Mourning and Cooking – a roller coaster tale

Ting-a-ling-a-ling….my phone buzzed. It was my daughter. There was fear in her voice. She thought she had contracted chicken pox.  “You’re vaccinated”, I reassured her. The varicella virus had attacked both her roomies a few days earlier. It was this unfounded speculation that nudged her to the safety of my house.  She was to stay for the next 15 months. 

It was March 24, 2020. The number of covid-19 cases was increasing.   Suddenly a lockdown was declared. I was unprepared without much in stock. Home deliveries stopped and the house helps were barred from entering the locked gates of my housing complex.  My husband and I assumed the role of hunter-gatherers.  We foraged the markets to procure groceries.  I shared our gatherings with my aged parents since my mum couldn’t cope with my house-bound dad. In the absence of his nursing aides, he sustained a fatal fall.  He succumbed a day later.  The last rites were restrained so was our mourning.  We had to gird ourselves to fight the battle. The next day saw me stand in a queue for two hours to enter a hyper-market.  I grabbed whatever my hands could reach out for.  My trolley was full. I pleaded with the security guard to allow my husband to enter the store’s compound.  “No,” was his firm answer.  So, I made several trips carrying the stuff from my trolley to where he stood and back. 

In the following two months I was thankful for the gym training I had undertaken in earlier years.  I found myself regularly climbing up two floors to my home with ten kilos of weight in each hand.  The activities of my day changed. Besides attending to my grieving mother, I was doing all the housework. Mornings were for cooking and evenings were for cleaning. 

It was always the cook who prepared the everyday meals in my home.  I only chipped in on festive occasions. But in the lockdown, my culinary expertise came to the fore. Each day a festive fare was served. The secret ingredient was “love”.   That spice made it extra tasty. This was even though I was short on many ingredients and substituted one for another; sometimes digressing widely from the original recipe. Innovation and improvisation were the name of the game. “Mummie is cooking today,” the children exclaimed in glee when they were little. It was usually a one-pot, fully balanced dish. The kids had never pressured me to cook.  They knew that I had to delegate the job. But now there was no choice.  They were lucky to get one treat after another laid out for them. It gave me satisfaction and a deep fulfilment to serve all at home. It was a privilege which I had only when they were with me. That was the motivating factor. Soon the lockdown would be over and they would all go back to their own lives. I would then be home alone with no one to cook for. But I wouldn’t regret it because when they were there, I did my best. Here are two recipes that I loved making for my family.

Eggplant Parmigiana

INGREDIENTS

Group A

• 1 ½ kg large eggplant (bharta brinjal)
• Oil for frying or baking
• Group B
• 1 ½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• 1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves

Group C

• 3 large onions finely chopped
• 10 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 600 ml of tomato puree
• 500 grams of fresh, diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons dry oregano
• 2 teaspoon chilli powder
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ to 1 cup water

METHOD

Group A – Preparation & points to note for eggplant slices

Wash the eggplants and cut thick slices (1/3rd of an inch)
Soak the slices in 3 to 4 tablespoons of salt water for about ½ hour
Drain the slices and brush with oil if you want to bake or just simply shallow fry them.
Drain the excess oil and keep aside

Group B – Preparation & points to note for the cheese

Since I didn’t have the above varieties of cheese, I used 1 cup parmesan and 2 cups cheddar cheese
If fresh basil leaves are not available use 3 tablespoons of dried basil

Group C – Preparation & points to note for the tomato sauce

In a medium wok pour a tablespoon of oil and sauté the finely chopped onions.
Add the minced garlic and sauté
Add the diced tomatoes and sauté
Add the tomato puree
Add the oregano, chilli powder, black pepper powder salt, sugar and water
Stir well and bring it to simmer
Simmer the sauce for about 30 to 40 minutes or till thickened and spreadable

Assembling the Groups, A, B and C

Spread a little tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish (8”x10’x3 “)
Put a layer of the eggplant slices to cover the base of the baking dish.
Spread about 1/3rd of the remaining tomato sauce over the slices.
Sprinkle 1/3 rd. of the parmesan cheese, ¼ of the cheddar cheese and 1/3 rd fresh basil leaves or a teaspoon of dried basil leaves.
Repeat the above to form a second layer of eggplant slices, parmesan, cheddar and basil leaves.
To form the third layer, lay out the remaining brinjal slices on top of the second and cover with all the remaining tomato sauce, basil and parmesan.
Cover with or the left-over cheddar
Bake for about 45 minutes at 175 degrees Celsius or until bubbling and golden.
Let it rest for about 10 minutes and then sprinkle the remaining fresh basil on the top. Cut and serve.

Butterfly Chicken Pizza

INGREDIENTS

• 1 whole chicken breast
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion flakes
• 2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons dried thyme
• 200 ml tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ½ cup chopped red and yellow pepper pieces
• ¼ cup shredded mozzarella
• Red pepper flakes and fresh parsley for garnishing.

METHOD

• Debone the chicken breast and cut it only on one side so as to get a one whole heart shape. Do not cut it into two pieces.
• Flatten the heart shape by pounding it so that the heart shape breast is ¼ inch thick.
• Brine the meat in 1 tablespoon of salt for ½ hour.
• Simultaneously prepare the marinade by mixing the garlic powder, onion flakes, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, thyme and tomato puree. Rub the marinade onto the chicken and allow it to sit for about fifteen minutes.
• Smear a little oil on a non-stick pan before heating.
• When the pan is hot, put the chicken breast in. Allow it to cook on high heat before flipping it over.
• Once both the sides have been seared lower to medium heat and cover the pan.
• Cook on low heat for about 10 minutes or till done.
• In the meanwhile, set up a grill or broiler at 175 degrees Celsius
• Transfer the cooked chicken onto a baking tray and pour the leftover sauce in the pan over it.
• Put the chopped red and yellow pepper pieces on the chicken base.
• Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese on top.
• Grill the chicken pizza to melt the cheese and brown.
• Garnish the chicken pizza with red pepper flakes and fresh parsley before serving.