Cook with Pride

Posted on જાન્યુઆરી 5, 2019 Updated on જાન્યુઆરી 5, 2019

We all love good food. And so when I read about this contest on Shri Sanjeev Kapoor’s page ..couldn’t stop myself from sharing one of my interesting childhood memory.
Aazmaoing my English language skills too. ☺Tried to communicate in English for this cause. #Cookwithpridestories.
Thank u Chef Shree Sanjeev Kapoor Sir.

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I’m raised in a Gujarati middle class family. And we all love food. You can say.. we r fans of or passionate about good food. Infact, We can’t imagine any occassion or meeting without serving any delicious food. And at times its just that the ‘food’ itself becomes the occasion or celebration.

When I think of my childhood, there are innumerable stories related to food. When we were young and saw Shri Sanjeev Kapoor onTV for the first time as a cook..he was an instant hit for myself..as it gave me d same image of my grandfather or father cooking some delicious food for us, apart from my mother or grandmother.

So sharing with u one of my stories..

As I said, I’m raised in a middle class family. So in those times(90’s) we had monthly budget for everything..like milk, school fees, petrol, food(oil, ghee, rice, dals, toothpaste, namkeens, sweets, etc..,) and the same for vegetables too. So normally by the end of the month..the vegetables budget would turn upside down..and we would be left with chillars..in the vegetables’ budget. We called it aakhr tarikh/tarikho(last day or days of the month)

..or sometimes “aakri tarikh” ..which meant difficult day or days.

At d end of d month, the question wud arise, ‘what should we cook in those aakhr tarikh?’ And so my father would come up with d idea of HIM..preparing ‘Dhokli nu shaak’. It is made up of besan flour, and thick chaas, dahi, and some spices. And let me tell u ‘with pride’ ..that uptill now ..for us..he is the best one in that receipe. So the aakhr tarikh would turn into a celebration..with my father cooking the delicious Dholki nu shaak. We children would gather around him to help him nd witness the making of Dhokli nu shaak. Many times it would become a family gathering too..as we would invite nd share the food with our buas who lived near by. Everyone would gather.. laugh, eat and have food together.

So the dull Aakhr tarikh would then become a beautifull last day of the month. It would make us feel …As if we all are cheering up to enter a bright new month.
We just have d memories of the aakhar tarikhs now ..and so we have included it in d celebration menu, gettogethers nd the quikie family receipes menu now. Below in d pic prepared by me.

Thank u for giving me a chance to just peep in to my chilhood nd young days thru your initiative #cookwithpridestories.

-DharaBhatt-Yeole