10 day challenge - Day 6

Here is a guide to my other days from the 10-day challenge - 10 secrets, 9 loves, 8 fears, 7 wants & 6 places

Food is one of the 3 basic essentials in life, inluding clothes and home, according to the hindi saying "Roti, Kapada aur Makan". I love eating food. And I have a good appetite too (My college buddies can vouch for that :D)... Until some time ago, I wasn't into too much experimenting into food. But now I like to try new cuisines and restaurants ... I am still not as flexible as some other people I know, say M but I am do believe I have come a long way. Growing up, I always associate this one old Tamil song with food/eating.. I am sure many of you would have guessed it ...if not, check out this video below. (Contact a Tamilian friend for translation purposes :D) 

There is so much I want to write about this topic and since I have limit of 5, I decided to use this lil trick of 5 in 5 :D Read on to find more !!! 

5 Cuisines

1. South Indian - When I say south Indian, I am being very generic. I should probably say Tamilian food but that would not be entirely true.... I also ate lil bit of Telugu and Malayalam cuisine too. If you had asked me then, I would probably say it was all Tamil cuisine. But now that I cook food too myself, I can tell you that it was jus not tam-brahm food. I guess I would call this my comfort food. The best feeling is when you come back home after a trip and eat that rasam or thayir (curd) sadam. YUMM!

2. Chaat - I love eating chaat. They have this chatpatta taste which makes your mouth water even at the mere mention of it. My sis and I do a lot of our bonding over the road-side chaat waala(s) in the gully's (street) of Hyderabad/Secunderabad. The best experience is to have that garam chai (hot tea) and mirchi bhaji (stuffed green chilli) on a rainy day OR the cold and cruchy pani puri on a hot summer day !! So is your mouth watering already ? ( I did warn you :P) This is what I am  talking about :D (Pic of Ragada)

3. Kalyanam Saapadu (Wedding Meals) - There is something about the kalyana saapadu... May be it is that there is so much variety to eat or that the food is served at regular intervals or the never ending crowd  of people in the dining hall  .... There is something magical about this.... It is very hard to replicate that taste !!! You keep wanting to eat more....  but somehow you have too make sure your plate (or should I say banana leaf)  is clean at the end !! 

Disclaimer: Eventho, I am referring to mostly Tam-Brahm kalyanam saapadu above, I am sure this is the case with any wedding food. 

 4. Thai/Chinese - I am gonna mix them up together just for the reason that I like more than 5 cuisines. My comfort food away from home is this. It has got the spicy-ness I like in my food. I like that I have choices of both noodles and rice. And they are the next best thing to have on a rainy/snowy day !!

 5. Ethiopian - The reason I like this cuisine is the way they serve the food. The whole idea of serving food in one large plate for the entire family and making them eat together is very important to me. Considering the fact that I eat a lot of my meals either in front of the tv or with a book in hand or browsing the computer. This style of serving forces you to sit together with others and also teaches you to share. And that their food is good with a lot of veggie options, doesn't harm either. 

5 Foods

1. Pav Bhaji – Nothing call still beat the shop from which I have Pav Bhaji

2. Pad Kee Mao – I judge a Thai restaurant based on how good this dish is.

3. Biryani - Vegetarian, of course and not Hyderabadi Biryani

4. Dosa – Any time of the day

5. Tacos – looks like this is my new found love (with the right salsa(s))

5 Food Shows

1. Iron Chef America - Love the intensity, creativity, plating in this show. Love it even more when cook fish. 

2. Top Chef - Love their quick fire challenge mainly. The rest of the show is not bad either. and yeah, how could I forget the HOT Padma Lakshmi ;)

3. Giada at Home - Her soft demeanor and the way she makes Italian cooking look so simple and easy. 

4. Cup Cake Wars - Love the innovative recipes of cup cakes. And may be because cupcakes are my secret love. 

5. Khana Khazana - Growing up, I think this was only distinct food show I have watched 

5 Desserts

1. Gulab Jamun

2. Tiramisu

3. Crème brûlée

4. Sticky Rice with Mango 

5. Paal Payasam  (Rice Kheer)

  

5 Food Pix (food made by me) 

Bon Appetit!!!