Spontaneity is the spice of life

I have this borderline obsessive compulsive disorder of doing the right things at the right time. There has to be planning at all stages, if anything is awry or out of line it’s a bit ticking off. In these times, it is really not that acceptable to be so rigid with rules. It’s alright to live by the rules on a general basis but many times, a little bit of spontaneity makes things spicier. It’s ok to jump the rules sometimes and think or act out of the box. In many cases, pretty much opposite of your usual nature, would be termed as spontaneous.

I recall a certain incident which took place a couple of weeks ago at a dinner invite by a recently opened top end hotel chain who were introducing their premises to a select crowd. I was invited to this do for an evening filled with new people, a wide spread tasting menu and wine. I had taken a friend along, it was a usual Friday night, I had thought to myself, nothing wrong in checking out the newbie’s and see what’s in store at these happening new places. It was not disappointing at all; we soon mingled our way around and a surprise in store with a big screen airing the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Sports, alcohol and exhilaration are such a combination that it did not take too long to get the adrenaline pumping and the energy to intensify. Hungry as hell, we soon realized we needed to get our hands on the spread laid out before us. I made a beeline for the live pasta counter, picked out a host of ingredients and asked the chef to whip up a delicious penne with pink sauce (the combination of spicy marinara with béchamel looked too hard to resist, as usual I wanted the best of both worlds), well here comes the dampener to my order, no Penne! They had Spiral, Farfelle and Tagliatelle, but no Penne. I think the chef sensed my discomfort and immediately offered to scoot off to the kitchen and get me a bowl. I did not refuse.

The next mistake, obviously the chef not realizing that I was not the only person in the dining area who was going to eat at the live pasta counter, was taking his own time, probably hastily tearing open a pack of penne and giving it a good old six minute boil, what he (nor me) realized was that we had twenty, hungry, crazed cricket fans waiting to get a go at a bite before the next over began. I think this was putting a lot of other people’s plans and mood in jeopardy just for a silly little whim I could have done without. Soon I had people breathing down my neck, any moment then I felt I’d probably be ousted like a batsman gone out on a duck.

Presence of mind or call it wicked spontaneity, I took over the pan, much to the bewilderment of the wok chef at the next table, gave him a “can I” look, nodded a permission, turned around and said sorry to keep you all waiting, but I am a chef too (yes, they need not have known I was a chef at home) and what would they prefer while I waited for my penne. A little skeptical someone murmured red sauce with “any” pasta (stressing on the word any, lest I sent another person running off to get it) I turned up the heat, throwing in the ingredients which usually go well with the marinara, and whipped up pasta for the hungry fans now virtually salivating but still eager to get back at their seats. By the time I was done tossing up this dish making quite a spectacle of myself (in a good way) the penne wielding chef returned, looking awfully apologetic and shocked at my intrusion. I spooned out the marinara sauced pasta to the others, held out my hand to the chef, thanked him and requested him to proceed with my pasta.

With the air of an ego massaged kick, I walked off to my table, to receive accolades from the others and a VIP treatment from the chefs in waiting. This was a moment I would cherish for a long time…it did add a bit of spice to my life!

A spontaneous summer gourmet dish I created out of pure love for pasta, but this time chilled and in the form of salad, accompanied by an equally cool summer inspired accompaniment – a chilled shot of cucumber yoghurt soup. I am sure you would love to whip up this combination – spontaneously.

Ingredients:

For the pasta salad

• 1 cup Baby Farfelle
• ½ cup Red, Yellow and Green Bell Peppers (thinly sliced)
• 1 Large Fresh Red Chili (sliced in thin roundels)
• 4 nos Black Olives (sliced in thin roundels)

For the dressing

• ½ cup Mayonnaise
• 2 tablsp Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Yellow Mustard Sauce (prepared fresh)
• 1 tsp White Wine Vinegar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tsp Powdered Sugar
• A pinch of dried mint
• Salt and Freshly Crushed Black Peppercorns to taste

Whip all the ingredients of the dressing in a glass bowl, refrigerate to chill. Prepare the pasta in a hot pot of water till al dente (about six minutes) and toss with some olive oil, leave in the colander to cool. Once cooled, toss in the peppers, chillies and olives, add the dressing one spoon at a time (you might just use half of it, the other half can be safely stowed away in your refrigerator for over a week) and give the salad a good toss. Serve Cold with Cucumber Yoghurt Soup.

For the Cucumber Yoghurt Soup

• 1 large Cucumber
• 1 cup Hung Curd (whisked well) and chilled
• 1 tsp Olive Oil
• 1 tablsp Fresh Dill (snipped)
• A small handful of coriander or parsley (finely chopped)
• Few leaves mint (finely chopped)
• A pinch of Garlic Salt (or garlic powder with a little salt)
• Freshly cracked pepper to taste

Cut about ¼ of the cucumber with the skin on into small cubes, keep aside. Peel the rest of the cucumber, deseed as much as you can and cut into tiny rough pieces. Place them in a colander and sprinkle a little garlic salt, place in the refrigerator with a bowl beneath the colander once the water has drained out, place the cucumber with the rest of the ingredients in a blender. Give it a good whir and pour out into small shot glasses. Garnish with cucumber cubes and serve chilled with cold pasta salad.