In order to celebrate International Women's Day, I wanted to create a fun fusion recipe that incorporates what my mom has taught me with making Indian food, with an American favorite, wings.
Growing up in the US and being raised by immigrant parents definitely created a unique experience. My parents are very fluent in English, in India many of the schools only allow the students to speak English during school hours, but many words are pronounced slightly differently. Some people claim it's the accent, but it isn't really an accent, the English they learn is just slightly different due to India's past history with Britain. I, of course, growing up learned how to speak English from them. So there were some words that I would pronounce differently, and this doesn't seem like something that would be very significant right? Nope, because in the US there is such a great emphasis on educated people sounding "eloquent" so if your English is slightly different, people automatically assume you aren't as educated and treat you differently. Is this fair? No. But it's a bias that almost all of us have. But I hope my parents' journey shows you that your English doesn't represent your education level, and we should work on becoming aware of this.
Both of my parents worked exceptionally hard to get where they are. They attended medical school in India and eventually made their way to the US where they had to take more exams in order to train to be board-certified to practice here (which takes a minimum of 3 years regardless of the fact that they were already practicing physicians). They are the most intelligent people I know and are very humble. They were able to come here with close to nothing and work so hard, becoming very successful physicians, while raising me and my brother, which I know wasn't easy, but that's a different story.
Since it is International Women's Day, I would like to honor my mother. She was the youngest girl to attend her (all female) medical school. She finished at around the age of 21 and then practiced as OB/GYN in India. In India, there was a strong push for females to go into OB/GYN, so she did it, but did not like it. When she came here and had to redo her training for a field of medicine to practice in, she decided to do something different and went into Internal Medicine. Excelling at her residency she was able to choose between doing a fellowship in cardiology or hematology/oncology (both very competitive). She decided heme/onc and would still make that same decision to this day.
Growing up, I would get sick a lot, various ear infections, etc. She would bring me to her office (when I was around 5) so she could work and take care of me. I would wander around and talk to a lot of her patients and learn about them. I didn't really have a full understanding of why they were there until one of the ladies I enjoyed talking to passed away. My mom explained to me how and why this happens, how she had a much longer life than expected and she was able to see so much because of that. She passed away fulfilled and happy. This didn't stop me from crying and feeling sad. But it made me appreciate what my mom does so much more. Cancer is really scary, and sad, but my mom is so strong. She handles each death with grace, paying her respects to her patients, but also helping them achieve what they want in life before they pass. She has seen many deaths, but she has also been able to create so many successes as well. She really is a hero in my eyes.
I first learned how to cook from my mom, she inspired me to learn more and explore, never restricting my creativity.
Happy Internation Women's Day!
I hope you guys enjoy this recipe! I will post more wing sauce recipes as well!
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