Phodnichi Bread and Poli/Poli ani bread cha Khuskara/Tadka Roti-bread/

Hello Sweeties!!!! Ever Faced a situation when you have leftovers that no one wants to eat in its original form. I usually don't have any roti's as leftovers, but this was one such day, that I had few roti's and no subji.

This recipe is made in most maharshtrians homes. My mom made it often to send as school snack or on Sunday mornings. This was an easy way to finish leftover roti's or bread at times. We all loved it so much that at times, she even made fresh roti's to make this khuskara or phodnichi poli.

You will need;  
2 Cups Leftover Phulka/Roti/ Crumbs
1/2 Cup bread-- crumbed (Do not use bread crumbs)
** powdered using a food processor or use your hands to crumb.
 1/2 cup Roasted Peanut powder
1 Small Onion-Diced  
1/2 big Tomato-Diced
Salt and Sugar to taste  
Cilantro to garnish

Tempering;  
1 tbspn Oil 1 tspn Ghee/Clarified Butter
1 heaped tspn jeera/cumin seeds
1 tspn Mustard seeds
2 small chillies- chopped
5-6 Curry leaves
1/2 Tsp Hing/Aesofodita
1 tspn Haldi/Turmeric
1 tspn Red Chilli Powder

In a wok, take the oil and ghee and add rest of the items from the tempering list. Let it sizzle. Then add the onion and tomato,  and fry till oil separates the sides. 

Then add little water( Only if needed) and cook the onion-tomato masala  for about 1 minute, add the salt and sugar, lastly add the roti and bread crumbs and the peanut powder;  stir well, reduce heat to low and cover and let cook for 2-3 mins. Take care that the crumbs do not stick to the pan. Garnish with Cilantro before serving.

I am sending this to Gayatri's WTML event.

Junoon--An experience with master Chef Vikas Khanna

Indiblogger and Masterchef Vikas Khanna hosted the first International meet for Indian bloggers. This was my first time experience attending any bloggers meet. I met some exceptional bloggers and this was an truly awesome experience. The Meet was supposed to be around 11 AM, some of us were right on time, so we started a quick introduction amongst ourselves with a nice coffee, the bloggers had no clue about the agenda and we jumped to the introducing ourselves, that is what happens when you have a bunch of chatterboxes. Junoon's Lounge area seemed a perfect setting for our Hello's and we kind of took off like we have been friends forever.

 The restaurant is done very beautifully interpreting the open kitchen concept. True to it's name , Chef Khanna, drives the restaurant and his crew with a passion/junoon for food and fine dining. The interiors and the ambiance is top notch and the chef takes a keen interest in all aspects of entertaining. For his stature, he is used to attending to President of the USA, NY Mayor and enumerable business and political head honchos, he left no stones entertaining a bunch of bloggers. A very simple and humble chef. One thing I would say is all he knows is cooking good food, Kind of a Fakir chef, whose junoon is only cooking and serving home cooked food.

Few Important things to note about Junoon is that IT HAS NO FREEZER. They cook from scratch every day, chopping, making chutneys, making curries, even their meat is organic and free range. All leftover food is donated to a NY food bank. I am a vegetarian, so I opted for vegetarian menu, being a non drinker, wine was also not in my review. I am sure there will be many reviews on Junoon which will be more complete. Another interesting thing was their light and temperature controlled spice room, which was full of exotic spices, which Chef Khanna handpicks travelling all over the world. He really is passionate about what spices and kind of spices he has in his trove. This room is on display and Chef Khanna is more than willing to give you a tour of the spice world.

 Some things were unique at the meet were unique blog name contest and the one with the most unique name won $50 from Indi and Junoon team. Another was a soup tasting contest where Chef Khanna had  created a soup with unusual combination of ingredients. I missed by one ingredient, the prize was his own autographed cook book. Maybe next time I will be lucky. It's the second time I have missed winning that book. Pray that the third time will prove lucky for me.

Overall, I had  a fun lunch with good food and smart bloggers, meeting Indibloggers and Thanks again for the Inditeam specially Anoop and Diana for making this possible. They both were really working non stop looking after us and making us comfortable. I apologize for the early exit, but life at times gets better than us, I am really sorry that I missed the fabulous round of desserts.


Junoon restaurant Location;
27 W 24TH ST
NEW YORK, NY 10010

 Starters

 Main Course

Intresting Collection

Spice Room at Junoon.

Well, what can I ask for more. This was beyond words and I am already waiting for another Indimeet. Not Just for the food but overall this was one of the cherished experiences of my life.

 Leaving you with some fun filled memories, Courtesy Panfusine

Shadi ka ladoo- Matrimony.com

**** This post is written for Indiblogger and Sony entertainment television Contest on Indiblogger for the upcoming show LoveYaArrange

 Before I start my post a Quick dekho of this concept.

Coming back to today's post, in some parts its hilarious and in some plain pathetic. Y so, read on. I guarantee I will not bore you or  make you bang your head on the nearest wall. But most if not all will definitely relate to it if you have ever been subjected to this sort of match making. If I begin telling my kids teachers that I did not fall in love and then get married, I get a look. Yes the look which says where the hell do you come from where you get married in a blind date set up. That is my dear readers, happens only in India. Girls and boys are not allowed to date openly. The list of don't exceeded the list of do's.  The alarms were raised if someone reported talking or being extra friends with any male before the girl even reached home. Girls are allowed many boys as friends, but strictly no boyfriend. That is a clear NO No at home.

 The story is about  a young girl, for story telling and disclaimer purposes just call her Uma, a very Typical Indian name. Uma was a very independent girl focused on her law degree to find any guy interesting or soul mate type. Some boys her age thought of her as a book worm some thought of her as  good old girl with whom you can share your girlfriend woes, borrow money to buy them gifts and then never return that and some simply stayed away. The whole idea of being married for life without knowing the boy and his family sounded like a  blind game of poker for her. Ms. Uma had huge arguments with her mom who simply refused to let off the guard and allow Uma a free life out of holy matrimony. The Mom searched high and low, registered her name in various Marriage Bureau's and Shadi.com portals with Glossy Profile of tall, slim Wheatish skin Brahmin Girl, who can cook and willing to learn more kind of language. Some truth some plain lies, the profile was created. Then proposals started pouring in with similar family backgrounds, horoscopes started to match few places and the whole tamasha of dekho and dikaho began. What still wonders Ms. Uma is how did she ever  consent to all this in her strong Rebellion Glory? Yes she was and still is a rebel.

Being the Nari/Women/girl of today, she does not consent until fully convinced of the concept and most prob its only on her terms does she ever say yes. She did meet a few prospective grooms on her mothers insistence. She was not sure if she was destined to meet those prospective grooms (PG) or just plain DUMB is written on her face. She met half a dozen well educated brahmin boys as out of community was a strict NO-NO at home. In her words we will list a few of her  experiences and let you decide for that.

Enter Mr PG1
 A Software Engineer with a reputed MNC based in Pune, MS and traveling often to England the land of the Queen. This was enough for Mr. J1 to think of himself as no less than any Prince. His list of wants exceeded his list of needs. He was fair and handsome and his mother kind of made a comment on Ms. Uma's skin color and profession. But they were willing to give poor Uma a chance of pleasing MR. Charming and a second meeting was fixed. Uma's mom had high hopes only to be later told that Her pretty Daughter was placed on 3rd rank by Mr. J1 akka Mr. Charming.

Verdict:
The rebel that Uma was found this reason enough to place him on her NEVER see NEVER talk list again. Hush, Uma was very happy that day, that She had found a solid ground to reject this groom, Not that IT made her any difference as all she ever wanted; was to wiggle out of this whole Matchmaking drama every weekend.

Enter Mr. PG2
A Chartered Accountant by profession working with a State Govt entity. All he wanted was to get married and start having family with the lovey dovey wifey. After the first episode of the arranged marriage interview, Mom asked Uma to get a facial/face polish done just in case they objected to her skin color. So the meeting was arranged and the family left the two to discuss the matters out while they chit chatted over a cup of coffee. The excerpt of the interview was something like this;

Mr. PG2; so how do you like my house?
Uma; Its OK

Mr. PG2; So How do you like OUR bedroom?
Uma; (Bhag Uma Bhag!!!!) Speechless, next Q please

Mr. PG2; So how many kids you want, I want 2?
Uma; We will see

Mr. PG2; My sister is in Dubai, she wants to talk to you now?
Mr. PG2; I like yummy food everyday, so no stale food for me or morning meals for dinner
Mr. PG2; I dont like Girls wearing western clothes, so just Saree and Salwars
Mr. PG2; And I don't Like short hair, it's ok you have it now, But I like wifey have long black hair, yours is little brown, so no henna now on just godrej Black dye............

Uma was just listening to the ranting as her idea of a life partner was much beyond the looks and likes and Me, Myself and Mine.

Verdict:
Uma found another valid reason to run away from this joker as the whole idea of being desperate in the first meeting did not go down with her.  If only he would have asked about her likes, interests and dreams in life,w would she have considered him.

Enter Mr. PG3;
A PhD student in environmental Studies in India. Looks Promising. So the meeting was set up, since the Mom had some professional arrangements, Uma's Newly married SIL was designated to go along with her for the meet. Being a newly married bride, the SIL was decked with the mang mein sindoor and the nine yard mangalsutra and green bangles. Ek dumm traditional bahu she was. When the family met, J3's mom started talking to the SIL and asking her all questions meant for the bride to answer, beta, do you know cooking, my son is very absent minded, his wife has to be alert and manage all finances and bills, can you do that? Beta did you like the snacks I made, If you say yes, I will always make them for you?? Uma was finding this hilarious and the poor SIL was trying her best to divert the questions to Uma. Then finally the SIL turned the subjects and suggested that the Girl and the boy should Talk and  see for them, if they would like to meet again.. Hushhhhhhhhhhh for SIL, the mom agreed.

Mr. PG3;
 I am an avid environmentalist and I do go for protests and dharna's... Weeks or months I do NOT COME HOME, just so you know, you are free to do what you like in that time. Also being an environmentalist, I do not allow, Silks, Makeup or leather in my home.
(Uma recollected the precious leather mojdi's she was wearing, the batik leather bag she cherished and fought for with SIL, and the en-number of lipsticks and liners in her pouch...)
I also believe in sustainable life, so my plan is to built  a shack and do gardening all my life. Probably get a cow or goat and  find solace. IF you want to have kids, get them education or luxuries you have to find a way for that YOURSELF. I am getting late for my meditation and have to leave for the protest preparation. So let me know what you think.

Verdict;
Uma was happy and sad at the same time. Happy coz she was again free and would not have to justify her denial but sad  because such people existed, who taught that home, kids and future of them, is still in one persons hand. IF she wanted to raise any kid by HERSELF, why would she even marry??? she might as well adopt a baby and give him/her  a better future without the baggage of marriage.

Enter Mr. PG4;
A Chartered accountant and only son of his aging parents. A true Shravan baal in many ways except he did not want just a wife, he wanted  a WORKING wife. He wanted a secured life, so he need not have to work hard to achieve simple joys. He wanted  a 3 BHK in the prime location in the city, wanted a ideal daughter in law for his mom, who would not enter the kitchen once he is married. He wanted a wife who will be quiet and and not ever complain, ask or crib about the work around the house, give her MIL all her salary to decide how much she would get for her expenses, and if she would ever get some days to visit her parents and also the girl will have to manage everything Alone.  Uma was not mentally prepared for all the work laid out for her even before she committed to it. Being a daughter to a working mom, Uma was used to doing housework, studies and even working while studying, but having it spelt out made it look like a BIG job. Having brother and him being married, Uma knew about the saas- bhau(MIL_DIL) drama and clashes that usually would arise, but her SIL and Mom being so extra sweet to each other, she had never experienced any clashes first hand. Of course the opinion differed between them, but it was resolve din a very friendly neutral way. NO hair pulling or biting words hurled at each other.

Verdict:
Uma rejected this proposal also, sole reason being she valued her financial independence more than anything. NO way would she throw her in laws out at that age, she would not tolerate her parents subjected to this agony, so she would never dream of doing that to anyone's. What pained Uma was the thought of giving up the financial freedom, begging for her own money and working like  a dog with no benefits of simple happiness and peace of mind, all this for  a total stranger. Seemed like too much of  a bargain. Being a lawyer plus having worked in family court, alerted all the red flags such marriages invoked. Uma successfully wiggled out of the situation.

Days passed turning into weeks, Stories of Uma' groom search started making the vines of gossip. Uma often was labelled as the Hunterwali, meaning a strong feminist. Relatives posing as well wishers started questioning about Uma choice, saying why do you want an educated understanding groom, just see if he has  a job and settle down, Free your Mom from this trouble. Uma was hurt with the ways were going and frustrated equally that she was not finding anyone tor relive her mom from this burden.Result was, Uma started staying alone, stopped attending family events and in general stopped going for any get together where any closely related  groom search talk was involved. She concentrated on  building her legal practice and clients. She was doing extremely well and rounds of a new promising lawyer took Uma to a happy place in life. She regained the confidence that was butchered by some proposals who denied her because she was not fair and  beautiful like Aishwarya Rai, some rejected Uma as she was a lawyer poking fun as in you like to fight so you are  a lawyer, how lame can you be, do you ask a surgeon, oh you like to cut people so you are  a surgeon!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Uma had enough of this whole drama that was arranged every weekend in hopes that this Sunday might be the lucky day!!!

Uma requested her Mom to kind of give her a time out for  a few weeks and resume the whole thing if Uma is not successful in finding her a husband in the next few weeks. Mom understood her pain so she agreed and search for Uma husband was put on hold. Uma decided to take  a break and planned a small vacation to be with her brother and SIL. Off she went happy to be out of the weekly episodes. In the time she was gone, Mom got a call that sort of changed things for Uma.

Lucky One
Mr. One's mom called Uma's mom asking to meet the girl as her son would be visiting  from London for 2 weeks only for business and she would like him to be hitched in that time. Mom told her that it would not be possible as Uma was not in the country and was unlikely to be back in the 2 weeks. Both moms decided that if both are not able to find respective partners they would call again in December when Mr. One comes for his annual vacation.

Uma came back refreshed from her vacation and was not able to find any husband, so the search was back on. This time around she was lucky enough to escape the meetings as Uma was rejected in the bio itself. Grooms from USA/outside India thought what will she do in USA as she will not be able to work and help them financially, some in India taught she has short hair, wears western clothes and is a lawyer, maybe she would not be an wife material. December came too soon and as not expected, Mom got a call. This time again Mr. One's mom asked for the meeting saying that some or the other reason being, the search for the bride was still on for Mr. One. So the meeting was decided. We were invited to their home. The reason given was, Mr. One insisted that its Uma who has to live here, she better see the kind of home we have.

Meeting day;
Uma was feeling restless for no apparent reason the whole of that Saturday, the day she was supposed to meet Mr. One. She had met many prospective grooms before, so today should be no different. Her Mom kept saying that she was getting positive vibes from the first call she had in June. Uma tried to ignore all the butterflies in her stomach and her moms words in her ears and concentrated at work. After finishing all her work, she decided to go home and get ready for the big meet. As planned she was going to meet her parents at some common junction point and then go together from there. Uma was wearing her favorite mojdi's, yes the leather ones. She smiled looking at them and suddenly something snapped. The sole came off and the mojdi was  in need of help. Having no cobbler in sight and no time on hand, Uma decided to pack the torn mojdi's and  buy new sandals. She carefully packed the torn mojdi's and hid them in her bag and went to meet Mr. One.

After the casual formalities and hellos were exchanged, The girl and the boy were left alone to talk. Silence was what followed the initial Hi. Then more silence. Uma being the chirpy girl could not take the silence with the stranger so she asked the formal regular questions about his hobbies, work and in general chit chat. She was out of all her questions and what followed after that was more SILENCE.
The meeting was over. ON the way home, Mom was curious to know what she felt. TO play it safe and avoid  100 questions after that, Uma said she will need time to think about what she felt(of all that SILENCE.)

Sunday night., Mom got a call again. From Mr. One's mom saying he wants a second meet and ask few questions. FINALLY!!! he is talking. Now Uma was nervous. She had to take some decision and all eyes were on her now. SIL and Uma had a long talk and she decided to meet him again. This time in a public place or a cafe. Uma reached the spot early and had to wait for him for whole 10 minutes. He came bang on time. Uma liked punctuality and was happy to start the note positively. The questions that followed after that were very new for Uma. he seemed practical reasonable, never asked how much she made every month. He was more interested in knowing more about the person Uma was. What made her happy, what disturbed her, what issues she faced everyday while working. He asked Uma to learn a new hobby as He was posted in London for 2-3 years, so that time she would need a hobby to pass her time. He agreed to help in cooking, housework and said if the house is theirs then work is also theirs. He disliked the idea of one person working all the time and the other idling his time over TV.

Verdict:
Uma was sold on the idea of helping in housework and liked his approach to life. He wanted  a life partner who would be his best friend and his best critic, a girl who has her own identity, speaks her mind and calls spade a spade. The whole idea of matches made in heaven started making sense to Uma. She finally found a life partner and a friend who understood her without any words and had no major expectation from Uma apart from being a reasonable wife and making reasonable adjustments.


This is the just one story of one Uma and her search of Mr. Right. This story is partly fictional partly true, maybe self experienced maybe imagined, who knows, IT might be your story or mine.Shadi ka ladoo( Fruit of marriage) however you have it, be it love or arranged, needs equal amounts of sweetness, trust, stability, and most time saying I love you when in fact you want to scream get the hell out of here. Marriage is  a bond that gets stronger as you get older, give it time, nourishment and efforts for it to start bearing any fruits. Love can happen or it can be arranged to happen, how and what you do with it makes all the difference.


UPDATE;
 This entry won a runner up prize in the contest

A Lion's Mane and Lioness with no hair- some hairy issues

Indiblogger and Dove have teamed up once again for an intresting contest on Dove and Hair care. The subject line made me realize that having hair or not having hair is no longer an individual decision. To be or not to be with hair is not only your business but the business of dove and like...every 3rd ad on TV is about fairness cream and hair oil or shampoo. Till a few years it was targeting females, but last few ad's which I happened to see targeted males for fair skin....Love is associated with something that is here today and gone tomorrow. Cutting the long of it, having short or shorter hair all my young life made a victim if ridicule and anguish. Having curly and very thin hair did no help. Feminism is associated with long black hair, well styled hair and usually fair skin and long hair are the most wanted things in the bride search.

When I write this post, I am amazed at the way Gods Thinking process worked, Hence this title.  He blessed Lion with his mane and lioness with none, he blessed a peacock with nice colorful long feathers, but pea hen with none....only place where He seriously messed up was with Humans..he blessed girls with hair and made boys with none or fairly less. Imagine how it would be, if he blessed boys with hair and girls with less;
1) in a Indian wedding setting, The bride is ready in a jiffy with just a change of dress and the groom sends a message, give me 15 mins have to do my hair....or
2)where the girl rejects the boy saying his hair is too small almost looks like  a girl.

When I was growing up, Prothima Bedi/Persses Khambatta made BIG news, y you ask, because     they dared do the thing NO Lady in glam biz dared, they bid farewell to their locks of love. They sported Wati cuts. All my childhood went by having such role models, that if they did big with no hair, why make it a huge deal when I have no hair. Only my loved ones thought, that I had beautiful mane just like Mr. Lion. Only later was I told that with my shocking dry curls, I at times looked like him...

When time came to search for Mr. Ash, my mom freaked out at the thought of the grooms hair being longer than her doll's...oh what a poor mom to do now?...so search began for some products that will obviously keep the roots hydrated as to not create any static that will make my hair stand. Some prospective grooms did decline or reject Ms.Ash saying her hair is at fault, some were rude and some were sympathetic, either ways they were disappointing. IF all was good, can a mere Hair fact not be ignored...Apparently not; even in highly educated Indian classes.

Lesson were learnt and time had come to change the role models for now, I was fantasizing abut Dimple Kapadia..even watched Sagar movie for some clues...And as per instructions, I started reading Femina and Agony aunt columns, any hair care articles that came my way, henna with eggs started marking Sunday rituals, and deep conditioning was ordered. The salon girls started hushing about how the Henna has affected my hair and how I resembled a freshly baked potato . I was again lost, wasn't henna and eggs supposed to make your hair nice soft and strong. Were'nt the girls supposed to GUSH about my orange hair and not hush around me??

All in vain, Ms. Ash accepted the fact, that maybe she was not destined to play with her own hair. Being the positive person she is, she thought that all wa snot lost, having some is much better than having none. Life moved on.

Fast Forward to a couple of years, she met Mr. Ash and love happened with the soul with no hair to play a role, she came to the land of dreams and started using Dove. Then fate changed, when the seasons played a game, her hair was no longer dry and suddenly the curls were tamed. She was however not ready for the sudden change, was it love or was it dove??? maybe little dove and lots of love for myself, was the key to end my hair problems!

Slowly but steadily, over the years my hair has improved with the Dove intense therapy formula and now I have resolved for hair donation with locks of love. Regular oiling, conditioning  and having a balanced lifestyle are the mantras for hair care. Stress is the main cause of hair fall and bad hair, unless you are hair challenged like Ms. Ash. But even if you are, if I can do it you can too. So whats stopping you from loving yourself and loving your hair? Get dovey with Dove.. and feel the world change with you.

I will big goodbye to you with this piece of news on yahoo. Watch this link and decide for yourselve, the value of your hair in someone's eye.

Like Dove on Facebook

 This post is my entry to the ‘My Beautiful Hair Story’ contest organized by Dove and Indiblogger.

To each his own.

"Be the change that you want to see" and "Charity begins from home" are a few of the quotes that are brainwashed on our minds and written on thoughts of the day boards in school. We grew up reading and trying hard to understand how they can be implemented in our sorry lives. The teachers took pains in making us learn the words the meanings we hardly understood, implementing them would be far as a stone. Seriously do we need the things we learn in schools? I am a great supporter of education specially education for women and young girls, but what needs to be done is teaching life skills to survive on those skills if god forbid we need them to support our lives. The main aim in any good Indian house is getting a couple of degrees, then joining the job force and grinding till the retirement age and retiring to a hefty pension or savings to live the rest of our life on. But what about the life skills like cooking, sewing or even do it your own jobs. These are just the tip of the ice berg I want to see the changes in. Start small and go big is my way of getting around the issues. Plant a seed, grow  a tree, do stuff with your kids that they will appreciate, buying a X Box seems pretty cool, but try playing it with them also.

'Be the change Contest" from Indiblogger has once again given me the motivation to write my thoughts and raise my voice on smaller things that bother me a s a MOM and a human being.

We Indians call ourselves free and liberal from age old myths and traditions, yet are we OK with actually sharing the apartment building with a taxi driver, or a Janitor? We say we no longer believe in castes and caste based professions, yet when our kid decides to marry into another caste, we raise hue and cry and blame the next gen for all wrong happening in our society. First and foremost thing to be changed is how we think and how we react. I realized when I landed in  the USA as  a newly married wife, that we as Indians are generally so judgmental of the others that we forget that the basic principle of any relationship or friendship is Mutual Respect. When my son started daycare, he came home one day and told my mom that his best friends is an American with  half french half Chinese background. It took some time for us to realize that it is an individual identity that the kid has by adopting half of each cultures from each parent. Another jolt for my poor mom was when he mentioned another kid with 2 moms and no dad. It was all OK in this culture and we never winked any eyebrows or passed nasty stares when we met their parents. When I moved to my newer town, one of my neighbor was a Limo Driver and another was a psychiatrist. I was amazed at the diversity and the kind of life this society offered to me. This got me thinking Would I be so proud about this had I been In India. I would have bragged that my neighbor is one of the big shot doctor, and yet wisely hidden the fact that another was a mere Limo Driver. Would I have been comfortable of letting my kids mingle with the drivers kids? Are we surely liberal in all that we do today???

Another thing that stung me bad was the attitude we as Indians have. We want to make friends thinking of all the benefits we can extract from that relation. How much we give is not important as how much can we get back? Selfishness is growing leaps and bounds and there is no stopping this monster. It first starts with colleagues and pulling legs in office, taking credit for others work, slowly it crawls to our homes. We abuse our old parents leave them out under the name of Stress. How easy it is for us to throw them out like  a pair of old clothes or sneakers. Have we thought of the age old saying "Reap what you Sow", is this the kind of India we saw grew up in? Where is the humbleness, politeness gone? How many of us get up in  a crowded train/bus and offer seat to an ailing aged or handicapped?

If I were to change a few things,I would start with the moral ethics of all Indians and humans in general.What is not mine is not mine..period.. it cannot get simpler than this...if a 2 year old can understand this, why do we as adults find it so hard to digest? When we see someone in difficulty, why do we say, To each his own and not try and help that person? Are we so aloof as humans that we cannot share a drop of tear with anyone. "I am Busy" has  a new meaning as I do not want to there for you.

Making a few minor changes that can make major differences in the society  we live in. I am, not aiming at bigger changes  to change the country, but smaller ones to make  a huge difference. After all what am I, But just a Mom!!!

This post is written for the contest and if you are a part of the Indiblogger please vote for me and also like
Time to change facebook page 

A leaf from my childhood-- Special post for The Kissan 100% Real Blogger Contest in Indiblogger

Indiblogger is a group of Cool Indian bloggers who meet and greet each other and also organize such exciting contests and allow talented bloggers to win prizes. Although This is a food blog, I guess some diversion is allowed and today's post is one such diversion. I always felt while growing up that Life in the  US of A was cooler and much more exciting than the life I was living in my home, a very modest and humble suburb of Mumbai. I went to school in Goregaon East, Mumbai a place where people went to work at 8am and came back home at 6 pm, had tea , then dinner at 8 and good night at 9pm. It was a routine that no one changed for multiple years and if you were on the streets at 9pm, you would be walking with the street dogs and drunkards to keep you some company and amused at the same time. It was a very boring place to be frank, no excitement and no joy and nothing changed in this pattern for many many years.

There were rows of Bungalows who were not huge or big, but independent houses with coconut trees, few mango trees and Jaam trees. I have no clue of what the English name for Jaam would be. There were few apartment buildings and ours was such a society a cluster of 3 buildings. During school vacations the kids spend all days, afternoons and evenings out of homes till a search hunt was send from home for someone to come back home and eat dinner. What we did all that time is interesting as there were so many things to do and so little time. We started the day with badminton for solid 2-3 hours till someone cried over a lost game and  a fight broke out, the noise is what made our caretakers realize the time and then we were summoned home for breakfast, bath and morning rituals. We went home swearing that never do we play again with that kid and made groups and gangs against them. After about an hr or so, someone yelled someones name and again the whole gang came down to play cricket.  We had only one ball which we contributed like 5 paise or 25 paise ranging from how many people were playing and whoever was lucky to have his bat, we kind of collected the stuff and played on the badminton court smack between two sides of the buildings which had the kitchen windows facing us. Some were good at the ground cricket who played wisely taking care that no windows were shattered and no food was spoiled because of our balls, but some were very enthusiastic and it was normal for 2-3 windows breaking and the moms chasing kids with sticks used to hang washed clothes on the lines. Such accidents resulted in the ball and the bat being confiscated by the person harmed and we had instances when such cute homemakers came out on the field with pots and pans of food where the ball landed multiple times. They even tried cooking with shut windows, but the Kapils and Gavaskars amongst us were overpowering a few shut windows.

Once again we were sent home with warnings of complaints being made to Moms and the usual,, "aata Bagh aai kai karel tuzha.. tu gelas re " meaning wait till your mom knows this, you are gone today!!!! So whoever was the unlucky one that day got patted sympathy as well as assurances that we will tell your mom what she did before she can tell our deeds..LOL little Rascals that we were...next game was dubba is pais.....more like hide and seek, but instead of counting, we threw empty dubba/tine at some distance and the person taking the den ran to collect it and bring it at one spot, while he did that others hid and took spots, the game began, the kid taking the den ran and found people and came to the dubba and yelled their names and spot where he was seen, he was out of the game. The first person to get caught had to take the den after all kids were out and fresh game began...Only if this was not easy enough, if he made mistake in taking the name and spotting the place, the whole series was restarted...There were 12 boys and only girl i.e yours truly in the gang of kids in our society, so obviously I was very pampered by all the boys, whenever I was out the first, they united to save me from taking den, and changed their shirts when they heard their names called out, they were so fast in doing this, that 99% of the times, I was saved. The 1 % that I had to take the den they all got out one after the other.

We discussed random things from what is cooking in whose house to what his dad did was right or wrong to who was dating whom from the youngsters in the society. We even blackmailed those lovers about telling at home which movie they were spotted together at. We had all our free wada pav parties in this fashion. Lazy afternoons were kept for stealing mangoes and Jaams from the adjoining bungalow after its owner slept. Every afternoon about 2 pm, two of us would climb the fence, and on to the trees and steal as much as we could and start throwing them to us who were waiting on the other side of the fence. Few of us managed to get salt and red chili powder from home after moms slept and we enjoyed the mango and jaam

Coming back today I think I was so wrong about the little I knew about Kids in USA that time, I was having much more fun and building long lasting friendships with my gang, no one ever taught us to plant trees for mothers day, make your puppets or even decorate your cupcake. We did and learn so many things on our own. Our Friends taught us to be kind,  to feed the street dogs; that it's OK to be angry and have fights and then hug and forget everything. Today I run for my kids activities, wait till the class is over only to pack them and bring them home, they DO NOT get a chance to explore nature, steal mangoes  and jaam or break a window and get beaten by elders for spoiling their food. Another things is we never ever had play dates at someones home, because the concept had not been introduced back then, video games were for people living in foreign countries like wearing jean pants/Denim was. Coca Cola was foreign while Thumbs-up was very desi, apna drink... life was simple, unprotected and carefree, people were honest and trust worthy, they watched kids not belonging to them like hawks and loved them equally. Now I am in US of A, I feel that life I had as a kid was much much cooler than the life I am giving my kids here in the land of dreams.

Thanks Kissan and Indi blogger for giving me a chance to share a leaf form my childhood and I am sure that you will relate to some of it as we all belong to the generation that was a bit closer to nature and spend lazy afternoons under some mango tree or laying on the lawns staring at the blue sky, thinking of what we will do and who will be able to get to pay for the free wada pav's, scheming about evil pans to scare someone and watch the fun.

If only God grants me one wish, I would wish such childhood for my US born kids.


If you are a part of IndiBlogger, you can vote for my entry here.

YAY..Runner up on Master Chef India 2 Contest on Indiblogger

This is some news or what.. Thanks all for the support and love you have showered on me.

Stuffed Karela/Bitter Melon/Gourd-- Guest post for Chef Kavi and her CWK Series

I am guest posting for Chef Kavi and her CWK Series. It is my great honor to do this post for her. When I first started reading her blog, I imagined Kavi to be older and much closer to my age, but when I spoke with her, I realized that she is still in college and already cooking so much that I at her age could only have even imagined in my wildest dreams. So when she asked me to do a guest post for her, I was lost as to what I should do for her. Then I realized that no one goes the karela way..so here I go where no one goes. Kavi's blog is full of bakes, treats and goodies. May be my post will balance the sweetness on her blog. Thanks Kavi for giving me this opportunity to do this for you. It has been a pleasure doing this for you.

This is yet another Karela recipe. I know I know, I hear the Groans, and see the faces, but believe me guys, this is as good as any karela can get. The bitter groud/melon is bitter before it gets cooked, but once you get to the stuffing and the skin, the bitterness gets sweet.  Try it guys, you will like it... For me..please..... The stuffing is sweet/tangy and spicy all at the same time.

Prep time 

10-15 mins

Cook Time

 20 mins

Servings:

This recipe is for four small to medium Bitter gourds and if served a s a side dish, will be enough for 4 adults or if served as a main vegetable, could do for 2 adults.

For the Stuffing;

1/2 medium onion finely chopped and roasted in 2 tsp oil.

1/2 cup roasted peanuts powder

1 tbspn Jaggery or Gul-- substitute with brown sugar if Jaggery is not found

1 tbspn Juice of Tamarind
2 tbspn Fresh chopped Cilantro
salt to taste
1 tsp Red Chili powder

1 tsp Goda Masala- This is a typical Brahman masala...also called as Black Masala-- substitite with Garam Masala--Famous INdian spice easily found in Indian Grocerys tores

1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder

4 Bittergourds/Bitter Melon/ Karela-- slit the center and remove all the seeds from the inside, taking care of not ripping the ends.

Twine or Toothpicks top keep the stuffed Karela together and avoid the stuffing form coming out while cooking.

  

Tadka/Tempering
1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
1 tsp oil or coat the pan well to cook the Karela's

Mix all the stuffing ingredients, if the tamarind juice is not enough, use very little water to bind the mixture. The mixture should be sticky, not wet and easy to hold itself inside the veggie. Now take the slit open bitter melons/ karelas and stuff each one with the above mixture. Seal the open cut with toothpicks or tie them together with cooking twine. I did not have any twine, so used tooth picks. Now in a heated pan, take little oil, heat it well and add the jeera/cumin seeds (the tadka Ingredients) and add the stuffed karela's/veggies... Cover and cook on low heat...Note that the lid should not be removed, if needed slightly shake the pan, so as to ensure nothing sticks to the pan. On a low flame, cook the veggies. Steam them well and cook till done.

Enjoy as a side dish or a vegetable on its own.

Baakar Bhaji - Pumpkin Subji and an Award

This type of vegetable was/is  a grand affair in my birth-city, Nagpur, Maharashtra. It is made for all occasions, be it puja's, ganpati, Diwali or marriages. My aunt calls the Achari/ Maharaj/Chef who does all the cooking alone or at times with one assistant on her terrace for around 50-100 people in a matter of couple of hours. He comes equipped with his utensils, spoons and knives, all we need to do is give him the stuff to cook and some space. It is an pleasure and a s a kid I loved looking at him stir, chop and play with food in such huge quantities. The image of him stirring besan to make ladoos is fixed on my mind and takes me to a happy place, when he lovingly offered all kids smaller ladoos when he was done with the cooking. He was a strict chef, who was a brahmin and insisted that if he is cooking for the prasad/offering to god, then all things be clean and neat when he entered the place he was going to cook. After the ladoos this subji or vegetable preparation refuses to leave my mind and make space for new things. I dislike Pumpkin a s a kid, my grandma used to make bharit, a kind of dip/salsa with mashed boiled pumpkin and it was mandatory for us to finish that before leaving our seats and announcing we are done with the meal. It tasted decent, but the way of preparing was at fault, I mean, she chopped the pumpkin fine, then boiled it and then mashed it with fingers..and then added the spices, curds and made it a royal sloppy mess. The very thought of the process is enough for me to throw up. Another disgusting way of her preparation was making Shirkran, where she mashed ripe bananas with her fingers and added milk and sugar to it. Yuck.. and phew...god bless the person who invented spoons and knives.

This subji is divine and just melts in your mouth. Do not be fooled with the humble pumpkin. The poppy seeds and the dry coconut along with the spices make it a very rich gravy based preparation. People like to eat it with phulka's or rice, I like to hog it just as is.

You will need;
8-10 pieces of chopped pumpkin around 1to 2 inches with skin on
2 tbspns poopy seed
2 tbspns dry coconut powder
1 tbspn roasted peanut powder
little water to grind the paste--See notes.
5-6 curry leaves
1 tspn fenugreek seeds/methi seeds
1 tspn garam masala
1 tspn Red chili powder
1 tspn goda masala--Optional
1 tspn cumin-coriander powder
1 inch cube of jaggery
salt to taste
Cilantro to garnish

Tadka
2 tbspn oil
1 tsp mustard/rai seeds
1 tsp cumin/jeera seeds
2 Green chili-Optional
pinch of hing
1/2 tsp turmeric/haldi

Place a wok on medium heat and dry roast the poppy seeds for about 2-3 minutes till they change a shade darker, then remove them in a blender pot, in the same pan, dry roast the coconut till it changes color, once cooled, add it to the same blender pot with the roasted poppy seeds, and then add little water and add all the spice(garam masala+goda masala+cumin-coriander) powders, red chili powder, dry roasted peanut powder and little water to make paste. IN the same wok, take the oil, add the mustard seeds, jeera and let it sizzle a bit, add the curry leaves, green chilies and lastly the methi seeds and hing, add the paste and fry for 2-3 minutes, till the mixture is well incorporated, add the haldi and stir once. Then add the pumpkin cubes, salt and jaggery and stir till the paste coats the pumpkin pieces, add little water to make a curry. Do not add a whole lot of water as the pumpkin when cooks gives out a lot of water. We want a dry curry not a sloppy soupy mess. Cover with lid and cook till the pumpkin looks cooked. It should be firm and not break a whole lot, so we need to make bigger pieces and not smaller ones. The curry/subji is done. Garnish with cilantro and Enjoy with some steamed dal chawal or with hot phulka's or like me, as is.

 I am sending this to  Sweet Heat challenge hosted by Food and Football and Baby.

Moving on the award and a slice of MI-Whats in my mind!!!!

Sudha of wit, work and wisdom has shared an Inspirational award with me. I had to answer 8 questions about myself - interesting stuff:. Thanks Sudha for thinking about me, such gestures keep me blogging for more.


1. What makes you laugh, smile or giggle?

I am not rude, but I burst into laughter when I see someone falling on steps. Once my friend missed a step and fell on an airwalk. She had a pan in her bag which stared rolling down the steps as well and both landed at the same time with a big bang. There was quite a crowd there and everyone had  a good laugh before we all pitched in to help my poor friend.

Other things that make me giggle are my kids.Their haywire antics and smart use of words has me in splits often.


2. What are your dreams for your future?

I have no major dreams for myself, just want a satisfying life and stay happy. I have been blessed with enough of all things. I cannot get greedy and save my wishes for the time when I will need them for self or loved one.



3. If you are going to a cruise, where would it be and why?

I would love to cruise Hawaii. Have heard so many things about the mystic beaches and places to visit, that sooner than later I would be planning a cruise to Hawaii.


4. How would you spend your vacation and with whom?

Off course with Mr. Ash and my munchkins. I would love if my parents and my bro and his family also joins us. IT would truly be a dream vacation then.


5. If given a life, what life would you choose ? Your life now or your past?

Past is history and tomorrow is mystery, so present is a present(Gift).


6. Is there something that you wished before when you were young but you didn't get it?

Not when I was young, but recently I wished for something, which I did not get, It hurt a bit, but tomorrow is there to try again.


7. Have you been in a situation where you might have given up but you still choose to move on?

Yes of course. We all face such circumstances at some point in our life. The key is to move on and let go. Learn from past and try secure the future.


8. Is there someone in your life who has been your source of strength and inspiration?

There are not one but many wonderful girls in my life who have been my gyan guru.
My mom taught me to be kind, be giving, she made me book smart, confident and be of substance. Her ideology is we cannot change someone, but change the way we think.
My mom in law taught me to be street smart, do good only if someone deserved the goodness.
My aunt taught me to get tougher when the going gets tough. To never give up
My SIL's mom taught me to be happy in all situations. I admire her for she loves life and lives it to the fullest. She showed me that we can be really happy if we want to be.
My SIL taught me to take good with bad, sometimes give a second chance.


I am sharing this award with;
Aparna@ http://squaremeals.blogspot.com/
Manasi@http://acookatheart.blogspot.com/
Smitha @http://smithasspicyflavors.blogspot.com
Khushi @ A Girls Diary
Ms. Chitchat @ http://chitchatcrossroads.blogspot.com
Ansh @ Spiceroots
MichellePeters@foodfootballandababy.blogspot.com
Kavi@EdibleEntertainment
Blackswan@http://luxuryhaven.blogspot.com
Amy @ Food Corner
Manali@Cravings





This award is for all my readers also for being an inspiration for me. Please continue with your support and make me blog more often and share wonderful tit bits from my life to yours.

Happy New Year-2012 and a good news.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

The new year brought with it some very good news. My entry was featured on Amy's Decorating challenge. Thanks a Lott for the great badge Amy!!!




Have  a blessed year ahead!!!

Excited!!! My cake is on Coolest Cakes website!

Dear All, Thanks a lot for all your support and encouragement. My Disney CARS Cake was featured on Coolest-Birthday-Cakes Website. Do check out their FB page and Like my cake.

Once again I truly and deeply appreciate your support and all your comments are like diamonds on this blog.
Love Ash.

Shahi Matar Paneer- Cottage Cheese and Peas Gravy

When I was a kid, eating out called for only special occasions, and Matar Paneer was staple on our menu with garlic Naan and ending it with some chickoo milkshake, we were so predictable that we never ever saw the menu and the waiter got our order without even ordering. My mom's home even being in suburban Mumbai is still very much like a village, where everyone knows everyone. There was only one cinema theatre, and 2 restaurants till the early 2000. Although all that has changed now and it is taking shape of being a very busy town in Suburban Mumbai. The old charm is still there but dying sooner than I am ready to accept it.

Times change, things change and most importantly people change. Eating out is a every weekend affair for me now. Sadly, as much as I love to cook, some days it's impossible to get my lazy self in the kitchen and make fresh food. Eating out in the Indian restaurants is also not a favourite option for me, I tend to worry about few things more than enjoying the food, like how spicy, what oil do they use, how old is the paneer ..so on....if you are like me, you will tend to eat out at Subways; it is my all time go to, but it tends to get boring for others, so we go the semi homemade way..frozen parathas or nans that we stock for such nites and a quick gravy based curry, with some steamed rice. a complete meal is on the table under 30 minutes. I am huge fan of Master chef Sanjeev Kapoor and follow his recipes to the T, this is one such treasure tweaked to my family's liking, hope you will like this also.

Green peas and paneer cooked together into a delicious gravy.


You will need;

To Make Paneer--at home( or Use store brought)
Milk 4 cups
Lemon 1

** I used the store brought paneer as I was low on time and somehow I am yet to master the art of making chunky paneer at home, I always get the paneer mashed or in crumbs when I make at home. Maybe will start using Whole or full fat milk, 2% does not seem to work for me.


For the gravy;
Green peas 400 grams
Oil 2 tablespoons + to deep fry
2 large Onions
2 Tomatoes--Pureed or use 1/4th of the 8oz can
1 inch piece Ginger
1/4 tspnTurmeric powder
1 tspnRed chili powder
1 tspn Coriander powder
1 tspn Garam masala powder
1 pod green Cardamom-broken with but with the skin in tact
1 tbspn Cashew Paste
** Soak Cashews in milk for 1 hour and grind it into paste.
Salt to taste

Making paneer;
Boil milk twice on high heat and add juice of one lemon. The whey will separate from paneer. Drain the whey, tie up paneer in a muslin cloth and hang it up all day to allow excess water to drain away. Place the muslin with the paneer under a heavy weight to ensure that all the moisture is squeezed out. This will flatten the paneer into a flat round cake when removed from the muslin.

Cut the paneer into strips or cubes. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai and deep-fry till light brown. Drain onto an absorbent paper.

Making Gravy;
Peel and chop onions and ginger finely.
 Heat two tablespoons oil in a pan and add chopped onions and ginger  and tomato puree and the broken cardamom pod. Breaking the pod is simply making a slit in the pod but not separating the seeds from the skin.Sauté till lightly browned. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, salt and peas and cook, adding a little water, till the peas are tender and a little gravy remains. Add the cashew paste, fried paneer, garam masala powder and boil for five minutes. Serve hot with chappatis.

** Note; You can substitute paneer with potato, cauliflower or button mushroom, cubed into large pieces, steamed or fried and added to the gravy in the last.

This can be made  a very high calorie dish by adding cashew paste and/or heavy cream. It can be totally left out, which I often do when cooking for the only four of us, it's only when I am entertaining that I add the nuts and cream. I believe in moderation, so the fat from paneer and the cashew paste is enough to make me feel guilty, I left out heavy cream.The choice as always is yours.

I am sending this dish to Tickling PalatesLet’s Cook ~ Mughal Cuisine, Winter Carnival and Paris Only Curries event  hosted by Kamalika

Hope to see more entries at all these events.

Love Ash.

Diwali EBook by Indus ladies

Hear All.. the diwali ebook by Indus ladies is here for all to download as a Diwali Gift and its FREE for all. Now the main news, My Dry fruit Baked Karanji has been chosen as one of the lucky entries and is featured on page 159 and item #78. and Boy am I thrilled with this news.. thanks all for the support and things like this are some of the reasons that the blogworld is so great. Once again Thank You all for all the love and blessings.

A very teary eyed

Love Ash.

“100 Yummy Diwali Sweet Recipes”-- EBook by Indus Ladies.

Copying the ANNOUNCEMENT from Indus ladies websites.

Are you a Food Blogger? Or do you have friends who are Food Bloggers? Here's a great news for the Food Bloggers out there who have been blogging for alteast 1 year now...


For the upcoming Diwali on October 26th, 2011, we at Indusladies are compiling an E-Book called “100 Yummy Diwali Sweet Recipes”. We are collecting sweet/dessert recipes from various bloggers to be featured in this E-Book.


This E-book will be made available as a free download to our community's 1.3 Lakh+ members. In addition, we will also be making this E-Book available to our 9000+ Facebook fans and Twitter followers. It's LOTS and LOTS of exposure to those food blogs entering the E-Book!! We believe this would be a nice way to get the word out about a wonderful blog to the entire membership of IndusLadies!!

Those bloggers interested in submitting a recipe for this E-Book...all you need to do is as follows:

1. Send a link from your blog for a sweet / dessert recipe. It should also include the picture of the sweet/dessert. Your recipe, food picture, recipe URL as well as the entire blog URL will get featured in the E-Book.

2. In return, we need you to do two things:

- Now make a blog post in your blog announcing the E-Book compilation by IndusLadies and the recipe you are sending for this E-Book. That way inviting your co-bloggers interested to send in their contribution by Oct 10th,2011.

- Between Oct 11 and Oct 26, make a blog post featuring the E-Book and announcing it is available for FREE download in IndusLadies. Indus Ladies will be providing you sooner with the picture of the E-Book’s cover page that you will use to include in this blog post.



Come on...hurry! What are you waiting for??



Send a sweet/dessert recipe link from your blog to partners@indusladies.com by Oct 8th, 2011.

Looking forward for all my friends recipes on Indus Ladies Ebook.

Love Ash.