Superbowl 2014 was very different because we didn't actually watch it! well, here's why....We gathered at our home, the four couples, as we do every 6 weeks or so. It was almost  12.45pm and no one showed. We were starting to wonder if they thought it was the following Saturday?!

I had 2 missed calls from Nuna. When I called her back she said the traffic up on the Sunol grade was barely moving. Shekar advised her to exit on 84 towards Livermore and then head west to reach our home. I then decided to give Maya and Shobi the alternate route as well. They all finally reached around 1.30pm.

In the meantime, I was still debating if an appetizer was necessary because every one is so carb conscious these days. I also wanted the shrimp curry and grilled chicken to be popular. I chose shrimp curry for  this following reason/s, as ridiculous as it may seem.

About 24 years ago, hahaha! yes, you read me right, 24! Shekar and I visited North Beach to meet up with Larry Buyers and some friends. Larry was Shekar's fellow Banking associate/friend. We had recently moved to the Bay area, so Larry suggested I try the Cioppino. I had ALL of it and I mean polished it all off. On our drive back home, I broke into these hives and my lips got so swollen. I could hardly move my lips. Later that night, at the the emergency room, doctors said I have an allergic reaction to shell-fish. I tell you this has been such a topic since. Shekar policed my every restaurant visit! Arjun and Krishna would both simply freak out if they saw shrimp on the menu even posted on the outside of the restaurant door! There have been occasions where Krishna would not step into a restaurant thinking mom would probably pass out, let alone him trying the shrimp scampi at Bubba Gump's that went to on couple of New Year's eve occasions. Shekar suggested we carry an epi- pen on our travel to Spain because he read somewhere, even vegetarian paella had squid ink in it! Talk about sacrifices. Thank You boys for taking care of  me.

So the years passed and I was avoiding shrimp. In the meanwhile I had developed a bunch of issues with digestion. After endless trips to various doctors, I finally ended up finding the right person at the most unexpected place. I went to the chiropractor to rid myself of the IT band pain that I had supposedly developed during my Zumba classes! I'm not indicating Zumba causes IT band issues, but it's my posture or whatever I did that caused it. As I was sitting around waiting for Dr George Kirk, I saw a flyer posted on the wall. It said something to the effect, rid yourself of metabolic sluggishness or something like that. I got myself talking to Dr and Mrs Lisa Kirk that same afternoon and she was very empathetic towards me. She immediately suggested I get a food and environmental allergy test done. That, my friends, is the main reason shrimp is on my menu today!

Somewhere along the way, my body had got rid of the allergy to shrimp. So my advice for you:  check it out every 25 years or so !!

The shrimp curry is a special recipe that Actresses Radha and Ambika's mom, Sarasamma aunty made at our home, when she visited us in 1990 I believe! I hadn't written the recipe down at all. Not a single word, but I knew the exact steps and it etched it's way into my memory for good! but I wasn't sure of the quantity and didn't want to miss any ingredient. I knew the recipe had a good amount of grated coconut, and so I decided to 'google' the recipe. Guess what! I found the exact one! I was so excited to find this link. I even looked at the author to make sure it wasn't Sarasamma Nair! Worst case, I could call Ambika and ask her for the recipe. She would be more than happy to give it to me I'm sure. If you like shrimp, you will enjoy both making and devouring this special curry, I guarantee it!

I hope you are with me so far!  So, enough of my long meandering stories, now back to the appetizer, which of course has another story behind it! During my most recent visit to India, Suhasini and I decided very reluctantly to go on a ten day, very drastic protein diet. The details of which I shall reserve for another blog posting. I will start thinking about writing it after consulting with her! Anyway, of course since we were on a SEE food diet, as we watched other people eat, every morsel of every one of them looked every bit like the most lip smackingly delicious on the planet! We both decided to actually start handling food and cooking by ourselves to combat this 11 day rigor! On one such SEE food diet occasions, their resident cook "Gajalakshmi" as I have re-christened her, proposed making "thayir rotti". I walked with her to the kitchen and witnessed the making of one of the most delicious and sought after appetizers I have ever made! Thanks to Suhasini and "Gaja " for the live demo!

One secret it, to this day , I have NOT TASTED IT!
Remember the digestive issues mentioned above and the food allergy test results? that's why!

So, back at our lunch party, the thayir rotti was the SUPER BOWL! We turned off the tv eventually, as we had more interesting things to talk about such as my protein diet, few other recipes, and we girls and boys shared many more interesting happenings in each of our lives!

As we came to a close, I had many requests for the thayir rotti. It came to be renamed YOGURT SANDWICH by now. I had just made it from memory though. Here it is, just as I typed it out for Maya's Ashok.

Yogurt Sandwich:
For 6 slices of bread - serves two -dinner.

• Cut each in 4 to serve as appetizer for 4 people.                    
• Get store bought curry leaf chutney or make your own by dry roasting 1 or 2 dry red chilli. 
• 2 TBL spns Urad Dal, 2 tbl spns Channa Dal and grinding with tamarind, handful curry leaves, half handful cilantro, salt and water. 
• Spread the chutney between two bread slices. Heat oil. Add mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon urad dal, and chopped cashewnuts. 
• When cashew turns very light brown add finely chopped onions, chopped green chillies, chopped curry leaves and finely chopped ginger. All per your taste. 
• When onion is well sautéed turn off stove and add chopped cilantro. Let it cool. In 2 and half cups yogurt add salt and sugar to taste. 
• Add the sautéed cashew onion mix to this yogurt. 
• 5 minutes before serving generously add yogurt mixture into the bread 'sandwich'. 
• Enjoy!

Here is a video of the recipe, which I found later when Maya's Ashok wanted to send the recipe in Tamil for his Dad. So, lazy Jai YouTube searched this recipe and sent it to him!

This is why I find life very interesting. Every bit of what we do has a little story behind, to tell.

 The whole reason for this blog post is Maya Kumar! Two days ago we messaged each other about what we were both doing. She was of course 'lawyering', while I responded I am making an instant 'Nasi Goreng' type dish but with all fresh ingredients. The recipe was simple. I stir fried chicken strips with KECAP MANIS and some SRIRACHA sauce. Added the rice, quinoa and low GI rice combo that I had previously cooked. It tasted very good per Krishna and he was a happy diner. He even gave me 5 star reviews for my dish. At 15 I must say, he is a pretty nasty critic. So getting a thumbs up from him is like overachieving with an A+.
I was sharing this with Maya, all via text, and she suggested I start blogging. "Me?", I said "I can't blog! I am too lazy for that!" But here I am, cannot stop blogging and I cannot thank Maya enough for finding me a new hobby.

more to come....