Howzat* and Alunia : A cannot-go-wrong combination.

It was a cricket weekend.

First the match in Utrecht on Saturday. Then the match in London on Sunday.

A loss. A win. A realization that Arno is growing up very fast.

As a mother, (offcourse) I do not need cricket to realize that my son is growing up. (We are supposed to have eyes on the back of our head, remember?) But from time to time there are situations or  comments or actions which make a lot of implicit things more "visible". 
Even for a mom. 

Once upon a time....

Match 1: Voorburg Cricket Club (VCC) playing Utrecht. Under 9.

The morning had a bit of a chill but the sun was shining brightly. Both teams were dressed up in their club gear ready to hit the ball. (I will not mention or discuss the grumpy look on the parent's face who had to wake up at 7:00 am ON A SATURDAY morning and drive 80 kms to reach the grounds on time. But being the cheerful good parents that they are, once the match started, the father got real busy with the score board while the mother did the cheering and the photographing).

While bowling, his shoe laces came loose. I was expecting him to run out of the field to me and get it tied (like he usually did). But no, he bent down on his knee, carefully tied his laces and continued playing. (He was not able to do that even last Thursday!!)
I looked on. A small incident. Big implications for the mother at the sideline who does not have to tie shoe laces anymore. The boy is definitely growing up.

We had a wonderful time and at the end our grumpy faces changed contours even though our team lost by 17 runs.

 "Winning is not everything, its all about good playing and giving in your best". 
As long as we parents say this it, it is fine. But not all the time. Your kid might start taking this sentence too seriously.
;-)

After Saturday match

Match 2: India playing England.  
The match started after a lot of uncertainty due to the rains. But it was a match worth waiting for! The family enjoyed every moment of it. A few packs of chips disappeared and a few bottles of beer vanished. I also fried some lovely Alunias...scroll below for recipe.The match went on to a nail biting finish. Arno refused to go to sleep at his usual bed time. His pleading looks and the tension in the match made me grant him permission to watch the last bit of the match. Yippeeee..he shouted and settled down happily on the sofa.

The Indian team did not have a huge score to defend. At one point of time England actually started looking quite comfortable. Suddenly, the Indian captain (MS Dhoni) called Ishant Sharma to bowl (which I heard from the learned commentators was not the "usual expected move"). This tall lad (I envy him for his SunSilk-y long hair) immediately took two wickets turning the game in favour of India.

Last two overs. England struggling badly. Nervous running between wickets. Adrenalin pumping. We are biting our nails. A-senior is pacing back and forth with a serious frown on his face. Suddenly the eight year old lazing on the sofa seriously said, "Papa , I think MS Dhoni took a good decision!!!"

8 year old....born in Holland....joined cricket only a few weeks back...Commenting on MS Dhoni's decision?

It was almost funny-ly serious. Not what he said but how he said. 
When young boys start discussing sports or cars or girls in a serious tone, they surely are growing up. 
The parents exchanged glances. The boy is indeed growing up! ..
India won. The excited boy rushed to the TV trying to interview the winning team!
Not so grown up after all!!!!

After Sunday match

*According to the Laws of Cricket, an appeal is a verbal query, usually in the form of, "How's that?" to an umpire. Since the taking of a wicket is an important event in the game, members of the fielding team often shout this phrase with great enthusiasm, and it has transmuted into the slightly abbreviated form, "Howzat?"

Now I need food. 

Alunia - The potato crisps
 (Totally made up name , influenced by the reknowned "Beguni".  So Aluni.  Adding "a" at the end just sounded so much more tasty--Alunia!) 

I used:

• Potatoes: 2 ( grated/ chopped into very small pieces)
• Onion: 1  ( chopped very small)
• Green chilli: 2 (chopped)
• Ginger: 1 inch  (chopped)
• Fresh coriander: chopped
• Eggs: 2
• Rice flour : 2 heaped spoonful
• Flour(maida): 6-8 heaped spoonful.
• salt : to taste
• Red chilli powder: optional

Ready steady cook:

1. Mix all ingredients together with water to make a batter.(not too watery)
2. Heat oil in a pan.
3. Fry these lovely golden Alunias in batches.

I served some while the family was watching the cricket match.
Served the rest with khichuri --- a cannot-go-wrong combination.

Warning: If you start serving them while frying,  almost nothing is left for dinner later.

Alunia with khichuri