Postcards - Homeward Bound

This year on our trip to Ireland, as we sat chilling one evening at a quaint Irish Pub in the Dingle Peninsula, we saw this really young couple scribbling away furiously.A closer look and we realized it was postcards they were writing.

And an inspiration was drawn instantly and a beautiful vision formed in my head.
I'm a dreamer and a romantic...And I could instantly see a lifetime of memories and connects through these handwritten postcards.

Past 2 summer vacations have seen our kids happily deposited at Naani's Home in Delhi to get pampered by mamu, maasi and the hordes of relatives.

And both the summers have seen my husband and I driving all over UK,Scotland and Ireland.

So, promptly, the next morning we were at the local shop in Dingle buying postcards.It was our last day in Ireland so we sat scribbling furiously on our 1st few "postcards to "home" to our children.

There's nothing like the written word they say - the magical feel of paper in our hands,
the joy of seeing international stamps or any stamps at all in this paperless world

Well, this time,I reached home before the postcards did but when they arrived, they did bring truckloads of happiness and excitement on our kids faces. The two jumped with joy seeing postcards addressed to them.Their joy and excitement knew no bounds...Add to that the "SHOCK" element.
The totally "worth it" moments of life - that make you feel warm and fuzzy as parents.

So more power to the written words-  to the tiny threads that connect us-to strengthening our bonds, leaving a trail of postcards from parents who love being travelers not tourists.

Cheers to good health, happiness and a good life....

Satyamev Jayate !!

I had been waiting for 6th May with baited breath for Aamir Khan's Satyamev Jayate . A day when I would  break my own rule of watching television so early in the morning !! Since the kids were born, I have watched television only once they had slept off which means past 9pm...Day time viewing kind of depresses me !!

Infact, for the 1st six years of our married life, we had no television at home .. Those were one of the best  years of our life !! reading books, talking, walking and generally chilling..

But was I glad to break the rule!! What an amazing hard-hitting show !

" दिल  पर लगेगी तभी बात  बनेगी  !! ( Things will get done only if they touch your heart!!)

The show brought back the memories of  " रंग  दे  बसंती "  and the revolution it spoke of..The sense of patriotism that it had invoked!

Aamir Khan has given us " the common man " a voice - a platform to take a lot of issues forward.

Let's not procrastinate any further. Let's come together to make our country better.

Let's come together and make " India Shining ".

Let's come forward before this fire dies down.

We have the power to make a difference.

Every little thing counts.

Lets make the law makers of our country take notice.

Let us be a part of this awakening...

To the India of my dreams " जय  हिंद ".

P.S. For  those of you, who are not aware.Aamir Khan's talk show Satyamev Jayate premiered on Star Network and Doordarshan on May 6, 11am. It deals with hard-hitting facts of modern India. The 1st episode touched on the topic of female infanticide.

Kadhi and other Childhood foods

The Punjabi Kadhi (recipe follows)
 Last week brought back amazing memories of this special dish...After I had made this and the kids had relished theirs .. with rice ofcourse!! . The leftover kadhi got special treatment by way of  tadka with ghee and lal-mirch and decided to make the home-made tandoori roti...Nostalgia hit immediately and took me back to my childhood years.

My mum worked in a bank and saturdays were half-days..A day, we waited for eagerly when mum would be home in the afternoon in time for lunch. Saturday lunch was a ritual... Bang in the middle of East Of Kailash , 3 plots away from our home, was Mohinder da Dhaaba...and Saturday Lunch Special was "the Kadhi" ofcourse. Garam Garam Tandoori Parathas with tadke waali Kadhi...The most amazing saturday lunch.

We would take our home made atta and ghee to the dhaaba very often in the summers when the heat was at it's peak or when the electricty failed. And he would do the most amazing tandoori rotis.

Saturday afternoons also saw us waiting for the dahi-bhalle and chaat  wala who came riding his bicycle with  the red tins attached to his handles...Don't remember anything else even close to the way that tasted!!

Tuesday and Saturday evening brought Sharmaji ke Cholle...again on his bicycle with this huge insulated container at the back.I can hear him calling out """Cholle""" and us running out to find him before he disappeared. His Bheege Kulche were to die for ( Kulcha soaked with cholle topped with onions/coriander and chutney).

Thursday and Saturday were Dad's treat days for us !! The Kwality's ice-cream vendor would stop at our home after winding up around 11pm..and we would all have our favorite picks. Kulfi/ Mango Bar/ Choco- Bar, Cassatta being top favorite picks.

And how can I forget the Ghanta Churan ( the Churanwala who came ringing his bell every evening!! ) Loved his khatta meetha churan..

As you can tell, ours is a complete foodie family . I get my genes from my dad...Love food .. Love to tell stories of food as well...

All these stories have transported me to another era. Times have changed so much..We are now so spoilt for choice, we have forgotten these simple pleasures

I feel so old as i write this !! but those sure were good old days !!

Kadhi - Recipe
(my Family recipe - very simple and light )

Ingredients 

Kadhi
Khatti dahi or buttermilk - 1 ltr (thinned down )
Besan/Gram flour -  3 tbsp
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1tbsp
Methi seeds - 1tsp
Turmeric - pinch
Whole Red Chilles - 3-4
Hing - a pinch

Tadka
Ghee - 1tbsp
Red Chillies ( coarsely ground) - to taste

Pakoras
Onions - 3-4
Gram Flour/Besan ( see instrcutions for quantity )
Salt to taste
Turmeric - pinch

Method

Kadhi
1.Whisk curd + turmeric + besan
2.In a kadhai heat some oil, then add methi seeds. Brown them slowly taking care not overcook or they taste bitter.
3.Add hing, whole red chillies and then  ginger garlic paste and saute for another minute.
4. Add the curd mixture and bring to a boil.
5. Simmer for 15-20mins.Adjust consistency and add salt to taste.

Pakoras ( not the traditional way but we love them like this ! )

1. Slice onions thinly and add salt to it. Keep aside for 1/2 hour. ( This releases the water in the onion )
2.Now slowly add besan to it binding the onions adding very little or no water.The water from the onions should be enough. This makes very nice and crisp pakoras ( kanda bhajjia as we know them in mumbai ). Infact make a few extra ;-) . Am sure half will get eaten before being added to the kadhi.
The pakoras become really soft as they absorb the kadhi as they have a lot of onions..
3.Drop spoonfuls into hot oil and fry on slow fire until done. Unlike the traditional kadhi-pakoras these take shorter time to cook. Increase the flame to high before u remove them. They absorb less oil then.
4. Add them to the prepared kadhi. You may need to adjust the consistency as the pakoras get soaked.

Tadka
Heat Ghee. Switch off the gas.. Add red chillies.Let it cook a bit. Add to the kadhi for that wonderful red tadka. Be careful not to burn the chilles.


Serve hot with rice as the traditional " kadhi-chawal" or have them with a home-made tandoori roti made on an inverted tava.
 
Healthy Tip - For healthier and lighter Kadhi option omit the pakoras and add blanched spinach or methi.

Celebrating Mango

Mango...The King of Fruits


One of my best mango memories goes back to my childhood !! The good old years when holidays were simple affairs. Every year during the summer vacations,we would take off to one of the Himalayan Hill Stations - Simla , Nainitaal, Mussoorie, Manali , all of which were a short drive from Delhi- my hometown
Dad's good old reliable fiat..and we would take off!! .. Haridwar( the pilgrimage city) was always the night halt as we all loved the break midway ( albeit a little out of the way ;-) ! ) We would wander the streets of haridwar  - soaking in the sights, attending the evening arati at "Har ki Paudi" , floating the diya with flowers into the river ganga , seeking blessings, wandering the ghats.
Evenings always saw us having the kadha hua doodh (milk simmered in big containers) in the streets.

That brings us back to the mango!!.We would always buy mangoes (small sweet mangoes to suck on - that don't need to be cut ! ) in the streets and also a gamcha ( small muslin cloth ) before we returned to our guest house. All our guest houses always had a private ghaat. We would tie the mangoes in that gamcha..sit on the ghaats with the mangoes floating in water and getting cooled naturally in the ganga. Those were one of the most serene and calming moments followed by devouring those yummy cooled mangoes.

Delhi summers are synonymous with mango - dussehri, langda, safeda - highest on my recall list.
Summers also reminded me of ganderi ( cut sugarcane) , faalse and jamun ( berries)..

Mumbai introduced me to the King of Mangoes - Alphonso or the Hapus and summers became even sweeter. Thankfully the North Indian mangoes come later in the season and the two varieties don't vie for my attention.

Today, we all wait for the first mangoes .. to create magic....

So.........WHAT'S YOUR BEST MANGO MEMORY????  Do share with us !!

Spoil Me Silly - The Gourmet Line

Follow your Passions.Listen to your Heart  ...   that seems like a good place to start!!


In school, I was a Jack, rather Jill of all trades .. but master of none. Think that holds true even today.;-)  Pursue what you like, today...not what you liked in school, or college.. people change, so do passions!
Live in the moment!! Enjoy what you do. Do not worry about being the Master..be the Jack who loves what he does !!! The rest will automatically fall in place.:-)


That's my mantra... Pack as much action as you can cos' you only live once !!


Always had a passion for cooking, always wanted to be a chef...lost ground to practicality..Housekeeping over Kitchens..the immaturity of being young..family before career..not realizing to live in the moment....


But your passions come calling at you..


1 1/2 years at Taj Mansingh , 8 long and most amazing years with KLM/Northwest Airlines, a premature VRS, 2 years in Manila( a professional make-up course there )...loved every minute of making people look beautiful and the spark of confidence it brought about in them. That was then !!! 


But your passions come calling at you...they find you if you're passionate enough about them !


Back in Mumbai. It's 2009. A young girl loves pasta and wants that for her birthday.Mum can't find good enough pasta that wouldn't burn a hole in her pocket and would be readily available.
Sonali Maasi " I love your pasta"...and just like that -  "" the first idea of my gourmet line !!! "".


 Spoil Me Silly - Personalised Gourmet Cooking was born with the birthday box.

That was October 26, 2009...My best friend's daughter's birthday...a day we'll never forget...a very special girl's birthday who inspired me to reconnect with my passion to cook.

We've come a long way since then...but then, that's another post..another story..will keep it coming.

Tell me how you liked this first one...

Cheers !!