wifemothereventplanner

So we went to my parent’s house this weekend. The whole family got together on Saturday night to do an early Mother’s Day dinner. It was a fun, loud blur. I could regale you with the stories of our good time together. The laughter (it’s either directed at you or about you) and the general wackiness of our kin. I could tell you how much my kids love spending time with my parents – or that my mother literally calls my son “The Prince”. And that she thinks my daughter is the smartest, prettiest, nicest girl in the world. But truth be told this post, like my childhood and most of my adulthood, is about the food.

We go home to eat.

At breakfast we talk about what we’re having for lunch, at dinner we discuss the next day’s meals . Anyone who doesn’t like to be asked if they want water/juice/tea/coffee/snacks all throughout the day until you feel forced to say yes….. should steer clear.

Growing up, my mother would make all our meals from scratch, everyday. Once in a while, on a crazy Friday night, we’d get Pizza Hut. These days my parents throw caution to the wind and order from other pizza places, but back then, there was only the big red hut (where we always got the same thing: large pie with peppers and onions).

Also important to note….our everyday meals at home never include the following: nan, samosas, korma anything, paneer or any kind of cheese (unless we’ve ordered the above mentioned pizza), and there was no frozen mixed veggie dish with tons of cream.

Visual proof below. I wasn’t able to get everything from beginning to end because I do not wake up at 5am with my mother to cook – sorry.

Here’s what we ate our way through this weekend…

These little babies are little, thin, crispy breads. You poke a little hole on top and fill with different types of beans, chutneys (which are sweet and spicy sauces), plain yogurt thinned out with a little water, and these little corn munchies called sev.

Here’s the chutneys: the deep green one is made from parsley, lemon, green chillies, ginger and garlic, oil and water. The other one is a tamarind/date concoction that is sweet and tangy.

Disclaimer: This is NOT everyday, blah food – this is fun street food of India! My aunt brought it over as a treat for us mommas! Now it’s a party! Who needs booze when you have this….ok just kidding, went too far.

Here’s the bread that was made everyday (and still is) at our house (whole wheat flour and water) :

Here’s where the bread lands: on a plate (thali) with a lentil soup (dahl), and two different vegetables (cauliflower and potatoes, and eggplant, daikon and peas and rice. It’s important to have 2 carbs on a plate, trust me).

We’re back home now – we rolled all the way back this afternoon. We’ll be wearing our stretchy pants for the next few days.