Family gathering food overload continues.
TONIGHT:
Biryani for most, mac & cheese and roasted cauliflower again for the littlest (taller than me now).
We had 3 kinds of Biryani: Mutton (from the family favorite place),Paneer (same place), and Soya Chaap (mom’s favorite, from a different place) which is a chicken-y textured soy protein product from North India (that I had never heard of until recently). Mom thought my older nephew would enjoy the chaap, so we got a kabab version too (my dad’s favorite kind of kabab, known as Burrah Chop).
I LOVED the Burrah Kabab but nephew wasn’t totally sold on it; he loved mom’s Chaap Biryani (and ate most of it). The mutton biryani was good, but I wasn’t feeling it tonight.
The mac & cheese was pretty spectacular, if I do say so myself. Garlic in the bechamel by kid request, over-cheesed (if there is such a thing) for the same reason, and beautifully browned. Nephew’s mind was a bit blown by my revelation of a pinch of nutmeg in the sauce (he is learning to cook and loves experimenting with food).
Desserts: Kulfi (ordered in) and Sheera (flour pudding? I don’t know how to describe it but it’s the most basic and homey sweet made from toasted whole wheat flour, sugar or jaggery, and water or milk).
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TODAY:
Dhansak, the famous Parsi dish (@klyeoh). Mutton and vegetarian (with soya nuggets) both. Brown (caramelized onion & whole spices) rice, kachumbar (minced onion and tomato), and papad to accompany. Kids also had the special roasted potatoes my mom made for them last night.
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LAST NIGHT:
The vegetarians except mom were out, so we had mom’s simple pan-roasted chicken and potatoes (latter made by mom herself, drumroll! In case you missed it, mom has been out of action most of this year, and only this week has regained the desire and confidence to step into the kitchen to make a cup of tea even… but for the grandkids, she stood there with the walker and made the potatoes).
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YESTERDAY:
Out at another favorite pan-Asian spot but a different branch than I’ve eaten at before. We had sushi (half of it vegetarian, and really good), dumplings (truffle edamame, water chestnut, fish, and sriracha chicken), salads (lotus root and glass noodle, avocado and arugula), crispy radish cakes, salt & pepper tofu, spring rolls, yellow curry, mixed vegetables in oyster sauce, blue butter fried rice, spicy hong kong-style noodles, snapper in black bean sauce, sesame cheesecake, and snickers-inspired pastry. Oy.
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NIGHT BEFORE:
Pav Bhaji, popular Bombay street food, this version but made by me.
The bread was perfectly fluffy, the exact thing I miss when I make this not in Bombay. Split, buttered, and pan-fried.
Bhaji topped with a generous plop of butter and minced raw onion. (Two plates pictured – the one PILED with onions is my nephew’s – there are more mixed in already with butter, this was the “second topping” 
).
