When dreams blossom...

I kept myself away from the Laptop and the internet for more than a day due to infection in both my eyes. And this was the result. Made with paints, silver foil, paper and some soothing acapella in the background, my dreams wait to adorn a wall! :)))

Our childhood favourite - salted moong dal - with a twist :)

My husband had just returned from work when I was half way into preparing this and he asked, "Can we actually make 'moong dal' snack at home???" And if you are wondering the same, Yes! you definitely can!!

2 cups of split moong dal (soaked for about 2-3 hours and drained)

1 tbsp oil

2 tsp saunf/ fennel seeds - crushed roughly

Chaat masala/ Bhel puri masala - to taste

Salt - to taste

Red chilli powder to taste

1 cup dessicated coconut

Maintain medium heat for the entire process. In a non-stick pan heat oil and fry the fennel seeds till they change colour slightly. Add the soaked and drained moong dal into the pan and fry them till they become crisp and lose most of the water. Keep mixing the dal at regular intervals. Yes this process needs a little patience but its worth the effort when you know you will eat something fresh and homemade and also alter the taste to suit your needs.

How will you know that the moong dal is done? When mixing it in the pan you will notice the sound of the dal against the pan has changed. It will sound like stones against metal. Also the colour of the dal will change from dark yellow to light. This process will take around 20 minutes. Now add the dessicated coconut, salt, and masalas. Mix for a minute and turn of the heat. Ready to munch munch munch...

Poha Chewda

I tried it once and it turned out great. And now I have every reason to make it over and over. Hope you think the same. :)

You need:

1 tbsp - vegetable oil

1 tsp - mustard seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

Few slices of chopra/ dried coconut

1-2 cups of your choice (groundnuts, cashewnuts and raisins taste best)

Few curry leaves

2 green chillies chopped

Chat masala

3 cups fine/medium poha

salt to taste

1/2 cup sugar

Heat oil in a pan over medium fire. Add mustard seeds. Once they splutter and the sound stops, add turmeric powder, curry leaves, green chillies and nuts (except raisins) and coconut and fry them till the chillies become crisp. Now add the salt and chat masala, poha and mix well. Fry the ingredients and toss them regularly till the poha becomes crisp. Finally add the raisins. Turn off the stove. Wait for the chewda to cool, add the sugar and mix one last time.

Yummy चिवडा मिनिटों में ready!

Play on...

In my personal and professional quest to understand our global society a little more I have been researching about play and games. I don't mean just games that children play but also the ones that youth and adults engage in or engaged in traditionally. In India we play games during weddings, during community gatherings, during free time with our families or friends, etc. Story telling is also a wonderful form of play. And different societies and cultures tell stories differntly. My mum used to tell me how as children they would look forward to the enactment of the Dassera story during the festive season.

In a day and age where play is losing its priority, this blog hopes to create nostalgia and a drive to evoke the child in us.

I want to invite anyone reading this post - age, sex, nationality no bar - to share about play time in your family, community, or any other place. Games you played which are not played anymore. Pen your own experiences. Ask your parents and grandparents if you are fortunate to have them with your still. Ask your children what they play.

Play on....

Home Sweet Home

A dear friend introduced me to Iris folding a few months ago. I got hooked on to the simple and fun technique quite easily. My first project is a little personal, a birthday gift to my husband so I won't be talking about that. My second project is called Home sweet home. I visualised a little cottage surrounded with greenery and sunshine and lots of beautiful butterflies fluttering around. I was to gift this to some friends on a special occasion but by the end of the activity I just couldn't let go!

To learn the technique you could refer to sites teaching 'Iris folding' like this one...

First get a sheet of card paper with butterfly prints on it.
On the other side which is blank draw an outline of the cottage, two trees one on each side of the house and a circle for the sun.
Using a cutter cut along the outlines.
On a piece of card paper from an old packing or any other firm cardboard draw the Iris template.
Then keep the template on a table or board and stick it with cello-tape so it doesn't shift. Keep the butterfly sheet over the template with the blank side facing up.
Stick different pieces of coloured paper in a sequence using cello tape. For instance if you choose 4 colours of crepe paper for the house stick Colour W over 1, Colour X over 2, Colour Y over 3, Colour Z over 4 and so on and make sure to follow the order.
Follow the same technique for the other forms like trees and sun. Use gold paper for the sun, shades of green for the trees and gold or brown for the trunk.
When completed turn the sheet and your project is ready.

Dry fish chutney

This recipe was shared with me by my mamma after I came to Germany. She makes the world's best dry fish chutney! It goes so well with rice especially red rice and is really simple to make. At home mum made it with fresh grated coconut but she gave me a super convenient method of making the chutney with 'kopra'/dried coconut. You can make it with fresh or dried coconut depending on what is easily available. When using 'kopra' first soak it in water for at least 4 hours so that you can grind it easily.

So here's what you need..
Half a coconut - make pieces
5 to 6 dried red chillies/ 2 green chillies or depending on the spice you can take
Ball of tamarind, about 11/2 inch in diameter
About two fists full of any dry fish of your choice, best to use something boneless


The process..
Put all the ingredients except the dry fish in a mixer and grind coarsely till it blends together. Collect this in a bowl and add the dry fish. Mix well. This goes well with plain rice or dal rice or rasam rice.

Nutty मोर

Next time you eat Pistachios don't throw away the shells. There are different beautiful things you can do with them. Here is one idea. (मोर = Peacock in Hindi pronounced as 'more')

You will need:

Lots of Pista shells

Acrylic paints or water colours

Brushes

Tooth picks

Cardpaper

Thick white glue

Draw an outline of a peacock on white card paper and cut it out.

To get an idea of how many shells to colour place the shells on the outline as in the picture below. Place three over the head for the crest, one for the eye, few for the main body and one for each feather.

Depending on the part of the body colour the shells. Bright pink for the crest, a black dot for the eye, blue or purple for the body and light green with a dark green dot for the feathers.

Once they dry up stick them in place using glue.

For the beak, feathers and feet use tooth picks. You will need to cut these to required size.

Stick the peacock on a black sheet of paper. Cut clouds and grass and stick them around the peacock.

Now time to go dance in the rain!!