Rainy Days and Khana Khazana

My prayers about winter being back have gone unanswered.  Since the almighty in his wisdom did not want to inflict all the other people who populate the earth with major, life changing climatic changes just to appease the couch potatoes, it is still spring in New Jersey. However, to soften the blow he/she sent us rains. 

The rain may not deter the determined runner but I recognize a blessing when I see one. This rainy weekend I sat back and enjoyed the fruits of my husband's culinary skills. We also wandered off at night to feed our faces at a local Indian restaurant. 

When out to eat I am one of those people who takes forever to order. In fact, I am not even a big fan of conversation before I know what I want to order. Getting the order right in a restaurant requires considerable skill and it is not a decision I like to make in a hurry. A number of things need to be taken into consideration.  

The obvious -

1. How hungry you are? Planning ahead helps. I and husband starve ourselves silly and even make of our once in a blue moon visits to the gym anytime any of our friends make the mistake of inviting us over for a meal.

2. What you can expect to eat at the next meal? Planning your meals requires due consideration, foresight and practice. Only a novice would wolf down a to go meal when an invite to a far more satisfying dinner awaits

3. The specialties of the restaurant.  Every place has its limitations. For example, the burger in the local Mexican place, included there for the unadventurous patron is generally a rather unpleasant adventure.

The not so obvious

4. Can you eat of the plate of your dinner companion without incurring dinner companion’s wrath?

5. Can you expect your dinner companion to order the other entree that you wanted?

6. Can you convince your dinner companion to order the other entree with "helpful comments" or arguing and whining?

7. Will your dinner companion eat off your plate?

8. Will you be able to dissuade dinner companion from eating from your plate with glares, sarcasm, covering your plate with your hands?

When I go out with my husband the answer to 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 is yes, yes, yes, yes and a no. Eating out on any day with husband is a complete sport. So this weekend I made hay when the sun did not shine and spent the weekend perfecting this sport that I have played for a long time.

Recipe -

The recipe this week features a man whose enthusiasm for food matches my own. My husband used this recipe forwarded by our good friend C and made the most startlingly good, restaurant quality rava dosas. You can find this recipe which is in the form of a instructional video here. The man has a number of recipes on his website and most of them look great.