This is a post for food lovers :)
Earlier this year, the Pune Mizo mother's group of our PMCF church had a potluck dinner. For those who are unaware, a potluck gathering is where every participant brings along one or two dishes to contribute. It was a strictly mother's only event, and even the husbands were not allowed to participate. I was invited :D
And so this was how it happened.
My lonely single bachelorhood had grown to such an alarming rate that even the mother's group was concerned about me. "No bleeding heart should beat alone", that was the motto of our Pune Mizo mother's group (even they may not be aware of their motto :P ). So in the hope that my rusty frail heart might find hope again, they invited me and gave me advice and encouragement about relationships.
Left to right: Pi Remruati, Pi Carol Mazuali, Pi Teresa, Pi Baby Sainguri, Pi Athari, Pu Lonely heart, Pi RSPy, Pi Mateteii, Pi Rosy, Pi Zodini and Pi Madiki.
I loveee how Pi Rosy's son is looking at me in the above pic! :D
As Khalil Gibran once wrote, "Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls." Well, I am here standing and waiting by the sea, all by my lonely self, with the full support of our Pune Mother's group acting as the lighthouse that will guide the boat towards me… don't let me drown… :)
The mother's group had a prayer meet, which was followed by them learning a song they were going to perform at Church later.
I on the other hand was in the other room babysitting all their children. I managed to teach some of their kids Shakespeare and Quantum Physics, so it was a productive night :P
Once the mothers were all satisfied with their song rehearsal, it was finally time to eat! Here are some of the lovely dishes they brought to the potluck dinner that night. Thanks to Teresa and Zodini for giving me details about the dish and the names of the "cooker". All the moms were great cookers. But that night Teresa was under a lot of pressure, so she was a pressure cooker. :P
Yummy Pork boiled with Mustard leaves by the host Pi Baby Sainguri.
Drumstick buhchiar! The drumstick leaves were brought by Pi Madiki, and Pi Teresa turned it into bai buhchiar (kedgeree) at the venue. St. Teresa, the Patron Saint of Bai :D
Nice Mizo style Dal by Pi Baby Sainguri.
Delicious Beef fry by Pi Madiki, though I suspect her husband might have a role in cooking this :D :P
Chicken with skin buhchiar by Pi Teresa. By the way, is it correct to translate buhchiar in English as "Kedgeree" or are "Broth" or "Stew" closer to it?
Top: Chicken sausage by Pi Mateteii. Methi tauh by Pi Remruati. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I'm not mistaken, "Tauh" is a method of preparation by mixing crushed peanuts, garlic and chillies.
Bottom: Nutrela bawl by Pi Carol Mazuali. Bawl is another indigenous method of preparation where ingredients like Zawngtah (Parkia speciose aka stinky beans) along with Soda, Salt, Ajinomoto and Saum (fermented pork fat, Teresa said the English word for Saum is Saums) are added to the mix.
Clockwise from top: Tomato, Capsicum and Dhania mix fry and Mula salad along with Changkha (Bitter gourd boiled) with Bastenga by Pi Zodini. Hmarcha muh (grinded roasted chillies with some pork fat) by Pi Teresa. Chicken fry by Pi Athari.
Apart from all the delicious dishes above, there was also Alu Chops prepared by Pi RSPy, and grinded Baibing (Alocasia fornicate) prepared by Pi Rosy. However, I somehow missed taking their photos.
So I had to search on google for the images for those two dishes to put on my blog in case Pi RSPy and Pi Rosy feel left out. Here is a picture of Mizo style Alu Chop from Google image search:
[Pic source: Mizo online store MizDen]
And here is a picture of Baibing from Google image search.
[Pic source: Loughborough University]
Yeah that's Professor Baibing Li :D
Anyway, we really enjoyed the awesome dinner. Mothers are the best when it comes to cooking awesome cuisines. We all ate so much that night.
And so that was my memorable escapade with our Pune Mother's Group. They filled my empty stomach with food, and my empty heart with hope. I felt less lonely that night as I reached my single bachelor pad. I even listened to "Nobody knows" by Tony Rich Project only five times before sleeping that night, for a change.
Here's to the awesome support system from our Mizo community. Hope you enjoyed the scrumptious Mizo food. Cheers for now everyone, happy weekend.
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