𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐡𝐢 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫

"Riana! Come for the dinner beta." Shouted mom from the kitchen. I went to the washroom, cleaned my hands and sat at the dinner table.

Oh! Hello! How rude of me to not introduce myself, I am Riana Roy and I am nine years old. I love watching cartoons and reading books. I live with my parents and my little brother Kabir. I love my brother the most in this whole world. He was sitting right next to me. We stared at each other for few seconds and then started giggling covering our mouth with our cleaned little hands.

"What is there for dinner today?" I asked my father, who was sitting on my other side. He raised his eye brows and said "only mum knows". I pouted my lips and whispered to myself that how much I hate suspence for little things.

Just then mom came with the casserole in her hands and started distributing rotis (a type of Indian bread) at everyone's plate. She went back to the kitchen and brought a yellow container with her. She opened the lid and immediately me and Kabir rose a bit up from our chairs with the hope to see what is inside the container.

It was a light golden coloured gravy and there were many white cubes in it. Me and Kabir went closer and took a long sniff, it smelled amazing. "Hmmm wow" both of us said together with our glistening eyes. It looked like some treasure to me. "Mom mom what is this?" Kabir asked. "Oh so today we are having roti and Shahi Paneer" said dad immediately. Me and Kabir looked at him in pure amazement. "Wait! The white cubes are Shahi? Or Paneer?" I asked with utmost curiousity.

"Ha ha ha" mom and dad started laughing together. I pouted my lips again because they were laughing without telling us the joke. Mom controlled her laugh and said, "oh beta, this is Paneer and this gravy is called Shahi". "Wowwwwww" me and Kabir sang together for seven exact seconds.

Mom served us our portions. I immediately dipped my right index finger in the gravy and started jumping in pain as it was hot, "ow ow ow fuuuu fuuu fuuuu aaahhhhh hotttttt". "Careful beta" dad said. Then I licked my same finger, "hmmmm so tasty" I said smiling. This time I started blowing directly on my Shahi Paneer, "fuuuuuuuuuu fuuuuuuuuuu fuuuuuuuuuu". I took a piece of Paneer in my mouth and said, "hmmmm wowwww Kabir this is milk jelly". "Wowwwww reallyyyyyyy? Let me try too". Kabir took one piece of Paneer in his mouth and said in excitement "hmmmmm this is magic, milk in jelly box". Me and Kabir started giggling again.

"Hmmmm", 'nom nom', "wowww", "so yummy", "I want more", these were only heard during the dinner yesterday at the table. I kept dreaming about Paneer whole day, how beautiful, soft, white, tasty cubes those were. I want to build a Paneer castle one day and live in it happily. I am going to tell everyone about my first real love, it is not my dad but Paneer. I want to eat Paneer every day and every night.

One month passed and I still dream about Paneer everyday. I was drawing a big Paneerman with a cape and saving the city from bittergourd monsters. I looked at the clock and heard the whale calling from my tummy. I asked mom, "Maaaaa! I am hungry! What is there for dinner?" She replied smiling at me, "Shahi Paneer".