American as Paneer Pie
Page 18
But she wasn’t going as fast as she normally did. The swimmer from Preston easily went past her. And next to them, the Eels’ swimmer overtook Aidy too, followed by the Dragons’. My hands began to feel weak and clammy. How could this happen? Our strongest swimmer was suddenly our weakest. And worse, we weren’t going to medal, let alone make it to State.
“You can do this, Aidy!” I yelled, my desperate pleas echoing in the humid room.
“Come on, Aid!” said Harper.
Aidy started to gain speed as the Preston swimmer neared our side of the pool.
“Push through!” screamed Coach Turner.
The next swimmer from Preston dove in for the freestyle, followed by the Dragons’ swimmer. Aidy and the swimmer from the Eels tapped the wall at the exact same time, and I leapt in as fast as I could.
I ignored the shock of the cold water. This was it. It was all on me. If I couldn’t overtake the Eels, we’d be in fourth place.
I turned my head to the side, arms smashing forward through the pool. I could see the bubbles being kicked up ahead by the Preston swimmer. I was neck and neck with the Dragons’. But where was the swimmer from the Eels?
I inhaled and kicked as hard as I could. The swimmer from the Eels was still making her way to the far end. I had overtaken her! We were going to medal. Now it was just a matter of finding out if we were going to State or not.
I churned my arms, faster and faster, my legs aching, my arms burning, willing myself not to look in the other lanes. This wasn’t about the other swimmers. This wasn’t about the other teams. This was about my team. And this was about pride. We couldn’t lose in our own pool. I knew I could do this. The end was in sight. I kicked with all my strength for an extra burst of speed and smacked the wall.
The buzzer sounded loudly. I pulled my goggles off and stared at the scoreboard as Aidy, Harper, and Kendall crouched near me, poolside. The team names were all lit up, but our times weren’t up yet. There was a problem with the scoreboard.
Slowly, the times started to pop up. The Eels were up first, several seconds behind even our slowest team time. Next came the Rockets and the Sharks. Then the names of the Dragons, Porpoises, and Dolphins. The Dragons’ time popped on screen. They got 2:01.06. The audience applauded. So far, they were the fastest ones on the board. Next, the number next to our name came up: 1:56.39. The audience cheered as Aidy, Kendall, and Harper interlocked their arms. Coach stood near them, apprehensively staring at the broken board.
I looked into the stands at my parents jumping up and down in their spots. But we were still waiting on the technical difficulties to end.
After what felt like an eternity, the Preston time finally flashed onto the screen: 1:56.20. They had beaten us by a fraction of a second. The Preston bench went wild, erupting into a celebration.
Coach clenched his fist at the near miss, but in a split second his expression changed to one of elation.
I reached over the ropes and gave the Porpoise next to me a congratulatory handshake before pulling myself out of the water. Coach patted me on the back.
“You beat your record, kiddo. Congrats.”
I nodded, droplets of water making their way down my cheeks like tears of joy.
Harper and Kendall gave me a towel and a hug. Aidy sulked as the Porpoises shrieked and jumped near us. But I gave her a big hug.
“We got our fastest time ever. Ever! Just think how much faster we can be next year!”
Aidy looked at me.
“And we get a medal,” I added. “A shiny silver medal.” Desis couldn’t be the only ones who liked shiny things.
“We should celebrate,” Harper said.
“How about pizza at my house?” I asked. “We’ve got some cool toppings I think you’d like.”
Aidy slowly nodded. “Okay … We really did go fast, didn’t we?”
I nodded back as the officials called us over to the pedestal for the medal ceremony.
Aidy, Kendall, Harper, and I got on the second-place platform, just a little taller than the Dragons, and a little smaller than the first-place Porpoises.
I watched the Preston swimmers smile for Noah and the other photographers.
“I am so proud of you girls,” said Coach as the officials neared us with the silver medals.
I glanced out at the audience, at Aai and Dad, who were clapping, huge, silly, beaming, proud grins on their faces.
The silver medal over my head, I pulled my swim cap off, letting my frizzy curls fall this way and that, off my forehead, revealing my bindi birthmark for all the cameras to see.
I smiled, my head up, bindi out. I didn’t care who saw it. I was proud of myself too.
Paneer Pie Recipe
Be sure to ask for help from a trusted adult when preparing this recipe. Have fun!
Dad’s Paneer
¼ cup fresh lemon juice or fresh lime juice
½ cup warm water
2 cups whole milk
oil for frying
Line a colander with a cheesecloth.
Add the lemon juice or lime juice to the water.
In a large, heavy-bottom pot, bring the milk to a gentle boil over medium heat. Stir frequently to prevent the milk from sticking to the pot.
Slowly add the lemon/lime juice and water mixture to the milk until it curdles. Stop adding the lemon/lime juice and water mixture once the milk curdles. (You may not use all of it.)
Lower the heat and cook for a couple of minutes and then strain the paneer (curds) using the colander.
Rinse the paneer in the cheesecloth under cold water to cool it down.
Wring the water out of the paneer with the cheesecloth.
Shape the cheese into little mounds.
Panfry on medium-low in 1–2 tablespoons of oil until golden.
Aai’s Pizza Dough
(Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Basic Pizza Dough Recipe)
1 ½ cups water
4 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 ½ cups whole-wheat flour
¼ cup spelt flour
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons flaxseed meal
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Heat the water on the stove on medium-low until it’s warm. Turn the stove off and add sugar and yeast to the water. Wait for the yeast to proof (about five minutes). It will become a foamy mixture.
In a mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients (the three flours, salt, and flaxseed meal).
Once your yeast is ready, add the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients, then mix the dough by hand. Slowly pour in the oil until the dough is formed.
Put a plate or pan lid over the bowl to cover it.
Let the dough rise for an hour.
Roll the dough out into two or more pizzas, depending on your pizza pans and your preference for thick or thin crust.
Oil baking sheets or pizza pans as needed.
Shred cheddar cheese, or the cheese of your choice, according to taste.
With your rolled-out dough on the pans, put your favorite spaghetti sauce on the dough and add the shredded cheese and toppings of your choice, including the paneer.
Bake at 420°F for 18 to 24 minutes, until done (the bottom and edges are brown and cheese is melted).
* * *
Enjoy your very own paneer pie!
Acknowledgments
American as Paneer Pie is the book of my heart, and I’m so grateful to everyone who helped me create this story.
To my agent, Kathleen Rushall. I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me and this book. It means the world to me, as does your appreciation for my Bollywood GIFs. I’m so thrilled to be on this journey with you.
To my editor, Jen Ung. I knew from the first time we talked how lucky I was to get to work with you. Thank you for shaping this book into what it is today. It’s been an honor, and so much fun, to put this story out into the world with you.
To my parents, for double- and triple-checking my Marathi, my Hindi, and many of the cultural details. Thank you, also, Dad, for coming up with “Himmat karke badha kadam, tere saath chalega har aadam.” And to the friends and family members who helped me with other parts of this book, including Gouri, Shaelyn, Supendeep, Neeru, Nirmal, Deepa, Geetha Auntie, Adil, and my mother-in-law. Any mistakes are my own.
To Brynn, Andrea, Dave, and Jim Burnstein.
To the kidlit community, including the 2017 Middle Grade Debuts, Team KRush, and the Renegades of Middle Grade. A huge thanks to Simran Jeet Singh, Tanaz Bhathena, and Ali Standish for your time and insight. And to all the readers, booksellers, educators, and librarians.
To the Aladdin team, including Mara Anastas, Chriscynethia Floyd, Fiona Simpson, Christina Pecorale, Lauren Hoffman, Nicole Russo, Caitlin Sweeny, Michelle Leo, Katherine Devendorf, Sara Berko, Laura Lyn DiSiena, Lynn Kavanaugh, Benjamin Holmes, and Abigail Dela Cruz. None of this would be possible without you. Thank you!
To Sachit, Apoorva, Baiju, Aashish, my in-laws, Cookie, Limca, and my friends and family around the world. Your support and encouragement mean everything to me, and I can’t thank you enough. And, orca course, I otter thank my punny fronds Brynn, Casey, Kirk, and Eric for the finspiration for the puns.
To my kids, I’m so proud of you for standing up for what is right and speaking out when things are wrong. Thank you for striving to be kind and inclusive. I know you’re going to make the world a better place. You already are.
Finally, to my parents. Thank you for everything you do for us. I am a proud daughter of immigrant parents, and this story is a love letter to you and all the aunties, uncles, and family friends I was lucky to grow up with—our American family.
About the Author
Author photograph by S. Malde
Supriya Kelkar was born and raised in the Midwest. She learned Hindi as a child by watching three Hindi movies a week. Supriya is a screenwriter who has worked on the writing teams for several Hindi films and one Hollywood feature. Her books include Ahimsa, That Thing about Bollywood, and American as Paneer Pie, among others. Visit her online at www.supriyakelkar.com.
Aladdin
Simon & Schuster, New York
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN
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First Aladdin hardcover edition May 2020
Text copyright © 2020 by Supriya Kelkar
Jacket illustration copyright © 2020 by Abigail Dela Cruz
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CIP data for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-5344-3938-2 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-5344-3940-5 (eBook)