Day 2 of Living With My Boyfriend's Indian Mother

As soon as the noises die down, my next sense becomes inundated with smells from the kitchen. First, there is the stink of cabbage soaking in water, still wafting through my tiny apartment since 10:30am. Now, as Mrs. Singh begins to cook again at noon, masala fills the air. Garlic, ginger, cumin, mustard seeds cooked in oil, ready for the resting cabbage to jump in. The cooking process is like a long journey that disappears without a trace after the last bite; beginning at 10:30am and finishing sometime close to 1:30pm; a process that us Americans take a while to get used to.
Lunch is not a cold sandwich eaten in 10 minutes, it is a whole, well-rounded meal taking hours to create. Everyday since my future mother in law arrive here in San Jose, I have had a huge, warm meal for lunch. It consists of: Daal (a kind of lentil soup), vegetable, as she calls it, which is generally a different vegetable (cabbage, potato, pea, bean etc.) everyday that is cooked in aforementioned spices, plus a few more; then there is white rice, of course, and a small amount of salad-tomato, onion, and cilantro. So, there is already a giant mouthful but, of course, I am not finished. The most important part, and most delicious I might ad, is the roti. A delicious Indian-style bread, made from wheat flour and water, that is rolled very thin and fried in a pan. The roti cooks on the pan, puffing and inflating like a balloon, then falling flat at the finish. All of this is consumed for lunch, and the very thought of it is making me full.

Now, most people tend to think that Indian food is healthy, and for the most part it is, but a lot of salt, oil, and ghee (clarified butter) is used in each meal. These Indian meals can be quite deceitful because I'm gorging away thinking I am being good and not eating meat and losing weight. Boy, am I wrong! While the whole no meat thing is helping, the amount of ghee slathered on the rotis, and the large amount of starchy, carby white rice eaten at lunch is very confusing to my body. I have to say that I do feel as though I have lost some weight, but this could all be in my head. I have also been going on a run everyday to balance out the universe. I will now keep track of my weight over the next month to see if this vegetarian, buttery, carby food is helping or hurting. All I know is that Mrs. Singh is quite thin, and it is very kind of her to serve me this delicious, warm meal everyday. I quite think that it would be difficult to go back to that cold sandwich after eating this meal everyday.

to be continued tomorrow....

A Day in the Life...with an Indian Future Mother-in-Law

I can barely hear myself think as the plumbers in my bathroom repetitiously bang away at something; it sounds like they are tearing down the entire wall as they speak furiously in Spanish to each other. Then there is Mrs. Singh in the next room doing her pooja; praying over candles and statues of gods on top of our very attractive, plastic storage cabinet. All I can hear over the clanging, her quickly and rhythmically mumbling Hindi prayers. But, of course, that is not all the music I can hear from my little desk in the corner. Then there is the excruciatingly loud hissing that is coming from the kitchen as the pressure cooker, as if it is about to take off and sail around the room expelling rice and steam, screeches and whines on the burner. Needless to say, I can barely write this right now.

I am listening to three different languages while I try to write in another. The Spanish from the plumbers, the Hindi from my boyfriend's mother, and the yelling from the rice in the kitchen. The Spanish could be understandable after my four years in High School, but is so mumbled and fast, covered by all the other sounds, that I have no idea. The Hindi, I am still working on, and as for the rice, I have no idea how to work a pressure cooker. So, I sit here, the only noise I am making is the tapping of the keyboard and an occasional click of the mouse.

Aha! The banging has stopped, the pooja is finished, and the rice has calmed down. Of course, this quiet will not stay for long. Now, I hear the Hindi songs coming from the bedroom. Mrs. Singh is now singing along to some old tunes from the mother country as begins to cook lunch. The plumber said his goodbye, but he will be back to bang some more. Now I am sitting here thinking, "How fast can I get out of here?" But then I remember that I should go for a run, take a shower, finishing some cleaning, and then eat lunch with Momma Singh.

to be continued tomorrow....