"Can I try that?" I asked the tired husband with my finger pointing to a picture of black stone bowl holding some assorted ingredients, that looked like raw vegetables and egg.

"Whatever! Am ordering a thali meal from the indian counter" replied a visibly irritated husband.

He had every reason to get annoyed as it was our second week in Japan and I almost wanted to try out new things every time we went out. More often than not I could not finish the dish because of some ingredient unknown to me and we had to go up and order yet another burger from MacD.

But that day was not the same. The Dolsot Bibimbap that I got afterwards was delicious to boot. While ordering I requested them to poach the egg and while serving they gestured me to handle the blisteringly hot stone bowl carefully. The meal that followed afterwards was like an one pot wonder. It had everything from Crunchy sauteed vegetables, marinated pickle, stir fried sprouts, Little bit of meat, one fried egg with a shiny orange yolk and a big dollop of gochujang, a Korean spicy chili paste that brings all the flavour, texture and taste together. We literally licked the bowl clean and went back the next day for another serving.

It is said that experience makes you wise. I agree whole heartedly  but at the same time their are certain sensibilities that are instilled in you during your growing up years. or to put it more appropriately it's part of your ethical and moral principal that governs the sense, thoughts and actions in deciding whats right and whats wrong. Same goes with maintaining a healthy balance in everything you do. Now thats a very interesting aspect of life. There is no universally acceptable scale to decide your equilibrium point...rather its your sense and sensibility to priorities your responsibilities and assigning time accordingly is supposed to give you desired result.

My stay in Japan is memorable in many ways. Not only it gave me an insight into living life in a foreign country but also taught the real value of relationship. Near or far ,many times we just forget or to put it more appropriately...the daily rut consumes us so much that we dont think of how special, how blessed we are to belong to a family. but being away makes our heart ache for those familiar touch, caressing voice. for some people its never a home away from home if your family is not around. but then, that is what life is all about. Making adjustments, finding happiness in a distant land makes us stronger. and having good friends makes the task much more easier. They are family when you are away and provides the comfort of home away from home when you seek.

I was blessed to find such friends in Japan. Lets call them S and T. We lived in the same apartment and the fact that all of us had kids of almost same age helped the matter initially. With the onset of heavy cold winter our friendship became more cosier. Every evening we used to meet at one of our apartments to have our cup of tea or coffee. While the boys played, fought, screamed and patched up amongst themselves we used this time to unwind from the daily grind. We shared everything from life to jokes to annoying habits of our husbands and more often than not food. We tried to support each other with whatever way possible. If one was not well the other did the grocery or looked after the kids. 

White sweet water fish in a thick, delicate yet spicy gravy laced with the sensational aroma of green chilies... is how I would describe the dish. Oh! I forgot to add the term silky. Yes silky, creamy and smooth from all the poppyseeds paste that gives it a distinct flavour. 

I cannot claim that I grew up eating this. Rather its my love for everything posto that made me develop this recipe. When I searched I saw plenty of Fish curries with posto on net with each one being slightly different from the other, keeping space for the creator's distinct taste preferences. Mine definitely is the one where Posto or poppy-seeds rule the dish with its delicate yet pronounced flavour.

"...someone seriously should think of bottling this aroma..."she said with a sheepish grin while taking out the freshly baked chocolate squares from the oven. Her hands measured, mixed, folded, poured and baked delectable treats one after another without a bit of tension or stress on her happy demeanor. Pooja Dhingra the ace baker of Mumbai was recently in town to launch her first book the 'Big book of treats' over an interactive baking session. The Corner courtyard, the quaint boutique hotel on Sarat Bose Road, provided the perfect venue and hosted the event beautifully.