Iram stepped inside the Khan villa after her neighbour Salma. She followed her inside the house.
“Iram, Arzaan Sahab is allergic to milk. So he can't consume dairy products. He only drinks green tea. Keep that always in mind while cooking food for him. The cook before you had forgotten it once and was immediately fired.” Salma instructed her while taking to the kitchen.
It was early in the morning. The owner of the villa, Arzaan Khan Bahadur, was yet come downstairs. But the servants were already present in the house and were doing their daily duties. The driver was washing the car. The gardener was sweeping the fallen leaves and dried flower petals. The watchman was sitting at his chair idly. The maids, Salma and one young lady Alishba were cleaning the house. While Iram, the new cook, was preparing the first ever meal for her new employer. She quickly pulled out her phone and searched for some dairy-free breakfast recipes.
“Spiced oatmeal fritters with coconut caramel pears? No. Coconut crepes with raspberry sauce. Where would I get raspberry sauce now? Pancetta and pepper piperade. What does that even mean? Egg and tomato baps. Oh, sounds quick and easy. Let's cook this.”
She put on the white apron and pulled her hair into a tight bun to not let her hair strand fall into the food by any chance. She fetched tomatoes, eggs and bread roll from the refrigerator. She chopped the tomatoes and put them on frying pan to let them get soften up and get some soupy texture. Then she cracked eggs into a bowl, stirred them to get a thin texture and then poured the mixture into the pan. She mixed the tomatoes and egg yolk mixture finely and add some coriander leaves as well. When the tomato egg mixture was cooked, she cut a bread roll in two parts and placed the tomato egg mixture between the breads. And the breakfast was ready. She prepared the green tea as well. Iram put the egg and tomato baps and the green tea on a tray and took it to the dining table. She put the breakfast in front of the empty head chair and headed back to the kitchen.
“I hope he likes the food.” She prayed and began washing the utensils.
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Arzaan looked at his reflection in the mirror one last time before heading downstairs. Salma had brought a new cook. His assistant Kashif had run a background check on her and she was a harmless woman blessed with culinary skills.
With him being allergic to milk, he had missed upon tasting various delicious delicacies. Butter Chicken, Shahi Paneer, Malai Kofte, Matar Paneer, Palak Paneer and the list never ends. He was missing on a lot of tasty dishes. Even though he was a big foodie.
He reached the dining table and saw his breakfast already served. It was something similar to a burger. He took his seat and took a sip of green tea before tasty the burger like thing. It tasted like egg and tomato with a hint of coriander. He never had something like this before. But he liked whatever it was.
After having a surprisingly tasty breakfast, he left for the office.
💞💞💞
Iram spent rest of the day helping Salma and Alishba with the other household chores. Alishba was twenty year old, five years younger than her. So they mingled with each other quite well. After her evening prayer, Iram began preparing for the dinner. She had not attended school after tenth standard but she had a good grip on English language. Thanks to the fact that her father had admitted her to a private school. She would have definitely studied more if... her father wouldn't have done what he did ten years ago. But she loved him nonetheless.
She opened YouTube and searched for some nice dinner recipe. And she decided to cook Spanish rice and Falafel salad. She first focused on Spanish rice, beginning with soaking and rinsing the rice. She put a pan on stove and put some vegetable oil on it, followed by what we call Tadka (tempering). Then she put the rice on the pan and put the spices as well, mixing it well. Tomato sauce and Chicken stock were added later and the Spanish rice were left to cook at low flame for half an hour. In the meantime she prepared the Falafel salad.
“Iram, Arzaan Sahab is home. Are you done cooking the dinner?” Salma asked her while entering the kitchen.
“Yes, Salma aunty, it's ready. I'll quickly serve it.” Iram smiled and served the food on the dining table. Her employer hadn't descended the stairs yet. She went back to the kitchen and began cleaning the shelf and utensils.
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Arzaan changed into a red t-shirt and black sweatpants before descending the stairs. He went to sit on the dining table and took a look at the dinner prepared by the new cook. It looked mouthwatering. He picked the spoon and tasted the rice and couldn't help but smile. It was one of the most satisfying dinners he had after his mother's death. Only her food held the capability to make him smile.
“I should give her a raise. She cooks so well.” He mumbled while enjoying the Spanish rice. It didn't take him more than five minutes to empty the plate and he wanted more. Without thinking he picked the plate and went to the kitchen.
💞💞💞
Iram was almost done cleaning the kitchen when a guy, most probably her employer, entered the kitchen with an empty plate in his hand. When their eyes met, he smiled sheepishly before asking, “I wanted more rice.”
Iram found it very cute and couldn't help but smile at his cuteness.
“Umm... sure,” She quickly washed her hands and wiped them with her dupatta before pulling out the bowl of Spanish rice from the refrigerator. She continued, “Salma aunty had told me that it wasn't necessary to put extra food on the table because you don't take second serving.” She put the bowl in the oven and set the timer for one minute.
“The food was never this much tasty before.” He smiled.
Iram blushed. She knew she cooked well but the situation felt so cute. It warmed her heart and made her happy for no major reason.
She pulled the bowl of rice out when the timer beeped.
“Just give me the entire bowl.”
Iram looked at him with eyes full of amusement while passing him the bowl.
“Thank you.” He smiled at her and exited the kitchen.
“He must be a legit foodie.” She smiled to herself while removing her apron.
With a happy smile on her face, she returned home that night.
•••
I watched cooking videos on YouTube before writing the scenes where Iram is cooking food.
And I felt like eating something tasty. Luckily my mother made Shahi Paneer today. My mouth is already watering. 😋
Hope you liked the chapter.
More chapters and recipes are coming soon. 😜
•••
Question: What's your favourite dish?
Mine is Shahi Paneer, Rajma Chawal and Malai Kofte 🤤
•••
Bye 👋
