“Boom boom, shake the room!”, the sound of the small, bald man echoed in the kitchen. Mohmina liked this man. She did not know what he meant, because she did not understand English, but she liked that he smiled so much. She liked all three of those men, one of whom she knew by name – Matt. Why anyone would name their child after a piece of cloth that everyone steps over after leaving the bathroom, Mohmina never understood, but she liked him anyway.

She saw them everyday across the corridor from the kitchen when she washed vessels at the Khan household. The three kids, Afsa, Owais and Akseer to whom Mohmina was a nanny, sat along with their parents in rapt attention waiting to see the best of gourmet cooking take place on their television. In order to understand what exactly was going on, she would have to wait for Afsa to explain it to her the next day morning on the way to school. Yet, being a brilliant cook herself, she could form some sense of the proceedings. She wondered if she would be able to cook food like that, food that would surprise everyone in this house and that would make them as excited about eating, as they were when they watched that show on TV.

Thoughts raged in Mohmina’s mind as steel clanked between her hands, “Afsa’s birthday is coming soon. Maybe my Rogan Josh and Sheer Kurma have become too boring, that’s why they like this show so much. If I can make something international, maybe Afsa will be wow’ed by me too.”