UNRAVELLING MY APRON STRINGS..

Today, J1 and J2 start boarding school. For the past two days I have been in a frenzy of packing and planning so they have everything they need when they are away from me. Sniff...I am not going to cry..But God...I hope they will be fine..life, as they have known it, will change..there will be a lot of adjustments they have to make..

As exboarders ourselves, both my husband and I can understand what is happening, and we can predict exactly when homesickness will start to set in..my only tension is this...suppose they don't feel any homesickness and are perfectly happy ...no ..more happy in hostel?

Aaaargh...how would I feel then...?Aah..no use thinking too much..kids will be kids..one can never predict how they'll turn out or what they will do next..hey? Anyways..my whole family..being ex Boarders themselves are in an uproar about this...an excited uproar..actually..my parents are calling up with tips on packing..my two brothers  S1 and  S2 are waxing nostalgic about the golden days of hostel..Resh...are you packing their clothes in trunks ? Reshma..pass the phone to J1 and J2...hey guys..are you excited to be off to boarding school? have loads of fun..     J1 is like..."what's all the fuss about?boarding is no big deal..honestly , I can't understand you all.."J2 has gone all cool and quiet..i just hope this is not the calm before the storm..
..and I was feeling quite sentimental yesterday after all the packing was done..so..

Sunday yesterday, I made pasta for brunch, since it was one of the boys' favorite dishesThey loved it , and proclaimed me as the best Cooker(grammatically wrong, i know..but who am I to argue with little boys?) in the world..at which moment, I fell upon them, hugging and kissing them...in fact, doing all the things they reaallyy hate...for this mistake on my part...the award of best cooker was retracted and they walked out of the kitchen in a huff, wiping away kisses and mumbling about gross females...hmmm...

MALLU PASTA

Ingredients:
Pasta(macaroni) 1cup
Olive oil /butter 3 tbsp
Onions Chopped 1
Capsicum chopped half
Tomato chopped 2
Tomato Soup powder 1 packet (about 4 tbsp)
Chicken pieces half cup cooked
Tomato sauce/ketchup 1 tbsp
Cauliflower/mushroom halfcup
Cheese spread/cream cheese 3 tbsp
Oregano 2 pinches




Method:
1. Boil macaroni in water with a tsp of oil . When cooked, drain, and pour cold water over it..drain again and keep aside.

2. Heat oil/butter, add onions, tomato, chicken pieces,capsicum and cauliflower, and saute well on high flame for a minute.

3. Add tomato sauce, soup powder, oregano,..(2 tbsp chicken stock also, if you have some left over). Stir well.

4. Add cheese, toss well together till evrything is creamy and well mixed and remove from heat. serve hot.
........mmmm..and with lots of love!!

MY HUSBAND..MY DIARY..

When I became a teenager, my mother gifted me with a tiny little diary with it's own little lock and key. She told me to write a daily journal ..told me to vent my frustrations ,anger and irritations on those pages. My mother taught me that my diary is me-my innermost soul, no holds barred...no secrets. Then she told me to read what I had written, and think, with a clear mind-did I do wrong?was I right?Should I have done things differently? If so, can I change things and situations for the better?
During those turbulent teenage years, those diaries were the best anchors I could have..they were the mirrors of my soul.i found I could lash out at anyone I wanted, in private, without losing my dignity,or hurting any one's feelings.They taught me to be ladylike. They helped me when I felt sad. I just had to read back a few pages to see how blessed I was and see that things were not as bad as they seemed. I never forgot a single moment of my life.

Over the years, I graduated from that tiny little diary to big notebooks, chockful of funny stories, sad moments, angry outbursts..silly crushes...what not!!

And then I got I got married.My diary writing went into over drive!!My emotions were fluctuating wildly in the highs and lows of my first love!!There were so many pages of syrupy simpering quotes about my dashing new husband.
Then came the many problems of two totally different people settling into a life together after the honeymoon period- Ugh!so many pages were filled with the things about him that irritated me!
Pregnancy-babies...I got so busy that I almost stopped writing. Almost..not fully....Because there were moments which were so intensely beautiful , they made me reach for pen and diary so I would never again forget those moments..
There was a time, when I would fill the pages with my fury at sitting at home, fat, with three kids, no chance to be footloose and fancy free...When I started using the D word in my writing..That should be around the 7th year of marriage(yes!!there really truly is a seven year itch!)My life was at it's lowest point..every little thing seemed to set us off into a bout of quarrelling...One day, after penning some angry words in myn diary, I started reading back...and I kept on till I reached my very first diary..( yes!I still have all my diaries...they're kept in a highly classified vault!won't tell you where!)They made me sit up and take stock of my life.And I realised that for the past few years, my behaviour and affection to my husband had been steadily going downhill...in all aspects, I was doing the wrong things..as a daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, mother, wife, aunt,cousin , friend...as a woman...I was not upto the mark. I was not the person I was before.So I decided to change...to make an effort to be a better person,to be more patient, not to let the little things rile me up,to be more understanding to make the extra effort to love all who are my family and friends.I learnt to compromise and adjust
In six months time, we were back on track!


When my attitude changed, so did his..And one fine day, I picked up the box that contained all my diaries(all 11 of them!)and asked him if he wanted to read them. (after 8 years of being married...)Till that day, no one else had read my diaries, so he was properly respectful of them.We crossed an important milestone that day. I had learnt to trust him fully and he understood that I trusted him totally now. Eight years of living together and three kids-and you know what? Our love story started only then!And he also changed so much..he started talking more about his life, his dreams..he started opening up fully. We found that we basically have the same ideas and views.And he became my diary. I could pour out my anger, fears, my joy, my dreams..my wishes ,and know that my feelings and thoughts are safe with him. He comforted me when I was sad, cautioned me when I was reckless, soothed my fears, laughed along with me,sheared my wonder ...in short..he became better than my diary!

It is now the tenth year of our marriage..and I find that I no longer write in my diary.
My husband is my diary.

MUTTON ULARTH

Ingredients:

Mutton- 1kg
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Button Onions 250 gms
Curry leaves 2-3 stalks
Dry red chillies 6-8 nos.
Green chilly 2-3 nos.
Ginger garlic crush1tbsp
Coconut OIl 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds(powdered)2tsp
Salt to taste
Water 1 cup

Method:

1. Crush dry red chillies ,onions, ginger garlic coarsely.

2. Rub meat with turmeric, salt and coconut oil and leave for 10 minutes.

3. Add all the ingredients and cover and cook till meat is soft and there is a thick gravy. Serve piping hot with chapathi, appam, bread...etc.

This one is my husband's favorite and his mom's recipe.Really great taste.
We sometimes substitute potato, or beef or chicken for the mutton..tastes great then also!!

A LITTLE POEM

I ran across this poem a few days back, and i thought it expressed my thoughts so truly and perfectly..

I do not want
a kitchen
All shining and smart
So impersonal I'll feel lost
Give me an old fashioned room
with a few odd things
and runningf water
I need no more-

Dhiruben Patel


Lovely, no? Short and sweet..like the recipe Im going to share with you today.

MALLU STYLE CHILLI CHICKEN

Ingredients


Batter: Egg 1
Cornflour 3 tbsp
Maida 5 tbsp
Chicken Boneless 500gm
Onion 3
Green chillies 15
Oil 4 tbsp
Chilly sauce 4 tbsp
Red colour a pinch
Salt 1 tsp
Chicken stock 2 tbsp


Method:

1. Mix batter. Add enough water to get a loose consistency ,not thick.

2. Add chicken (chopped into small pieces), and keep refrigerated for 2-3 hours

3. Fry the chicken pieces by dropping them in hot oil and keep aside.

4. Saute onion in oil, add green chillies(yes, i meant all fifteen green chillies!!)

5. Add salt, chilly sauce(green chillisauce), and saute again for 5 minutes on low flame.

6. Add the chicken pieces .Mix well.

7. Mix red food colour with stock, then pour onto chicken pieces. Stir for a minute, then turn off heat.



Tip:
1. The chillichicken above is a dry recipe. If you want gravy, add 6-8 tbsp of chicken stock.
2. Use with paratha, chapathi as well as fried rice, noodles etc.
3. If you want, you can do the first 3 steps earlier, and do the rest of the method abt 20 minutes before serving. The pieces won't be too soggy then.