I just wrote self-made quote on Facebook and it suddenly caught up like wild-fire. So many friends shared their perspective. To start with I am just back after a quick trip to Spain attending a friend’s wedding along with basking in the sun, gorging on tapas, stamping to flamenco and going berserk with my clicks. The story will follow in my next posting for sure. For now lets come back to reality. I have a home, a man who is a bit older now and a toddler who goes hyperactive at the drop of the hat.
‘Holidays are like bubbles which give us all the cheer and glee while they are there and then they go POP’! – By Roy
I came back to a soggy house…its been raining in London…..laundry basket full of soiled clothes….an empty pantry and most importantly a sulking soul…because IM IN LOVE WITH SPAIN! That calls for herculean effort especially if you have borderline adrenaline and dipping haemoglobin.
I don’t have that patience to do all the household chores as my mom did. I feel that mothers are from a different world all together. They are battling their own whims but they evolve as stronger personalities with each new leaf in their lives. Toddlers on the other hand have virgin eyes away from all pain and stress. Their mothers embodying the holy grail are sacrosanct and industrious.
I personally find kneading the dough a very cumbersome task and I usually resort to my food processor for preparing the dough. The dough is lacking the precision which are prepared by machine. My mother ceremoniously did this task for 22 years. Until these eyes could see her in motion. She had long slender fingers and skin so fair that her veins and arteries would be like blue Nile etched on them. I have a dusky hue so the blood vessels are like rivulets lost in the warm soil 🙂 She reversed an old aluminium bowl to knead the dough. Which I presume was bought in exchange of her old tangail sarees. The wheat flour with all the bran was placed in an cooking oil tin now modelled into a flour storage container, all thanks to my application oriented engineer father. Her measuring cup was again a hair oil tin. How amusing it may seem but back in those days it wasn’t customary to buy plastic storage containers but rather the health drink glass bottles, oil tins were recurrently cleaned with dish liquid and sterilised in blazing sun before they made their way to the pantry storage shelf.
She emptied one tin of wheat flour which was enough to feed three and half souls (my baby sister’s soul was just emerging 😉 ) Made a well in the middle and poured a cup of water and let the water relax for a while. Then with slow agile swirls she would gradually mix the soaked flour, wetting her hands occasionally. She would continue this exercise of stretching and collecting the dough for five minutes. Nah…you would be wondering but she never added salt nor oil to her dough. Then leave the dough to rest under a damp towel for 10 minutes. In order to know if the dough is ready then in the penultimate stages of kneading the sticky flour from your hands and the sides of the dish should come neat and be amalgamated in the mass. Those words were always coherent in my ears.
She never got the time to rinse her hands and she would quickly heat the cast iron skillet and start rolling perfectly round chapatis for us. On the contrary you could see me rinsing my hands with the perfumed hand wash at the sink before every new course in cooking.( 9 OCD)
At bedtime she ceremoniously told me mythological stories while I concentrated on removing the dry dough stuck on her fingers. I would slowly go off to sleep. If I close my eyes today I can still see those fingers slowly kneading the dough, wiping my tears, whisking my hair and praying to god. I think the same fingers gave her a sense of belonging to her world and her child. Fingers are like that umbilical chord which never let go but constantly nourish, enrich and love.
To all children keep removing that stuck dough from your mother’s fingers !!
Today my photography is about fingers which makes a woman’s universe. Hope you relate to it. They are taken at two different times of the day hence you would find a variation in the lighting.One of the shots I had put the camera on timer and my daughter couldn’t resist the temptation to try one and comes into the frame.Its is so hot that before I could style my shot I need to break the pizza and feed her.Fingers are such an integral part of being a mother.
Few years ago I had heard from David Lennox about the art of making a pizza dough. So today I stir up a Curried chicken and mango pizza generously topped with mozzarella,cheddar and rockets. I give you everything in one recipe.
- How to make pizza base from scratch!
- How to make the tasty tomato pizza sauce!
- How to make the tasty topping!
- Chef’s tip for making a perfect italian pizza!
- For the Pizza base
- 250 gm strong flour (Use all-purpose-flour if not available)
- 250 gm 00 flour (Use whole wheat flour/gluten free flour if not available)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1*7gm sachet of fast action dried yeast
- 300 ml tepid water
- 50ml extra virgin olive oil
- fine semolina for dusting
- For the Tomato sauce
- 1 red onion
- 2 cloves of garlic,peeled and crushed
- 20ml olive oil
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1*400gm cherry tomatoes/plump tomatoes
- 50gm tomato ketchup/puree
- For the toppings
- 1 chicken breast cut into strips
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp any chicken curry powder
- Mix of shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese
- 1 mango cut into cubes (slightly raw)
- extra virgin olive oil to drizzle
- 1 tbsp oil for frying
- chilli flakes to sprinkle
- salt and pepper to taste
- Sieve both the flours with salt and yeast so that they are evenly mixed. Make a well in the centre and pour half the water and oil into it.Start mixing the dough and gradually adding water if needed.knead the dough for 5 minutes until its smooth and the surface is clean.The dough should not be sticky to touch.Leave the dough to rest in a covered bowl for 30 minutes to 2 hours until the sigh has risen. But here comes the chef’s tip where he mentioned that in order for the flavour to develop one should wrap in a cling film and refrigerate overnight. Then take the dough out at least 30minutes to normalise it to room temperature. This process is called as !proving.
- After proving pouch the dough to remove the air pockets. Then cut the dough into two balls. Then on a work top dust some semolina and start shaping your pizza base with your hands and leaving little rim around the edge. Wallah…the base is ready for the next stage.
- Sautee the onions and garlic in the cooking olive oil.Then add your remaining ingredients and season to taste. Cook slowly for 20 minutes until the sauce has become slushy. Then sieve the sauce to remove any solids. what remains is the clear red tomato sauce.Set aside to cool. I use this pizza sauce for the whole week in the refrigirator.Even on my sandwich. 🙂
- Heat the oven to 230C.
- Sautee in a non stick pan the ginger garlic paste in oil. then add your chicken strips and fry until partially cooked. Finally add your season and curry powder and set aside to cool.
- Finally speed the base with tomato sauce and sparsely top the pizza with chicken strips,diced mango. Grated cheese should be scattered and not overloaded. 🙂
- Place your pizza on a preheated baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes, turning halfway through to give a even bake. You could cook it for a minute or two for a more crispy edge.
- Always avoid adding too many ingredients to your topping as they will stop the dough from rising, especially if they are wet.
- Sprinkle some fresh rockets, olive oil and chilli flakes. You can enjoy this pizza with your kids. A little prep and you are ready to go.
Breathtaking pictures! Your child-hood stories reminds me of my own days and I am waiting for your spain pictures 🙂