nai appam chatti
Melting the jaggery
The batter
Heating the oil/ghee in the Nai appam chatti
Flippity-flip
crowns of golden brown
My mother and I made these in the kitchen of her new home while the clouds gathered outside and threatened to pour any moment. It was the perfect moment that signified harmony and the very purpose of our (my mother’s and mine) existence – being creative. It was her thorough conditioning and my dad’s too, that I sought to be creative in anything and everything I tried to do in life. Probably, it is was a survival skill that they taught me which I hope to pass on to my daughter. Being creative and finding beauty in the most mundane of tasks has helped me get through life’s slowest and dreariest periods.
I also take this opportunity to thank everybody who voted for MIMI on FACEBOOK because she WON THE CONTEST. She is the cutest Kid in Bahrain and as a prize she would have a photoshoot done by Summer Weeks here in Bahrain on the 22nd of December. Only thing is Mimi hasn’t clue about all of the above because the only thing she was concerned during the holidays was to have a lot of fun… There is so much she teaches me everyday in her own little MIMI way.
Sliceofmylyfe - a Food blog based in Bahrain 