the invictus and her victus - simple daily food

waking up from a bad bout of flu, the likes of which can only be found under the 20 odd inches of snow in the tri-state this year, i heard from Atul that in my delirium i was asking for my mother. naaah, i would never. at 30? my grumbling stomach reminds me that it was probably her simple everyday food and its complex flavor pockets exploding in my mouth that i was craving after the tasteless abyss that my tongue had been punished with. venturing into the inner depths of my fridge, i notice i have a whole cabbage awaiting its dreaded fate into the plates of: i don't really like cabbage THAT much!

i decide that since this is the year of sheer perfection (aha, you didn't expect THAT to be my resolution, did you?) i shall turn this swirl of green into something no one shall be able to ignore.

i closed my eyes, prayed to the god of all things food - Ron Weasley, who else. i was rewarded the minute i opened my spice drawer. there sat in front of me, the oft ignored hing. hing or asafoetida as the shoprite label calls it, is the powder of a herb root. with its pungent smell and tasteless identity, it gets introduced only when cooking troublesome (read: for digestion) food. i have seen it work wonders when introuced accidentally - so why not!
so i heat up some olive oil, add my regular dash of mustard seeds and slit green chillies. note to self: never, never ever listen to people who want to de-seed green chillies. yes, they have a ton of heat. they also have a ton of acid that helps the oil seep into food resulting in brilliant flavor every single time. as soon as my green chillies turned to a light green softness, i added a heaped teaspoonful of our pungent friend. the kitchen smelled awesome already and the cabbage was still just sitting on the chopping board.

it decidedly had to jump in - which it did (ahem!) i was patient this time (remember the resolution??) and added a good teaspoonful of turmeric. another note to self: this is not just a spice that you use for color. the flavor that haldi or turmeric can lend to most veggies is irreplacable. not covering the cabbage and letting it sweat with some salt and brown sugar, i began chopping coriander. WHAT? no coriander in a dish of cabbage? i'm sorry, maybe i wasn't clear earlier. there is ONE rule to this kitchen, there are no rules before the basic rule of uncompromised flavor. after 20 minutes of cardio time in the wok, my light yellow colored cabbage (thanks to the haldi) was following all the proper ettiquette that a vegetable should and i was beginning to see what i call moisture.
i reduced the flame, added a big dash of cayenne and finally sprinkled a good handful of chopped coriander.
it is at times like these that i have no resolve and the term LADY or even WOMAN does not apply to my being any more. i HAVE to eat and eat we did.
in glorious heaps on our plates was the kobhi bhaji looking pretty in its yellow and green-ness.

i regret to say that i did not make good use of the brilliant phone camera to caputre this moment. i shall cook this again over the weekend, and not just because i want to post a picture. it is almost time to go home and guess what my stomach is questioning me about!