The day my cake did gymnastics

Daily writing prompt

Write about your most epic baking or cooking fail.

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This was back when I was in the bakery and confectionery program many years ago. All week we had theory classes, but every Wednesday and Thursday we had practical sessions in the bakery lab, with our chef’s uniforms, hats, aprons, and our running shoes. These shoes were the only way we could make it through practicals. Anyway, I digress. So, every Wednesday and Thursday evening, we got to take home what we had baked in class, and my family would have a fun tea-time at home to test the goodies.

As we progressed from basic cookies to breads, to cakes, and then iced cakes, we got to take home every single thing! I remember one most memorable evening when I’d got home an iced cake, with buttercream frosting and all, in a very professional looking cake box. I was riding in a rickshaw that day (photo below) and managed to safely bring home the box despite the bumps, speed breakers, and potholes. I got off at the corner of my building, put my cake box down on the seat, paid the rickshaw driver, and picked up the cake box.

Alas! My cake, having a mind of its own, did a back flip, double tuck, and landed flat on its head! Had it been a pineapple upside-down cake, that would have been perfect. But the iced cake was ruined, and I felt so horrible about it that I almost didn’t take it home for tea… That’s not to say I haven’t had other baking or cooking fails over the years, but this one I will never forget.

A typical rickshaw found in Pune, India

Finish the task ASAP

Daily writing prompt

Share a lesson you wish you had learned earlier in life.

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Those who have had “holiday homework” in school, growing up, probably know what I’m about to say. Every year, every school holiday, we had assigned projects, reading, homework that had to be done for the day school reopened. We usually had anywhere between two weeks and eight weeks, depending on the time of the year and the holiday in question. Diwali would be two weeks, I think, and summer vacation would be around six to eight. I do miss having the Diwali break every year, why can’t we keep the tradition alive even in the grown-up world? 🎆

The first few years I didn’t even think about when to do the homework. It was always done in time, and I seemed to do well under deadline pressure. As the years went by, and my family wore me down, I realised I should probably get the horrid stuff out of the way and then read or laze around for the remainder of the holidays. So I tried planning it; on paper, in my head, with my mother… Nothing worked, and I always ended up rushing through it in the end, while also having the Big Bad Task List on my mind all the time. Deadline pressure gave me a good boost.

When I grew up and went to college, I promised myself I’d finish off the horrible compulsory stuff first and then be free to do whatever it was that I wanted. Did I end up learning to push myself and do just that? No way! Even today, whether it’s a small task or big, easy or complicated, I tend to create the perfect plan to finish it ASAP (as soon as possible, as they say!), leaving enough buffer time for my deadline, but I only end up doing it later.

The older I get, the more I’d like to finish the task ASAP, but looks like I’m pushing this goal off for later 😉

Puranpoli: A Childhood Memory

Daily writing prompt

Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood?

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Normally I’d be tempted to write a cutesy story about some food that brings up fond memories, but when I read the prompt the first thing that came to mind was: Puranpoli. For those readers who do not know what a puranpoli is, it’s an Indian stuffed bread (paratha, sort of…) that has a sweet lentil and jaggery stuffing. It can be had hot or cold, and with milk or clarified butter/ghee. Here’s a photo of a puranpoli I made a few months ago.

To talk about my not-so-cutesy story: every time I eat this, I always go back to the afternoon in Mumbai when I was about 8 years old, and Dad (Baba in Marathi) had come home for lunch. Having just finished lunch myself, I sat with him while he ate. For dessert, there was puranpoli on the table, and I wanted a big round one for myself. Dad suggested (very vehemently) that I start with a half serving and then take more, but as a grown-up 8 year old, I was confident I could finish the whole puranpoli-and-milk mixture in one sitting. After trying (in vain, of course!) to put me off the idea of eating a whole one, Dad let go and said I could eat the entire puranpoli.

Anyone who has any real life experience today would know Baba was right. I, however, was only 8. 🙂

So there I went: eagerly crushed up the whole poli and put in all the milk so that it could become the yummiest mixture ever. Four bites in, I realised dad was right all along. My pride took a silent beating, and feeling slightly guilty that I had insisted on taking a whole one, I kept eating it to prove I could finish it. Alas, being only 8 years old, I had to give in and tell Baba that I was indeed full (just like he’d predicted) and that I couldn’t eat even a BITE more. He laughed genially, and (I think) finished it after his own lunch.

Even today, every time my ‘eyes are bigger than my stomach’ as they rightly say in French, I always think back to that afternoon and take just a little bit less in the present moment. Father knows best!

Let me know in the comments which food takes you back to your childhood, I’d love to read them!

Kanchan

I don’t think I can keep it to 5

Daily writing prompt

List your top 5 grocery store items.

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If I had to choose only 5 items to pick up, they would be:

1. Flour
2. Eggs
3. Sugar
4. Milk
5. Chocolate

And I’d make cookies, or a brownie to die for.

But, jokes apart, I guess my top 5 would be:

1. Ready-to-use tart dough
2. Pasta
3. Flour (I’d make pizzas, bread, cakes, and white sauce)
4. Some sort of dessert, a fruit pie
5. Coffee

What are your top 5? Let me know in the comments.

My first days in class

Daily writing prompt

Tell us about your first day at something — school, work, as a parent, etc.

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Two first days came to mind when I read the prompt: the first day I took class as a French language teacher, at 21. It was a Saturday afternoon, my very first batch, and I knew that I would mostly have working professionals who could only make a weekend class. So they would all be older and more experienced that I was. The advice I got from my mentor was to go in confidently and not get “bullied” by anyone who thought they knew better than me in the class, because I was indeed the teacher, and they the students. I know I don’t always keep the advice in mind when I’m in a circle where I am knowledgeable on a certain topic, but maybe I ought to. Also, remember never to openly show the fear that you feel on the inside, I guess.

The second first day was the first day of my Master’s program in Paris. I went into class, sat down, and 10 minutes in, realised that I was in the Bachelor’s year 2 class. Or year 3, I don’t remember. I almost sat through the entire class because I was mortified of asking why the right teacher wasn’t in the right room. Cutting right to the time I finally found the right teacher, I scrambled and got the only seat that was available near the door. And who knows what happened in that moment, but the people on either side of me became my friends for both years of Uni, through COVID, and we still catch up 4 years later. Thanks to these friends, I made new connections and discovered new people and places. Imagine if I’d actually been on time for the class, and I’d sat in a different spot!!