The BEST book review!!!

Day 1: Post arrived.

HE was extremely proud of the book. 
HE held it in his hands and turned the pages carefully.
HE smiled .
HE asked me " Mama, how does it feel to see your name on it?"
HE even asked me to take a photo with the book in his hands
HE was clearly impressed!! 

.....It was a nice feeling....difficult to describe in words!!!

Anyway, after some celebrations, it was bed time. 
A-junior asked me if he can take "The Gift Of Life" to bed for reading.
A delighted mom agreed.
I took a pen and wrote ' with Love, to my "Real" Gift of Life' on the first page.
Very filmy. Very emotional moment ( even though I am joking about it). Very AWWWW!!!!
;-)

He left with the book. I cleared the dishes , cleaned the table and went to check on him after 30 mins.
He was still reading the book.
...and he was laughing!!!Loudly!!!
I asked him " Arno, hanscho keno??" [why are you laughing]

He replied "Mama, while reading your book, I realized what a funny guy I am!!!"

The best book review I can wish for!!!!
So honest, so spontaneous, so sweet!!
I cannot hope for more........

My book says "I hope that many years later when A-Junior flips through the pages of The Gift of Life in his kitchen while cooking with his children, it will bring a smile to his lips"

I smile. I hope this wish of mine comes true. Someday.
This book is a slice of my life.

This is not a cookbook.
This is not a story book either.
This is a story telling cookbook....

......Appreciating "The Gift of Life"....

The History book comes alive.....

As our small boat cruised on the river Nile, I realized that this is not a dream come true because I never dreamed about coming to Egypt. It was too "unreal and far" to even dream about it.

Egypt always belonged to the pages of my history book for its pyramids and the ancient civilization. The river Nile was always a definite map pointing question in my Geography exams. 

Nothing more than that.

Later on it did become a bit more "real" due to the movies. 
Hollywood helped us to imagine the insides of a pyramid while Bollywood danced around it.
;-)

Gradually over the years, and with time, travel and Google, Egypt finally appeared on the "to visit" list.

I feel blessed and lucky to be able to set foot on these places which were once even beyond my dreams ....

We landed in Hurgada and then went to Luxor. Hurghada is famous for its Red Sea resorts. Dotted along the coastline, these resorts offer a comfortable and relaxing vacation.There is not much to do or see around, hence you end up either in or by the pool...a good place to do "nothing".
Luxor is the second biggest city after Cairo.It was the ancient city of Thebes, the great capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom. The city is often described as the "world's greatest open air museum". As you enter the city premises, you understand immediately what an appropriate description it is. 
Whichever way I looked, the monuments and the ruins took me back in time to the kings and the queens thousands of years ago.The gigantic structures, the scripts engraved on them, the huge statues, the guide telling the story of the kings and the queens.....transported me back to the age when these monuments were intact and the kingdom alive. I stared at the little page of hieroglyphs that the guide gave me and tried to figure out what was written so beautifully on the walls. As if I could.

The camera went click click click.  Nonstop. Everytime I tried to focus on any stone on the temple complex of Karnak, my mind wandered away to inagine a story. Each inscription on the stone was a real proof of the glorious times it had witnessed. Each broken corner of the stone was an evidence of the years it had survived. Each statue spoke about someone who celebrated a life of glory. At some point of time, I switched off my camera. It was better to look with my own eyes and let my mind wander......

I imagined the young Tutankhamun on his throne royally dressed at the age of 10.When he became the king, he married his half-sister, Ankhesenpaaten. I tried to imagine what these children experienced when they ascended the thrones of such vast empires. Did he not have the urge to hide behind his throne? Did she not feel like pulling his hair and running away? Did he not grab his bicycle(??) and race on the streets ringing the bell? Did he not get scolded by his mother for writing on the walls? Did they not play hide and seek behind these huge pillars? 

As if to prove the point, my trance was broken by A-junior shouting from behind the pillars!

"Ma, I look so small infront of this pillar!"

The temple of Hatshepsut is another amazing structure.  Built in honour of Hatshepsut who ruled Egypt from 1479 BC to 1458 BC, this temple is built into a cliff face in three layered terraces that rises upwards very sharply. I stood there mesmerized by its sheer size, feeling so small and inconspicuous..how on Earth did they plan such things without lifts and cranes and Autocad designing tools on their laptops? I could imagine rows of craftsmen sitting with their small chisels designing the pillars with utmost dedication...but I repeat..how on earth did they get those pillars to those places? Amazing.
A-junior ran up and down the stairs with R&H (my friend's daughters) . I stopped them once and asked A-junior, "Do you know how old this temple is?"
He replied confidently, "VERY old".
I left it at that instead of trying to explain the concept of BC to him. Some other time.

One of the biggest attractions was the weather and the sea side. The Red Sea resorts are a good place to forget the biting cold of Holland and let the skin get some Vit-D dose from the big bright yellow thing called the sun, which we do not get to see much in the part of the world we live in. Spotless blue skies merging with the spotless blue sea in the horizon...long rows of beach umbrellas dotting the beach line....happy men and women in colourful summery dresses.....cheerful children splashing about in the water....fantastic food....with best friends...What MORE can a vacation be?

Shopping was a mix of stress and fun. If you are a person who loves to decorate interiors, shopping will sweep you off your feet. The statues, the paintings, the stones, the papyrus, the engravings, ..I felt like buying everything. But the process of buying is a tedious one. The culture is to negotiate prices and that is a tricky one. This is a talent which not all of us possess, definitely not me. I just knew that I NEEDED to negotiate without a clue of where to start!
I loved a piece of jewelry (no diamonds!!) in a shop, tried to negotiate at a low price (as instructed by everyone), stuck to my price for maybe a bit too long and finally ended up making the shopkeeper angry. The trauma of "tried-to-negotiate-but-failed" haunted me at night..had to go back and get a similar thing from a different shop next morning.

This time due to many reasons we could not visit Cairo....hence the pyramids remain on the "to do" list....Some day.....some time.....for sure!

The food is coming.........

The Gift of Life

HAPPY NEW YEAR

For me this year started with my book. Writing is fun...but a book is really something different. For me this is like a slice of my life wrapped in a beautiful cover page.

                                                    This is not a cookbook.
                                                    This is not a story book either.
                                                    This is a story telling cookbook....
                                                     ......Appreciating The Gift of Life....


Yes, I book-ified (no there is no such word) my blog.Thanks to your encouragement that I could.
Everyday stories ...everyday food...so normal....so mundane.....yet so special!!!

I hope that many years later when A-Junior flips through the pages of The Gift of Life in his kitchen while cooking with his children, it will bring a smile to his lips.
;-)

The book is almost there. Within a few days I will be able to hold it in my hands. It will also be available online within a few days,

My little Devil loves 'Dim-er Devil'

Parenting is a tough job. 

As a parent, the aim is to achieve the right balance. You need to be strict, you need to indulge, you need discipline, you need to pamper, you need to be a friend, you need to encourage, you need to... . 

I told you, it is tough.

For me the strictness part is in my blood. I inherited it (I hope my parents are too busy to read my blog this week).

So even though I try my best to use my patience, love and flexibility to do the balancing, somehow in most cases the "strictness" part tends to dominate.

A-junior feels the same.

I end up being the " not normal" mom.

But who cares? Did SHE care when I cried and complained about HER strictness ?

No.

But SHE made me who I am today.

Therefore, we mothers have the right to judge what is good and what is bad for the kid and hence we have the right to define and redefine and re-redefine "balance" whenever we feel like.

Amen.

The morning started with a bit of a turbulence.

Just 2 minutes before leaving for school,  a frantic search for the gloves began. 

Under the table, in the bag, on the shoe rack, in the shoe rack, on the bed, under the bed.......all over the house. Under such circumstances, one cannot expect the mother's temper to stay low, right? The temper rose, so did the voice. Meanwhile the clock ticked away happily which made the temper rise even higher and the voice too. Finally, angry and sad, amidst a raging storm and the mercury at -2 degC, mother son duo left home without the gloves. The atmosphere inside the car stayed stormy -- the mother could not stop grumbling and son's eyes were brimming with tears.

Inspite of reminding him 10,000 times that the gloves and the cap needs to go into his bag as soon as he reaches school.........Ufffff.....

However, after dropping him off at school, I did feel bad. Maybe so much shouting and screaming was actually not required. I promised myself that I will handle this with patience in the evening.

[Evening: After school]

As soon as he entered the car , he smiled and said. "Ma, look, I found the gloves. Do you know where they were? They were actually infront of the gym, I must have left it there.......etc etc etc"

Awwww.....I gave him a quick hug and thought that this is the time to kind of neutralize my morning behaviour.

I said, " I know I am very strict at times. But all this is for YOUR good. You will understand when you grow up.

A-junior: (Absent mindedly) Hmm..

Me: (wanted to elaborate and make sure he understood): Even my parents were like me, very strict. You will not believe how strict dadu and dida were. But after a certain age, I understood it was all for MY good.

A-junior: Hmm...can you tell me EXACTLY at what age you understood it was for YOUR good?

I did not see this coming, hence I was not prepared with THE number.

Me: (hastily blurted out and I have no clue why):  35!

A-junior: O baba...she to onek deri!! ( Oh no!  that is really far away!!)

;-)  he winked! the little devil.....

That reminds me ...I wanted to share the recipe of "Dim-er Devil" today....

Dim-er Devil  (Egg devil : a typical Bengali snack)

I used:

• 6 Eggs (hard boiled)
• 6 potatoes (Boiled)
• 1 small onion (chopped super fine)
• 1 tbsp Ginger paste
• 1 tbsp Garlic paste
• 1 tbsp cumin powder
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp red chili powder
• Chopped coriander
• salt to taste
• Oil for frying

Ready steady cook:

• Cut the boiled eggs into halves/quarters. (I cut them into quarters, it is easy to handle and the devils are of reasonable size, not too big).
• Mash the potatoes and mix in all the spices mentioned above.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a nonstick pan. Add the chopped onions and fry them till they change colour.
• Add the potato mash and cook the mixture for a while. adjust salt according to taste.
• Also mix the chopped coriander.Let it cool.

Now prepare the coating.

1. some plain white flour

2. One egg beaten

3. Bread crumbs. 

• Take one round ball of the potato mixture and flatten it in your palm.
• Place the egg quarter/half at the center and cover it with the potato mash from all sides.
• Gently press between your palm to make it into a flat oval shape. 
• Roll it in the flour, dip it in the egg and then roll it in the bread crumbs.
• Repeat for all pieces and once done keep it in the refrigerator for an hour or so.
• Deep fry them and serve with mustard sauce (or the Bengali Kasundi) and sliced onions.

Drilling a well with 'Fishy Peppers'

Very soon I have to stop with these stories. Now that he is ten, I am sure the boy will start protesting against making his stories "public".So maybe a few more here and there till the year ends.

My new year resolution will have to be "Start looking for stories elsewhere".

;-)

With age comes maturity and wisdom. For most people.

Last month, I experienced that "maturity" when  he proudly announced "Oil and gas " as his chosen topic for the yearly  "class lecture". Till last year it was the "Cars" or "Cricket" or something  like that. The double digits in age has definitely effected his choice. I think.

On one hand I was happy that he is "growing up". On the other, I was frantically thinking of a way to explain to him this topic which earns me my daily bread...Cannot be so simple, right?

Guess who came to my rescue. Mr. Google, as expected.

Google Uncle, with his huge information bank gave the boy whatever he asked for. From time to time he forwarded the boy to Wiki-Aunty. When he needed some action in the form of videos, Cousin-YouTube was ready to help. While the whole 'net' family helped him, Mommy just stood and watched and wondered, "how did we manage without Google in our childhood?".

But  back then we did not have Powerpoint either! So what would we need the photos for?

We had a syllabus and we had written exams. We had pen and paper. ( ..and No! I am not THAT old ;-))

Once the slides were done, I had a look.  My admiration for the Uncle, Aunty and the Cousin increased even more. The amount and quality of information a 10-yr old can dig out on something which is not such a "day-to-day" topic is amazing. The other amazing thing is 'this generation'. Their exposure to everything is unimaginable. Honestly, watching him "Copy paste" and press the "Save as" button with a  file name still surprises me! Exactly the same confidence with which I filled my ink pen from an ink pot at that age (with Ma saying, 'not a drop on the table!!').
;-)
However, being the mom plus being in the oil and gas business, I DID make some corrections! I HAD TO! But I have to admit it was all there , as much as required from a 10-yr old.

He started to practice. I sat infront of him  with the timer on. We practiced a lot. His confidence increased. Suddenly he stopped.

Eyes gleaming with a "let-me-give-you-some-information-which-I-am-sure-is-new-to-you" look he said , 'Ma, did you know the drilling bit used to drill the well has holes in it?'

Of course I know my dear but how can I answer this without destroying your enthusiasm ?

I said, 'Well, I know ONLY because I work with this subject but most people would not have a clue'.

A radiant smile.

He did well. Tension over.The teacher was surprised with his choice of topic. I hope he understands that I had nothing to do with it.

;-)

Fishy Peppers

The moment these peppers arrived fresh from the market, they stole my heart. Such colour, such texture, such smell...to die for. Usually they are eaten raw at my place. Sweet and juicy, a perfect healthy material for A-junior's school snack. But I wanted to make something else.

I used:

• Pepper: 7-8 whole
• Tuna : 1 can
• Potato: 1 (boiled)
• Ginger:  2 inch (grated)
• Onion : 1/2 cup (chopped and fried)
• green chili : 2 chopped
• Coriander: 1/2 cup   (chopped)
• Egg:  1
• Cornflour: 1 tsp
• Cumin powder: 1 tbsp
• lemon juice: few drops
• salt

Ready steady cook:

• Clean the peppers and de-seed them from one side.
• Mix and mash the tuna fish, potato, onion fry, chili, ginger and coriander.
• Add the cumin powder, lemon juice and salt to taste.
• Fill in the mix in small portions in the peppers.
• In a separate bowl mix the egg and the cornflour to make a thin batter.
• Dip the peppers in the batter and fry in oil. I shallow fried it in little oil just enough to make sure that the batter seals the opening.

(Making a batter with chickpeas flour and egg would have been better..but I did not have it at home. Deep frying will taste better too.)

• Serve hot.

The "KICK" with "Kochu-Keramoti"

A-junior will turn ten this month. Double digits..big deal indeed!

It is amazing how time flies. I remember him crawling all over the place with a two-words-rich-vocabulary of "Gu gu  ga ga". The fact that the same "gu gu  ga ga " baby can turn back and reply to me in full sentences with full logical sense (at times a bit too logical for a mother to digest) still amazes me. I think all mothers go through this experience.

This time in India, one morning he said, "Mama lets go for a movie"!

Off course we have been to movies here many times, but this time the way he said it was so "grown up"-ish that it made me smile.I think he was also a bit bored with the warm weather in India and the constant in-house-playing-with-the-ipad situation. So we decided to go for a movie. Mother son on our first movie date in India!

First we looked through the pages of the newspaper to check which movies were on.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) none of the theaters were running an animation film. So after some "shall we, shall we not?", I decided to go for one of the masala movies with him.

We chose "KICK".

You heard it correct. I went to watch Salman Khan starrer "KICK" with my 9-yr old.

A 9 yr old who does not understand Hindi at all. 
I feel, "One does not need a language to understand a Salman Khan movie".

Since the theater was inside a big shopping mall, I promised him that in case..in case he did not like it,we will still have many other things to do. ( I am not a Salman Khan fan myself, so I too needed a plan B)

Fully equipped with the Cola and the popcorn, Mother Son duo entered the hall. It was a Tuesday 2:45 show.

The theater was deserted (as expected on a weekday afternoon) except for the few "usual suspects".

Jatin and Lalita happily settled down at the extreme corner seats of the last row. Obviously, watching Kick was not their first priority.

Ramesh, Jitesh, Lokesh, Mukesh were seated at the front close to the screen. It was their day off from their fly-over construction job. They were already muttering the Salman Khan dialogues and were very keen to see the item number which Nilesh could not stop talking about.

Sharma Uncle and Aunty prefers this afternoon show. Less crowded, more peace. Aunty loves Salman, Sharma uncle makes it a point to bring her to a Salman movie during its first week of release.Their children always joke about it.

Ranu and Debi had bunked their afternoon classes. The new History professor is as old and uninteresting as the subject itself. Sitting in his class is both a physical and a mental torture.

..and amidst all this, me and A-junior., the "unusual suspects"!

The movie started. Like I said, a language is too small a barrier in a Salman Khan movie. He breaks much bigger unrealistic barriers without dropping an eyelid!A-junior loved all the action. However, he wanted to understand certain scenes which made the ten people in the hall laugh. So I started explaining the funny dialogues to him. This resulted in A-junior laughing at the same joke alone AFTER the whole hall was done with their laughing! Some heads turned in our direction. I smiled in the darkness!
;-)

A-junior also asked me " Why is Salman khan not taking the stairs in the building to go down?"

He is new to Bollywood movies. Pardon him.

He does not know that Salman Khan movies are not supposed to answer questions. 

You are just supposed to watch and get the "Kick"!!

Now the "kick " from Kochu Keramoti .

Kochu is Taro. Kochu Keramoti is a name I just made up.

Taro is a root vegetable that is eaten in many different cultures around the world. The leaves of the taro plant are also used as a vegetable. Taro root is easily digestible and the leaves are a good source of vitamins A and C.

Taro

I used:

• Kochu(Taro):  500 gms (chopped in cubes)
• Potato:  1 (cubed)     This is optional. 
• Black grams:  1 can (boiled)
• Tomato: 2 large (chopped)
• Green chilli: 2
• Mustard seeds (whole) : 1 tbsp
• Coriander powder: 1 tbsp
• Ginger: 1 tbsp (grated)
• Ghee: 1 tbsp
• cooking oil
• Salt & turmeric

Ready steady cook:

• In a pan, heat 2tbsp of cooking oil. Add the whole mustard seeds and the chopped chillies. 
• Fry for a while (till the mustard splutters) and add the cubed potato and the taro.
• Saute for 3-4 mins.
• Add the tomato and the grated ginger. 

• Add salt and turmeric.
• Mix well and then add the boiled black grams. Add the coriander powder.
• Mix well and add 1/2 cup of water.(enough to get the vegetables cooked but not to make a curry. The final looks should be a thick gravy.("makha makha" as we call in Bengali.)
• Cover and cook in medium heat so that the vegetables get cooked. 
• Switch off the heat and add the ghee.
• Serve with hot chapatis or white rice.

Sorry the picture of the fully finished product was not taken. My mistake. The picture above is just before adding the water.
 

Gitanjali Express and some other Kolkata Highlights

"Gitanjali Express,  train number 12859 from Mumbai to Kolkata will be arriving at platform number 4 shortly.

Jatrigan kripaya dhyan de....Mumbai se kalkatta jaanewali Gitanjanli express......"

It was difficult to hear anything clearly over the cacophony of people talking, tea vendors selling, porters shouting and thousands of other things.

The train slowly rumbled into the platform.

"S5", my father shouted .

We gathered our baggage and walked towards the compartment S5. A few tired faces got down from the train, a few tearful faces said good bye, a few happy smiling faces could be seen through the windows. We boarded the train.

"58, 59, 60, 61"...I heard my father shout from the back trying to maneuver the trolley suitcase in his hand. A young man was sitting at the window seat 60 and showed no signs of moving even after hearing our ticket numbers. Thankfully the seats around him were empty, so we happily settled down without any uncomfortable conversation. A junior jumped to the other window seat and settled down happily.

After years of travel in non-AC compartments, at some point in life, we had shifted to AC travel. Comfortable, hassle-free, vendor free and cool. However, this time, due to some last minute changes, S5 was the only sleeper class non-AC ticket available.

Nostalgia. Food. Fun. Action.

Loved it! ....Am not going back to the cold, dull, lifeless AC compartments anymore!

As the train gathered speed, I looked out of the window and breathed in. A long breath.The "smell" of India...took me back to my childhood travelling days. Ma used to always make puri-sabji to take on the train. I longed for that taste. I remembered my yellow sabji-stained nails, the water bottle, trying to wash my hands through the window, ma saying "shabdhane! hath bar korish na" and so many other things.....

It was also very exciting for the 9-yr old boy. Travelling in a train where windows were open! With grandparents! Enough space to sit, stand, lie down, walk! He loved it!He loved it in more ways than I imagined he would!

My father always loved the train vendors as much as I did. Ma's protests were usually wiped out by father-daughter duo's love for vendor food. Most of the vendors had to stop at our seat side. The tea, the coconut, the samosa, the ......

"Jhalmuriiii.....Jhalmuriiii"

My trance was broken. One quick glance at my father. Our eyes met for a brief second. 

YES!Thankfully nothing has changed. He still loves the vendors!

The Jhalmuriwala was stopped. Jhalmuri was served.

This taste can beat any Michelin star taste. Crisp muri mixed with the rest of the tasty ingredients, a sprinkling of mustard oil and a coconut slice on the top. Heaven in a packet!

Jhalmuri!!!

Telepathy! Just when my parched throat wished for some tea with the jhalmuri, a tea vendor walked by. A-junior asked if he could have some tea. Grandparents looked towards me for approval.  As I nodded my head, the little boy's eyes shone with happiness. He took a sip from the steaming cup in his hands and said  "the best tea I have tasted in my whole life"! Something in his genes? The weather? Jhalmuri? the ambience? Whatever it was, I loved the way he enjoyed the journey!

Now for some Kolkata highlights (and low lights):

1. I am not from Kolkata.  So I stare a bit blankly when people discuss College street, or Birla planetorium or Chelo kebab of Peter Cat .....They too, stare at me with disbelief!

"Really? You have never tasted the Chelo Kebab of Peter Cat?"..the shock is so evident in their eyes that I start feeling guilty.This time I was lucky enough to break this reputation and successfully walk out of the Peter Cat restaurant with a full plate of chelo kebab in my stomach. The fact that I shared this experience with two of my closest friends made it even more unique.

What can I say? How can I best describe the juicy kebabs lying on a bed of fragrant white butter rice topped with a poached egg? How can I explain to you the melting of the kebabs inside my mouth tickling the taste buds with a taste beyond imagination? How is this feeling of eyes closing on their own after the first bite different from attaining Nirvana? You were right friends, going to Kolkata and not having the Peter Cat chelo kebabs is no less than committing a crime!

2. Birla Planetorium:  I had neven been to Birla Planetorium before. Again not being from Kolkata, the opportunity did not arise. This time we thought it may be a good thing to do with the son. So we went. The building was impressive.

It was an extremely hot and humid day.  The gates opened and we were welcomed by a gust of refreshing cold air as we walked into the air conditioned building.
Darkness. Cool. Nice.I felt sleepy already. 
The show started.
After 2 mins, A-junior asked me, "mama, is the REAL show going to start after this?"
After 5 mins, same question.
After 10, same question.
I had to tell him..."THIS is the real show".
Jokes apart, I was genuinely disappointed with the show. Other that the star-filled dark sky there was nothing interesting at all. The photos were from 1960's, no updates. I think the photo of Mars was taken by a click3 camera from the Earth! The narration material was just being read out from the pages of a geography book. On top of that the narrator had a very strong accent. He kept on saying "WONLY Saturn has rings". At some point of time the accent became so strong that my son asked me, "which language is it now Mom?".
In today's world of computers and google maps, how can such a show survive? The more important question is WHY should such a show survive? For whom? and for what?
When I compared notes with my father later, I realized that he had seen EXACTLY the same show in 1969!! At that point of time he LOVED the star filled sky. So did I! In 2014!

The list of holiday highlights is quite long....but so much for the time being....
;-)