old fashioned cooking

Back to old fashioned cooking

When a friend sent me 'Rots'. Thick rotis with designs embossed on them dipped in ghee. They tasted out of this world. The secret lay in cooking it slowly on sigri. Great I also started experimenting. Ever faithful Guddu was more than happy. We bought kilos of koyla and found a spot near the garage. Inaugurated it with dum ki chole biryani. It was made in huge quantities but it improved with each day. 

This was the final product. Added on was a dash of lime and a slice of onion.

It was garnished with some mint leaves.

Just for memory's sake the little achar jug I won in some game in the Ladies' Club and is filled with mango pickle that yet another friend gifted me.

Bong Mom's CookBook: The Indian Fish Curry with tomatoes, coriander and mint

Bong Mom's CookBook: The Indian Fish Curry with tomatoes, coriander and mint

Kindle publishing

“Anybody who writes a book is an optimist. First of all, they think they're going to finish it. Second, they think somebody's going to publish it. Third, they think somebody's going to read it. Fourth, they think somebody's going to like it. How optimistic is that?"

~Margaret Atwood

So yet another attempt to be read by the general public. Hope this time there are more and more people enthralled.

available at www.amazon.com/dp/BOOERPHUTI

My Rs.500 creeper

I was conned into 

paying this huge amount for this delightful creeper with one crimson bud on it. I was told it is one of its kind.I call it my Rs. 500 creeper

It bloomed in my absence and I had it trained to entwine it with the orange tree. Now the maali decided to trim the orange tree and callously cut off the climber which had buds on it. With the scorching sun light the leaves were baked a brown colour and shriveled. I have learnt to be stoic and hope that the rains (they have been irregular despite the met department shout that monsoons have arrived before time) will see them sprout new buds again. 

Children grow up so fast

My Thakurma gang. There’s Mishti aged three, Sia -5 clinging on to Purva 11 and Tulsi 9. Missing are the toddlers Choudhary sahib 13 months and Anvi a few days older. So you can imagine the amount of noise and energy we generate. Now they have all grown a little bigger, but still young enough to remain firm friends. Purva has joined a boarding school and the two little ones have also begun school! It’s another matter that they spend more time in the bath room, but that is also a training of sorts. Abir loves being the Hanuman turning all cushions into sanjivni booti and Ball doll is big enough to wander off on her own and ask penetrating questions like 'Thaku Maa aapki mamma kahan hai?'

Mishti in her Christmas best. This tiny one came and commanded 'no Thaku Daa no biting nails'. An old friend was amazed at her confidence.

Choudhary Saheb decided to dress up in his sister's fancy frocks. He looked like a cross dresser.

Meow Billi

Meow Billi is what we call him. He decided to adopt us. It all began with his coming and demanding milk morning and evening from Guddu. One evening Guddu ignored his cries and continued to sleep. He came to the door of the room I was sitting and complained. I had to get up and shout for G to do the needful. Ever since we chat, and he sprawls himself on the cool grass. But he has a habit of catching my birds when they are relaxing in the bird bath or on the trees. Then we have to shoo him away. No relationship is without a conflict. 

Kerala in our lives

Kerala Biryani

 and the coasters that I picked up from market near  Islington called Angel. What was so special was that little son loved it and demands it to be made once a week.

It has a lot of coconut milk , curry leaves. Kaju fried and paneer.

It was specially served on a plate that has historical value. This was part of three plates that I found in Spitalfield market. Its of 1960’s vintage and had been used as show pieces. I insisted that I want to actually eat in it. So the glue was scrubbed off and even my Guddu very nervously added that it was rather heavy. So that was the first and probably last I will see it on my dining table unless I remember again about it.

Summer of 2013

Hyde Park 

one of our favourite destinations that filled me joy at being surrounded by tall lush trees were bare with buds just peeping out. This was a summer when I saw snow fall, shivered within layers of woolens and prayed for the winds to stay calm for sometime.

Despite the weather we ventured out to eat at Spaghetti House for our authentic Italian dinner. We as usual forgot to click the desserts that I can still savour even now.
Back to the Indian Summer and we are scurrying from the sun!

Snowdonia

Snowdonia

Sitting in the heat of Jaipur summer and planning the trip had us all fantasizing about the cool snow and ice. And as luck would have it, the rain and chill winds added to the adventure! But dear Husband was against it all, the name Snow in Snowdonia gave him the chills.

Betws-y-Coed pronounced Betsy coed?

This water fall reminded us of Musoorie a bit.

The best was yet to come with our adventure in the slow moving toy train we took and the boys the train to the top.

This was one of the few pictures they took as the train could not go right up to the top as it was raining and there was fear of landslides.

Snapshot from the train.

This train journey alone without the boys in rain and cold, I don't think I will ever want to try again. It was fun till it stopped at a place for some time. Then we got off and hunting for a loo we walked off quite a distance. I heard the whistle of the train and I thought we have missed it. Hurried to the station to find some other passengers calmly strolling around. "No it hasn't left yet." 

We walked fast, with Husband insisting don't run...

And the boys couldn't make it to the top either as it was raining heavily.

Eden Project

Eden Project

They do look like some strange outer-space objects. But here grew in lush and abundant quantities plants and trees found in temperate climate. This was in Cornwall.

 One of my favourite holidays that Big Son had organized.

They had wonderful plants and trees that we were familiar with, but growing them in such cold climate must be tough.

 The train ride was quaint and the seats were narrow and wooden and the conductor was shouting 'four bottoms to a seat please.'

 This could be a garden in summer in Jaipur. Imagine zinnias in Cornwall. 

 Last but not the least 'So what's your poison?' 

A Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

One of those rare Christmas when my entire gang of 'Thakumas' was there to share lunch and play games on a sunny winter afternoon. The lunch was pooled effort. Purva made white macaroni. Sia got a red one. Mishti brought Momos. Then there was the standard Rajma chawal.

A wonderful beginning to a new Year

The new year began on a happy note...

We spent it in one of those new hotel cum spa that has suddenly mushroomed around Jaipur. This was in the middle of a wilderness and was just right setting for a ghost story. Its another tale that the spa was non-existent as only some female masseurs would arrive for a few hours. This ordinary fruit salad was dressed up with some pudina leaves. I took the picture just to share it with my Bahadurs and Guddu.

Some exotic breakfast again captured for the way it was assembled and displayed.

 

London Calling

London Calling

  Much excitement as we came down to watch all the painters paint on the walls of the building. So much energy, creativity and enthusiasm. I could have sat and watched them through the day.

They used cans of spray. Back home our walls are pasted with ads and election posters. This was a welcome break!

They climbed on ladders and a fascinating upside down green coloured skull appeared.

The Fudge woman

Fudge Lady

She was straight out of a story book. Her shop even more magical than Roald Dahl's sweet shop. Sitting in a Cornish sea side lane, I had wanted to write a tale with the sweets and the shop as a setting.

I had asked for authentic Cornish Sweets. She replied 'you can't get more authentic than this.' The children called her 'the Fudge Lady'.

I remember the vegetarian Cornish pasties full of cheese and potatoes. 

Nostalgia

Just Nostalgia

Ducklings in Divir’s Backyard.

Now that Big Son has moved into a new apartment, one is completely nostalgic about the earlier one. There were ducks and ducklings adding to the life in the garden.

It was delightful to watch the ducklings and mamma duck serenely swim around in the pond –supposed to have been a water-body. Their feed floats on the little make-do boat. The ducklings were only to happy to get photographed.

 

The reflection of the building makes it all the more surreal.

This time there were five of them. I had named them the Pandus.

Before I forget

Before I forget

Since Big Son lives near Arsenal Stadium, he insisted I go and visit it. Firstly one tramped and paid a whopping 15 pounds per head to enter it. Any way Small Son and me had a great time photographing ourselves in the stadium. Ogling at the changing rooms and imagining the players to be there.

We were duly impressed by the maintenance and the cost of keeping a system of heaters so that the ground doesn't get frozen.