A dent in the heart!

A bad day…. or may be the worst day so far.  I just want all of you to  yell at me. 

Cars were never facinating to me, although, i forcibly became member of freaky car fan’s club.  I have no brother or a car frenzy father, who could have probably ignited interest in me about cars.  Whatever i knew till my marrige, was  the four wheels and a metal body with seats and a very very status oriented and fun to drive thing. 

Things changed, and my hubby dear looked like a president of that car fan’s club.  To my amusement, he could name all the cars on the tracks(now i know all kids do that, but i wasn’t aware then).  Still i was always away from this  kinky business.  Gently and unknowingly, i was one of them, in span of three years. 

Things changed better,  I got a license in qatar by passing the first test which was a  uphill battle.  The next day, to much of my excitement, i could drive a brand new Honda Civic from the showroom all by myself, upto the porch.  The car was bought with lots and loads of dicussions over  a month, after we lost our astra to a freaky but a terrible accident.  The experience of driving a new showroom car in a different country to me was something ultimate so far.   I was in the air, though, i was drenched in sweat for that five minutes drive.  The dream was, one day just zip across the strees of Doha, at highest speed possible wearing a black gorgles and a black dress.  Nothing of that sort hapnd, apart from escaping few hair line accidents. 

Then comes, our home land,wild and carefree, careless and disobidient.  I was a proud wife to my hsuband when i took a Tata Safari for a  test drive.  We even thought to go for that.  Some how Ford Fiesta captured us.  We closed the deal spending half a day at  Cauvery Ford. My husband was so so cautious and a careful driver, is cautious with all the things that happens on the world which invloves him.  He takes HIS OWN time in deciding things.  Its a virtue by itself and mistakes will be minimal. 

Some how the struggle we went through at Bangalore over months, in conveyance, fighting and yelling at autos, just showed me the importance of owning a vehicle.  Fiesta is more like a member to our family than a car that is just paked outside.  My husband very soon got good hands on the wheel, who was more worried of the fact that he is not used to manual car with wrong side driving.  He had no alternative other than driving and he took few classes,   slowly but steadily took off to be a meticulous driver i would say.  I am so happy for him.

The story begins now.  I am too jittery, i donno what not i am.  May be i am far more careless sort.  Whatever i am, but i loved this little one, who took us around during bad traffics, awful weather and long drives.  Fiesta just listens to you like your cudley pup or a obidient kid.  The shortest distance this car travelled is dropping my daughter to her school which close to the house, with worst driver like me, it got bruised twice near the front wheel.  I decided not touch, but there was nothing like DONT TOUCH from the owner of the car, i some how sorted the issues between me and mind and started off again.  But today was end of one fateful day.  The car was asked to park at the basement and hight of misguidance from me, made a big dent near the rear door of the car. The dent i just dont forget, i could see that even now when i close my eyes.  Its been too bad for me too take it.  I mean most of you would have gone through that experience .. how could one imagine a big dent of about 5 inches long 1 inch deep, on a three months old Platinum color Fiesta looks like? BAD BAD BAD…. a bad day….

Year 2007

Last sunset of year 2006 at Bangalore…

Wishing a very happy and prosperous new year to all my blog friends and their family!!

For all those who remembers me…

Yeah .. i am breathing, breathing without my life support, My “Bhakshanam”, to which i barely logged on all these days, sticking to the promises i made for my dependents(hubby and kids), No Blogging till we settle down. But i am smart you see, i get the comments mails from all of you, and feel so great and happy for myself to be the part of world. I mean world, as i never felt the world is so close ever before.

Thanks for all, who are still keeping in touch and conveying the defination of friendship.

Will be back soon….

“Confessions in groups of five”

I know, i can see my cooking blog turning into personals and memes. I am hardly cooking these days.. okay.. let me cofess. The truth is camera has travelled across seven seas for a marriage ceremony at kannur.  Yep! that is it… no pictures, so no cooking.

Charming, Nandita has tagged me for this meme. 

Five in the freezer

• Fish, staple diet, cooked everyday.
• Frozen peas.
• Freezer door is over loaded with all kinds of masala powders.
• Ice creams and condensed milk in the door section.
• Al-Kabeer frozen foods.

Five in closet

• Lots of cameras
• Loads of cloths(ridiculous and insane!)
• Hidden 'whispers'.
• Box of jewellery.
• Personal certificates and important documents.

Five in car(if i would have one for myself!!:))

• Box of soft tissues.
• A small sandal wood lord Ganesha.
• Collection of Raffi, Bryan adams and Eagles.
• Chocolate wrappers, inevitable choice, i know its hard to get rid of it….
• A crate of water bottles(Its difficult to get water on long drives in Doha) or a gas can (its difficult to see a gas station in India on long drives) and a first aid kit.

 Five in my purse

• A picture of Mother Teresa( i was so much influenced by this great soul, once i even wanted to become a nun :))
• Credit cards, which is of no use in here
• An "I miss you" keepsake card sent by my hubby when we were away.
• A photo of Lord Ventkateshwara.
• Some money if i am out for shopping.

It would be interesting to read what Busy bee Indira and hilarious LG would like to confess.

A decision made!

Indeed, it was a tough but a meaningful decision.  It has been too many years, we ever felt the zephyr of monsoon in the air, ever took a glimpse of clouds that formed just before the rain begins, ever felt the serein. It has been too long, that we got ourselves drenched in heavy downpours that escaped through small umbrellas which was never a use during monsoons.  The rains we always missed, and made several attempts to reconstruct those wonderful drizzling days to our tiny ones with our limited vocabulary.

Finally, one fine morning, in our cosy little warm house at Doha, we took this decision, to relocate ourselves to India for good. Although, rain is an essential factor, more important  is a career move for my partner and i am blessed with loads and loads of people around and never again going to miss my mother's tastes. Hoping My little earthquake is going to tremor with same intensity and high spirits as she used to be here. Atleast she will not get scared  by ants anymore and get the meaning of water falling from sky (Rain!)

The memories of Doha and Bahrain, remains refreshing and warm, and i will do post about it once in a while.

For the nonce, i take a leave from all my blog freinds, for couple of months.  Hoping to join you all very soon and blogging from my home town Bangalore!!

My posts remain intermittent in coming days. Do keep a check here for some amusements and cooking on move.

Requests and orders on hold:

1. Priya of Sugar and spice, in her first comment about Bhakshanam, happy to learn more Karnataka cooking.:)

1. LG of ginger and mango wanted a 'spotlight' on mann chatti:)

2. Vaishali of happy burp, feels good if i can cook a vegetarian dish in clay pot:).. .

3. Indira of Mahanandi, eager to know what do my mother includes in Horse gram whole curry.:)

4. Most of my pals wants the taste of my mother….:)

I will soon post all these…

I miss my mom!!

I think i just have to do it right now.. its delayed enough.. and all my blog friends tagging me left and right….. i donno i am just sitting and counting stars… i am sorry about it.

My first meme, i was found by these 'Three cook(muske)teers' Ashwini, Nabeela and GM who embarked upon their culinary adventures, and befriended me (like the original  D'Artagnan in the story)… tagged me and here i am… (i know i sound honored.. but its not…) … (Melancholy… rather weeping!)… missing my mother very badly!!!!

My mother was never so good in neat and spick-and-span kitchen platforms during cooking, but used to produce wonderful delicasies.  She says,  when you concentrate more on a very organized and tidy cooking, you will never get a free hand on that hot stove.  Overall you will be thinking, … 'oh, that peas why is it spilled all over there?'… just that and you will forget all about how to make a perfect peas masala…. and end up clearing up the spilled peas in the middle of cooking…  may be she is right in her own way, she is famous for her tasty cooking.

I never got a chance to make this authentic karnataka breakfast and my mother's classic dish Masala akki rotti, with coconut chutney.. once used to be a 'hot cake' in my circle of hungry hippos and moment i open the box, rotti used to dissappear without a clue.

Tholasida akki rotti, my mom's signature dish, i have blogged.

Tomato Gojju, gravy of tomatoe and onion.

Alasandi kalu huli, curry made with black eyed peas and brinjal.

Huruli kalu huli, curry of Horse gram whole, i craved for this during my one of those 'productive' nine month period

Mosoppu, a thick curry preparation, with five different greens cooked and mashed together with little cooked dal and a ground paste. One must taste this with Ragi balls.

My ever tried and never succeeded, mom's Magical Idlis that melts in mouth. Mother has very simple notes for this recipe. Our crazy combo for breakfast used to be, idlis dipped in kus kus(poppy seeds) payasam.

A bun embedded in a jar of sugar, i know its silly but just brings back memories of my school days, when i used to hit home from school during sultry evenings anticipating some surprises, mom offers me this sugar coated bun, and i am so much amused, how mom can reproduce the same 'sugar bun' available from local bakery!!! Then i used to feel.. what a great cook my mom is?:) (she  has improved a lot!!!atleast she can not impress me up with such things now)

Phirni, she called it pakistani dish, leaving me wonder how and from where did she ever learnt a pakistani dish?!!. Anyway, that was one cool and coolest of dessert i have ever had.

All her umpteen rice treats prepared out of her imaginations, that used to occupy my lunch box waiting for those hungry fox to attack.

There is a lot more… but meme is limited to ten, time and.. length. Off all these, there is something else also i miss is her attitude so far i never understood is, she wants me to learn cooking but never gave me a chance in her kitchen!! It used to be real irritating… but yearning for such moments sitting far off and remembering her…..:)

I would  like Bindu, Shankari, Mythili, Lakshmi, nav, Reshma, Tony, Sumitha, shaheen, RP to write few words about their most memorable moments spent with mother or unforgettable dish savored back home in mom's kitchen.  

Fenugreek

Clockwise : fenugreek powder, kasoori methi,seeds

Mistress of spices, Mythilli of vindhu has invited bloggers and non -bloggers for this great informative event, and while googling for information, i cleaned up so much about Fenugreek, it was like going back to college days where in we used to spend hours together in the college library reffering something which leads to something else.. ..out of subject, read the same, day and night just out of interest…no regrets if you dont score well in subjects… still you feel you are more informative than others. :-)

Now, i wish if somebody ask me 'Do you know anything about Fenugreek?' 'Yes i know lot of things about fenugreek…

The Botonical name for fenugreek is Trigonella foenum-graecum, is actually one of the oldest cultivated plants. References to fenugreek were found in records from Egyptian tombs. The plant is indigenous to western Asia and southeastern Europe but it is cultivated throughout the Mediterranean, India and Northern Africa.

 India and some parts of middle east uses fenugreek leaves(methi, menthya, uluva chappu) to make delicious dishes. The leaves are dried(Kasoori methi) and pinch of it is a real taste enchancer gives a total new flavor to the dish. The bittery flavoured seeds are aromatic when roasted.  An extract of the seeds is used commercially in artificial flavorings such as vanilla, caramel, butterscotch and especially maple.

I still remember few years back, one of my friend had asked me to take gulp of a tsp of fenugreek seeds with water for my periodical stomach aches. Trust me! It helps.  I never had a clue that fenugreek has a steroidal component which kills the pain to cetain extent.

The chemical composition of these seeds resembles that of cod-liver oil, which has similar substances that stimulate the appetite by their action on the nervous system, or produce a diuretic or ureo-poietic effect. Can avoid lot of UTI if we add it in our regular diet.

It is used in diabetes in conjunction with insulin. I have heard People who were not able to get control on excess of sugar in the blood, take gruel made of fenugreek seeds.  Its hard to drink, but a kind of boon for high diabetic lot.

Fenugreek relieves congestion, reduces inflammation and fights infection and contains natural expectorant properties.

 Fenugreek seed is widely used as a galactagogue (milk producing agent) by nursing mothers to increase inadequate breast milk supply. This point if noted can be helpful for 'to be mom'bloggers:)

I just found ample medicinal properties of fenugreek seeds. I did not want to make a Colbert report as Mythili said:). Just google as 'Fenugreek', load yourself with extra infomations.

In India it is mixed with yogurt and used as a conditioner for hair. That one was an odd point, but it helps doesn't it?.

source : Internet

Lilium Stargazer

Most of you guys who are living close to green of nature where flowers are common, the same is very precious for us who are living in arid region of the world, though we are close to the nature but in terms of sand dunes rather than flowers. These are the pictures of one such speciality that was brought home few weeks back, taken care with atmost love and affection.

 

 

Adhering to the fact that gulf regions are dominated by Malayali expats, it is rough going for any keralite to take those first steps on these sands, after landing straight from greeny beds of Kerala.  I spent very few days in those green valleys of refreshing nature, after my marriage and landed in Bahrain few days later. The missing scene was not that hustle-bustle world of Bangalore, but those pleasent moments I spent in the quiet aromatic atmosphere of kannur. It was quite difficult for me to accpet the moment of truth, sand all over and around you in the other part of the world.

Okay enough of tumtum. The only factor that enlivened me in Baharain was flowers that caught my eyes. I was syndromic in looking for something i missed the most, back home.  I had swallowed the fact that the toughest thing i could ever find in this region is the flower.  As the cold and foggy december days arrived, flowers bloomed all over the gulf.  It was no less than an effort and commitment, to produce those long stretch of vibrant blossoms that decorates the pavements.  Workers, literally, had to lift up the flat and lengthy bed of soil and grass with small flowering plants,  planted on them and structured them beside the pavements.  Earth being sandy, they need to have a separate bed of fertile soil above the sand for the healthy growth of flowers.  With so much of technicality, almost every road in the city were filled with multicolored flowers in few days. That was one of the amazing moments i spent. Now that i have seen flowers, i was all the more excited, when my pal got me two roses on 14th of that hard-to-remember month.  The journey i started with lots of sand and little lovely flowers.

Flowers cost more than anything in this part of the world and so the word precious.  These special warm guests shows up in our small home ocasisonally and we are gratified to have them wtih us and nurture them.

A stem of Liliun Stargazer was one such guest, from Abeer flowers and Plants in Doha, which  already had two fully bloomed flowers came home few weeks back. Borhan(florist) at abeer said that if the flower stick is taken care nicely by regularly changing the water, one of the three buds will bloom and one fine morning it did!

Pictures, more pictures…. of Lilium Stargazer!!

Garden information on this lily found at Nature hills and Dave's Garden

Nivedita

Although, I have been brought up in a very permisive society of metro life, Mother's day was not so been very special to me till I reached collage.

My mother always been happy to recieve wishes on mother's day. She even used to remind me about the day, after marriage. Ah.. those shameless days. I had got used to forgetting lot of things.

After I became a mother I waited for last two years so that one day Nivedita will come up and wish me "Happy mother's Day"!!She did today with flowers.

Warm Welcome!

Welcome All!!

 

      Winter flower in Doha, Qatar

This is my first post.  I am so excited atlast i could post few things after nagging on with blog themes for more than a month.  I never thought i could settle on something.  Anyways, its not bad isn't it? for somebody who is new to the blogging world. As an acknowledgement, i would like to thank all the food bloggers and especially, Indira from Mahanandi, for inspiring and introducing me to this whole new world.

 Fine, so here i am to share my everyday dinners, lunch and breakfasts with fella bloggers, friends and family.  I am not a great cook as such,.. learnt cooking once i got married. Those times, say, a very crucial happy time, when i was a real pathetic cook, trying hard for a 'decent cook' certificate , but… assuming to be a 'great cook', i even wanted to compete in a cooking event.  Can anybody believe?  I mean you guys out there does not know the complete history.  One example was i learnt making simple Tea from, ofcourse, "who else it could be!!?"

Then came those days, when i started running pole to pole, looking for cook books and trying out new recipes,  trying to impress, ofcourse "who else it could be?".  Then came the days of routine and experimenting.  Routine cooking has never been interesting, till i thought of blogging,on the other hand experimenting was disastrous.

But, my "who else it could be?" was my support through out, being a taste master for my cookbooks, flexible and adjustable for routine cooking and guinea pig for my experiments.

This post is dedicated for him!!