The feel of calm after a storm is different. I really don’t know whether I like it. When life is a bit topsy-turvy, our mind is full on at work – looking for signals of any more trouble coming, being content if there is nothing coming, getting tensed when something comes by, not mentioning the constant pain and heart aches which comes along with it. But once that phase passes by and things come back to normal, there is an eerie emptiness. All of a sudden, you feel that the moment passed by, even though it has taken ages to move on. Fighting that emptiness and filling up your time with worthy hobbies is what is then required. No wonder why He tells us, “Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find peace.” (Surah Ar-Rad:28) Irrespective of whether we are going through turbulent times or peaceful times, keeping…
Chukandar Halwa ~ Beetroot Milk Sweet
Some people come and go in your life and are not meant to be there, even if it is your wish. How much ever you try to cling to them, they will slide off through the middle of your fingers when the time comes. There are two ways of taking it – either buckle up under the pressure of losing them or taking the matter in your own stride and moving on. There were times when I used to wonder, why do people leave and go, and what did I do wrong that they had to leave me and go. I guess, with passage of time, age and experiences, we tend to see each and every happening in your life on a much larger perspective and give it a holistic look, rather than only from your shoes. This learning does not happen overnight – it takes its own time to…
Koonthal Porichathu ~ Malabar Squid Fry
Even though I love fish, the folks at home are not very fond of it. This includes the kids. It’s not they don’t eat, but fish alone as a meal does not satisfied them in any way. With the goodness of fish, this should be a meal I should be trying to be including at least once a week, but most of the time, that doesn’t happen. 🙁 Especially with me on a vegan diet, the cooking of fish has literally gone to zero. I am somehow surprised that none of my umma’s genes have gone to the kids. Umma and my sister are fish crazy. Umma seems to have mellowed down with age but my sister would eat fish morning, afternoon and evening. After moving to US, due to the lack of fresh fish, she has limited her eating but once she comes home, she fills herself with…
Chicken Giblets Fry
Almost this month is finishing. Wow, four months over! Before we even know Ramadan will come, Eid will come and go and then InShaAllah would be going home in August so the next four months are bringing in a lot of excitement, hopefully… I was wondering, whether this super fast pace of life is a reminder for us in some way or the other… I guess over thinking is also not good… What we need to do is to make the best out of the limited time we have… Just like having some giblets… Giblets for me reminds me of the breakfast at wedding homes back home. If chicken biriyani is on menu for lunch, then breakfast is a guaranteed porotta and parts (wings, neck, giblets and liver) curry. 🙂 I am not a fan of liver but I love to have giblets and absolutely love its chewy…
Kanjiyum Chammanthiyum ~ Rice Porridge with Coconut Chutney
Aren’t there meals that we crave for, even though as children we may have hated it? Then that is what kanjiyum chammanthiyum is for me! Whenever the feeling of illness creeps in, a Keralite soul would yearn only for a big bowl of salted kanji and the spicy chammanthi to go along with it. When we were kids, we used to hate kanji. Whenever D would go for work late evenings after office hours, we would get irritated that he was not taking us out. His standard comment would be, “Kanji kudikkande?” (Don’t we need to have kanji?) It literally means that he has to earn so that we can have our food. Hehe… And we so nastily would just reply back, “Kanji venda, biriyani mathi.” (We don’t want kanji, we want biriyani!) 😀 Such is the fixation with kanji in our side. Kanji is basically…
Lobia (Black Eyed Beans) Salad
There was a time when I used to so keenly look out for weekends. But now, even though I love weekends, I have been turning terribly lazy to move out of home off late. With the doctor advising against sleeping in the morning, which means that I must be awake from 5 am even if I don’t have much to do, I feel the days longer and thankfully a lot of my chores finish off in the morning. But waking up early also means sleeping early, but on a weekend it is a difficult thing to happen, so I try my maximum not to go out or if we do move out, we don’t go off to any far off destinations and we are back home in time to sleep early. HD is the happiest, since I have moved from a cranky wife who wanted to go out to…
Mixed Daal (Lentil) Curry ~ No Oil!
While I was listening to Surah Al-Baqarah on my drive to the office a couple of days ago, in the portion where Allah describes the creation of mankind (from verse 30), this one verse always entices me: “They (the angels) said, “Exalted are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing, the Wise.” (Surah Al-Baqarah:32) This is what the angels replied when Allah asked them to name certain things that He showed, which then our father Adam (AS) went on to answer, with the permission and information received from Him. What I love about this verse is how humble they are about themselves and how they are fully submissive to His Will. Definitely, angels are the most submissive of His Creations, who only perform as per His instructions. Whereas, He has created us with a clear mind…
Roasted Vegetable Barley Soup
Never in my life I have panicked so much before completing a challenge. 🙂 Thanks to my lazybones at its best, I was finding it difficult to cook though my head was fantasizing that I would be making this and that. Happens? Finally, this Saturday, after the trip to the doctor, I got all ready to make the soup. Peeled the vegetables, chopped them, cleaned them and sprinkled them on the tray with all the seasoning, and then pushed them off into the oven to bake. By the time, they were done, it was time for me to go to the school with the kids to take care of their stuff for the new academic year. So I switched the oven off and went out to finish my tasks for the day. By the time we came back, I was so dead tired that I just slumped onto…
Coorg Beef Curry
There are days when I feel like leaving all and just running away. Aren’t their days when we all feel like that? At times, the determination is sky high – that I am going to overcome everything, come what may be, while some days are just the opposite – everything feels like a deck of cards! I have this habit of sitting in the dark once the whole house goes to sleep, with the dim light in the passage on and the whole house silent. Somehow, Azza does not like me sitting alone, so she came and disturbed my silence the other night. Irritated, I commented, “I am going to put both of you at a school back home. You people go and stay with uppa and umma (my parents)” Initially, she looked excited and in a matter of seconds, she coiled down onto my lap and stayed silent….
Raarha Ghosht ~ Special Mutton Curry
Somehow, good days always seem to come to an end much faster than you would like it to. My parents went back after a month’s stay yesterday morning and dreading going back home, I took the kids out to their favorite play area, and then got a few things done for the car plus a little bit of shopping. Nothing really helped me actually – a lot of things are very peripheral, you think they would help you overcome when they really don’t! 🙂 It took me time to go off to sleep but then I told myself that I am not alone as far as not having parents close by is concerned. All those who stay abroad miss their parents irrespective of how your relationship is with them… Also I consider myself unromantic, as seeing a lot of red all around thanks to February 14 being Valentine’s Day…
Daal (Lentil) Coconut Milk Curry
A little reminder for the day… Nothing needs to accompany this already heavy wordings, I think so… 🙂 I have learned it the hard way and Alhamdulillah, I don’t compel myself now to understand why certain things happen, because Allah has no need to explain to us what is happening in our life at the moment. He loves us more when we wait patiently for things to unfold by itself and come up with an answer, InShaAllah… 🙂 Daal or lentils would have featured every other day in my house if the folks were fond of it. 🙁 I love lentils, whole or split, in any form – curries, soups or salads! They are filling and can be tricky to make them appetizing but somehow I am finding ways to make it appetising. Love daals? Then check out this link for various options! This is one variation of daal…
Aatunthala Curry ~ Goat Head Curry
Even though we are not used to any “exotic” kind of foods except chicken liver or giblets occasionally, this is one thing I used to eat when I was small. D would sometimes bring aatunthala (goat head) when he finds a good one in the near butcher shop and umma would make this simple yet super tasty soup like curry with it. My sister would not touch even a bit, and that would only make me happy. Just like how this recipe phased out till I forced umma to make it for the blog, this one also had gone into oblivion. Since I am wary of buying from butchers, I normally don’t prepare it. I always believe that it is better for the men to get things like these for us to cook, since the men on the other side will be wary of giving bad stuff to them!…