Mom's Spaghetti = Chai

Cooked by S. Naz -
In the movie 8 Mile, Eminem yearns for mom's spaghetti as he prepares for his life as a rapper.



In my movie, my mom's spaghetti is chai.



It's ready.





My mom made us chai on a stovetop with the smell making its way into my room and preparing me for a lifetime of needing chai all the time. All the time. Unhealthy amounts. Apparently I drank chai in my bottle instead of milk sometimes. Explains a lot.

You need five ingredients: loose Assam tea leaves (chai patthi), milk, cardamom (elaichi) and time.





After a lifetime of watching my mom make it without measuring a single thing, I've nailed down a measurement:

240g of water : 10g chai patthi

That's all you need, folks. Boil the water. Crack the elaichi (cardamom). Add the patthi.




Yo
His chai is sweaty
Knees week, pot is heavy
There's a smell in the kitchen
Mom's chai-ghetti




Nervous to make it but on the surface the chai's lookin calm and ready





Add milk-ghetti.


Do not miss the chance to boil.
This opportunity comes once in a
Chai-time



Keep goin'....






Heat to a boil then keep on simmer until...



It's ready.

-Shazia Haq, 3/26, Chai Quarantine, 2020.

look
if you had one shot
one opportunity 
to drink chai all the time
in one moment
would you capture it
or just let it sip?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Pan Pizza Everyone is Making

Cooked by Vivian -
Image
You have probably seen this pizza before online because everyone is making it. I first saw this beautiful pan pizza on my friend Marian's Instagram. Then I saw it being made over on my friend Nick's Instagram. And then my friends Ian and Kristen's socials. It seemed daunting at first because all I saw was the prep time: 18 hours. But once I mustered up the courage and time to do it, I realized how EASY it was and how DELICIOUS the end result was. I have made plenty of homemade pizzas in the last few years but this one yields both a caramelized crust (thanks to the cast iron and generous portion of mozzarella) with a soft and fluffy dough (turns out, cold rising for days is worth it!) Ingredient-wise for the dough, you probably already have all of it in your house:   2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon fine salt (I use fine sea salt) 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast or active dry yeast 3/4 cup (170 grams) lukewarm water 1 tablespoon (13 grams) olive oil For the toppi...
Read more

Meera Sodha's Paneer Butter Masala

Cooked by Vivian -
Image
(I was supposed to artfully drizzle some cream at the end but it looks like a disaster, which is fine because we don't have to rely so heavily on aesthetics around here!) There is something soothing about making, cultivating, or growing an ingredient to use for several recipes--especially during this time. My boyfriend has already used some of the scallion we have been growing in my kitchen to make soft scrambled eggs! And right on time, on day five, my basil has finally sprouted! And for the Paneer Butter Masala, Meera Sodha's recipe from Fresh India , we decided to make our own paneer! We used the same recipe that Cale blogged about  but since we are not blessed with a tofu press, we used a colander, cheese cloth, and a 2-quart dutch oven to press. Still VERY easy! What I also love about this recipe is that you can find a lot of things in your pantry already: canned tomatoes, frozen peas, lots of spices, the herbs you've been storing properly , etc. I did...
Read more

A TRUE pantry lunch: Chickpea lemon-y Pasta

Cooked by Vivian -
Image
What a privilege it is to go to the grocery store whenever you want. To pop in just for the one or two things you need to get to execute a recipe perfectly. To have the money to do so, as well! In any case, it has been a creative puzzle to try to find adequate substitutes in my own kitchen and pantry for a meal, especially at the last dregs before you do  have to make that one big grocery haul a week (or two). As I was scrounging around my kitchen, I came upon one can of chickpeas and one lemon. I knew I had some dried pasta left (although I only had one serving of gemelli and one serving of rigatoni) and the last few stems of parsley that I was able to stretch out for three weeks. Then, I remembered a Melissa Clark recipe that included all of these ingredients, and a wave of excitement rushed through me. We can make a very delicious, very easy lunch! Yes, I had to substitute fresh rosemary for dried thyme and basil. Yes, I had a bowl with two different types of pasta s...
Read more