Mumbai se aaya mera dost….

 

well not really….she’s moved back to Delhi now but this seemed like the purrfect title so there. Anyway so when the friend, husband’s batch mate from MBA called up we decided to catch up at our home (previously and famously known as the “adda”) for dinner. Now, comes the difficult part as she put the spanner in my typically punju menu. She wanted me to keep the dinner menu light. huh? Oh ji koi dinner shinner hota hai kya maa ki daal aur butter chicken ke bina…..ok rajma? no no that’s heavy too…This gave rise to the BIGGEST challenge of them all, “kya banao” Trust me it is a challenge and a question I struggle with before each mealtime. Cooking is easy but deciding well that’s another worldly story in itself.

So now here is when I thought of taking husbands opinion. I shouldn’t have. Anyway he was pouring over boring tax papers and answered with a question, “So WHAT in the world is the definition of light food?” I told him well in my dictionary it is “ghiya, tinda, touri…” and he was like “OK Cool so I am eating heavy!!” Wow what help.

Anyways after racking my brains I decided on grilled garlic and pepper chicken, tuna salad, focaccia and some Zingo rice. You decide whether this is light dinner or not? Cause punjabiyon ki definition of light food remains much questionable. Veering from the topic once my son told my mom “Nani aaj light dinner kartae hain” On asking indulgently what he will like to eat, she was told “samosa and bread”. That doesn’t say much about our capabilities of judging a light meal from heavy now, does it?

 

Toh Khaanae main yeh tha…..

Recipe Desk

Tuna Salad

inspired by the recipe from another dear friend Nina Saxena.

2 cans tuna

around 3tbsp balsamic vinegar mixed with 2 tbsp EVOO and some oregano

a cup of diced red apple

walnuts chopped roughly

small head of iceberg lettuce

salt, pepper and two dashes of Tabasco red

I had kept everything ready in the fridge with the lettuce and apple dunked in chilled water.Just before serving toss in a bowl and serve. Simple light and tasty without the confusion of too many flavors.

 

 

Zingo Rice

Named thus, as I use Zingo, the garlic chilli sauce, by Delmonte.

Some chopped onions, sweet corn, mushrooms, sausages cooked and chopped, red and green peppers. Boiled rice.

in a tbsp olive oil sauté onions, add sliced mushrooms and when they leave water add peppers to light cook them if you don’t like their crunch. Top with loads of freshly ground black pepper and salt according to your taste. Add sausages in the wok now along with rice loaded with generous splash of Zingo. Toss them well together in the wok.

Serve hot and be ready for the compliments.

 

Focaccia

Store bought. Problem Solved. Served with some EVOO mixed with oregano as a dip.

 

Grilled Chicken with garlic and pepper

Sliced onions and pre-marinated chicken with yes you guessed it garlic and salt.

Heat a tsp butter and some oil and add in chopped garlic. Brown the onions and put in the chicken pieces. On high heat brown the chicken pieces well, lower heat and cook. The chicken will be done in about 10 to 15mins.

Light dinner hai ya heavy ab yeh faislaa appka.

 

 

 

Tribute to my cousin Sid Varma

 

I have been absconding from the blogosphere for a while now, and I think it is time now to bounce back. But I cannot do it without sharing my reasons for missing from the scene. I lost my youngest cousin brother Sidhartha Varma to an ailment of the lungs. A disease that he fought with the will power of a giant. I would never say that he lost, because as we all tell our children it is more important to have participated than to have either won or lost. And participated he did. Fought like a valiant soldier.The disease had eaten up and rendered his body lame and limp but absolutely could not touch his sharp mind, wit and the spirit. He wanted to live. Live for his mom, his beautiful wife and a 2 and a half year old son. However god had different plans. He is now at a plane where no disease can touch him, he is whole.

 

In death as in his life and through his illness he was the most compassionate person I have known. he was more worried about you standing by his hospital bed side, he wanted you to sit, be comfortable, used to light up with the news of my child, offered tea to everyone who visited him  and was most careful about handing over a tip to the attendant each time he was cleaned. On the fateful evening of 4th of June god embraced him and he passed on to another realm. Heavens gained a good Samaritan and we lost him.

The family needless to say has been inconsolable. 32 is an age to live it up not bid goodbye. But credit needs to be handed over where it is due. They decided to donate his eyes, the decision was unanimous and within minutes the team from the eye bank arrived and did the needful. Today he is alive not only in our hearts but through the eyes of 2 unknown human beings who can now see the rainbow, he is looking at the world with a fresh perspective. He has done the mahadaan; he has donated eyesight.

May the tribe of such persons increase and may darkness be dispelled. May his souls Rest In Peace and may the family gather enough courage and strength to carry on the business off living.

You will be missed bro.

Read about why should one donate one’s eyes here

Mother's Day

A painting done by my 10 year old son for Mother's Day. True i know every day is Mother's day and all that jazz, but i feel a special day just makes it easier to say and show what is usually unsaid in everyday life. So here's raising a toast to all the mums and their endless sacrifices and their pure selfless. Love you Mom. 

Happy Mother's Day

Love You Sweetheart

Language of Love. It is universal, isn't it?

Ullu ka...

Spotted this cute little lovable owl perched on a tree and when i spotted him, he spotted me too...gosh he was staring at me with perfectly round eyes. Ulla ka.....i didnt say it :)

Would You Believe it?

 

Have you ever stood at the head of a waterfall? As incredible and unbelievable as it may sound I have. And what an awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, exhilarating and hair-raising experience it was.

Last summers I went to Canada to visit my bro. Out of our many sojourns there, this one left some amazingly cherished memories. Tews falls in Hamilton,Ontario is just a wee bit shorter than the Niagara, falling from a height of 41 meters. It is the highest waterfall in Hamilton, the waterfall capital of the world.

We took to the roads from Brampton and reached Tews in about 2 hours. Joining me, my husband and brother were our two little imps of 9 and 4 years. The kids were boisterously looking forward to the trip and had been duly instructed to not throw any tantrums and refrain from saying the dreaded word “godii” since we had planned on a trek to the Dundas Peak.

The hike was around 1.6kms and though not really tough as in the terrain but challenging nevertheless with 2 little ones. We were in for a surprise when these two went on hopping, skipping and jumping all the way without getting tired and throwing a single tantrum. A feat in itself!

Anyway after having conquered the Dundas Peak we stopped over at the look out stations watching the Tews falls. Me and my husband decided to leave the kids with the bro and to try and venture a bit closer to where the falls were.

What followed was a revelation of sorts, and an unforgettable experience. We walked along side the small creek and decided to step in the shallow stretch that led to the head of the fall. The ground under the flowing water was all covered with moss and a little slippery but we just walked along. And guess what reached the head of the falls, the view just simply opened up and from that vantage point we could see my bro and the 2 kids at the lookout. We were standing right at the edge from where the 41 meter long fall was falling so to say. My brother got a bit frantic because when you saw from where he was, it sure looked frightening. We beckoned out to him and he reached the banks along with the 2 imps. The walk was so comfortable that we decided on taking the kids to the head too and sure they joined in the adventure. It was beautiful. It was awesome. It was incredible. 

Check out the unbelievable pictures that speak volumes more than the words. For more pics click here and in the meantime watch this

This is my post for the contest organized by Indiblogger and Mahindra XUV 500 which by the way has become one of my faves on the road…Lusting after it ! Check out this beauty at http://www.mahindraxuv500.com/

Chirping their way to extinction?

World Sparrow Day, 20th March 2012

Sparrow, that tiny little brown bird that we have grown up watching in awe and amazement. The house used to wake up to the twittering and chirping of these numerous birds on the window sill, the lawn trees and jumping in the balconies. My earliest memories of these little birdies go way back to my stay in Allahabad where my dad was posted. The pair had nested just outside of my bedroom window and it was a delight to watch those little perfectly shaped oval almost- white eggs. This was during my summer vacations and my cousins had come over to spend the summer with us. Each day we used to closely watch the eggs and wonder when they will hatch open. No one would dare open that window for the fear of breaking the nest.
The eggs hatched in what seemed years to us children, and really small very vulnerable pink featherless creatures came out of them. It was celebration among us cousins,  all of us around 10 years of age. They grew fast and we monitored their size and tweets almost daily. I used to be mesmerized watching their feet, their little mouths and just simply marvel.
Many years have passed since, and like my childhood those days of innocence and simple joys have given way to a stressful life filled with chores and more chores, keeping up with the business of living. And when I read somewhere that today is the World Sparrow Day my thoughts went back to those little harbingers of joy and song and inevitably to those little babies I had seen growing up on my window sill.
Today when I told my 10 year old about it, he took time to figure out exactly which bird I was talking of. Sadly, this does not point to his lack of knowledge but to the fact that there are so few of them left in Delhi. Delhi skies and terraces seem to be dotted  with  pigeons but sparrows are in short supply so to say. We hardly ever spot them in the park next to my house. I however passed on the little nugget of wisdom to him that my mum had to me. The one with the black beard is a male and the other petite one is the lady.
Though the kids of today don’t have as much leisure time on their hand to endlessly sit and watch birds out on the trees, they would rather be watching Pogo, playing outdoor games on a Wii or reading up on ipad. I just hope that alongwith “vo kagaz ki kashti, vo barish ka paani,…vo chidiyaa, vo bulbul vo titli pakadna…” we don’t have to rue the passing on of the house sparrow.

This post is lovingly dedicated the little House Sparrows. Show your love and save them click on www.worldsparrowday.org