The Best Chappathis and Aloo Baaji

I simply love chapatis with spicy aloo curry, a cup of curd, a cup of crunchy salad, and some nice mango pickle to complement the main course. It makes your day. Simple, tasty, and memorable. That's what good food is all about. If it done with passion, you will keep coming back for more.

I know of three people in my life who can make some of best chapatis I have ever feasted on.

My cousin sister Kappi (that's my pet name for her), who has relocated from Mumbai to Chennai, my aunt from Mumbai (Perima), and my Guju colleague's mom (Dev D), are the top contenders in the Chapati making category. The Chapatis are delicate and extremely soft, that they melt like butter in your mouth. Some like to grease the top of the Chapati with a dash of ghee for that extra flavour and keep it extra soft, making it irresistible to stop with three or four chapatis.

I have tried making chapatis, but I have been quite a failure at rolling them out evenly. Every time I roll them out, you can see south Africa, India, Australia, and other continents taking shape. I have not given up yet. But I can prepare a fantastic dough with the perfect proportion, even better than my Mom (much to her awe and surprise).

The lovely accompaniment of aloo curry (potato curry) mashed and cooked well with lovely freshly ground spices, with a zing of lime juice, just heightens your senses. With other crunchy additions like a simple tomato-onion-cucumber salad, thick curd, and the pickle makes it a completely surreal experience. I just experienced one today!

My mom had decided to take a kitchen-break and headed for my cousin's place for lunch, while I had to make do with whatever was available in the kitchen for the day. My cousin is one of the best cooks I have been associated with and was not the one to give this opportunity a miss. So I put my foot down and announced my grand arrival for lunch. You can imagine the rest of this I love food story. We had a happy host and a thrilled guest who blessed her host with a lifetime of peace and happiness for sharing such a wonderful rainy Sunday afternoon with simple, delicious dishes, made straight from the heart

This was undoubtedly one of the best days of my life!