Btw, Nothing to do with age.......

Until yesterday, I had not paid much attention to them.

They were there, doing the job they were supposed to do. 

No special appreciation or extra care - they kept me standing.....

My Knees.

Yesterday, my left knee was very painful. 

I sat on the couch trying to figure out the root cause.

The walk? work? the boots?

The walk to work in the boots?

The stairs? weather? lunch?

Or is it just because .......? 

Hmmmmm....

(Btw, I believe it has "nothing to do with age")

😀

Having said that, the other side of 50 has its realizations as well.....

1. Age is no longer 'just a number'.

It is actually a mix of many numbers.

130/95, 220, 4.6, 11, 18.5........ and don't even get me started on their units!

(they can be as complicated as millimole per liter!!)

Keeping track of all these numbers is becoming absolutely necessary- a fact.

😀

2. The decades bring cynicism (ahem! Some people call it wisdom). 

In most cases, one cannot avoid it.  Package deal. 

Perceptions change, our reactions change !

Arre yaar, 50 years is no joke!

People (above 50) worldwide reading this post, please raise your hand and give me that high five I deserve after making such a profound statement.

😀

3. We discuss meditation, yoga, pension plans, intermittent fasting, and the benefits of chia seeds in the same conversation. 

We offer examples like 

..' when my cousin's mother-in-law had that, she used to......' 

or suggestions like 

..'have you tried soaking turmeric with ginger and honey and..'

or advice like

..'have chia seeds- cholesterol will be taken care of.'

Experience of five decades plus add Mr.Google to that! 

Feels like there is nothing unknown anymore.

😀

All these realizations aside, let us also feel proud about the milestone....

Celebrate!!

Raise the bat, thank your supporters, smile at your fans, wink at the cheerleaders, be grateful for your team, ..and pat yourself on the back ...

Keep running.....

😀

....and what is now very important is...

Take good care of all the nuts and bolts that keep you together.

....Like the knees.

Yes, food habits need to change too. What a bummer for a foodie like me!  

I can talk food, I can walk food, I can think food 24/7 ......

(Remember Amitabh Bachchan's I can talk English,  I can walk English,...?)  

The good news is that going forward, it is not all gloom and doom and keto diet ...

An Apple a day can also keep the doctor away 😀

I tried baking a healthy Apple cake, which turned out to be almost as tasty as its unhealthy counterpart.

I replaced flour with semolina, sugar with jaggery and butter with olive oil.

And added an Apple to that...

Have a slice, promise that you will take care of your knees and continue celebrating life.

 

Listen (to your heart) and Biryani will happen

Listen.

Listen.

Listen.

Consciously listen. 

Not just 'hear', but 'listen'.

(This is not a post about developing listening skills - which many experts have already written about)

😀

If you are the parent of a teenager, you would know what 'not listening' means. 

Actually, leave the poor teenagers alone. We have all 'been there, done that'. 

Parents talk... children use the ear-to-ear tunnel to let the words pass by without stimulating any of the brain cells that are responsible for listening. 

So a series of wise words enter their system, gets converted to bla-bla and leave the system without any impact, whatsoever. 

The bed does not get made, the empty cola can stays on the floor, the books remain scattered, the reading table is a mess, the clothes do not reach the washing machine on time and so on  - you know what I mean.

- a classic, well-understood, generation-independent example of "not listening".

Well, we adults also do not listen much.

We talk.

...and because we have been around on this planet for a few decades, we think we know it all.

So we talk.

All we need is to 'hear' a few words...

That's it. Off we go.....

We talk. 

😀

Example of a conversation that I just observed, a few weeks back.

A: I am trying to sell my house but....

B: Good decision and good timing. I sold mine last year, and I could get a decent price.

C: Actually these days, it is best not to have property in your name. Too many hassles - best to have the money in the bank.

D: Which bank would you recommend?

B: Well... all of them are frauds, only working for personal benefit.

C: I have this personal accountant who is very good, helped me last time.....when I was trying to make some investments.

'A' became silent and we happily moved on to the topic of investments or something else....

We are all so keen to tell OUR OWN stories, that we do not LISTEN much. 

I have decided to 'listen' more this year - consciously.

Conscious listening is a beautiful experience. 

The more I practice, the better it gets.

Amen.😀

Ok, now returning to the topic of food (did I ever move away from it? :-))...

I ended 2024 by making Lamb Biryani.

For the first time.

I thought I had outsourced the responsibility for life, but life had other plans.

Years back, Nanda Boudi had introduced me to the best Biryani and A-senior made me fall in love with it by repeatedly recreating her recipe. 

Original Biryani post with recipe here.

I have been pondering over the idea of making it 'some day' - was just not happening.

I had the perfect rice but lacked confidence.

I had all the spices but did not dare to face the emotions.

I had the recipe but the memories blurred my vision every time.

...31st December 2024, I decided to cook it.

Gambatte kudasai!!!! 😀

I bought the meat.

I took out the handwritten recipe.

I prepared the spices.

 ..But I still hesitated.

Finally A-junior gave me the right push ...

"Ma ekdin jokhon banabei, why not TODAY?" 

(If you have decided to make it someday, why not today?)

So I listened to my heart (pun intended) and made Lamb Biryani.

I could make it - a blessing.

The taste was good, A-junior and friends confirmed - a blessing.

We had friends around us to eat it with - a blessing.

This is a tribute to Nanda boudi and A-senior for the biryani they cooked for us and all the good time we had eating together.💕💕

I hope A-junior carries on this legacy recipe in his kitchen!!

'When people we love leave this world, they don’t leave us empty—they leave us full. Full of memories, full of lessons, full of love. And that love, even in their absence, has the power to sustain us, to heal us, and to remind us that they are never truly gone. They live on in us, in every step we take and every breath we draw.'

Life is beautiful- listen to your heart and Biryani will happen.

December24 to January25 : The Hand-over drink

Please NOOOOOO! Not one of those New-year-resolution blog posts!

No worries. Calm down. No resolutions in this post.

😀

Some reflections are ok. Ever since the Egyptians (or the Romans?) gifted us with the calendar, we have been slaves to it.

12 months, 365 days....No escape. 

.. with the added burden of reflections at the end. Uffff...

[Scene: The hand-over drink]

December2024 (D24) and January2025 (J25) are out for a drink.

D24: Can I have a glass of Barberra d'Alba? just the right one to put me in a wise reflective hand-over mood....

J25: For me, a glass of Chardonnay please.......fresh, fruity, sparkling....ready to face the world..whatever...

Cheers!👍

D24: 

It has been a very nice year, with its share of highs and lows. Kind of... normal, I would say. 

I feel thankful that the highs still kept me grounded while the lows taught me how to appreciate the highs. 

J25:

Cool... I think the year was awesome! You did great!

D24:

Well, I could have done a few things better but .....

J25: 

Go easy on yourself Bro, you have done your best.

In hindsight, it is always easy to analyze a situation and think how it could have been better. But it was the moment of decision that was important.

I appreciate your effort and feel that you have given me a nice starting point......

D24:

Thanks buddy. Really appreciated.

So...I am just finishing this book. "Atomic Habits " by James Clear.

...and I was thinking......maybe.....next year...

J25: 

Stop stop stop ....have mercy on me. Please, no resolutions! 

I am the first month, a lot of pressure on me..literally! 

All the fat that you have collected with the excuse of Christmas is already weighing down on me..the Rum, the cake... not to forget the rum-soaked-raisin cake!!

I have to handle the gym subscriptions, the diet charts, the protein shakes, the running shoes..

..and I have 31 days only.

By the time Feb25 is here, half of the resolutions will be forgotten anyway. 

Mar25 will bring flowers and pollen allergy. 

Apr25 will be gone in resetting resolutions. 

May25 will have the exams, Jun25 will bring the rain........

... and in 365 days, D25 will be having a hand-over drink with J26!

So, let's be reasonable here.

All I can try is to learn from your experiences, build on them, be kind, think positive, work hard, and enjoy every moment......

Can we please agree on that?

D24: 

Well, sounds like a plan. 

But once this hand-over rush is gone, let us discuss the book.

At the end of the day, it is all about 'Atomic Habits'.

😀

ps: the book is good. will bore you with some of my thoughts next year.

photo credit: Facebook

Airport stories : Thank God, there is .....

Airports fascinate me. 

Every time I travel, the time spent at the airport is always interesting. I usually get a large cappuccino, open a book or a writing pad, and let my imagination fly free. 

Everyone around me is in transit - they have their own travel stories. I quietly observe them and let my mind wander into their journey of life......

This time when I traveled, these are some of the people who traveled with me and my imagination.

😀

8am.  
Eli is having a red wine and reading a book titled ‘Never let me go’ by Kazuo Ichiguro.

She is flying to Venice. 

Her son called her last week to ask if she could come over for a week to take care of their 5 yr old son. He and his wife were planning to go to their friend’s wedding in Paris. 

Lisa did not say a word but Eli knew she was beside him when he made the phone call. Eli loves her grandson and the Italian red wine but.... 

She does not like Venice - too many canals, too many tourists, too loud, too dirty....

…… but she cannot refuse her son. 

Eli knows it was Lisa's decision to move to Italy. Lisa should know how moms feel- she is a mom too.  

A few words from her on the phone would have made Eli feel better. 

 
Thank God, there is red wine!! 

8 am, so what?

*******************************************************************************
 

Tim is a naughty child... the nice naughty type.  He will be 3 this year.

He loves to play with a balloon, sometimes for hours.  This is such a blessing for Bert. Wherever they go Bert always carries a pack of balloons, ready to be blown up anytime anywhere. 

He knew he would need one at the airport today- 4 hours of transit in Amsterdam on their way to Venice would not be very easy with him.

Tim slept the entire time during the first part of the journey – Dubai to Amsterdam. He is awake and full of energy now- running around happily playing with his red balloon.

Being a single dad is not easy, Tim was only 15 months old when Martha left. 

Bert struggled a lot but very soon realized that all he needs is a pair of healthy lungs full of air to be blown into balloons.- rest is easy-peasy.

Bert met Valentina in Venice earlier this year and fell in love.  He wants to introduce her to Tim.

Thank God there are balloons..

Hmm....They don’t allow balloons inside the aircraft.
 
********************************************************************************
 

It was her dream to fly since she was 6.

Their house was in Hoofddorp, a small town close to the airport. She grew up with the sound of planes. She used to run outside and wave frantically at them.

Her father used to smile and say, 'You are going to fly in one of those when you grow up'.

Today Nina flies around the world, never ever tired of flying. Every flight is as exciting as her first one - a sense of freedom, liberation, and empowerment. 

New places, new people, new food, new cultures -she loves every aspect of her job.

The moment she enters the airport, she is in a different world. She still loves to wave, especially to small girls who look at her with dreamy eyes.

She wants to say , 'yes, dreams come true'!!

She feels like a princess once she puts on her blue dress.

Thank God , there is KLM...

*****************************************************************************

At 73, Disha has serious knee issues, especially the right one. 

Maybe it is time to get a plastic one now. She has been pushing it too long..... 

This trip to Venice is the last one, she promised herself. Once back in Amsterdam, she will go to the doctor the very next day. 

The airline assistance lady was waiting with the wheelchair. Kim, said her name tag. She pushed Disha carefully through the crowded waiting area and brought her close to the boarding gate. A few more minutes before boarding starts.

Disha was lost in her thoughts. Many years back when she first visited Venice she was overwhelmed by the city's beauty. The canals and gondolas stole her heart..she knew she would return.

Mio Amore – she is in love with Italy,  visiting the country every year since then. 

The knees have cooperated till now....travel keeps her alive.

Thank God, there is a travel bug......

*******************************************************************
 Good afternoon! This is the pre-boarding announcement for flight KL064 to Venice. We are now inviting passengers with small children, and any passengers requiring special assistance, to begin boarding at this time. Please have your boarding pass and identification ready. Regular boarding will begin in approximately ten minutes time. Thank you.
 
 
 I took the last sip of my coffee and proceeded towards the gate......

A 'Break' and 'Bayen Hath ka Khel'

I needed a break!!

I took one.

I broke my right hand a few months back. 

😀
 'HOW did it happen?'

I would have loved to say that I was skiing down the French Alps when I turned a sharp corner at high speed, fell down, and rolled down the mountains, etc. etc....

Nothing like that happened. 

I fell from a 10 cm high footpath onto the road in the most unglamorous way possible.

No ski, no mountains, no speed, no sharp turns!

Just a stupid fall.

See my hand in blue plaster? philosophical mood in Istanbul.

Luckily, I was surrounded by friends when I fell.

(I am blessed with friendship)

'D, open your eyes'

'D, hold my hand'

'D, I will put some ice ....'

'D, let me drive you to the hospital'

For a moment I blacked out due to the searing pain and I thought I had left this materialistic world and had moved on to the next. There were worried friends around me trying to lift me from the road (not easy with the 75 kilograms) and I, from some higher level, was trying to tell them....it is ok, it is over. 

Their love (in the form of an ice pack;-)) brought me back to this world, thankfully.

😀😍

A-junior drove me to the hospital, accompanied by a full fleet of three more women. Even with that pain, I felt proud - my boy has grown up. Some wait, some forms to fill, some talks later, we were taken into the x-ray room. I was allowed to choose one person to accompany me - I decided on my niece A while R and S waited outside with A-junior.  Photos were taken, and we were back in the waiting space waiting for the doctor to come in and give us the final verdict.

Believe me, the most handsome doctor on the face of the earth walked in. 

I forgot my pain, my niece forgot her caregiver role and we both looked at him with awe, surprise, and happiness! Weekend emergency services at the Almere hospital rocks!!

He gave the verdict. Broken, in 2 places. In plaster for 6 weeks.

What a pain in the a** - I mean, right hand!

Later on, the narrative about the handsome doctor was such a hit that all 3 eligible single women around me wanted to accompany me for my next visit. :-)

What followed after that was tough. A broken right hand for a right-handed person is no fun at all.

The right hand offered to do the 'knowledge transfer', while the left hand grudgingly started to rise to the occasion. 

I overheard some of their conversations.

RH: C'mon, it is not my fault, you know that...(sad face)

LH: Ok, but now what?                                    (a bit worried)

RH: I will teach you everything, you can pick it up...a few more extra things on your plate...

LH: A FEW MORE? I was never taught these things -  since childhood, I have been trained to clean shit my entire life, and now all this....unfair !! impossible!!  (dripping with sarcasm)

RH: I know, not fair! but look at me - broken and plastered, also not fair, right?

LH: (grumpy)  ok ok, no emotional blackmail, I will pick it up. But I will not do a few things like chop vegetables, cook, write, type emails, fold clothes, vacuum clean, mop the floor, and carry the groceries.

Later on, things changed. My left hand picked up many things to the best of its capability. 

I became more confident. I even traveled to Istanbul with a plastered right hand (that's another story to tell)

A lot of things literally became "Bayen hath ka khel"

😀

Cooking has been tough - so recipes have become super simple...Let me share one with you which both of us like.

Parmesan-Spinach-Chicken

A simple recipe that is tasty, easy to make and healthy - can be cooked with one hand.

(bayen hath ka khel-  so simple that it can be done by the left hand only)

• Chicken: 500 gms (boneless)
• Spinach
• Mushrooms
• Chicken stock 
• Garlic : 6-7 chopped
• Onion: 1 small (finely chopped)
• Tomato: 1 small chopped
• Parmesan cheese : 3 table spoons full(grated)
• Olive oil : 2 tsp

Ready, Steady, Cook: 

• Heat oil in a pan. Add the chopped garlic and onion.
• Saute for a while. Add the chicken.
• As the colour changes, add the spinach and mushrooms.
• Saute for some time till they are nicely cooked.
• Add the chicken stock, about 500 ml.
• Cover and simmer.
• Add parmesan cheese and serve warm on rice.

Told you - Bayen hath ka khel...

💪💪

        

The Nation wants to know......

The Nation wants to know who is the inventor of Butter Chicken........

Kaun? Kaun? Kaun? Moti Mahal? Daryaganj?

This is National News.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/who-invented-butter-chicken-2-delhi-restaurants-battle-it-out-in-court-4898475

So this case goes to Delhi High Court!

...where I hear we have loads of backlogs for trivial cases waiting in line - fraud,  theft, scams, murder,..

You know the usual simple stuff! 

Happens all the time, media shouts, candle march, people forget...life goes on.

I feel sad for the lawyer who is going to stand up in the court room to use his education, skills and time fruitfully to fight over Butter Chicken... 

his dream case of course!

I also feel sad for the clients who will keep on paying the lawyers (through their kidney and pancreas) as the case moves from one date to the other......

The court will next hear the matter on May 29, until then the sizzling debate over who is the "inventor of butter chicken" will go on....

I can clearly see Sunny Deol flaring up his nostrils and his muscles and saying " Tarikh pe Tarikh, Tarikh pe Tarikh"

😀

But this is National News.😀

Do not underestimate the power of Butter Chicken.

Cooked by a close friend 'U' for the CheerfulChild lunch

This is exactly what I mean when I say - it is tough to be a foodie!

😀

We are passionate people - give us a topic and we can even take you to the court.

Especially, you cannot mess with our food - it is treated with the same reverence and respect and love and passion and excitement

....as our....as our....umm.....wait.....let me see....as our EXISTENCE!

....and on top of all that ...BUTTER CHICKEN!! -  No way you can touch that!

This is a serious conflict! 

Indian cuisine (especially outside India) thrives and flourishes under the blessings of Butter Chicken (Chicken Tikka Masala being the closest competitor) 

To be honest, Butter Chicken is served in many shapes and forms here in Amsterdam but the claim that it is the 'original' is mentioned by everyone.

At home, during our Cheerful Child Lunches, Butter Chicken is clearly the favourite and steals the show every time.

Now that the case is in the court, let them fight over the inventor and sort it out.

We all agree, that whoever invented it, did a good job.

Salute!!

But let us pay our tribute to the inventor by making a lip-smacking butter chicken today.

Here is the recipe  I use usually.

(also from NDTV - coincidentally the same that I got the news from)

😀

Marinate, cook and enjoy.....

• In a mixing bowl, put raw chicken pieces and add salt, red chilli powder, ginger garlic paste and lemon juice. Mix well.

• Refrigerate for about 15-20 minutes.

• Now add curd to the refrigerated mix. Followed by salt, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, garam masala, kasuri methi and mustard oil. Mix well and refrigerate again for an hour.

• Roast the marinated chicken in an oven for about 30 minutes until it is three-fourth done.

• Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan with butter.

• Add cloves, cinnamon stick, mace and cardamom. 

• Saute and then add chopped tomatoes, garlic and ginger. Mix well and then grind well. 

• In another pan, heat another two cubes of butter, along with ginger garlic paste.

• Add the tomato puree made from the mixture. Now add red chilli powder, kasuri methi, honey and finally the roasted chicken pieces. Let it simmer.

• Add green chilli, cardamom powder and cream. Mix well.

• Serve with a teaspoon of cream on top.

 

Gyan-paapi and Spanish Paella

Another fresh New Year! - to plan, to live, to be grateful for!

Best wishes for all........

Today's word is -GyanPaapi!  (in Bengali) 

জ্ঞানপাপী (Gyanpaapi) : Willful or deliberate sinner; conscious sinner.

This is what Google threw back as the meaning of the word.

😊

When I was growing up, this word was often used sarcastically for a person who had all the theoretical knowledge and reasoning about doing something, that could be harmful, YET continued doing it. 

So inspite of having the 'Gyan(knowledge)', still did the 'paap (sin)'.

Let me explain...........

Scene1: I caught a cold 

Ma:  How did you catch a cold? (big eyes, stern voice)

Me:  I was playing outside in the cold without wearing my sweater. (See? knew it, yet...)

Ma: Gyanpaapi!

OR,

Scene2: Got poor grades in Maths. (ok, make it very poor grades in Maths)

Baba: So why such poor grades this time? (the tone was not as calm as it feels in writing here)

Me: I did not study enough     (See?  funda clear, yet...)

Baba: Gyanpaapi!

None of the above scenes ended in such a peaceful one-word-only outcome but you get the general drift of the word...right?

😁

I have quite a few Gyanpaapis in my life (including myself)

(most of them 50± years on this planet) 

We know we need to eat healthy. We know we need to put in more exercise. We know we need to go for the yearly check-up. We know physiotherapy really helps the back problem. We know that the daily walk is mandatory. We know smoking is injurious to health. We know hobbies bring positivity to life. We know life is uncertain. etc etc...

We know it all - theoretically!  because we have been here long enough and have seen a lot of life...........

YET............yet yet yet..... we ignore.....and continue 'business as usual'...

We are a bunch of Gyanpaapis!

Dear friends - Take a pledge this year  - quit being a Gyanpaapi! 

(believe me, I just made my physiotherapy appointment 😀)

'Gyan' over - let us switch to food and life.

Chicken Prawn Paella

This skillet was bought by A-senior a few years back. ...and then it was seasoned with full energy and passion!!

The Oil massage, water wash, exact temperature of the preheated oven, oil massage again, wiping with a dry cloth, back in the oven, raising the temperature in steps...the whole shebang!

He never got to use it.

This year, I mustered enough courage and muscle power to bring out the never-used-perfectly-seasoned-superheavy-cast iron skillet to cook a Paella. It turned out to be ok - not the very best (I blamed it on the rice I used) but the skillet was more than perfect!

I may have complained a bit too much about its weight before - but I do promise to use it more to make him proud and happy.

You need [I made for 6 people]

Chicken : 1 kg boneless (small pieces)

Prawns (deveined): 300 gms

Garlic : 6 pods sliced

Onion: 1 medium roughly chopped

Carrot : 3 (cubed)

Frozen peas: 1 cup

Red paprika: 1 diced

Chicken stock cube

Tomato puree : 3-4 spoonfull

Paella Rice : 3 cups   

Olive oil

Salt and black pepper

Fresh coriander (I did not have parsley, hence...)

Ready steady cook:

• Put olive oil into a large paella skillet on a medium heat. Add garlic, onion, carrot, chicken and paprika, and fry for around 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
• Add the tomato purée and crumble in the stock cube, then add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes so it starts to absorb all the flavours.
• Pour in 750ml of boiling water and add a pinch of salt and black pepper. Cover with lid  and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, stirring regularly from the outside in and from the inside out, and adding a splash of water if needed.
• Stir in the peas and prawns, replace the lid, and cook for a further 5 minutes
• Season with some more black pepper, then chop the coriander leaves, scatter them over the paella, and serve with lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over.

.....and how can I forget the perfect Sangria that 'S' prepared to go with the Paella?

It is a blessing when there is food on the table and friends around to eat it together.

                                                                     Cheers to 2024!