Simple Things in Life

No, I am not posting a receipe! No, I am not taking cooking classes, and there is no way I am a chef. And no, I am not out of ideas to write that I am suddenly posting cooking related content. There is a reason for this post and I am randomly posting it to a community that I don't really post often, but I think maybe my content can be of interest to them. Just as a test to have some fun.

I do cook a meal that I can feed myself and my family. I enjoy cooking for myself, always did. I typically make simple meals and I like eating simple meals with just one item. The reason I came up with this post is quite simple. I was talking to @juanmolina on food. I was discussing what would be the cost of a 1 kilo of chicken and maybe I was thinking, if I can feed my family with it ot not. Then I thought,... I skipped breakfast today, maybe I can cook some late lunch while the wife and kids are away for shopping, and eat. So I did.

I am originally from West Bengal, and the item I cooked is called Dal (lentil curry). Hey, there won't be any step - by - step receipe. Go to the internet for that! I was more interested in the cost.

Ingredients:

1. Masoor Dal (lentil 1, like Thing 1) 4 TBL spoon (4 lb = $2.30, 4 TBL spoon ~1 cents?)
2. Moong Dal (lentil 2, like Thing 2) 100 gm (4 lb = $2.30, ~12 cents)
3. 1/2 White Onion (3lb bag, $2; 10 onions, 1/2 onion = 20 cents)
4. 4 Campari Tomatoes (12 oz pack, $5, 20 tomatoes, 4 tomatoes = $1)
5. 1/2 garlic pod (1 pod = 45 cents, 1/2= 23 cents)
6. Serano pepper (1lb = $1.41, 4 pepper ~ 16 cents)
7. Totillas (10 pack = $2, I ate 2 ; 40 cents)
8. Mango Pickle on the side (priceless!) my friend made it for me!
9. Dal Fry Masala (priceless!) my mom gave me in March!
10. Pinch of salt and sugar to taste (don't know the cost)

Total cost = $2.12.... 2 cents of canola oil Grand Total ($2.14)

Man! Tomatoes are EXPENSIVE!

Cooking

Hey, there won't be step - by - step, I tell you again and again! But, this is almost that. That is the point of writing cooking recipe's on hive, anyways? Who do you think will come to hive to read about cooking? Let me answer, NO ONE! Other than your friends of course, who will come regardless!

Its fairly straight forward on a Hawkins Pressure Cooker, anyways! I chopped the vegetables (left, 2/3 of the peppers for garnish). I put a few spoons of canola oil (sorry man, I don't know how much it costs, I bought a 24 oz bottom of Canola Oil several months back for $1.63, and it is still going strong), probably cost less than a cent for a couple of spoon full. Then I fried the chopped onion and garlic till brownish, then added the chopped tomatoes and pepper (part of it) and then the masala and fried it. Added, Thing 1+2 lentils, , and sauted it a bit, and then added 4 cups of water (free) and put the lid on the pressure cooker. Oh, I remember to turn on the fire on step ZERO!! LOL! Oh Oh!! I did add salt and sugar (pinch) to taste! Phew!

It took 1 whistle on the pressure cooker, and it was done! You saw the ugly first picture. Nah! I changed the first picture to the finished product! Deal with it! There will be the finished product picture twice! Then, here in the grocery stores, we you get made Totillas which are basically chapaties that we were used to back home. So here, its easy, you just heat them up.

Done!

Here is my meal. My late lunch/ early dinner (I don't think I will eat dinner tonight) for $2.14. This much Dal will last me the whole next week, as I don't like to cook in the middle of the week. I will likely just make either Totilla, Rice or Paratha to go with the Daal. That's about it.

Currency Conversion & Cost of living

I was born in the developing world. That time people used to say '3rd World' (they still do, behind closed doors). I was born in poverty. I have seen poverty not only in India, but in many places, all over the world, including the United States, which I call my home now. I don't need to worry about my personal living expenses any more, thankfully. I don't know, how I did it, and I don't have a receipe for you. What I do know, I have seen people to have fun within poverty.

That brings me to the cost of living. Often, we just convert USD to a weaker currency and try to understand cost of living. Nothing can be further from the truth. Many items do not convert one-to-one. Cost of a cheeseburger, or a bottle of milk is not a good measure as well. The comparison is complicated. I typically look into a whole bunch of items, food being only one.

I have no problem, Juan Molina, if people earn money from hive. I support that, I want them to do that. What I don't like is if people are rude to me, because I treat everyone with respect. I also don't like if people are trying to say that I am stupid/uneducated and I don't understand, because I understand a lot more than most common people. I have studied most of my life, and still do.

Oh, Juan, it took about about 30 min to cook this meal, and about 10 min to take pictures and eat; and about 3 hours to write with pictures (I couldn't do it straight, as there were inturruptions).

PS. I added the tag #piotr, I have no idea what it does, but I am willing to test it out.

So, How much does food cost at your place? How to you make them? What is your most common meal? One item, two, more? Do you cook, or you eat out? Let me know :)