Arbi ki sabzi ( Fried taro root in spices)

Yesterday I attempted arbi for the first time. I have always liked it but never cooked it as i thought it is very time consuming and difficult. Well, its true to some extent as the peeling and chopping does take up a bit of time. After that is done , all is fairly simple.

INGREDIENTS:

Arbi-500gms

mustard oil

vegetable oil

mustard seeds-1 tea spoon

1 big onion finely diced

2 big cloves of garlic, grated

1 inch glob of ginger,grated

1 big tomato pureed

2 bsp coriander powder

1 tbsp cumin powder

1/2 tbsp turmeric

1 tbsp red chilli powder

1 pinch heeng (Asafoetida)

1 tbsp mango powder( amchoor)

salt to taste

Take arbi and clean it nicely in water and then dry it with kitchen towels.As arbi is quite sticky and causes itching keep some mustard oil handy to apply on the palms before peeling

Peeled arbi

Cut the arbi into stripes like french fries.

Take oil in a pan and make it quite hot. Cook the arbi stripes in batches and put on paper towel to absorb the extra oil.

Fried arbi strips, I ate some just like that and it was very good! If only i season it wid some salt and pepper I can have taro root chips ready!

Chop 1 onion finely,grate 2 big cloves of garlic and 1 inch thick glob of ginger. Also puree 1 big tomato.You can also put 1-2 green chillies while making tomato puree for making it extra hot. I did not as kay and now me too cant handle that much heat.

Heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and put 1 teaspoon mustard seeds in it. Once it splatters,add the onions,ginger, garlic, and heeng. Saute till onions are golden brown.

Add 2 tbsp coriander powder, 1 tbsp cumin powder,half tbsp turmeric powder and chilli powder acc to taste.

Now add tomato purée , salt and 1 tbsp mango powder and mix well.

Add the fried abi and let it simmer for 10 mts.

Serve your arbi with chapaati or rice. U can also garnish with fresh coriander. Done!

Model wife???

Dear internet,lets pretend that i haven’t posted in over a month! Last month was kind of busy with couple of festivals and entertaining guests so i was a bit occupied and yes …that’s a lame excuse,  i know:)

This post is basically just a rant as it has been floating in my head since like… forever…The thing i struggle most with is that i try to be a model house wife. I am so grateful that Kay provides for us and works so hard at it. So i try to make a comfortable home for him ( us actually).That means i try to keep the house clean,do the laundry ,do the dishes ,and cook meals before he comes home in the evening. But then there are some days when i just dont wanna clean ,cook n the like.It does get monotonous some times .I also know it happens to all of us whether working in jobs or in the house. Do you remember the days when you just don’t feel like going to work but then still you go because well it is work after all…

But still those days are the days when i struggle with this guilt. I feel really bad that i have the luxury of I-don’t-feel-like-doing-my-work thing but Kay doesnt.I feel awful when he has come home and it is not tidied up , laundry is not sorted and dinner is not made. The fact is that i am not a SAHM  (stay at home mom) yet, I am  SAHW (Stay at home wife)….I was about to write ‘just’ a  stay at home wife…beacause thats the general way the world sees us but that rant is for another post for another day…:)

So a SAHM still has kids to look after and she is busy n so a messy household is often forgiven. But since I have no kids to take care of yet , just the house and the 2 of us so I am not forgiven ( in my mind). But its not that I am sitting at home twiddling my thumb. I do things which i like like reading,exercising etc. Time is never wasted when you’re doing something you enjoy. Its my choice and thankfully Kay is ok with it. I have worked for 4 yrs prior to marriage and even after marriage. So I have been at both sides of the table and this is the choice i made and i like it. I just don’t get it that what is so wrong with staying at home if that’s what one wants, if ones situation allows it ?? Isn’t life all about being happy ?? I guess being happy never goes out of fashion….Also the line I am in… there aren’t many jobs in that line in this part of the world. I know its anti feminism and all that to stay at home  but isn’t feminism more about empowering women to MAKE A CHOICE  that works for her and her family! so this works for me, for us… Ok now i am seriously  going off the track..

The point is that I don’t care what others think ( ok.. i do care a little bit, don’t we all? ;))but what do i do with my guilt ? Does anybody else similar to my position feel bad if they falter along the way in their housekeeping skills (which is alright by all means)?If yes then what do you do about it, the guilt i mean??

P.S.I have noticed i write a lot in brackets..lol

quick stir fry

Sometimes I just need something to go with the dal chawal ( lentil soup- rice). Generally i rustle up sum jeera aloo ( cumin potatoo fry) or frozen mix veg stir fry.But since we have had them quite a few times i was thinking of what to cook with today’s dinner. As i was rummaging through my fridge there was just one capsicum. So i was like what to make with it. As i was cleaning my cupboard i found a packet of Nutrela Soya grnaules n i was like yay!!! I made sum nutrela capsicum stirfry and that wud go perfectly with my Dal chawal in the evening.Here is the recap.

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and 1 chopped onion to it. Let the onions turns light brown. Sorry My non-stick pan is now non non-stick..lol

Boil 1 cup of soya granules in 4 cups of water,then cook it at low flame for 5 mts .Let it rest for 10 mts, drain it and then wash it 2-3 times with fresh water. Then press the granules to take out the excess water.

Chop the capsicum finely. I have used half of what i had as it was quite big and i didn't want the capsicum flavor to be overpowering

Add the capsicum to the onions and let them cook for 2 mts just so they soften

Add the soya granules to the onions and then add turmeric and red chilli. I also added little bit of coriander powder not pictured here.

Add salt to tatse , mix well and let it cook uncovered for about 10-15 mts till it crisps up a bit.

The stir fry is ready! Njoy!!

Go ahead and give this simple yet tasty dish a try. M sure u will love it for its simplicity as well as taste.

Rava (Semolina) Idli (cakes) recipe

Hi frnz..I made rava idlis yesterday with sambhar n chutney. I had a great tym makin it…there was little tsunami in the kitchen…:)Here is the recipe.

Ingredients for Rava idli–>

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1tbsp mustard seeds

3-4 curry leaves

pinch of hing

1 green chilly chopped

coriander leaves chopped

1 cup semolina( rava)

1 cup sour curd

salt to taste

3 tbsp Eno ( fruit salt)

Oil

Idli mould

water to steam idlis

1. RAVA IDLI : 

First take cumin seeds, mustard seeds ,4-5 curry leaves (chopped) and hing. Heat oil in a pan and put all 4 ingredients.

Once they splatter put 1 cup semolina ( rava) and fry till it turns light brownish in color.Take care not to burn or overheat the rava.Allow it to cool for 10 minutes.

Chop one green chilli and some coriander leaves.

Take 1 cup curd. It should be sour and at room temperature.

Whisk the curd nicely.

Put the chopped chillies, coriander and salt to taste in the curd.Put water in the curd little by little n mix well. The consistency should be like that of lassi ( buttermilk).

Take the idli stand n grease it with some vegetable oil so that idlis do not stick to the stand and come out of the mould easily.

Take 2 cups of water in a thick bottomed vessel and bring it to a boil.

Put the cooled down rava mix in the curd mix and blend well to form a smooth batter.

Add Eno ( fruit salt) in the idli batter.

After adding Eno, put the batter immediately in the Idli mould.

Place the idli stand in the vessel with the boiling water.

Cover the vessel with a dish leaving an outlet for the steam to escape. Cook for 15 minutes. You can also use a pressure cooker without the whistle. To check if the idlis are done or not, put a skewer throgh the idli. If it comes out clean , idli is done, if not cook for 5 more minutes till done.

Take the stand out and let it rest for 5 mts.

Tada!! Your Idlis are done:)

:))

I think its gorgeous!

The inspiration for this idli recipe is here:

http://recipesandmore-shifali.blogspot.com/2008/07/suji-idli_08.html

2.SAMBHAR:    Ingredients for sambhar–>half cup toor dal ( yellow lentils),salt to taste , turmeric, chopped vegetables of choice,oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, sambhar powder,mango powder, lime juice

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Take half cup toor dal ( yellow lentils), 1 cup water, pinch of turmeric and salt to taste in a pressure cooker.We wont cook it completely at this stage, just for 1 whistle.

Chop vegetables of your choice like tomato, onion ( both length wise),gourd,peas,carrots,beans etc.

Put the veggies in the pressure cooker along with the dal. Now cook this completely for 2 whistles.

Cooked dal. The veggies should be tender enough but not mashed and soggy.

In a seperate pan heat 1 tbsp oil, splatter 1 tbsp mustard seeds and3-4 chopped curry leaves. Add 1 small tomato,4 tbsp sambhar masala and 2 tbsp mango powder.

since i did not have tamarind i use lemon along with the mango powder for the sourness

Mix the masala with the dal and add lemon juice, Sambhar is ready!

3.CHUTNEY :  Ingredients for chutney–> onion , tomato, garlic, ginger, green chilly,coriander leaves, sugar, salt, lime juice

Take 1 small tomato, 1 small onion, 2 garlic cloves,2 sliver of ginger, 1 small green chilly,coriander leaves, 1 tbsp mustard oil,lime juice 1 tbsp,half tbsp sugar and salt to taste

Grind the above mentioned ingredients to a fine paste.

For the tempering, again heat 1 tbsp oil and splatter mustard seeds and curry leaves and add it to the chutney paste.

So all done!!

A hearty meal is ready!

I am proud of myself:))

It looks like a lot of work but once the idlis are done , sambhar and chutney do not take much time and effort! Hope u try it and like it as mush as I and Kay did:))

Eye makeup

Hi frnz..I have not been posting quite often lately as i was thinkin of somethin interesting to write.

Well today i will be posting pictures of my eye makeup as requested by a reader (:) <3). I am by no means a pro and this is just what i like to wear mostly:

1.On a normal day out

2.Weekend nites

3.Some special occasion

1. On a Normal Day out

After washing my face and applying moisture, i pat the eye area with my Lakme Sheer compact.

Lakme Ultra Sheer Compact

Then I line it with my Maybelline Liner Express

Liquid Liner . It has a ball point pen like tip and is very easy to use, doesn’t smudge,no tears and easy to use even on the lower lids.

Then I line the lower lid with waterproof Revlon Kohl Stick.

Kohl Stick- Revlon

I darken the lower lid thickly with my Maybelline Liner Express . It seals the kohl in the eyes so that it does not smudge.Don't worry its doesn't burn.;)

Time to make the lashes dark n nice with some Mascara

Maybelline Colossal Volume Express Waterproof Mascara

So this is generally my look in the day or may be also on a casual night out. Liner, kohl n mascara..Ready to go!

2.Weekend nites

If I am in the mood of something a little bit more  sparkly then the easy way to do that is to add on the first one above.

I simply draw a line of my Lakme green eyeshadow with a brush, above the black liner. You can also use a colored eye pencil for this.

One more variation of it can be – after patting the eye with compact in the first step, put the green eyeshadow first in a line as per the curve of your eye ,and then put a thin line of black liner as close to the lashes as possible.This will define the eyes beautifully and is the easier method .

Lakme Eye Color Quartet Peacock

To make the eyes more sparkly i add on a glitter eyeliner on to the basic black liner applied earlier.It was a gift from a friend from S'pore.

Gabrini Glitter eyeliner

So this is my more than casual eye look.:) Hope you like it.

3.Some special occasion

If there is going to be some party, or festival or some other big night i usally do as below.I generally use double shades for eys makeup but this one is more complex as it uses 4 shades. You can use as less or as many as you want. The main thing is to use a lighter shadow in the inner corner and the darker shadow in the outer corner of the eyes and  blend well …your eyes will be ready to mesmerize:)

After applying the compact on clean eye and putting a skin color base, i have put on Golden shadow on the entire lid. This is from the same Lakme Eye color quartet pictured above.

Here I have applied Maybelline Sparkling gold shadow in the inner corner of the eye as well as the outline of the entire lid. It is atleast 2 shades lighter than the dark gold base already applied

Maybelline 621 sparkling gold

Right next to the pale gold shadow in the inner corner of the eye, I have put a peach colored shimmer and on the outer corner of the eye, I have put a dark pinkish bronze shadow

LAKME sheer color eye shadow duet ( Peach and dark pinkish bronzish one)

Next step is to put a torquiose blue eye shadow at the outermost corner of the eyelid. This will shape the eyes and make it look big. The blue shadow is from the same Lakme Eye Color Quartet pictured earlier.

Now I have lightly dusted the outline of the lid with the same blue shadow as was used for the outermost area of the eyelid in the previous step.Its just like how you draw an eye with a blue pen..

This is after the Liner and the kohl has been applied.

Full view

This is after the Mascara has been put on. You can easily make out the difference in no- mascara and with- mascara picture.Now just few steps left to finish this.

Here i have put a white highlighter on the brow line and topped it off with the earlier used Maybelline pale sparkling gold shadow.

Elf brightening eye color. I have used the top most left corner whitish shade as highlighter on the brow.

So the eye makeup is complete. Following are the final shots i cudnt resist cliking:))

Dont u just love that tinge of blue at the end!!! Gives a mysterious luk i think:)

Also do not forget to darken your eyebrows for the complete effect.

Thats it guys. I really really hope u like it and feel free to give suggestions for improvement!! CIAO> Luv…xoox

Gym Regime

Hey guys…Today I am going to show you how my gym looks like. It has got tonnes of equipment that i dont even know about leave alone using them. I am happy with my elliptical, treadmill, cycling,crunches and the machine which lets u sit n then twist sideways so that ur waist gets defined ( dunno wts it called).

My dearies..this is where i am most of the times in the gym

There are some body builder types who come in n its fun watching them..

Some of the equipments look like they are from a playground..lol

My fav here is the treadmill though i know elliptical is more effective...

Me!!

still no headshot...sumhow m not comfortable plastering my face here...on one part its unreasonable as m all over FB..dunno why.. does anybody else feel the same??

Thats my gym…the first one i have ever joined. I dont know how it is by international standards..well equipped or a basic one but to my eyes it seems like it has got all..and the best part is it’s not crowded..:).It has got a trainer who you may use if needed…But i think i am managing on my own ..I go for 45 mts sessions as its just the start and i dont want to tire myself out. Basically i do 15 minutes of elliptical, 15 mts treadmill,10 mts cycling and 5 mts for crunches and the twister. I sometimes shuffle up and sometimes i increase/ decrease the timings . But majorly thats how n what i do..

Thats it for now guyzz…take care and keep visiting!

what do u think?

Hey frnz…what do u think of this outfit? is it too cheerleader types…how is it for a friday night…or is it  befitting for a day activity?

The leggings are fish net stocking with a mild criss cross patterns which is not visible here. I have added a black belt at the mid section to give it a little more shape…

furnished house pics

As promised, i am publishing the pics of my furnished house..Apologies for the delay..gt a little bit occupied with dinners n movies..The house is not spick and span as the pics were taken right in the morning time …which is a rush hour tym for me..

The Entryway and the wall opposite it with family pics..This is my fav part of the house..and the cabinet is the shoe cabinet..

The kitchen on the left hand side of the entryway..pl excuse that it luks a bit messy..kay just left for work when this pic was taken so hadn't had the tym to tidy it up much..

The living room on the right hand side of the entryway. Sometimes we would keep lookin for each pieces ( couch, rug,book lack etc.)for 2-3 days, scout various retailers and then after much searching, wud select one..It was tedious but most fun. I was quite sad when the PROJECT HOUSE got over:(

Our prized possession..The L shape Couch. Kay wanted this one so bad..and it luks marvellous. Plus its so comfortable and very appropriate for those cat naps... and did i mention i luv this painting...

Another view of the living room...the long shot from the balcony side..m thinking of adding sum flowery thing in the room but cant think of the proper corner to place it.Also i want a small fountain like thingy, the sound of water is supposed to be a gud thing as per feng shui but again placement problem..Any suggestions?

one more...yes u can tell now i am in llouvvv wid my living room...:)

The bedroom---The bed is yet to be made properly as you can see i havent tucked the sheet in...

The bedroom needs a painting though to be hung on the main wall...M so grateful for this built-in wardrobe..It was such a relief not to invest in a bulky wardrobe.

The main bath...n m a cosmetic junkie;0

The Half bath

So thats it frnz…I hope u like the house.. i know i do:) CIAO…keep rocking!

House tour

Today I will be taking you to a tour of my house. We have shifted to a new one sometime back. So i will show u pictures of before and after , that is, empty house and then after being furnished.

This is the corridor–>

Thats the entryway–>

The Living Room on the right hand side of the entryway

The open Kitchen on the left hand side of the entryway

Main Bath.. n Thats me.. n yes it has a Bath tub too..I dint take full pics of the bathroom as it mite seem gross..

The Bed Room

Balcony 1 attached with the bed room- I luv the fact that the Balconies are spacious and that there r 2 of them:)

View from Balcony

The Full View from the 2nd balcony attached with the Living Room

Another view of bedroom and thats the half bath u see straight ahead. I luv that we have 2 WCs..makes the mornings..:) so hassle free..

Terrace Pool 🙂 A dip in the evenings is so refreshing..though i gotta learn swimming soon....kay is planning to..yeah we both dont knw how to swim..Shocker haan;P

So thats it , this is my house in a nut shell. Hope u liked the tour and dint get bored… I will try to post after pictures also today. If not pl come back tomorrow for them:)  till then keep rocking 🙂

Small gestures

Sometimes small gestures speak a volume. I have this one friend who is my bestie. We have been thru school ( 11th & 12th)  & Graduation together and even post graduation was in the same city but diff colleges. It has been 13 yrs to our frnship now,  tchwud !n we r still goin strong. Now last yr I got a  bit upset with her as i felt that she is not makin enough efforts on her part to be in touch with me. We stay in different countries n our situations ( read phone call rates) were a little different. Nevertheless i told her how i felt . Now here is the thing…she could have  felt irritated about our conversation and left it at that. But instead she listened, actually listened and later on proved thru her actions that she does not want to hurt the frnship and that she cares so much about me n our frnship. She made genuine, qualitative and tangible efforts to stay more in touch with me and i am so grateful to her for that. Not for her effort ( obviously i am glad that she makes an effort) but MORE  for her listening and not walking away. This is somethin i will always always remember. So dear friend if u r reading this, i love u n thanks!:) As they say , if sumbody really loves u n care for u they will always find ways  and time to connect…