Choose and Treat

15th June 2025

(cooker whistled)
The steam settled and Seema opened the lid of the cooker. She had cooked chicken for the first time and was unsure if it was cooked properly. So she asked Arun to have a look and check. The hardcore meat-eating Telgu family was tired of ordering non-veg from outside after the old lady in the house suffered a severe brain stroke. After 4 months of satiating their cravings with ordered non-veg, the family finally convinced Seema to dare her to cook Chicken curry. After dabbling between multiple recipes, she chose the easiest recipe to follow.

Arun tried using a knife to check if the chicken was cooked. It looked perfect. After garnishing the curry with chopped coriander, lunch was served. The family chose to resume watching "Lapataa Ladies" which they stopped the previous night. And what timing I bet you! Arun scanned Seema's plate, it consisted of Dal, chapati, salad, and achaar. "Why didn't you cook something for yourself?", Arun asked her, his tone concerned. A guilty smile crossed her face, and she responded, "I was too tired to cook for myself after all this elaborate cooking. Besides, I was more worried about the Chicken—it was my first time, you see!"
"Ok. We can all wait. Let me order something quickly for you and then we can all have lunch together", he retorted.
Seema started rubbing her palm on her forehead. "In that case, order anything", she promptly got back.
Arun, with the confusion consuming his face, asked, "Anything? It's not available on any restaurant menu. Can you please be precise?"



And that was the time she realized she did not even remember her favorite food. Whatever was on the plate she would relish. As a young girl whatever her mom and grandma cooked, during her graduation whatever was served in a mess, and after being married, she was all caught up in bridging the gap between two pole-apart food choices. Once she embraced motherhood, her food choices were juggling between managing weight and the little one's demands. A common story of every woman, right? But that's not the end. She rose from her seat at the dining table and stepped towards the kitchen. After 20 minutes she came out with a bowl of piping hot, heavenly-smelling, over-loaded with ghee Dal-Dhokli...

Dear women, Treat yourself by cooking what you love to eat, once in a while. It doesn't ask much, just the same efforts you make for others.

This post is a part of #BlogchatterFoodfest