No I am not writing another book. I wrote one last year and I still get nightmares of those days so I’m fine for now.
NO, I am not pregnant either. I already got a 3 feet long bundle of “joy” (read insanity) who is trying hard to climb on my shoulders right now while I write this, so yeah I’m fine for now even in that field.
No I’m not in jail or run by a truck or trying to quit blogging.
I’ve just been busy with life.
Busy folding laundry, reading a book, taking the kid to the zoo or to the park or the museum, chatting with my mum for hours planning my only brother’s wedding, taking a long walk with the husband followed by some cuddling.
You know things that do not really count but actually they do? Yes that.
And some work in between. The never ending work which almost felt like writing a book, or being pregnant or being in jail. Yes that!
I can give you countless reasons why I was away from blogging all this while but let me tell you the truth.
I started my food blog, Indian Simmer to get away from the craziness. It was like my mental spa. A spiritual retreat. A place where I could come, talk to the unknown and feel relaxed. Its other thing that the “unknown” became one of the most important parts of the journey. But never for once I wrote a post in order to land a book deal, or score an award or gather hits. Whatever followed was out of pure luck. I believe that and want to keep it that way.
For me fingers just do not move on the keyboard until I feel I have a good enough story. Photographs never come out decent until I feel that all the components are willing to play. I can not write a post or put something out here just for the heck of it. Just to keep the blog going and keep my readers occupied with just about anything. I am sure its the same for a lot of us. So I could not blog for all this while because something was not right and I did not feel like.
Well, until a few days back when we as a family went for a picnic by the ocean. Deep in the Muir woods, by the Stinson beach, barbequing with my almost four year old, while my husband was standing on top on a picnic table trying to take top shot of the cilantro I was chopping. For the first time in months I regretted not blogging for so long. After a long time I felt like telling you a story about this quiet, fun and Ah, so relaxing family time that we were having.
Felt like telling you about how my butterfly was trying to clean the grill for her Maa and ended up bathing herself in ashes from head to toe. How the charcoal just won’t burn and Abhishek and I argued hopelessly about who was doing it all wrong. Then the little one dipping bamboo skewers in a bottle of water, prepping them patiently one at a time while I mix minced chili pepper, onion and spices into ground meat. Grill finally decided to light up. All of us wet our hands and packed meat on the skewers. He grilled while the girls lay plates on the table. There were a lot of chuckles and laughter filling up the gaps in conversation. Food was finally on the table and everyone went quiet for a moment making room for Mmm and Umms.
It was a nice evening, perfect to be shared here. So I came back!
Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground meat of your choice. I used turkey.
1 1/2 teaspoon thai green chili (minced)
1/2 cup onion (chopped)
1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste (fresh)
3 tablespoon chickpea flour (besan)
1 1/2 tsp whole coriander seeds (coarsely crushed)
1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin (powder)
Salt to taste
2 teaspoon butter/olive oil/ ghee
Things needed:
8 bamboo or metal skewers
basting brush
grill (any kind)
Method:
Soak bamboo skewers (if using) in water for 30 minutes.
Mix the first eight ingredients in a mixing bowl.Divide into 8 parts.
Lightly wet your hands. One portion meat mixture at a time, pack layer on the length of the skewer. Set aside.
Heat the grill to medium high heat.
Line skewers on the grill. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Turn the skewer, grill marks facing up. Baste with butter/oil/ghee. Continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes until kababs are cooked through and clear liquid drains on cutting.
Serve with choice of salad, raita and your favorite beer.
All the images in this blog post are taken by Abhishek Singh.
