Posted on by Zarine Mohideen · 2 Comments

I love me some nom nom.

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
– Marcel Proust

Today started off as a pretty ordinary Saturday. Some days you wake up and you just know that the day is going to be fabulous, darling and some days you wake up knowing how utterly craptastic it is going to be. I woke up this morning with a pain in my rear and a head ache I knew was fast approaching. But thanks to the small things in life, today turned out to be quite okay. You know your lucky when a friend tells you how happy she is for you, “I feel so happy for you. I feel like Maggi. You know like how Maggi is so little and you put it in water and it becomes big? I feel like that!”. See her equating emotions with food? That’s a girl who will never let you down.
Today was also good because I found the cookie I’ve been searching my whole life for – Danish Butter Cookies. The cookie that defined my life and left me high and dry. The cookie that made a small appearance but left me wanting for more. I have been searching for this blue box for years, asking every relative who travelled to get me a box of these bad boys, but in vain. Today The Mother got them for me. You know it’s love when she gets you two big boxes of the cookies that no one else in the house eats. The cookies taste the same as I remember them to be although with a little less butter. Come on Danish Butter Cookie people! How can you hold back on the main ingredient; the title of your fat ridden cookies? Please remember that butter is ALWAYS good.
Now the cookie box resides next to me on my bedside. I feel like an old lady who has a box of lemon drops, handing them out to everyone. Except of course I will share my cookies only if I really like you.
So today I am thankful for the small mercies. The small things that happen that make life easier; and the people with big hearts who make life that much more fun.
Posted on by Zarine Mohideen · 3 Comments

February = Not a bore because my friend said so.

February is such an uninspiring month. The only thing remotely good about this month is that extra one day that adds to your misery every four years. It is for this reason alone that February puts too much scene. If it wasn’t for this leap year issue it would be one of the mokkaiest months of the year.

February was boring but I had one super filter kaapi after so long. Honestly, the best coffee in the world isn’t Starbucks or some fancy espresso shot. It isn’t “kold koffee” either. Just changing some letters doesn’t make it good. The best coffee in the world is Madras filter kaapi.

You ask, “Filter kaapi?”.
I say, ” Idhu Bru Ma!”.
*cue laughter*

OkByePa.

Posted on by Zarine Mohideen · 3 Comments

Happy Burdayy You

It’s the anniversary of the blog today. It’s been three years since I started this. I should have come far. I should have written more. But for reasons I cannot fathom I haven’t come as far as I wanted to. The past year has been pretty disappointing. I was stuck in a rut and refused to budge. But everyday I am easing myself out of it bit by bit. Who knows, this year might be the year that I have many stories to tell. Actually, I always have stories to tell but words really evade me at times. This time I promise to try harder, to be better.
I celebrated the by eating cupcakes a couple of days before. I can never turn down dessert. Especially small, sinfully chocolaty, creamy cakes. The Cupcake Company has opened shop in Anna Nagar. I suggest you try it out.
Posted on by Zarine Mohideen · 3 Comments

The Baeku Is Back!

I love to eat.

I REALLY love to eat.

When I see food I get excited. I’m not a glutton but food is probably one of my most favourite things. I don’t differentiate when it comes to food. Dosa, lasangne, dim sum, aapam, biryani, phad thai, tom yam, idli, maasi, desserts; I love everything as long as it tastes good. Bad food is a totally different experience. Some of which haunts me till today. But I love to feel the the flavours in my mouth. I like to taste food and guess what’s in it. I love spooning mutton curry right off the stove and tasting biryani as soon as it is done. If you give me a four course meal I will eat. If you give me curd rice and oorga, I will still eat and ask for more a la Oliver Twist.

I am what a person might call a thinipandaram which roughly translates to eatercock. You know, like fighter cock. I am not a QUANTITY thinipandaram but rather a QUALITY thinipandaram.

My mamma always tells me, “If you love to eat so much can’t you please cook?”.
Fair enough. But she NEVER lets me inside the kitchen when she cooks. She always asks me to get out of her way, like I am some big boulder that is preventing her from cooking.

Hence, I resigned to my fate. For now.

Years of being fondly called a baeku by my darling brother finally came to use today.
I BAKED!
A cake!
Without my mamma’s help.

But yes, I called her and asked for instructions. I didn’t trust Betty Crocker too much.

And I must say, it is pretty fun. I think I’d like to bake a cake everyday. And the batter looked so sexy all brown and gooey I just wanted to drown in it.

So yeah, here I am, 21 years old and baked my first cake.

The baeku has evolved baby!

Posted on by Zarine Mohideen · 7 Comments

Biriyani..

Biriyani. Luscious, scrumptious, succulent, spicy, sensational biriyani. This trademark Muslim delicacy happens to be my all-time, year round favourite. There are varied types of biriyani- chicken, mutton, prawn, fish and unfortunately vegetarian also which I really don’t care about. Now the bestest Biriyani according to me is chicken. Obviously. And the bestest biriyani you can get in Chennai is in Royapettah. The bestest biriyani maker there is Rahamathullah whose biriyani oozes richness and all things not so healthy.

The bestest accompaniement for biriyani is the usual kathirika kootu (aubergine spicy peppery thing) and thayir pachadi (curd and onion mixed thing) and for added extra exciting eating experience a tennsy weensy piece of fried chicken won’t hurt. Now biriyani is not meant to be treated casually. It should be treated with utmost respect since it ccupies a very high position in the food chart. Atleast for me. In Tamil Nadu however Muslims are identified by their biriyani. Indian non-Muslims love their Muslim friends. This love increases as Eid draws closer. Eid festivities begin with ordering or making of biriyani. Weddings are incomplete without it. The success of a wedding depends on whether the biriyani was a hit or a miss. Good food is remembered for a long time. Bad biriyani is never forgotten.

The very smell of freshly prepared biriyani is heaven sent. Only Allah can think of something that smells so utterly tempting. The satisfaction of eating good biriyani? I have no words to explain it.

Now bad biriyani.. thats an entirely differen issue. I have tasted the WORST of biriyani. Under-cooked, over cooked, bland, spiceless, unappetising, makes you want to cry biriyani, you name it, I’v had it!

Another speciality is bread sweet which has bread (duh!), khoa, cashews and some other unidentifiable stuff. But the yum factor is ten on a scale of 1 to 10! Definitely not for weight watchers though. But once you’ve had it you’ll never want to stop. Many people I know eat Biriyani just because “it is there:. I eat it because for me it is “BIRIYANI!!! Aaaah!!”. When you eat it you should enjoy it and appericiate every mouthfull and thank Allah for giving us something that is so damn fine!