Right about this time last year, I loved working from home. Workloads were low, Internet speeds were faster, and I got to spend all my time in my room— which I loved the most. A year later, looking at my room tires me. Through the lockdown, I added a lot more screens to my room. A new TV, an additional monitor for my laptop, and to top it off, I even decided to recharge my E-book device in hopes that I would read it more. The tiredness doesn’t come from the room but the sight of all those screens. Work, any work, needs a screen. Entertainment needs a screen. Even reading a book needs a visual medium.

If I really want to decompress today, my only goal is to not look at a screen. This is where cooking comes in. The act of spending hours in a kitchen preparing a meal might seem tiresome (and it can be at times) but has such a sense of validation in the form of the final product. Very few activities allow for such a quick turnaround in gratitude and satisfaction (even posting a selfie can take some time!). Cooking has become very normative in my goal to decompress but then again, it can’t be achieved on a daily churn for me. My average workday easily runs 16 hours if not more which means that cooking gets relegated to the weekend.  

This began a month-long hunt to find new ways to take time out. I wanted something that not only was entertaining but also allowed me to learn something new. I also wanted for it to be screen-free, allowing me to do other things as well, like cleaning up my room, researching recipes, or making to-do lists for the next day— essentially closing out some of the smaller, easily forgotten tasks of the day that you are too tired to do once you sit in front of the TV. Audio seemed to offer some solace but the notion of learning something new still felt a little vapid with both music and podcasts (I follow certain podcasts that only release a new episode every week which makes the rest of the days feel a little lonely). It’s around then that I saw an advertisement about listening to stories with Storytel.

Effectively, it’s an audiobook platform that lets you listen and read some books too. However, Storytel takes audiobooks to a whole new level! Let’s just take a step back here though. I know some of you might have read audiobooks and thought, “I don’t want to listen to a Siri-sounding voice trying to read a book to me.” Storytel isn’t that. No book is actually read by a computer-generated voice. In fact, each book has been performed by a voice actor. This means that each book sounds feels, and immerses you in different ways. Words are emphasised correctly, jokes and erratic pauses feel genuine. It’s truly a whole new experience to reading a book.

The first book that I started reading was called “Thanks, Obama: My Homey Changey White House Years,” by Obama’s second term speechwriter, David Litt. Having studied communication as a major in college during the Obama administration, I have analysed way too many of Litt’s speeches as part of classroom discussions and projects. However, this was the first time I ever read his work that came from him and in his voice. That’s right! He actually narrates the book too which really blew my mind. An author narrating his own book is like watching MasterChef and being able to smell the food being made at the same time. His humorous memoir touches so many points of his own life, from being a 21-year-old privileged Princeton Grad to working on Obama’s campaign, to having to write some difficult speeches— especially after acts of mass gun violence. The way the book is narrated allows for an added layer of emotion. You can hear the changes in voice modulation, the happiness at some anecdotes, and most importantly the enormity of his role in the history of political speechwriting. The app has some lovely features to make this experience even more flexible to my workflow:

• You can move to other apps on the phone and the audio won’t stop

• Download the whole book for an offline experience, there are no annoying ads in the middle

• You can speed through some boring parts if you want

• Put on a sleep time that will switch the playback off when you like

• It even has a little ticker that tells you how many minutes are left before the chapter is over—which is by far my favourite feature

It’s these nifty little touches that make Storytel all the more amazing.

 I think it’s safe to say that I have found a companion to do my chores, take a shower with, and most importantly cook with! Storytel in India has over 200,000+ titles, it’s available in 9 regional languages and only costs INR 299 a month for an unlimited number of books — to give you context Litt’s book costs INR 499 alone. I hope you join me in listening to more books while you get other stuff done! If you are reading this blog, you can hear and access Storytel for 90 days at just INR 375 for a limited time period!

These chicken tenders took some time to make. The actual cooking time is short but the run-up to that lasts roughly 8-9 hours. Exactly, the amount of time that it took me to finish Litt’s book (I am proud to say that I do cook and audiobook now). The tenders take so much time because of the marination. Chicken thighs are dunked into an acidic brine of freshly made buttermilk (super easy recipe for this below) along with a variety of spices overnight. They then get double dipped in flour, the second time through a special technique that gives them so much crunch. They are then fried and served with a sprinkle of salt and a good squeeze of lemon to cut all that fat! I wouldn’t recommend eating this every weekend but I would tell you to eat this over any fried chicken you can get in the market! I hope you try this recipe! Until next time, stay safe and happy cooking.

Glimpses from the week

Ingredients

For the marinade

500 grams chicken thighs boneless

1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 cup pickle juice (optional)

1 large egg

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup buttermilk

For the breading

1+1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 large eggs

2 cups of vegetable oil

Method

1. Slice chicken thighs into 3-inch slices. In a bowl add your chicken, buttermilk and all the ingredients listed in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours. Preferably overnight.

2. For the breading, add the spices and salt in a bowl along with the APA, baking powder, and cornflour. Mix well. On a flat plat add two eggs and scramble together

3. For the first batch of breading. Add the chicken pieces to the flour and set aside.

4. Add 3 tablespoons of the marinade and work it into the flour with your fingertips. Remove one piece of chicken from the bag, allowing excess buttermilk to drip off, drop the chicken into the flour mixture, and toss to coat. Continue adding chicken pieces to the flour mixture one at a time until they are all in the bowl. Toss the chicken until every piece is thoroughly coated, pressing with your hands to get the flour to adhere in a thick layer.

5. In a skillet on medium-low heat, add peanut oil and let it reach 180 Celsius (about 350 F). Then add your chicken but maintain a temperature of 150 Celsius (about 300 F). This is the best temperature to fry any protein and ensure it cooks all the way through. Fry one side for 6 minutes. Don’t touch for the first three minutes to prevent the breading from coming off. Then, flip and cook for another 4 minutes

6. Take it out and place it on a wire rack or a newspaper lined plate. Sprinkle salt immediately. Serve with lemon!