3 Apr 2014

C - Capsicum



Now I shall proceed to explain why C stands for such a weird thing in my book.

So it seems to me that I spend my entire life questioning myself, I often wonder if I am shallow.

Okay, so capsicum never has been a vegetable that was an active ingredient in anything at home during my formative years. But my first year in Bangalore, I met a crazy roommate (do you remember the one who head bangs?) who was/is a very VERY good cook. So much so that she and I planned to start a catering business to make some money on the side. The definition of mouth-watering Punjabi khana has a small picture of her standing with her hands on her hips next to it.


She used to make these amazing parathas of all sorts. My favorite became the ajwainwala paratha. And to go with it, she used to make a lot of curries, typically Punjabi, but what really had me on my knees was the alu ki sabzi. Big fat chunks of alu mixed up with fresh green capsicum and stirfried lightly in ghee with that typically North Indian masala - crunchy and melt in the mouth at the same time. In those moments when she was serving me that sabzi, she could asked me for my life aur main de bhi deti.

And guess what, it wasn't the alu that was the attraction, it was the capsicum. Needless to say, I was hooked to the vegetable.

And these days where I have to jhaelofy my own expertise in the culinary department which extends only to the occasional hit-or-miss pulao or the pray-that-it's-not-burnt suji ka halwa on special occasions when it comes to Indian cuisine, I often find myself missing her, despite the fact that we hate each other's guts and the last time we saw each other, we had to be pulled off of each other lest one kills the other. I actually miss her. And the capsicum. More the capsicum actually. Most, rather.

Now you see why I wonder if I'm delusional or just plain shallow. Sigh.

16 comments:

  1. This is one mouth watering post.
    Why do you do this in the middle of the night ? #NotCool :P

    Yesterday it was cake and today all those delicious names. You need to stop making me hungry. :P

    Btw nice post.
    And no. You are neither delusional nor shallow.

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  2. Are I loveeee Capsicum.. My God I make the best Capsicum and Onion Stir fry. My Veg Jalfrezi with stir fried baby corn, capsicum, mushrooms, tomato is my weekly indulgence. Yes I am promoting my cooking here :P

    I am shallow I GUESS!

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    Replies
    1. Okay so I hear your parents are looking out for you, so will you marry me?

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  3. Who thought C could be for Capsicum! Thank God for that room-mate. Otherwise who would have fed you during those years and that too with such awesome food ;)

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  4. Capsicum gives me a migraine attack. One of the veggies the doctor has asked me to stay away from. Sigh.

    You are not delusional. Or shallow for that matter. You could have easily written about only the dish and skipped the part about who made it. But you did not. You my love, are awesome! :)

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    Replies
    1. Really? :( Sad ya...

      Awww, shucks :) Now I feel better about it..

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  5. Is it terrible that I chuckled when I came to the part about missing the capsicum more than the roommate? Lol! All these food blogs I'm reading are not good for my diet...but this is a veg...my diet thanks you for that. :-)

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    Replies
    1. Heeheehee, not at all :P You're most welcome and thanks for dropping by :)

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  6. I love CAPSICUMS myself and Angel cooks it for me when i am not in the right mood and I get High on it LOL

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    Replies
    1. Hahaha... sounds like the making of a tradition, right there :D

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  7. I started loving capsicums after I ate one of my inventions :D

    Could you play from your memory how your room mate would make aloo capsicum?

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    Replies
    1. If I did not suck so much with masalas and proportions, I probably could :(

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  8. :D Ooh, this was adorable! I have mixed feelings about capsicum, but the way you mentioned the above dish, I can actually smell the oh-so-yumm aloo-capsicum dish! :D

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    Replies
    1. Slurp. Me getting reminded of it again. SLUURP.

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Go on, you can say it.