Mom’s cooking – The Holy Grail

Within hours, my first blog entry got the following response, "An all time classic is Pudine ka chutney. But only some get it just right. Getting the right amount of onion, lemon juice, salt and sugar is beyond most people..easy to make but very hard to perfect. " (Pudine ka chutney means mint chutney) It was from a friend of mine, Ajay, who was obviously marinating in nostalgia and memories of mother's or even more deadly -grandmother's cooking.

What is it about mom's cooking, that makes men go weak in their knees and mushy in their brains? They wallow in its glory, they get wistful and they never quite get over it. Keeping the sentiments and the attachment aside, the fact that you have tasted one person's cooking across the spectrum of variety, splendor, moods, quality and time makes it deeply close to you. It is a taste, which their palette knows, recognizes and soon comes to crave, in other words and with all due respect, taste by rote. And that the spouses never miss a chance to force them to compare also increases the allure of mom's cooking. It is a battle that I decided long ago not to pick. I'm such a sucker for my mom's and grandmother's food that I don't blame my husband for doing the same.

My six and half year old son is a shining example. A few months back a close friend of mine came to visit him as he was not feeling well. She brought him his favorite hot snack, upma, a savory dish made out of cream of wheat, plain yogurt and vegetables of your choice. When I make upma for him I don't put turmeric and it turns out white and she did, which made her upma yellow. As soon as he opened the container, his face was a sight. He chewed my friend's brains off asking her in disbelief, "How can upma be yellow?" Cheers to mom's cooking! Ajay, here's my humble take on pudina chutney. I make no claims on it whatsoever except that I like it.

Mint chutney

With what

• Leaves of 1 bunch mint
• 1 big clove garlic
• 4 long green chiles or 2 serrano green chiles
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 tsp peanut powder
• 1/4 tsp tamarind paste
• 3/4 tsp salt

How to

Combine all the ingredients except the peanut powder and tamarind paste in a sauté pan or a wok and turn the heat on to medium. If you are using Serrano chiles cut each into three-four pieces lengthwise or widthwise (doesn't matter as ultimately they are going to be ground), as they have a thick skin and can take a longer time to cook. Cover the pan and sauté intermittently to avoid burning. Turn the heat off after the chiles have turned pale green - about 15 min or so. After the mixture has cooled, put it into a blender or a Magic Bullet and add peanut powder, tamarind paste and 3/4 tsp salt. Grind fine. You can make peanut powder by buying roasted unsalted peanuts from the grocery store and grinding to a semi-coarse powder. Or buy raw peanuts in bulk and roast them in a toaster oven till they turn golden brown (about 300 degrees for 10-15 min) and then grind them. Peanut powder gives volume and texture to the chutney along with creaminess and homogeneity.

How to eat

Spread cream cheese on two halfs of a bagel. Spread the mint chutney generously. Insert thin slices of tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and devour.