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"Masala" is a term used in Indian cooking to describe a combination of spices, ingredients and flavors.

I'll admit that I like my food with lots of spice and flavor, and think life should be lived the same way. Every day is just a little more interesting when you mix in some unexpected ingredients . . . .

As a second generation Indian American now married to a wonderful man who is half Italian, half Puerto Rican - I think that "Masala Chica" sums up the international flavor of our joint family and household fairly well.

I am what is sometimes referred to as an ABCD - an American Born Confused Desi. "Desi" is a word that is synonymous with Indians, just so you know. There are lots of us here now in the United State and we have a great many shared stories to tell. Some are pretty hilarious, others are sad. But I want to make sure they do get told. So bear with me while I tell some of mine.

This ABCD is trying to figure out how to navigate parenthood, being a working mother, a good Indian daughter, a good Daughter in Law to my Italian side of the family and an even better Daughter in Law for the Puerto Rican side of the house.

Represent!

My children are what I lovingly call - quarter-riquenos. I can't find one of those wavy fancy things for my n right now, but you know what I mean.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy! Please chime in with your own "spice."

I can't promise I will respond to you, but if you want to humor me (it's not me, its the fact that I really am a jerk at heart. If I respond to too many people, I am bad about brushing my teeth. If that multiplies, I forget to brush my children's teeth.)

Nobody wants this.

I know.

Peace out homes.

Kiran

Kiran

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About Me

"Masala" is a Hindi word for spice. It's often used as a general term for an Indian curry and involves a combination of spices, ingredients and flavors.

When this blog started, I wanted it to be funny. It was an attempt for me to shed humor on the clash of two cultures (Indian and American) which often seemed so different from each other and which I struggled to fully understand. I was a kid who watched MTV videos religiously while eating samosas. I was able to watch sex filled rock videos while I sat in the family room, but I wasn't allowed to date.

Basically, I became a very, very confused person. Most of my friends and family can confirm.

As this blog has progressed, its been clear to me that when writing, its a lot like peeling an onion. As I recount a story from my childhood, I usually remember the highlights and the punchlines and most of these are pretty darn cheerful - even funny.

But as I start to recount the stories, other memories come back to me. Memories that I have allowed to sit in a place where nobody can disturb them. Not even myself.

So you peel back the layers of the onion. And you cry. And you write. And you peel some more.

In the end, what you have is some oniony smelling hands and a very puffy face.

But you also have some of your history.

This blog for me has become a place of refuge and a place to recount some of that history. Some of its happy, some of its not. But its mine.

I appreciate the comments and the love - not so good yet about dealing with mean comments and hate - but I am getting there.

Thanks for sharing this journey with me.

I hope its not too spicy :-)

Kiran

Mission

The mission of Masala Chica is to achieve the following:

1) Give me an outlet to complain about how nobody understands what I am complaining about.

2) Let me document all the things that my children Shaila and Nico do to me so that I will have to come and look at this carefully before I say "John, let's do this whole thing just one more time!"

3) Use this as a tool for enacting revenge on my daughter later in life when she asks me for something and I can say "No! Don't you remember what you did to me on November 11th, 2010? No fancy jeans for you!"

4) Remind me of some of the funnier moments of my childhood growing up Indian in New Jersey and without any Crayola crayon colors to match the color of my skin.

I think I blended yellow, brown, peach and burnt sepia together.

I hope that through this blog I can give voice to the following:
a) The disenchanted
b) The bored
c) Indian Americans who are cranky
d) Indian Americans who are happy
e) My non-Indian friends who support this cranky Indian
f) Sleep deprived mothers
g) Mothers who spend too much money on wine at costco
h) Women who are married to men who live and breathe soccer
i) Women who are married to men who also live, breathe and eat football, baseball, golf and anything else that can eat up a Sunday afternoon
j) Men who are a lot like my husband and want to better understand "the enemy"
k) And YOU. Yeah you. Over there

So come on over everybody. Take a ride on the spicy side with me and like I say, make sure you comment. If you don't "holla" I won't know if you like the "masala."

Namaste.