When finally the moment arrived, I was barely able to hear his voice and then my senses gave  up due to Anesthesia induced Black- out- of- brain. It took me more than 12 hours to come back to my senses and hold that most precious part of my world in my arms..A moment of very strong emotions, when my mind was flooded with happiness, pride and contentment, eyes flooded with tears( ofcourse Tears of Joy) and heart waiting to pour out all the love that me and My family had  saved for the baby since when the journey towards motherhood began.A moment  which changed out lives….

Now after all these years, I am amazed with the changes that motherhood brought in me. The daily dose of excitement, amusement, fears, joys, colic cries, Nappy changes, feeding , Massage and all other work that comes along with the arrival of new member in the family, surely changed me .The way I handle things, the way I felt and portrayed, my priorities in life, my likes, dislikes, everything went for a toss.

Despite of many hiccups  while handling a baby, life went on smoothly, each day teaching us something new, each moment making us more and more responsible for our deeds, our words, our attitude towards life. The milestones of our baby are cherished moments….the day he started giggling, the day he started recognizing the family members, the day he learned to hold things in his fist, when he started rolling on his sides, crawling, weaning, sitting, walking, talking, running, going to playschool, all these and more, made us happy and proud parents.

So today , on his seventh Birthday when I sit back and try to re-live those moments, there is surely a sense of contentment. I had tried to be a doting and dedicated mother, but whether I had truly been one or not, only time will tell.

For now, I just want to say..Happy Birthday Dear Baby…You changed our world…for better..just by being in it.

Just wanted to cherish these moments of happiness, so thought to share my feelings with you all, dear visitors, of this place of mine. Though the Birthday boy is still young to understand all the emotions poured out here, maybe somewhere in his future, he will drop in, at this virtual place of mine, read these words about himself, and feel happy…Hopefully

Hope  each one of you will join us (virtually of course) when we will sing a Happy Birthday song for the Apple of our Eyes..Our Baby !

Coming to food part, well as much as the above emotions are Typical of Mothers, so is Gaajar ka Halwa, to celebrate anything and everything. I always wonder what it is with Bollywood mothers and Sons (Note..always sons…never daughters..huh !), that every bollywood mother ends up making Gaajar ka halwa for her son on every occasion..So did I..can’t help. coz my baby simply loves it

The detailed recipe of  Gaajar ka halwa(carrot pudding ??) is coming up soon on Beyondcurries, so do drop in there to check out !

Back from my so called hiatus…. I know  how boring it gets for you all, to hear excuses from me about my frequent disappearing acts.Won’t drag this too long, but will surely say… Life gets busy, so much that there comes a time when we are bound to concentrate more on our responsibilities than ourselves.The cry for paying attention to our duties is impossible to give a miss, and no matter how impatient or restless our mind gets , we can’t help but ignore it’s need for pursuing our hobbies or passion.Ditto with me…No matter how much my Blog shouted for some attention and updates, I was kept occupied with many good and bad things crisscrossing the walk of my life and thats the reason for me being on and off , posting recipes at irregular intervals.

So how was your life , during the period when we kinda lost touch? Had fun in my absence? Cooked something great? Met with your friends ? Roamed around some nice places? Watched some good movies? Tortured your boss or  is reverse true for you? Well I am all ears for you if you have something to share.

I on my part was feeling low due to  bad health of my mother. Days and nights were spend worrying about her deteriorating health and visits to Hospital.It was a night mare. Though she is recovering now, but still it might take a long time, before she is back to normal life.Can’t do much about it but pray that she gets well soon.

And how am I feeling Foodwise? Terrible I must say…because the time when I expected markets to be flooded with fresh green vegetables(It’s winter here..the time for bounties of vegetables) at dirt cheap price, all that I am able to find are dirt laden, wilting and dying vegetables at rocket high price.

Previously it was just few selected Pulses that burnt holes in our pockets, so the meals consisted of more fruits and vegetables, rice and wheat.But now?? This used to be the time of the year when a chilling winter evening was enjoyed with piping hot tomato soup, with tomatoes being available at 4 rs/kg.And now? The underquality tomatoes with over priced tag(Whooping 40 rs/kg) keeps the thought of making soup , at bay.

Rice, sugar, fruits, oil…everything is going beyond the reach of common man.At times I wonder how does our government get immune to the cries of people , calling for some control over prices of commodities.But then , can we blame them? How will the voice of a person shouting outside the Parliament reach  the ears of ministers , who are deafened by the shrieks and fights of MPs  inside the parliament. And that too when they are discussing some important issues like Reservations, Communalism, renaming of places, language dominance, multi crore scams, slaps and all…these surely need more pondering and discussions than the petty issues of ours like sanitation, bad roads, worse traffic, inflation, etc etc.These of course can wait ,till our honorable leaders decide upon which road and place should be renamed , which language should be spoken, which festivals should be celebrated and which shouldn’t, which leader should be bashed and which one to be rewarded, who is faking the concern shown towards poor and which leader serves people with true intention(Really?)..Phew….

Ok got off the track again(can’t help..I am fuming inside)…so dragging myself back to the Recipe of the day.

Seyal Bahji is yet another Sindhi style of making mix vegetable curry. Generally we make this curry in winter when there are loads of  different fresh vegetables available .But today I made this since I was afraid that the overpriced vegetables might die in my refrigerator if I didn’t made some good use of these, pretty soon. So here it is, a semi dry curry , a mixture of some vegetables cooked in onion tomato based, mildly flavored with spices, that imparts a nice taste to the curry without overpowering the true flavor of  vegetables….Seyal Bhaji

The word seyal is generally referred to the way of cooking something with onions and or garlic with very little (or sometimes none) water.Today’s recipe also requires cooking all the vegetable in onion base , where the veggies get cooked in their own juices imparting a very distinct flavor, very mild yet very delicious.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes 2 small
• Cauliflower 100 gms
• Peas , handful
• Drumsticks 2
• Onion 3
• Ladies finger(bhindi) 8-10
• Tomatoes  2
• Green chillies 3-4
• Ginger
• Few cloves of garlic (Optional)
  
• Salt
• Turmeric powder  1/4 tspn
• Coriander powder  1 tspn
• Garam masala powder 1/2 tspn
• Oil 2 tspn or bit more(depending upon cookware)

Method:

• Peel and cut potatoes into big cubes
• Pick cauliflower florets,wash thoroughly or soak in warm salted water to get rid of tiny organisms if any.
• Shell peas if using fresh ones or set aside some frozen peas
• Peel and cut drumsticks into about 3 inch pieces each
• Trim ends of  bhindi and slit them in middle, stuff some salt and turmeric and coriander powder in each  bhindi. This is to make bhindi bit spicier.You can also shallow fry bhindi separately and use it later in the curry.This is for those who don’t like the slimy bhindis, or else just keep aside the stuffed bhindi for later use.
• Chop onions and saute them into a thick bottom vessel like kadai or Sipri (Aluminium Handi) using about two spoons of oil.If using garlic add it now.
  
• When onion turns pink in colour,add chopped tomatoes and fry
• Add potato chunks,chopped green chillies, salt,turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and fry properly.
• Then add cauliflower florets,drumsticks and peas and mix properly.
• Add very little  water if mixture tends to stick the bottom of pan and let the vegetables cook further on low flame. Remember to cover the vessel with a lid and put some weight upon it to hurry up the process of cooking.
• When half done, add Stuffed bhindis and mix carefully as these tend to break away
• Now let all the vegetables cook properly, and till all the water is evaporated.You might need to sprinkle some water now and then if mixture dries up but veggies are yet uncooked.
  
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with phulkas.

Oops it already started melting…..

To begin with, it’s my Better Half’s Birthday today , So Happy Birthday Dear Hubby (Even though you dislike publicly displaying affection and all those mushy sentiments..still….).

Then comes the rantings (Ahh that’s my favorite part of blogging..lol). It is a long Weekend here in India and me and kiddie were really looking forward to celebrate this day, since from past many months we hardly had got some FAMILY TIME to relax and enjoy just being together, chilling out with our kid, having fun roaming around, going on vacation…the desires are innumerable, the wishes, unending.

But its hard for me to understand why the corporate world need to be so ruthless and insensitive . Instead of enjoying this day with his family, parents, friends etc, he is working (though it being a National Holiday..Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday ). Worse still…. rest of weekend and maybe next weekend too, for whatever reasons  office people give.

I can understand the issues they have at workplace, still I am furious . I just can’t stand all this and wish I could do something about this.But helpless as I am, I am doing what I am capable of….Rant at my blog, take out all the frustrations , breathe in and breathe out and head on towards the recipe of the day…Kesar pista Kulfi (Saffron Pistachio Ice cream)  ! But something more to share before that

I longed to bake a cake, but since I am yet to decide upon Oven Vs Microwave, I hunted for a recipe to make a Cake using pressure cooker. I finally found one recipe, but it called for eggs. Nothing for Veg. option. So without having any other option(I was desperate to make one at home) I opted for Pillsbury Cooker cake mix and made the chocolate cake.It was good, came out well, tasted nice, but I really do not like to use such mixes for cooking anything.I love my food freshly made and not with anything having preservatives. But now that I am through with Baking ?(Huh?) , I guess I should wait till I got some Oven or find some  good recipe for COOKER CAKES  from scratch before baking another one.

Ok, I know you just want me to switch over to the recipe, so without annoying you anymore here is the Kesar Pista Kulfi , pure , fresh and pleasantly sweet.

The recipe is adapted from here and I hardly made any changes, except that I had less pistachios in my pantry , so used whatever I had instead of  1/4 cup as mentioned in the original recipe.Also I guess I added more than required saffron, since the colour  looked pale while cooking.But after setting, it turned out to be Deep Yellow, but Who is complaining ? It tasted just perfect.The  texture was smooth and creamy and the taste….Yummm.

Also I didn’t had any Popsicle so I went ahead and freezed the mixture in a plastic airtight container.

Thanks Ramya for a lovely recipe !

So Enjoy the spread of Chocolate cake, Kesar pista kulfi and Rasberry Jelly, while I wait here for Hubby dear to come back home.

So this one goes for the Click event~Heirloom

This is a Recipe which remained in Drafts for the longest period, the reason being that store brought Gulabjamuns are so convenient to find here and also , these do  not cost a bomb. Moreover I find making sweets too unnecessary , since we hardly eat sweet stuff and  those in family who love sweets are “barred” from even looking at these, leave aside  eating , obviously due to health reasons.

But then, I do occasionally give in to the temptation of some appreciation , from  the followers of my blog, when I share a particular recipe they keep asking for. Besides, the CLICK event is a huge driving force in itself, so when Jai and Bee asked for Heirloom…here I am with an old cherished Recipe of most cherished  Sweet(Mithai) of  Indians, with some cherished memories of my childhood(Oh No..Not Again !).

Amongst many memories of past , and most of them related to food, one scenario that still lingers around my mind is of a frail, elderly man, always dressed in white, come rain or sunshine, with his aluminum ,wide mouthed container, lined up with stacks of thin, elongated(yes elongated..almost like a finger) hot, perfectly browned, perfectly sweetened , melt in mouth gulabjamuns. Sundays were most cherished days of all, since it used to be a day when whole family sat in front of  Television to watch popular serials like Ramayana and Mahabharta, waiting for that elderly man to give a shout ”Radhey Ja Garam Jhamuh” roughly translated as Hot Gulabjamuns  of Radhey..yes the man was called Radhey !

All the kids around, made sure that they get their share of gulabjamuns and saved their petty pocket money to buy the hot, fresh, straight from the stove(a mobile stove, which burnt on low flame,that kept jamuns hot to the core) each piece costing 25 paise (1/4 of an Indian Rupee…don’t ask me to convert into pence /penny/ paiso..go figure it out). So a Rupee  used to fetch us four of those yummy sugar bombs , lined on a paper with a dash of sugar syrup. Enjoying those with family watching our favorite Tv. serials(At those times there were only handful of them being aired, that too mostly on Sundays…Ahh what a bliss it was !) was a feeling equivalent to being in Heaven..I swear !

For years we enjoyed his home made gulabjamuns in winter and monsoon, while some really creamy, garnished with pistachios , Kulfi was a Hot (Cool) favorite in summers. Yes , the Gulabjamuns used to give way for Kulfi in summers and till this date we are unable to figure out how did he managed to sale such a good quality stuff in pennies.

It was during that wonderful period of  my life that visiting maternal  side Grandparents was a regular affair in vacations. The memories of spending time with cousins and aunts , uncles and Naana Naani( grandparents) still moisten my eyes , everytime I think about it. My Maasi ( Mother’s Sister) always made sure that we kids thoroughly enjoyed our stay at grandparents home, by taking us out to playgrounds, gardens, Beaches, temples, Movies etc. religiously everyday of our stay there, year after year.

My Grandparents residing in Chembur, another Sindhi Populated area in Mumbai, the Jhama Store was at stone throw distance from their home. This particular Sweets shop is famous all around the place for its mindblowing Gulabjamuns, though bit costlier but good to taste at.

So no visit of ours would be called off without some of these brown sweets, and everytime someone visits us from Chembur, its almost mandatory that Jhama’s Speciality…huge Gulabjamuns are on their way, about to reach our homes to fill our minds with the sweet memories of our childhood as we sweeten our taste buds with huge bites of  soft spongy, hot and fresh , the one and only one…Gulabjamun……

UPDATE: Here is what I found about Jhama Stores….thought to share with you all

Jhama’s >>> Chembur
It gets its name from proprietor Jhamamal Lulla, a Sindhi refugee from Karachi who set it up in 1950. “Our family lived in the refugee camps nearby,” says 30 year-old Ravi, a third generation Lulla. His grandfather’s culinary skills and reputation for using ingredients of the highest quality, brought him regulars. Close to six decades later, Jhama’s has seven branches across the city but the Chembur branch is still patronised by Sindhi families.

Staffer for fifteen years, Naresh Chawla says a lot of movie stars are regulars. Amitabh Bachchan once named Jhama’s Gulab Jamuns in a list of his 7 favourite things. Then there’s Salman Khan, who picks up sweets while driving down to his Panvel farmhouse.

How to get there: The wide, red signboard cannot be missed on CG Road, near Chembur colony and Basant Cinema. Open from 11 am to 1 pm, Mondays to Sundays.(Source: Mid-Day )

So here they are , soaked in lots of sweet musings , Home made gulabjamuns…Enjoy !

There are number of recipes of Gulabjamun , easily searchable on internet , and as far as the recipe I follow, it  is easy breezy one , of course, only if you have some Mawa handy.

The recipe is divided in two parts, one is making BALLS of flour and frying them. The other is making sugar syrup, not too thick nor too thin(sounds tricky, learn more  about sugar syrups here)

For sugar syrup:

Ingredients:

• 500 gms of sugar( Though we found it bit too sweet for our taste, so adjust accordingly)
• One and half cup of water(bit more or less)
• 2-3 Cardamom pods
• One spoon of milk (optional)
• Few threads of saffron (optional)
• 2-3 drops of rosewater(optional but highly recommended)

Method:

• Mix about 500 gms of white sugar in one and half cup water and keep it for boiling.
• Add a spoonful of milk to remove the impurities (impurities if any , will form a scum on surface)
• Add 2-3 green cardamoms also in syrup for strong flavor, and a tad of saffron strings  (optional)
  
• Boil until you get just a tad sticky syrup.Gulabjamun syrup is not very dense nor too dilute as in Rasgulla
• Strain the syrup, add rosewater when syrup is  slightly cooled . Always remember two things while using rose water, do not add it while syrup is bubbling hot or on fire, and be particular about the quantity mentioned in every recipe, since even few drops of excess rosewater could lend a bitter taste to the final product.
  

For Gulabjamun:

Ingredients:

• 250 gms of unsweetened Maawa (khoya-the condensed milk thickened till it turns into moist dough, preferably made from cow’s milk, also known as Hariyali mawa)
• 1 1/2-2 tsp All purpose flour
• 1tsp Cornflour
• 1-2 crushed green cardamom
• Oil for shallow frying

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients, in a a wide mixing bowl or Thaal ,until soft textured dough is obtained (keep mixing until it is really soft)
• Make very small sized balls (bit larger than pebbles) coz they swell up after frying and soaking in syrup
• Make sure that the surface of  dough balls is  really smooth (no cracks please).In case the cracks refuse to go away, slightly wet your palms with water and roll the flour till absolutely smooth
  
• Now take little oil for frying in preferably flat bottomed pan, and heat the oil. But gulabjamuns are to be fried on LOW FLAME or else the surface will be browned while the core will remain uncooked. Some prefer to place an unsalted pistachio in the center of every gulabjamun while making balls, that way the core of gulabjamun is not left uncooked .
  
• Fry one or 2 gulabjamuns at a time and always remember to STIR THE OIL with slotted spoon AND NOT TO TOUCH GULABJAMUNS , which means keep swirling the oil without tossing or turning gulabjamun .
  
• Fry till light brown in colour, remove on tissue paper and repeat the procedure with rest of dough
• Now soak these in COOL syrup for few hours.They will surely swell up
• These can be stored in the same syrup till consumed
• If there are cracks in the balls before frying it will burst open while frying, in that case adding a bit of cornflour will surely help
• You can enjoy it hot or cold ,either way it is delicious

These are regular Gulabjamuns, in case you like Black Gulabjamuns then here is what you need to know:

Gulab Jamun gets its brownish red color because of the sugar content in the milk powder or khoya. In other types of gulab jamun, sugar is added in the dough, and after frying, the sugar caramelization gives it its dark, almost black colour, which is then called kala jamun, “black jamun”.

Note: Making mawa from scratch is not difficult but time consuming
Four cups of whole milk will boil down to about 6 ounces of mawa milk fudge (Source..wiki)

For some really helpful videos and tips for alternative way of making gulabjamuns, in case you reside outside India where Khoya is not available, do check out the following links :

http://www.gurudwara.net/punjabirecipes/recipedetail.aspx?id=350

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPFDtXSEVqA

And care about kinetics of  Gulabjamun…I don’t , but you can surely check this out !