6. Cooking escapades

Not a day goes by that you don't nibble something, until unless you have decided to go on a sine die hunger strike. Breaking the fast is normally dependent on the time at hand of course. Normally, it gets pushed to a brunch, if not had while driving. Lunch is normally a heart filling deal, as it is that alloted time of the day, when it needs to be had. Not that you are dead hungry, but that you need to spill out and gather the gruesome details. Long after that comes dinner, when it is really an option to actually eat what you want. But then by that time, the energy levels hit rock bottom, so just anything works fine.

Whatever be the meal, the basic tenets of having it is not just having it, but enjoying it. The question is when do you actually enjoy it? Well, it all boils down to how well the meal is made and served. I've always loved to have mom made food, everybody does. From school days to college days to work life, I ended up picking up a few recipes, either by experimenting or by reading/watching them. 

This is a list of 7 dishes, that I have had my hands on:

1. Cheese Omelette's
2. French Toast
3. Tinku (Special kind of Egg Burger - typically found in the region of KGP (kharagpur))
4. Fried Maggi
5. Chow mein
6. Pav Bhaji (something like the image illustrated in: http://www.freewebs.com/currytreat/PavBhaji%20nn.jpg)
7. Dal, Chawal and Aloo Bhujia (Rice, Pulses and Potato Fries)

The above-mentioned list is neither exhaustive nor chronologically ordered. However, I tried making cheese omelette's only recently. I guess I would like to lay down the recipe which was followed. This is a "must try" for all egg & cheese lovers, as it's not that hard to make :). 

So here is what you need to do to make a cheese omelet:

Ingredients

• Eggs: 2
• Onion: 1
• Green Chili: 1
• Other veggies (optional): Tomato, Coriander Leaves etc. etc.
• Grated Cheese: It really depends on how much you want. However, it is advisable that you don't take extra amounts, or else the omelet might break. I would suggest somewhere between 5-8 teaspoon fulls should be enough.
• Salt: To taste. But beware, cheese and sometimes butter (coming up) are salted at times.
• Red Chili powder (optional): To taste
• Pepper (optional): To taste.
• Cooking butter: 1-2 teaspoons

How to make:

• Chop the onions, the green chili and other veggies
• Beat the eggs and mix the chopped items (Mixture)
• Add salt (if interested), Red Chili Powder & Pepper to the eggs while beating
• Heat the pan and add cooking butter
• Lower the flame of the burner before you add the Mixture (It is advisable that you beat a little just before pouring the Mixture into the pan.)
• Pour the mixture onto the pan and make sure that it spreads evenly. You might want to add a bit of butter on top to cook the veggies
• Add the grated cheese along the middle of the omelet. This needs to be done with caution. If you leave the cheese near the corners, it might overflow and if the cheese is not evenly distributed along the center (say along the diameter of the omelet), there are chances your omelet will break
• Now, you need to see if it is the right time to fold the omelet. The omelet is typically ready to be folded in about 40 seconds to a minute or so depending on the heat of the pan. Well its a call that you need to make. The idea is that it should not be too soft to break and it should not be too hard that it doesn't have the right taste
• Fold the omelet along the diameter (i.e. fold the omelet into half, along the line where the cheese was added)
• You may want to flip the omelet once to make sure that it cooks properly. This also needs to be done with caution, because there are chances that the cheese might ooze out or if the yolk has not been cooked properly, it might as well ooze out.

There you go !! Your omelet is ready to be taken out of the pan !! Have it hot with a couple of slices of crispy toasted bread.

The next in line is Rava Dosa (A kind of South Indian Pancake). 

Till then its Astalavista !!