Monday, March 28, 2011

Morning Thoughts!!!


A lovely morning is here to greet….
So many people are there waiting to meet…

Such a beautiful life we live…
With Love, trust, faith and hope we fill…


There will be ups…and there will be downs…
But keep smiling…and never frown…


Put your best to whatever you do…
Success might just come out of the blue…


Live each moment to the fullest…
So that at the end you don’t have any regrets…


To the Almighty I pray…
May you have good health and the enthusiasm to live each day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some thoughts that came to my mind this morning!!!!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

HOLIIIII HAIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Rango ka ye tyohaar…
      Leke aaye pyaar ki bauchar….

Burayiyo ki ho haar…
    Aur aachayiyon ki jeet…

Har kisi ko mile uske…
   Man jaisa meet…

Khusiyon se bahri ho aapki jholi….
Sab ko mubarak….Happy Holi!!!!!!!!!!!

Random Thoughts…


Standing on the footboard of the train…
            Feeling the cool breeze and the droplets of rain,

The rising of the sun,
Seeing kids having fun…

             The chirping of the birds,
             The fog filled roads.

The mighty tall trees,
Honey collecting bees…
              Each thing in nature is so pure
               They are indeed a blessing for sure.

Why these are neglected…the small pleasures…
They are most precious and needs to be treasured.

Stop right now…. look around
And u will be amazed how….
    The caterpillar unfolds as a butterfly…
    The cactus sustains in a climate so dry…
    The rainbow has such vibrant colours…
    The peacock dances opening its feathers….
   
Nature takes care of us in its own way…
Showers us with all that we need…each and every day.

So play your part and ensure that the surroundings are kept clean…

You & I


You and I are poles apart…
     But the truth is that you are closest to my heart….

When I say coffee…u say milk...
When I wanna buy cotton…u say silk.

When I wanna go for movie….u wanna be at home…
When I feel tired…that’s when u wanna roam...

When u want dal chawal…I want Chinese…
But when its chicken biryani…we end up fighting for the leg piece…
When I prefer casuals…u want to wear formals…
I really wonder sometimes…are we both normal…

At times we fight as if we wanna kill each other…
Then we end up cleaning the messy room together…

You and I are poles apart…
     But the truth is that you are closest to my heart….

Someone Special…


I was cleaning my wardrobe today and got some old friendship notes…I remember it was August 2007, friendship day…we had kept celebration in our office. We had to write friendship notes to the ones who are very close to us…and guess what I had got around 10 notes. Reading them again made me feel nostalgic….felt so blessed to have such lovely people around… and one such person is my FRIEND PREMA…….

I really don’t know what good did I do…
To get a wonderful friend like you….

U made me smile when I was in tears….
You gave me the courage to confront my fears

Life is beautiful with you around….
This is the truth, but silly it may sound…

Those naughty pranks….those PMS cramps…
From pig-tails to long tresses
Those boring lectures…those teenage crushes…
The college canteen….the mischief’s umpteen…
The library the notes…remembering the economics quotes…
Debit and credit…value per share…

Ohhh…the list is endless…
And right now I am clueless….

I don’t know what else to say….
You are special in your own way!!!!!

Love you friend for being there….
For all the love and lots of care….

This is for you Prema…
For being there always when I needed you the most…
For calling me just to say that you miss me…
For mailing and telling you miss my talks….!!!!!

Love you dear……..for that you do…
God Bless!!!!!!!!!
This Me & Prema.... :)

YOU


You are the song I love to sing…
      When in trouble u are one whom I ping.

You are the like the umbrella in the rain…
    There to support… in happiness and pain.

You are like the nimbu pani in heat…
       Sweeter than the choclate feast which I love to eat.

You are like bhelpuri...and chat….
     Sweet… spicy…yummy and close to my heart.

At times you behave like a boss…
     Dominating and khadoos….

But you are the special one…
    Whom I never wanna lose.

I am not a poet who can woo you by words…
     Nor can I send love notes through birds.

I am the one who will always stand…
     To hold you when u fall,
    To make u smile…when u have nothing at all,
I will always be there to hold your hand.

And I promise my dear….
   With me there’s nothing to fear…

For you are my sweet heart…
   And we will never ever be apart

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Sometimes......

Sometimes I wonder
Whether you ever think of me…
If you think…
Whether you feel like hearing my voice…
If you feel so…
Whether you ever wanna meet me…
If you want to meet me…
Would you hug me tight????

Sometimes I wonder
Whether you really loved me???
Cos if you had loved me…
Then why did you leave me behind…
How could you move ahead…
Dint you see my moist eyes
Dint you hear my silent cries
How could you be so cold?
How could you be so bold…?
What about the promises you made
Like those colors did they all fade…?


Sometimes I wonder…..
How did I trust you…?
How did I fall for you…..?

Sometimes I wonder…
Would you ever realize how empty I am inside….
Would you ever hold me close and stand by my side…..

Sometimes I wonder…
Whether all that was a dream….but unfortunately It was the harsh truth...


You invaded my heart….became an inseparable part…
You made me smile….even though it lasted for a while….
You went far away….you tore me apart….


Sometimes I wonder…
Will you ever come back…?
But deep inside I know for sure…
My heartache has no cure…

Alone here I stand…
Waiting for your touch…
Waiting for your hand….

Why is it that I couldn’t move on???
Your memories keep haunting me day & night…
I don’t know what is wrong & right...

Sometimes I wonder….
Why I am still waiting for you…..???

Sometimes I wonder….

Recipes from my Kitchen- Breakfast series

Paratha’s:

Yummy Cabbage Paratha

Preparation time: 30mins
Cooking time: 10 mins (rolling out & cooking)


I guess most of us would not like having Cabbage…but what if we could convert the stinky cabbage to a yummy paratha…

A healthy breakfast for the family.

Ingredients:

Cabbage – half portion

Wheat flour- 3 cups

Cumin seeds – ½ teaspoon

Green chilli – 2-3

Ginger – ½  inch

Coriander leaves – a small cup

Garam masala -1 teaspoon

Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon (optional)

Turmeric –a pinch

Salt as per taste

Oil to knead and Ghee for frying

Serves 6 people, 2 each

Method:

Chop Cabbage finely, one can also grate it…but I prefer chopping. Boil the chopped cabbage in sufficient water with a pinch of salt and turmeric.

Sift wheat flour, garam masala, chilli powder, cumin seeds and one teaspoon of salt.

Make a paste of ginger, coriander leaves and green chilli.

Add the boiled cabbage and the ginger paste to the flour and mix it together to get soft dough. Keep it aside for 15 to 20 mins.

Knead the dough and divide into equal sized balls, and roll out paratha’s. Let the paratha’s be thin and not too thick. This makes people eat more.

Heat the tawa, place the paratha and spread some oil/ butter/ ghee…Flip and spread some oil/ butter/ ghee. Cook till both sides are well.

You can serve it with tomato chutney, curd, pickle or sauce.

The parathas turned out to be so soft and yummy…I had it for breakfast and lunch also.People having kids at home should  try this out for sure…a healthy one.
PS: Angel loved the parathas J




Yummy Carrot Paratha

Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins (rolling out & cooking)

Ingredients:

Carrot – 2 nos

Wheat flour – 3 cups

Cumin seeds – ½ teaspoon

Green chilli – 2-3

Ginger – ½  inch

Coriander leaves – a small cup

Garam masala -1 teaspoon

Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon (optional)

Turmeric –a pinch

Salt as per taste

Oil to knead and Ghee for frying

Serves 6 people, 2 each

Method:

 Grate the carrots and keep aside.

Make a paste of ginger, coriander leaves and green chilli.

In a small kadai, heat 1 teaspoon oil. Add cumin seeds, the ginger paste.

Fry for some time, then add the grated carrot, turmeric, salt and. Keep it on low flame for 5-10 mins.

Sift wheat flour, garam masala, chilli powder and one teaspoon of salt.

Add the carrot mix to the flour and knead a soft dough and keep aside for 10-15 mins.

Roll out paratha’s

Heat the tawa, place the paratha and spread some oil/ butter/ ghee…Flip and spread some oil/ butter/ ghee. Cook till both sides are well.



Pasta- the Indian style

Preparation time: 30 min
Cooking time: 30 min

Ingredients:

Bambino/Delmonte Pasta (Macroni) – 250 gm

Onions – medium sized 2 (chopped finely)

Tomatoes- medium sized 3 (chopped finely)

Cumin seeds- ½ teaspoon

Ginger – ½  inch

Coriander leaves – a small cup

Garam masala -1 teaspoon

Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon (optional)

Green chilli – 2-3

Tomato sauce – 3 teaspoon (Optional)

Oil- 3-4 teaspoon

Serves 6 people

Method:

Add the macaroni/pasta to 5 cups of boiling water. Add a pinch of salt. Let it cook for 5-10 mins. Remove from flame and drain the macaroni/pasta/

Heat oil in a kadai, add cumin seeds.

Once they splutter add ginger, chilli & chopped onions. Fry till golden brown.

Add chopped tomatoes and sauté till cooked.

Add the cooked macaroni/pasta. Add tomato sauce if desired.

Cook for 5-10 mins in low flame

Yummy Pasta with the Indian tadka!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Home-made Tawa Pizza

Ingredients:

Onions – medium sized 2 (chopped finely)

Tomatoes- medium sized 3 (chopped finely)

Capsicum - medium sized 3 (chopped finely)

Mushrooms - medium sized 3

Paneer – 10-15 small cubes (150 gm)

Everest Garam masala -1 teaspoon

Everest Kitchen King masala

Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon

Ginger – ½  inch

Coriander leaves – a small cup

Salt to taste

Oil – 4-5 teaspoon

Cheese cubes- 10-15

Amul/ Nutralite Butter- 1 pack

Tomato sauce

Pizza base/ bread- 10 pieces

Serves 6-7 people


Method:

For the topping:

Make a paste of ginger & coriander leaves.
Marinate Mushrooms and Paneer with ginger paste and keep aside.
In the meanwhile, heat oil in a pan, add the chopped capsicum and fry until the raw smell leaves.
Put in the chopped onions and fry till golden brown.
Add the chopped tomatoes and sauté till cooked.

Now add the marinated mushrooms and paneer. Cook for 10-15 mins.

Take the Pizza base/ bread, spread 2 teaspoon of butter and tomato sauce.
Spread the vegetable topping prepared. Grate 1 cube of cheese on top.

Heat a tawa. Spread some butter. Keep the pizza and add some more butter on the sides.
Keep a plate on top of the tawa and let  the pizza cook for 10 mins on medium flame.

Remove the pizza and cut it with pizza cutter/ knife.
Grate some more cheese…and have it with sauce….

A great healthy dish for your kids.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Epitome of Love, Sacrifice &Patience….

Its 8th of March International Women’s Day….a day to celebrate the spirit of womanhood..a day wherein messages keep pouring in your mobile and inbox…a day where the near and dear ones realize that there is a woman around in the family and she needs to be appreciated… J  

Hope all you girls reading it out there will agree with me. Shopping malls have special discounts for female customers….BIG cinemas invites all women to come and watch movies for free on Women’s Day….!!!!

All this makes me proud and at the same time wonder why only this one day….why do people need a special day to appreciate women…????

Gone are the days when women were confined to household chores…today’s women is powerful, confident and independent. She balances her professional and personal world excellently. A mother, daughter, sister, grand mom, mother-in-law…so many varied roles a women plays…each role she gives her 100%...

Women are special in their own way…
They are emotional…sensitive…yet strong enough to handle a family,
They are cute daughters….naughty sisters….responsible mothers…dutiful wife….

This Women’s day…go ahead and make the day of all the women in your life… special!!!  


HAPPY WOMEN’S DAY!!!!!!!!!!

PS: Also not to forget the wonderful men who make a women’s life worthwhile…our dad’s, brothers, husband’s, friend’s... colleagues…. !!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Imperfectly perfect Love Story!!!!!


Born and bought up in a typical Tamil Brahmin family, my life always revolved around books and cultural activities (read music and dance). My parents were pretty conservative and I never thought in the wildest of my dreams that I would marry someone outside the community. We had few relatives and I was brought up by my Granny. I remember most of my friends would go to their native place during vacations. We had no one back in our native place and Mumbai was everything for us.


To my utmost surprise my dad agreed for my marriage with a Maharashtian NON BRAHMIN I need to stress that word…bcos marrying a Non-Brahmin is next to committing a sin in our community. The journey from Curd rice to Masalebath…from Idli to poha….from Aviyals to Misal….from Payasam to Sheera….was very tough, especially since I stayed with my in-laws. Hats of to my in-laws and my poor hubby who handled my terrible mood swings and tantrums like a 2 yr old patiently. Adjusting in a joint family is pretty difficult but I must say it is worth the pain. Especially after my baby, joint family was a boon. I resumed to work after 4 months leaving my angel in their safe hands.

Marriage- Love or Arranged needs lot of adjustments…sacrifice and compromise from both sides. You can’t take things for granted and need to work on your marriage everyday. You must learn where to hold and where to let go patiently.

Relationships are like small saplings, they need lot of care and attention in the beginning. One needs to water it with loads of Love, Trust and Bonding. One needs to remove the weeds of misunderstanding and negativity. Once the sapling grows into a big tree…you rejoice the fruits of togetherness, support and more and more love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Mom-in Law (MIL) and Father-in-Law (FIL) are out of town and I am missing them like hell. More than me I know my angel is missing them a lot.

Maybe they will never read this, but I owe a lot to them and I love them a lot.

I am not perfect and so are they….but together we make a perfect family!!!!!!!