It always feels nice when someone treats you but when there is an extra effort made in making the dish by himself/herself , it makes the treat more special and memorable .
This Friday afternoon , I was invited to my friend Arnab’s house for lunch .And when I came to know that he would be preparing the chicken himself I was a little skeptical .
When I reached his house the chicken was already marinated ……
Every thing was first made ready from chopped onion to garlic and onion paste . Kadhai chaadane ke baad I was just like a enthusiastic kid , watching my friend do his thing , trying to learn as much as possible . Something I observed that cooking is more about estimation which you learn from experience …. kitna masala dalna hai , kitna der tak onions aur tomato ko cook karna hai before you put in the chicken and most importantly kitna namak aur mircha dalna hai 
He was very measured in his approach as he used to put water in the kadhai when he thought it was required and not at one go .
Baat karte karte the chicken was ready and it was time to put some generous dollops of butter to give the finishing touch to the dish .
Ab toh muh pe paani aa raha tha …..
Jaldi se bahar jakar tandoori roti aur cold drink le ke aa gaye .
And then the easy part ….. bas toot pade chicken par ….. gossiping with the chicken leg piece in my hand like some prized possession 
All the doubts I had with regards to Arnab’s cooking were put to rest ….. it was awesome
After filling our stomachs to the brim …. gaana sunte sunte bed pe let gaye . Pata nahin aankh kab lag gayi ….. a real Bengali when it comes to afternoon sleep
Then in the evening he dropped me to my house with the left over chicken packed for my family …. such a caring baccha
And my family loved it too
Thanx a ton again Arnab for the wonderful lunch
Before I finish this post I surely cannot forget that I also had the good fortune of feasting on chicken made by Rakeshji … my roomie in the hostel . Thanx to Sanjeev and Namo too for making that Holi extra special . The only difference was that making it on the heater is far more difficult than on the gas …. and there was no mixer to make the onion and ginger paste too . I remember how we had to make the paste and also that we made Sid’s room so messy
PS - I have always been fascinated by the many cooking shows broadcast on TV but never had the courage or the need to give it a try . But now I am surely going to make an honest attempt to learn to prepare some dishes . So friends beware ……… my next little experiment might leave a unforgettable taste on your palate
achha hua warning de diye… ab nai aaenge tumhare ghar agar aunty nai hongi…