Yummilcious Mornings with Kelloggs

The mere mention of momos can make my Aryan go week in his knees. So, there have been days when i have literally got up in between 1 and 2 pm in the night to steam momos, so that my family could wake up to the fragrance of this lip-smacking recipe.  Yes, life is a struggle and i am struggling full-on, though not always, to keep up with its gradually accelerating tempo. With a full-time job and a toddler who demands continual attention, some mornings arrive with a crude awakening that it's already 5.30 am. Kitchen is out-of-bounds for me now. Why? Because, my Ayaansh is up by this time.

So, there have been several mornings when my elder son goes to school without having anything. If i get up early, he has his fill or else, he goes off with a glass of milk. I feel guilty and make it a point to get up as early as possible. But then we are humans, not machines. There are days when we love to spend some more time in the bed and relax. It’s during these days, a quick fix breakfast recipes like aloo poha or vermicili upma comes to my rescue. Aloo Poha is my Aryan’s favourite. For a change, i even give chocolate corn flakes flanked by apples for breakfast. The biggest plus is that he savors them. Sometimes he has it dry with no milk. Such quick breakfast recipes are literally a saving grace for mothers like me who are always fighting against time. Yes, these are extremely easy to make.  Breakfast recipes without breaking a sweat. 

And how can i forget? With MIL as a great source of support, for she does all the cooking, things have always been easy at my end. But then roti and sabji becomes too mundane and too boring sometimes. You crave for change. That’s were my momos, theplas, pastas, pohas, manuchrians come into picture. Idli, dosas, hot samosas are yet on my to-do list. But then, they consume a hell lot of time. How i wish my family could make a visit to #KelloggWaaleGupjaji's home at least once in a week and taste Mrs. Gupta’s quicky corn flake recipes. Oh!!!You do not know of them, just check out https://www.facebook.com/anaajkanashta and you will be surprised to know that Mrs. Gupta can whip up a whopping 100 yummilicious breakfast dishes from Kellogg's Corn flakes. And why wouldn't she? Kellong’s has come up with detailed recipes for all 100 dishes. There’s Best Tiffin Wala Nashta, Passing the Parcel Wala Nashta, Nakhara Wala Nashta, First Crush Wala Nashta, Jagah Banaa Wala Nashta and much, much more. There’s one receipe for every reason and season.  So, just read them up and welcome every morning, with a very big Good Morning.

Hmmmm. My hubby won’t mind any other woman, apart from his own, rustling up a corn flake recipe. He’s sure to go gaga about it, I know. And probably will lick his fingers after he finishes his bowl. Nope, i cannot make them, for he hates the smell and taste of milk. However, that’s not the case when he goes outside. His polite mannerisms are in full display. And you won’t believe your eyes when he gobbles down those cornflakes recipes without a whimper. But then, my Aryan’s loves them too. Hope even Ayaansh takes after him.

Attacking Kitchen Together On A Weekend With Hubby

I and my husband have been sharing the same roof together for over 10 years now. “What so magical about it? Every husband and wife, more or less, share the same roof,” you might ask.  hmmm...Our case is a lil unique for we've being not being able to stand each other for quite some time. Tu, Tu, mein, mein keeps happening all the time. I and my ego and he and his ego have bandbajoified our marriage. And, what takes the cake is the fact that we stay in a joint family, and it has only added more cracks in our marriage, or probably that's what I love to believe. 

All said and done, we together had our share of some good old memorable days as well. Bunking office and going for a Vidya Balan movie, followed by lunch at a renowned restaurant, and then enjoying a short stopover at the roadside tea stall for a quick cuppa. (Why Vidya Balan movie? Because, she’s my favorite and I can swoon over her sarees forever.) Okay, I am digressing here. What I was saying is that all these outings, though it happens only once in a blue moon, have forever cemented their place in my memories. No one dare erase them.  And this reminds me, that we need to do this more often, given that it acts as an oxygen for our married life…It keeps our marriage live and happening.

However, the most memorable day was the day(which happened a few months back) when I and my hubby got together to ruzzle up a delicious chicken briyani meal for the entire family on a weekend. My MIL was in the office and I had a day off, so for a change, we had the entire kitchen at our disposal. Both of us spend some good four hours in the kitchen chopping veggies, cooking rice, frying chicken and then assembling together with loads of patience and a thadka of a nervousness - whether it will turn out well or not, after it was our first try. But since he took over at the crucial stages of cooking: by ensuring the rice is properly half-cooked, that chicken is fully cooked, and the right quantity of colors and dry fruits are being used, I knew the biryani would at least be eatable. The result: the whole family enjoyed the meal and I loved it too. Yes, the end result was surprising to both us. It was for the first time we had undertaken a biryani project and it turned out successful at the first attempt itself...Hip Hip Hoorah!!! Hopefully, going forward I could do something similar for him, on my own and that too with loads of confidence.

Final Thoughts:

After a time period every relationship gets stale and empty and so one needs to invest a lil more in them to bring back the lost magic.  Even cooking together is one of the best ways of doing it. Hope, you agree with me.

The blog is part of http://housing.com. The prompt: #Together.

Starting A New Life As A Wannabe Cook

2004

What's Cooking? Heck. I will learn it some other day, but not today. Cooking is not my type. But then i got married that year.

2015

It's been over 10 years of marriage and i am still leading my life as a wannabe cook. With two kids in toe and a food freak hubby who keeps salivating at the mere mention of sweets and other delicacies, i feel at loss today. What if i had learnt cooking before marriage. Now, i would have been a professional cook, whipping out malai koftas, mutter paaners like celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor. Hmmm...(And with MIL doing all the cooking, i hardly get a chance either. On top of it, she cooks well. Her south Indian recipes specially make you go ummm...)

But one day, i'll have to pull up my socks. So, today, i made gobi manchurian for my elder son's lunch. Didn't turn out as expected...all soggy and mushy, though I found it eatable enough. But then my hubby looked the other way. And that made me a little sad. Yes, my hubby is the best sounding board for me. He loves good food and can easily make out from the looks of it, whether the recipe is a disaster or a success. And yes, he can cook as well. So, the long and short of it is, i have to give the best shot, whichever recipe i am making.

I made cake once. And it turned out too good. My Aryan went ga-ga over it. Second time, i made it, and it was a colossal disaster. Fine. I will try again. Let's C. And yes, the first time i made idlis, it turned out well. It was 5 years back. This year, i tried again, thanks to my mother's prompting, it was somewhat okay. Not a total disaster. Again, my hubby looked the other way. "Too soft. The content wasn't right," hubby darling quipped. My confidence level took a beating. I decided never to try it again. But my angel mother advised: never give up. It only through mistakes that you learn. You will have to keep trying everytime...or you will never be able to cook. So, i am going to try again this year. And won't wait for 5 more years to gather back my lost confidence.

Mistakes are the stepping stones to perfection, they say. Ain't they.

I regret my past. For cooking was never on my to-do list. It was always studies and sports. Come to think of it, most of the woman don't cook before marriage. Fortunately, or unfortunately i was one among them. And since i was full of myself, i didn't learn much from my MIL also. So, here i am, learning, unlearning, my cooking skills through cookbooks and online cooking sites. By the way, isn't self-learning, the best learning.

Final Thought: Like all skills, honing your cooking skills is equally important. It doesn't matter whether you are man or woman.  Depending too much on outside food could lead to heart ailments and all. So, better late than never. Start cooking now, if you really value life.


This post is part of Housing.com  The prompt was: Start A New Life.

    

An Accidental Writer

Numbers were never my favourites. In fact, I was a big zero in them. But then I had to prove to the world that I had something in me that could make the world sit back and notice. I would put in all the donkey work that is required and do Chartered Accountancy course at all cost. My father warned me against it. My mother warned me against me. And even my aloof brother gave me his piece of mind saying that CA was not my cup of tea. But then I knew, I will put in all that is required and some more to clear the exams.

When the exam days came closer, I knew, I hadn’t prepared well. But then how could one prepare those subjects that one hates the most? And so during the exams days, I sought shelter in our old house. I used to leave the house at dot time and then make my way toward our old house. I would jump the boundary wall, unlock the keys and sit there  in the hall amidst dirt and dust. Nope, I din’t have the nerve to flunk the exams, but being absent was OKAY with me.

The results were as expected. I got A in all subjects. Buddu, A,here stands for absenteeism. I had lost all hopes of studying ahead. I didn’t know what to do. As a result, I decided to work for an NGO that worked for both Hindus and Muslims.  It was year 2004; yes the year when Godhra riots happened. I too was caught in the midst of it.  The biggest plus of this endeavor was that I got to represent my NGO in one of the biggest camps set up for Muslims in Shah-e-alam area.  There were several rape victims, burnt victims, injured victims, orphan victims and victims covered every nook and corner of the camp. Little wonder, journalists started swarming the space. Journalists from  NDTV, Aaj Tak, Times of India, Indian Express and all became frequent visitors. I was in awe of them. The camp refugees were in awe of them. (As journalists become the cynosures of all eyes, NGO workers were sidelined.)  I could sense the partial behavior of the camp people and then I decided to be one like them. Eventually, I resigned from my position as Project Manager of this NGO, and  joined a course in Journalism.  

Once the course was over, I joined The Asian Age Newspaper.  The raw wounds of not completing CA began to heal. I had found my true calling… writing. I was not much of a writer earlier (if you consider me one). For me journalism was all about adventure. But my stint in the newspaper taught me that to be a good journalist you need to communicate well – both through writing and speaking.  Thus started my long journey towards reading and writing. Without reading, writing is not possible. Today, I live in the world of Harry Porters and Hobbits. And I  am happy. And I feel fulfilled. Now even my elder one has developed a penchant for reading. And that makes me a lot more happier.  

 This entry is part of https://housing.com/lookup stories.