Layered Dependency

I have been born with a golden spoon in my mouth. In lay man words ‘spoilt’. I have all the characteristics, though subdued, of a spoilt kid. Subtly put, if I look at my lifestyle from a third person perspective it does look a bit over the top. From waking up in the morning and finding the bed made and the room straightened on coming out of the shower. The breakfast choice of my preference ready on the table and my lunch packed to go, all I need to do is grab my keys and I am off to work with my office bag in the front seat with the lunch box. I get back home and my clothes are ironed and laid out either for a night out or the kitchens prepped for my next cooking session (of course, under my instructions, the help don’t really run my life). When I get back home, the beds laid out crisp and flat, just the way I like it, no creases and so on. That’s routine.

This is not some extravagant lifestyle choice on a whim or as an inheritor of excess money. It is a lifestyle bestowed upon my right since the time I was born. The grandparents would spoil me rotten and bring me up with cultures intact but yet made sure I got everything I wanted. An upbringing which became a lifestyle, not by choice, is what I am today. Certain things which were considered luxury when I was born such as air conditioning and cars are the middle class necessities today. But nothings changed in my life, I still need my air conditioning at night (cant sleep without the hum and brought myself a humming fridge because the new age ‘silent’ splits really are silent enough to hear a fly flapping by in the room) and cars which are at my disposal (part of it being the siblings job profile wherein there is a car at any given time, left to my preference)

Oddly enough a big question gets raised, what happens if one of these lifestyle choices were taken away from me? Touch wood and being superstitious about writing my destiny in print here but this question is oft raised by my father – a man of simple needs and simpler lifestyle choices, where extravagance is only in the name of the son. He keeps reminding me that as long as we can maintain this lifestyle we can, but what if? Is it really important to have a reality check? Is it really that important to sometimes be self sufficient without depending on other elements?

Yes it is!

Life has thrown its share of troubles to make me struggle it out on my own at some point or the other, this I speak with experience – from a simple thing like feeling embarrassed to be driven to my college with a driver (I mean come on!) and not being old enough to have a drivers license so a period of a few years spent taking the bus; then taking up a job (yes, we don’t have a family business per se) and beggars not being choosers, selecting one which was halfway across town and hence left with no choice but to take a train to recent situations which left me to my resources on taking up a project which went awry due to some other dependent factors and being in power the responsibility being yours and yours only, had to take charge of the situation and get it completed outside my comfort zone to periods of no help at home (due to some unforeseen exodus of house help problems) and having to do everything yourself. At all these times there was only one thought which kept running through my head, you will get through this and the only thing you can truly be dependent on is yourself. There were many more instances; these were just a few to take stock of the situation, I will not bore you with my life span and I am not that much of an open book.

If you have the attitude of living in the moment and within your means, there is nothing which can stop you from living a dream life. If you are not dependent on others (people and material) and at the same time embrace that very dependency factory which is available to you, it’s the perfect example of a perfect lifestyle. Money will go and money will come, you can always save some for the rainy day; people will come and people will go, but as long as you know how to deal with them without crossing limits and create a improbable relationship you will learn to leave a happy taste and move on when the time comes; and last but not the least the one who said you only live once is completely off beam; you die only once but live everyday.

All these things and situations narrow down to dependency, only a fool thinks he has made it on his own; be it career or personal life. At all the times there is a propelling force which is allowing itself to be next to you so you can lean on it when required. Once you learn the ropes, that’s the time you are truly self sufficient and independent. Everyone has a long way to get there, and while some people never find it due to their choices why not get serious and take a reality check – it is never too late.

Encapsulating the same in a dish got me thinking, while making eggplant parmesan – a true blue Italian delight and one of the nicer eggplant preparations after Baingan Bharta, this dish is savoured by most who shy away from eggplant – a not so well appreciated vegetable, hence I made it irresistible with this version of my dish. I personally love eggplant with its meaty inner flesh to the deep purple out skin and the fact that it takes in smoky aromas easily to impart into a dish, this truly is a dependable vegetable. Try this at home with ingredients which are easily available and you will have everyone eating out of your hands – literally.

Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients

• 4 large Eggplants (sliced thickly)
• 8 large tomatoes (cut into chunks)
• 1 can/pack Tomato Puree
• 1 small shallot finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic (smashed in their skins)
• 3 tablsp Olive oil
• 1 cup Basil leaves
• 1 tsp Ajwain seeds (caraway)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Topping

• 4 slices Whole wheat bread (toasted and whizzed in a mixture for bread crumbs)
• ¾ cup Parmesan Cheese (grated)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp Pepper
• Mozzarella cheese (as required)

Prep the eggplants up by placing the thick slices in a colander and sprinkling with salt atop. Keep a few steel plates on top of the slices so they are weighed down. This will ensure correct water draining out as we need to get as much moisture out of the eggplant slices as possible. After about an hour remove and place over paper towel to drain off any excess water.

Mix up the bread crumbs, parmesan and season with salt and pepper, keep aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and shallow fry the eggplant slices till slightly underdone. Remove with slotted spoon and place onto paper towels, repeat a few slices at a time till all are done.

Start the sauce by adding in a teaspoon of oil in a large saucepan, throw in the garlic and shallots and stir fry on medium heat till fragrant. Add in caraway (Ajwain seeds) followed by the tomatoes. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally till the tomatoes chunks go soft. Add the tomato puree and seasonings and cook well till well mixed. You can squish the chunky tomatoes with the back of your cooking spoon to mash them up a bit and release juices as they get softer. Throw in a couple of hand torn basil leaves, stir and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 180C.

To proceed with the layering, take a buttered glass baking dish, spread two large ladlefuls of tomato sauce followed by a layer of a single file of skillet fried eggplant slices, top with mozzarella cheese and basil leaves (whole), top with a handful or two of the bread crumb-cheese mixture and spread to form an even layer, proceed by adding another layer of skillet fried eggplants, this time followed by the sauce then the bread crumb-cheese mixture and another layer of eggplant slices. Finally top with mozzarella cheese and pop into a 180C preheated oven on the middle shelf and bake till slightly browned on the top (about 30 minutes). Allow to rest a while before serving it hot.

Nonchalant Note:

The original recipe calls for the eggplant slices to be dipped in an egg batter and crumb fried then layered and baked, I find this version slightly healthier and nails down the flavors to the “T”.