Is there a mental condition where you do exactly the opposite of what you’re supposed to do, completely ignoring the order of importance and the bearing it could have on your one, precious life? No?
Just checking. Sitting here with the laptop plonked on the ironing board, I’m doing exactly what I’m not supposed to do. Sure, I made myself a temporary home office, right outside the walk-in closet but that’s as productive as I get. For right on the other side of the irony board (I’m calling it that), is the bed and right under those covers is where I kind of want to be.
I don’t know if you remember but I’ve been testing my brain for a job. Right now, writing this is the opposite of what I need to do. Dudeboy says, “Do it on your break!”. Break=something you take when you’ve been working. In this case, I’m living it up. If this is the wrong thing to do then why o why is my brain just letting me go on? Last time I checked, I was 25 and a responsible human being.
Haha. It’s a little true.
Motivation is always difficult to find. I’m hardly a last-minute kind of person for a lot of stuff but when it comes to work, oh gosh. My eyelids are dropping just thinking about the bed I want to sleep in. I am trying to envision a paycheck but my fingers snap and 10 seconds later I’m so over it. It’s slightly nonsensical to say but I’m going to say it anyway: Why don’t they give us better incentives (not just money) to want to work? Let’s face it: A majority of the world is not working that dream job. There are a few here and there whose souls we’d like to steal and whose brains we’d like to drink from with a straw. All metaphors all day. While I’m working (or not) on a very realistic test, all I can think about is: “Why can’t it be easier?” We all do this, right?
Please say yes.
I hate being the odd one out.
Not to mistake this for discontent because I am happy. I got that dumb cold but I can walk myself to get a tissue and then turn my head and see sunlight streaming through the windows with the faint hum of traffic in my ears. I can also type this sentence and sip from a glass of clean water, in which a teabag found its way. There is some balance in my universe, I tell myself and my procrastination is normal.
Now… I mean tomorrow, I will work on my test. Today is for me and you and the pulao that I promised you last, last week.
Sharing this recipe has me feeling very vulnerable. I feel like I have to live up to some strange expectations that I set for myself while I was asleep 10 minutes ago. Here’s to not caring because it tasted good and that’s all that matters.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup basmati rice (cooked in 1 cup of water or vegetable stock)
- 1/3 cup peas
- 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
- Whole cloves (about 13), cardamom (6 of them) and a cinnamon stick
- 1/2 large red onion, chopped fine
- 1/3 cup chopped carrot
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- Turmeric powder for colour
- Oil (I used peanut oil)
- Salt to taste
- Cilantro leaves to garnish
Wash and rinse the basmati rice in plain water. This will make it less sticky while cooking because it gets rid of some of the starch. Put the rice on the stove in 1 cup of water or stock on medium heat. If you’re using stock check the saltiness and then accordingly choose to add more salt or leave it out completely. As soon as the rice starts to simmer, cover the pot with a lid and turn down the heat slightly. Once all or most of the water is evaporated, use a fork and taste a bit of the rice. It shouldn’t have a grainy texture. If it does, add a little bit more water and watch it till it’s done. The rice should be ready in about 10-15 minutes. If there is still water in the rice after it’s cooked, don’t fret. Just use a colander and drain out all the excess water. Leave it in the colander and go on to the next steps.
Step two is boiling the peas. Bring water to boil in a pot and add the fresh peas to it. Cook for 2 minutes and drain out the water. You can add the drained peas to the rice in the colander or leave them aside to add to the vegetable mix we’ll be making next.
Now for the final masterpiece! In a medium-sized pot (or the same one in which you cooked the rice), heat about a tbsp of oil. To the hot oil, add the garlic and the spices (cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon stick). Stir for about 30 seconds and to that add the onions and fry them till they change colour and become translucent. This should take 3-5 minutes. Add the chopped carrots and cook for about 5 minutes. The carrots should still have some bite to them. If you’ve not mixed the peas in with the rice already, add it to this pot right now. Add the cumin powder and turmeric and stir to coat the rest of the ingredients. Your vegetable mix is now ready. You will now add the rice to this pot and mix it thoroughly. You can do this on or off the burner. The rice will take on the yellow colour of the turmeric and look like it does in that weirddd picture I took.
Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with yogurt or some other spiced vegetable. If I have to recommend something, it would be this. I haven’t tried it myself but few things look more perfect in my Indian food-deprived head right now.
PS: You can pick out the cloves, cardamom and cinnamon stick from the rice before eating it. In my world, there are few things that suck more than biting into a cardamom pod. However, my grandma used to pop those like chocolate. One man’s food…
PPS: You are my sunshine.