Ten Day You Challenge - Post 4 : Seven Wants

Post Four for Day Four of Ten Day You Challenge from Preeti's blog is  7 Wants :

 My Seven Wants are :

Actually wants are too many but the seven wants that I can think up immediately are mentioned :))

1) To be mentally and physically Fit & Healthy : Mental and physical good health are the most important things in life.Like they say, "Health is Wealth"
2) To own all possible books and have a library at home
3) To own a wonderful digital camera
4) To have dream holiday in Venice or countryside in England or Prague..
5) To have my own website
6) To have a dream job :))
7) Of course, to write my own books :))

Coming up next : Post 5 - Six Places.....

Ten Day You Challenge - Post 3 : Eight Fears

Post Three for Day Three of Ten Day You Challenge from Preeti's blog is  8 Fears :

My Eight Fears are :

1) Fear of Disease and Disability.
2) Fear of losing parents and close ones.
3) Fear of being bed ridden and dependent on someone.
4) I am afraid of heights.
5) I am scared of snakes.
6) I am afraid of dogs probably due to been bitten by one and having to take injections for it.
7) I have stage fright though that has not affected my performances in dramatics or elocution or presentations.
8) I am scared of cats.

Coming up next : Post 4 : Seven Wants

Ten Day You Challenge - Post 2 : Nine Loves

Post Two for Day Two of Ten Day You Challenge from Preeti's blog is  9 Loves :

Nine Loves are :

1) Family :My greatest strength and biggest support system.
2) Friends : My BFFs..cannot live without u guys..They have been with me through thick and thin...
3) Cousins : They are more like my best friends and I share amazing bond with them ...
4) Books, books and more books : I love reading ( and that's an understatement) I think the biggest joy for me will be to spend time in bookstores, window shopping and admiring books. I dream of owning so many books that my house will resemble a library {the rest of the family members are still recovering from shock after I voiced my dream :)}
5) Music : Definitely food for the soul.
6) Cooking : I enjoy cooking and am always watching the various food shows or reading up on food books.
7)Dancing: I learnt classical dance for some years as a kid and I love to watch all forms of dance.....
8)Photography: I aim to learn this art someday and capture the beautiful scenic beauty around us.
9)TV and films: we all love watching it ...dont we?

Coming up Next : Post Three - Eight Fears

Ten Day You Challenge - Post 1 : Ten Secrets

When I saw 10 Day You Challenge posted on Preeti's blog, I immediately thought of joining in with her.... but with some family emergencies and blogger mishaps, I am starting the 10 Day You Challenge after Preeti has already completed hers :))

Post 1 - Day One of 10 Day You Challenge is Ten Secrets :

Ten Secrets : Well, to be honest I had already posted about my 7 secrets here....


1)My childhood dream and fantasy has always been to be a writer and write best selling books:)
2)Like mentioned earlier, I love reading.
3)I love pumpkins... dudhi is my all time favorite and whenever I am vegetable shopping, to the much amusement of the vendor and family or friends accompanying me, dudhi is the first vegetable I buy......
4)I am not too fond of sweets and don't eat sweet stuff at all :))
5)I have actually managed to fall asleep during a well known theater play which was running to packed houses ........."sighs"
6)I recently ventured to watch a theater thriller play all by myself and I enjoyed watching it alone all by myself.
7)I have participated extensively in dramatics, elocution and other such activities all through my school and college days contrary to my image of having stage fright :))
8)I was always participating in the school musicals and song related programmes despite or rather in spite of not so great voice :))
9)I dislike calculative and money minded people.
10)Cricket is a religion for me and Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid are my favorite cricketers.. I still watch test matches for the love of the sport :))

Post 2 - Day Two - Nine Loves - coming up tomorrow....

Of Chalks and Chopsticks : Just One Cup of Tea

That Mrs.Thakur was fond of reading would be an understatement. An avid reader since childhood, encouraged by her grandfather who was a closet writer himself, reading was a family legacy at her parents house.

Books had always been her best friends.Her parents would fondly reminiscence how she would skip her meal over reading her favorite book. She would be completely engrossed in the world of books, becoming one with the characters.She thought the world of Agatha Christie and she aimed to solve difficult and complex problems a la Miss Marple. Everyday after completing all the morning chores and waving good bye to Mr.Thakur and the kids as they left for their office and college respectively, she would heave a huge sigh of relief and get ready for her tea time or "Me Time "as she would like to call it. She would sit in the sit-out balcony of their sprawling flat located on first floor,from where she could easily see the beach and sea on her left side.

On the right side of their building was an huge old bungalow occupied by an old Parsi couple. They lived alone as both their two sons were settled in the States and could manage to visit the old parents once in an year.  The household comprised of a a nurse cum companion for the invalid Mr.Mehta. They also had a cook who stayed close by and came twice a day to cook and clean and a watchman cum gardener.

Mrs.Mehta, all of 75, was the picture of energy and good spirits. She was very friendly and charming old lady.

In the mornings after finishing her work, Mrs.Thakur loved sitting on her easy chair by the wooden table on her balcony, sipping her cup of tea and reading her favourite book. Mrs.Mehta would be sitting sipping her cup of tea around the same time on the open balcony of her room, situated on the first floor of their duplex bungalow.

Gradually, it became a routine for both the two ladies to sip their morning cup of tea in their respective balconies around the same time and chitchat. They both used to look forward to their "Me Time" together in midst of clear skies, piping hot cups of tea and lovely conversations. On days when the weather would be cold or windy or it would rain heavily, they would sit sipping their respective ginger teas and wave to each other and share a smile or laugh.
Both were totally addicted to their morning teas. It was interesting to note that though both were tea lovers, their method of tea preparation was totally different.

While Mrs.Mehta preferred to have light tea with less sugar due to her age and health, Mrs.Thakur would love to have a completely rich milk laden masala tea for herself.

She would boil 1/2 cup water with 1/2 cup of milk together, complete with its cream. Sugar and grated ginger would be added. She would add slight cardomom powder and a pinch of nutmeg powder to it, giving it delicious taste and aroma. After it boiled, tea powder would be added and it would be removed from heat.
After the tea leaves settled down, she would strain the mixture using filter and her garama garam masala chai (piping hot tea) was ready to be savored.

That day Mrs.Thakur was extremely happy as it was Sunday and she had decided to invite both Mr and Mrs.Mehta over for dinner that night. She felt that it would be nice outing for both of them and they both were wanting to sample the lovely cooking of Mrs.Thakur since quite some time. She finished her morning chores in a hurry and prepared a lovely cup of tea for herself and sat by her favorite easy chair. She glanced at Mrs.Mehta's balcony and saw that Mrs.Mehta's tea cup was already kept on the table. She would see the steam emerging from her tea cup and knew that Mrs.Mehta must be coming soon, as she loved to have her tea while it was steaming hot.

Mrs.Thakur finished her cup of tea after waiting for sometime, but there was no sign of Mrs.Mehta."How strange" she thought to herself and called out to her maid to go across to the next bungalow and check on the Mehta family. "God forbid"she thought, "I just hope neither of them has fallen sick" Her maid returned back saying the house was locked."Madam, maybe they have gone out" her maid told her.

Mrs.Thakur asked her maid if she checked with the watchman but the maid replied that the watchman was nowhere to be seen and had probably taken the day off. Meanwhile their cook, who had also just come for work, was returning back after seeing the locked door.
Mrs.Thakur was thoughtful. She was sure that something was wrong somewhere.If Mr and Mrs.Mehta had to go out or leave the house, why should Mrs.Mehta prepare her piping hot cup of tea and place it by the window."No,I must get to the bottom of this matter at once"Mrs.Thakur said aloud.

She called her husband who was at home, it being Sunday and told him everything. She insisted on him telephoning the police station despite his protests."I think you are being hasty in calling the police" Mr.Thakur said calmly, "Just because of one cup of  hot tea, you think something is wrong.I know you read lot of detective fiction and so you think that in reality also, you can be a super sleuth,but I think you are plainly over interfering in their lives. Maybe they had to go away for something urgent and Mrs.Mehta forgot about her cup of tea in the window.She is after all getting in age, you know" he tried his best to reason out with her.But Mrs.Thakur was not in a mood to relent. Once she had felt something was amiss, she knew that she could not rest until she got to the bottom of the matter herself.

Finally, after much deliberation, she dialed the number of the nearest police station herself and spoke to the inspector on duty explaining the problem while urging him to come urgently.

The inspection,Mr.Kamat came immediately with his force and heard her out. Like her husband, even he thought she was being hasty in calling the police but he agreed to go next door and investigate the matter. After an hour and lots of screaming and shouting coming from next door, they received a phone call from Mr.Kamat, inviting them to come next door as the matter was resolved. Mrs.Thakur hurriedly ran with her husband next door and saw the Inspector sitting with frightened looking Mr and Mrs.Mehta.

"Thank you so much"Mrs.Mehta practically shouted with happiness on seeing Mrs.Thakur"You saved our lives" 

Mr.Kamat explained that when he went next door, he saw that there was a big lock on the main door and the watchman was nowhere in sight. They broke the lock and on opening the main door,they saw that the nurse cum companion and her accomplice were threatening Mr and Mrs.Mehta with knife. They had planned on robbing the old couple on the watchman's day off. The nurse had locked the main door from outside, to prevent anyone from entering the house to help the Mehtas, while she herself entered the house through the back door.
Both Mr and Mrs.Mehta were shocked and frightened and felt betrayed by their own nurse. When Mrs.Mehta tried to resist, they pulled knives and were threatening both of them. Just then the police broke the door and caught them.

"I can't thank you enough, Mrs.Thakur" Mrs.Mehta said, hugging Mrs.Thakur tightly, in choked voice and eyes brimming in tears ."We both were scared out of our wits"she added.
Both Mr and Mrs.Mehta as well as the inspector,Mr.Kamat praised Mrs.Thakur handsomely for calling the police in nick of time, resulting in not just preventing the robbery but also ensuring the safety of Mr and Mrs.Mehta. Mrs. Thakur beamed happily accepting all the praises showered on her,completely thankful that the old couple were safe and sound.

"But I don't understand" Mr.Kamat wondered aloud to Mrs. Thakur,"how were you so sure that something was wrong?"
"Oh, that" explained Mrs.Thakur, " Well, I and Mrs. Mehta have a habit of drinking hot tea at around the same time everyday in the morning. When I came to my balcony today, I saw that Mrs.Mehta's cup of tea was already kept on her table. She must have just placed it there because I could see the steam coming out of the cup.When she did not come even after a long time to drink her tea, I instinctively knew something was amiss".
Mrs.Mehta nodded and said, "Yes, I had prepared my usual cup of tea and kept it on the table. Just then the nurse called me downstairs and when I came down, I saw that she and her accomplice were already threatening Mr. Mehta and planning to rob our house and take all our belongings."

"Kudos to you, Mrs.Thakur.You were simply brilliant"complimented Mr.Kamat.Turning to Mr.Thakur,he went on to say further, "Mr.Thakur, I must compliment your wife. She is extremely alert and very sharp. You must be very proud of her today.""Of course, I am very proud of her, not just today but always" smiled Mr.Thakur, looking at his wife fondly.

Mr.Kamat promised to investigate the matter deeply and see that the miscreants were punished. He also placed some policemen as security outside their bungalow.

Mrs.Thakur invited Mr and Mrs.Mehta as well as the inspector, Mr.Kamat and their team for tea to her house. After reaching their house,Mrs.Thakur teased her husband," So, Mr.Thakur, what did you say, just because of one cup of tea?" . Mr.Thakur laughed aloud and accepted his defeat graciously,"Yes, my own Ms.Marple, I owe you an apology for doubting on your sleuthing skills. It's difficult to believe that so much can happen only because of one cup of tea. Let's celebrate this occasion with your special masala tea.Here's to one cup of tea."
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This is my entry for "Of Chalks and Chopsticks" started by Aqua, hosted by Bong Mom's CookBook this month.
The Picture: The Picture that you see in this post is from Bong Mom's CookBook and was our cue for this month's entry.
For details about this whole concept check here
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SUNDAY Breakfast Series...Upma

After the successful(ahem.....ahem) completion of 7 days Blogging Marathon by Srivalli, I was on blogging break .......... yeah...yeah...31 posts in close to 2 years is not a small achievement :))

After some extremely flattering compliments by two dear friends, I was motivated to make a resolution to blog regularly... After all everyone needs a bit of motivation, don't they :)))

In order to ensure I blog regularly, I decided to start a series of blog posts....to make it more exciting and interesting(for me at least and hopefully for the readers as well)......

Presenting the SUNDAY Breakfast Series.....

People generally tend to start their Sundays by getting up late and having a hearty breakfast or brunch as the case maybe.......

So every Monday, I will be blogging about a breakfast dish which we make for Sunday breakfast at our place.......

Today's dish is Upma.... it is basically simple comfort food for me.....

Upma at our place is my mother's specialty. Especially my grandmother was very fond of eating upma made by my mother. She would proudly say that she was never in the habit of eating breakfast every day but the day my mother would make upma for breakfast, she would make an exception and eat it. She was extremely fond of upma cooked by my mother.....

Me being me, of course i had to add carrots and green capsicum to the recipe to make it more healthy and nutritious.......

The following is my mother's receipe of Upma with a few variations done by me :))

So, here's presenting the wonderful and lovely Upma made at our home this Sunday:

UPMA

Ingredients :
Semolina / Jad rava - 2 cups
Water - 3 cups
Oil
Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Hing - 1/4 teaspoon
Turmeric powder (Haldi) -1/4 teaspoon
Green Chillies -2/3 - (or you may use one teaspoon of Red chilli powder)
Carrot - 1
Green Peas (Mutter) - 1/4 cup
Green Capsicum (Simla Mirch) - 1
Onions - 2
Tomatoes - 2
Coriander Leaves - some
Salt - as per taste
Sugar - a pinch
Ginger (grated) - 1/2 inch
Ghee (optional)
For garnishing - cashews and almonds (optional)



Method :
Heat some oil in a heavy bottom pan / kadhai.
Add Semolina / rava to oil and stir continuously.
Roast the semolina for 10 - 12 mins until it turns brown & you can smell the aroma of freshly roasted semolina.
Remove from heat.
Finely chop onions, green chillies, carrot, capsicum and tomatoes and keep them aside.
Grate 1/2 inch piece of ginger.
In a heavy bottom pan / kadhai,take 1 tablespoon of oil and let it heat.
When the oil is hot, add Add mustard seeds (rai).
When the mustard seeds begin to splutter , that's the time to add cumin seeds (jeera) and asafoetida (hing) to the pan.
Add onions into the kadhai and keep on stiring them till they become translucent.
Add turmeric powder.
Add green chilles and grated ginger.
Then, add the chopped carrot, capsicum and tomatoes.
Keep on stirring continuously.
Add water and let it boil.
Add pinch of sugar and salt to the water.
Add semolina slowly and gently to the boiling water one tablespoon at a time.
Stir to ensure that no lumps are formed.
Cover with a heavy lid and let it cook for 10 mins.
Remove from heat and garnish it with coriander leaves and serve hot.
(Almonds and cashews can be added to make upma richer)


Hope you all have a great week ahead.....

General Musings......

I started blogging because i wanted creative outlet for my thoughts and ideas... Somewhere along, I joined food blogging marathon and gradually my blog has turned into a food blog.. which is great because I really love food and cooking in general.......but I felt that somewhere along , I have missed the most important aspect of blogging.......creative writing......During a midnight philosophical chat with my cousin in States, he suggested that I enforce certain rules on myself..for every one food blog post there should be one non- food blog post......I got a bit carried away and in my exuberance excitedly said that for every food blog post I would do a book review and then maybe movie review and one general post...My cousin sagely warned me against pressurizing myself too much with such self imposed rules...So, after thinking deeply for some time (actually after thinking briefly and being too lazy for a really long time) I decided that I should stick to two post every week making it around 8 posts a month which is not much compared to some other fellow bloggers who manage to churn out two dozen wonderful blog posts a month...phew...i am tired by their number of blog posts.. ..... and to say nothing of a certain distinguished superstar of Indian film industry who blogs daily most of time burning the midnight oil in the process.. I realize that it needs a firm commitment to do that....
Anyways.....amidst all this ramblings of mine..the point is seriously getting lost....which is that I have decided to blog twice a week.... I think whenever there is a serious motivation, I tend to blog regularly...like I did not blog for months at a stretch but when I joined 7 day marathons (twice) I blogged 7 days in a row(twice) .........So I have come up with a plan to motivate myself to blog at least two posts every week......