Mid-night Party

Its 11:20 pm here and I am 1 week old in my new apartment. Actually its the first time that I am living in an apartment. I am used to living with my family in my home. I am trying to adjust. Actually, in the past I used to think whether it would be fun living in a flat/apartment. So with my job change, I began my search for a clean & safe place to live. Well, I didn’t expect too much (Thats how I am). And my freinds had already warned me to be wary of the brokers and agents. So I had done my homework regarding the rent and lease contracts and agreements. After looking at a few places, some of which aren’t even worth mentioning, I finalized a spacious flat.

The un-furnished hall. Any suggestions for decoration and furnishing?

I love this natural light that wakes me at 6:00 am in the morning. I could never wake up at 6:00 earlier.

My first 1-BHK (Bedroom/Hall/Kitchen) apartment that I have rented near my office. Well, missing my home that is 2000 Km away... Still have to buy furniture

Now I do not want to exhaggerate, but I think its all I asked for or had in mind. Except for a small washroom, it has big bed-room and big-hall and big-kitchen. (Well, “big” as in comparison to the others I had seen around here) And extremely well ventilated, so much so that most of the times I do not need fans and artificial light. The kitchen faces East and the main door North. Its un-surrounded on all the four sides and there is a huge empty area, all green, in the front. Its wild and not mantained, but you have to be here to feel the fresh air due to it. I didnt want to die of pollution in the center of this crowded city. And I am on the 4th floor, i.e. top, and all terrace just for me. There are similar, and some more beautiful apartments around, but this one is positioned the best. The way I wanted it to be independent, and still be an apartment, is what I got.

The open space East-side view from the kitchen.

The open space North-East side from my roof-top apartment on the 4th floor. Only this can help me survive, and its also close to my office! (If you look close, you would be able to find the US Pizza shop down there.)

Surrounding area. (Sorry for the low quality picture, its from my mobile.)

   

The open terrace that I just love. Helps me wind up and relax.

And I walk to my office, which is a mere 1.5 Km away and on the way is the market, so I can pick stuff for home as I return in evening. Easy.  But why, you would ask, am I up at midnight and telling you all this? Well, here is the reason:

There is some party going on in the neighborhood apartment building. I prepared my dinner at 9:30 and had it by 10:00, and by 10:30 I was off to my bed (which is not actually a bed currently) and was talking to my wife and we talked about our day today, and the fact that both of us were alone and when I would be flying back to be together again. To tell you the truth, a mere 3 weeks have passed and 2 months more have to go before I take a leave from my work.

So I was off trying to sleep when I hear these voices and giggles and laughs, no music though. I try not to give it any attention, but every 2 minutes the pitch seems to be increasing. Assuming it is the silence of the night thats increasing, I ignore it. But there seems to be no end. Specially, there is atleast one predominant female voice amongst all those cacophonies. And she indeed sounds so womanly and appealing. I try to peek out and find out the exact location. They seem to be standing on the balcony of their apartment, but alas! its not directly visible to me, unless I open my back-door, which I dont want to. So I lie down again, this time trying hard to ignore it and sleep. The time is 11:45 pm, which I don’t this is too much. But the fact that I am alone here, makes the whole scene dramatic. I could sleep if I wasnt disturbed, but now when my adrenaline is high, what do I expect from me? Specially her voice is making me go crazy. I am a keen observer, I have been that way always. That doesnt mean only for visuals, but also for aurals. And these senses work even harder whenever there is a hint of the opposite sex involved. Its Saturday Night, and I dont wanna blame anybody, but infact I wanna be a part of it. I don’t have any friends here yet, neither in office, nor around here. The place is new, the people are new and I dont even speak their local language. So my communication is upto the level of bare essentials only.

Did I really want so much of independece so as to start feeling lonely? I guess not. I wanted my personal space, but I didnt wanna feel alone like this, lying lonely in my spacious aparment, with such a nice ventilation and empty space around me, while my neighbors engage in a party and laugh all night! I feel left-out. I feel sooo left-out.

So the question is, would you take an apartment in the center of the polluted city where the action is or would you want open space and fresh air like me?

Simple Veg Pulao (Rice)

Saturday (31st October 2009) evening shall be marked as the time when I made Vegetable Pulao, i.e. Rice with some veggies. My previous experience came in handy and this time I could follow instructions with a little more modularity. So the steps, without frills, are:

1. Get the vegetables ready (In my case this was Onion, Potato and Peas)
2. Fry them a little (I used Jeera – Cumin, and a little cooking oil)
   

   Frying Vegetables

3. Give them one boil (along with salt and other spices)
4. Rest follow the procedure as for cooking plain rice.

Well, the 4th point above is the greatest thing, as I can leverage my previous experience of cooking plain rice and using the same process to make a, no frills, Vegetable Pulao. now I really like this dish, because I dont have to buy anything extra from the market place and I can eat it along with some curd. I don’t know whether that would suit your taste, for I find it real Yum!

So, here is how it goes:

1. Peel 1 Onion & cut it small. I realized there was more than one way this could be done, but I didn’t have too much time for research.
2. Peel 1 Potato and cut into small cuboids. This is easy, provided you have that special tool for peeling Potatoes. Sorry, I forgot to take a pic, thats would have surely helped. Its like a knife in the middle but blunt on the edges.
3. I got the pea already picked from their pods, so didn’t had to do that picking myself. I know its not too fresh that way, so I would try buying whole pea-pods next time.
4. Then I took out my new non-stick frying pan and put all the stuff (1 2 3, above) into it with some 2-tbsp cooking oil and fried it until the onion turns a little reddish. Here is how it looks:
5. Now, I wash another pot and put 3 cups water, along with a 1/2 tbsp salt and a pinch of Garam Masala, and all these vegetable into it and bring it to boil.
6. If all goes well till this point, add a cup of rice to whatever this stage is called.

   

   Boiling Fried Vegetables

   

   Cooking Vegetable Pulao

   
   

7. So, now you can refer to my previous blog where I detail the procedure to cook plain rice. Rest of the things are same and you have to cook till all the water dries up only leaving a little moisture in the rice. You should be cautious that you stir at regular intervals to avoid burning the rice exactly above the flame. So just stir the mixture once in like ~30 seconds.

By this time I am ready with my plates and spoon and fork and too hungry to have it. So I open up a packet of curd that I bought from the local market and relish my home-made Vegetable Pulao.

I suppose there can be an infinite things and improvements, but hey! I just learnt to survive on another dish!

 

Vegetable Rice - Pulao - with Curd

 

 

My new routine

Well, here I am, back again for a short post over my routine after the transition.

Staying alone means more freedom, but also more responsibilities. It means more time, but also means more work to be done. I hope you already know this, and if you don’t, I wish you do get it now, or you surely will, by the time you are finished reading.

I’m here, waking up at 6:30 am, when 2 weeks back I used to stop my ringing alarm at 8:00.

I’m here, cleaning up my room and making my bed, when some time back, it was someone else’s chore.

I’m here, making list of kitchen appliances, when a month back, all I would care about was, “whats for dinner?”.

New Routine defines a new time-scale

I’m here, emptying my laundry basket, when sometime back, I would just push stuff into it.

I’m here, trying to remember what to buy, when sometime back, I would be there just to buy it.

I’m here, with a lot of time, when 2 weeks back, I would have a lot less to do.

I’m here, praying to God twice daily, while days back then, I would wish I had more time to spare.

I’m here, exercising and taking care of myself, while a few weeks back, I was so un-important.

I’m here, walking 3 kms to my new office and back, when 2 weeks back, I would drive 40 kms daily.

I’m here, tired & sleeping at 11:00 pm, while 2 weeks back, I was insomniac until I checked e-mails (and females) till 1:00 am.

What has NOT changed is, I’m here, for good, while sometime back, I was there for the same reason too!

I’m here… and, well, here I am…

Cooking for the first time

Since I changed my job, its been over 2 weeks now, that I have been eating outside.

• Breakfast through room-service.
• Lunch usually at my new office.
• Dining with my friends in different places every evening.

Now, I thought (as you would too) this cannot continue forever. After having a meaningful tele-conversation with my wife, we came to the conclusion that I should start with the easiest and the most basic thing that can be cooked at my new apartment. (Well, I had got necessary kitchen appliances, that I would like to detail elsewhere). So, we factored in the following to decide upon what needs to be cooked:

1. The dish should not be too complex to prepare.
2. It should involve a minimum number of ingredients.
3. It should not take forever to cook.
4. The number of steps involved should be, well, less too.
5. Last but not the least, it should prepare me for tackling more complex recipes.

So, we decided to make, no bells & whistles, plain-rice. (For those of you LOLing, please consider the fact that this is the first time I would be lighting my gas-burner)

So while going back, I pick up the following raw-materials from the market:

• India Gate Basmati Rice (1 Kg)
• Sunflower Refined Oil (1 Ltr)
• Mineral Water (2 Ltr bottles)

And here I am at my new apartment, in my new kitchen, with my brand-new appliances and utensils…

and fully doubtful: “What now??!!?”.

So, I call up my wife and revise, once again, how to proceed. So here what I am told to do:

1. Put 1 bowl rice, 2 bowls water, 2 tbsp oil and cook over the flame.
2. Stir at regular intervals to avoid burning.
3. Cook until water evaporates.

And here is how I proceed:

1. Search for the most appropriate size of utensil for this exercise.
2. Wash it.
3. Put 1 bowl rice in it and 2 bowls of water and 1/2 spoon oil.
4. Search for the most appropriate size of spatula, of all those I had bought.
5. Wash it.
6. Ignite the Flame, and put the pot on top of it.
7. I try to wash my new cutlery (Fork and Spoon and Plates and bowls) in parallel, but I am too worried to leave it cooking, as the lid is covered, and I don’t know whats going on inside!
8. So, I take the hot lid off (carefully with a cloth) to see whats going on! I do it every 1 to 2 minutes and rotate the rice inside to prevent burning.
9. So slowly the water is drying up, I see the bubbles forming. I simmer the flame and let it go slow now.
10. It gets to the point where there is a little water left at the bottom.
11. I call up my wife again, and ask. “What to do now? Fast!”
12. She tells me to take it off the flame after a minute, and let it remain covered for a while, so the rice is properly cooked.
13. So, now I have the time to get my cutlery and plate ready.
    

    Home-made rice with Dal

14. I take the rice and put it in my plate and this is how it looks. Yummy!
15. I put the “dal”, that I had bought from market before-hand, in the bowl, to be had with the rice, and relish it one spoon at a time.

I thought I had made rice a little too much for me to finish them all, but by the time I had done cooking, I was more hungry than I thought I was in the beginning. It was the first dish I ever made in my life! Was I happy? Well, yes! A definite yes. I felt kind of liberated, that, I now knew to make at-least something. I had ideas that I could buy different stuff from market and cook rice at home and eat them together. That means, I know at-least the rice that I have made is clean and healthy to eat.

Everything’s well that ends well. Well, it tasted much better than it might look in the pictures. (I just clicked with my mobile phone in low light condition)

 

First-time Home-made rice

Now, I am more confident and I think I could make something better tomorrow. So call my wife, thank her, and ask for the next dish and the next lesson… But more of it in my next post.

However, I welcome your ideas of what should come next. Just be easy on me. See you later!