zest appeal.

Completely in love with Nigella Lawson, I decided to try for the first time- Linguine with Mushrooms and Lemon zest. My house help was making merry with his relatives somewhere and my mom, well she wasn’t in the best of spirits. Hence I decided to try what seemed quite easy on television as you do no more to the mushrooms than slice them, steep them in extra virgin olive oil, add to that a bunch of things and toss them into hot cooked pasta. Here I would like to bring to your notice the difference between our lives that we lead in our modular kitchens and Nigellas perfect kitchen where boiling gravy never stains the walls, the crockery looks like a fresh cut diamond set at all times and even the insides of a raw turkey seem to smell nice. Sometimes there is a very thin line between reality and television, its delicate and flimsy but it sure as hell is there. I felt like I was Nigella Lawson herself, feeling particularly artistic I started off by tying up my otherwise very wild hair neatly into a bun, and washing my hands (Yes, I do think it is very important to mention this here) I  made notes of what all I needed and then I began to assemble everything in the most creative way I knew, in order of size. I got out my knife and chopping board and chopped my button mushrooms which wasn’t as easy as I had imagined- for when soaked for a while in water the insides tend to get mushy (maybe that’s where they get the name?), and I at any cost required all of them to look alike cause my mom always says that they should be identical, my mom even shells peas that are indistinguishable! To that I added 3 generous spoons of delicious olive oil. I grated into the bowl lemon zest and garlic. There is something about the two together that makes me feel really good about everything in life. Pepper and salt went in next and then I squeezed in half a lemon to that golden-brown mushroom salad. I had already boiled water for my linguine, so in went half a packet and in ten odd minutes my pasta was ready. Here was the trick that I thought would make my culinary endeavors successful. To add a small bowl of the boiling water into the mixture right after you position the pasta in the mushroom salad. Apparently the starchiness gives the dish a real kick (?!) Anyway, still feeling overtly confident I followed the recipe and my linguine was ready to be served. I didn’t want my family to starve so I sautéed in butter a few tomatoes and potatoes, and seasoned them with basil. I was so nervous, I always say how I really really want to be a chef but then what if I wasn’t good enough? Well my fears were substantiated with answers soon after, I took the first bite.

Yes. It tasted like someone has added a lot of lemon to perfectly cooked linguine (I shall take credit for that) also I think the mushroom salad was too little and the linguine was too much, well it’s the recipes fault, they had measurements in gms and mls not cups and spoons! So the flavor was very mild. My sister dismissed it, she jumped for the potatoes, my uncle said he liked it and my mom said she would add to it chilly flakes and that it would taste better. I really don’t understand the addition of ketchup or chilly flakes to anything until and unless its completely bland- as was my fancy linguine.

So all my efforts and build ups came crashing down to what people often refer to as reality. I am not Nigella Lawson, I am Udita Jain, and I am 19 and by the time im 21 I will be a lot better at this J