Morning hours are the craziest, preparing breakfast, lunch, packing lunch box, getting ready and hundred other things getting before heading to work. But I never miss my ‘cup of tea’. Today, as I boiled milk to add to my cup of tea, I released it’s spoiled. About two cups of milk and no time in hand….what would you do?
Here’s a simple recipe, I loved this recipe as a kid and still cherish it. By the look you can say, it’s a perfect ‘Desi Desert’!
So, Boil the milk for about 5 minutes, until water is separated from cheese, stain it and add little jaggery/ honey, smash a banana into it and that’s it!
For people like me, who are not very fond of sweets, it’s perfect! I add jaggery according to my liking and fruits for extra flavor. You can also add grated coconut or cashew nut, whatever is available. The texture and the smell of cheese will simply melt in your taste buds!
Have I not said this hundred times already! well, once again; I love birds!! I feel mesmerized when I see them sit quietly and attentively, I love listening to their chirping but I don’t like it when they fly away at the slightest of noise or movement. Every day, early in the morning while doing dishes I hear them chirping from my balcony. A bird feeder and water bowl waits for them.
Big world, little me!
All the houses I lived in my childhood have always been surrounded by huge trees; so, I am used to those morning calls and busy afternoons. Cows will hang out under those trees, strays almost took over our sitting areas and there were bugs, insects, butterflies, dragonflies and many more, so its natural to develop a liking towards them.
After moving to Hyderabad, I missed that all, so much so that I even dreaded to hear the crows cawing. Until recently different birds and crows have started flocking in, so I did my bit by hanging a bird feeder and placing a water bowl. A year back or so, a cute little couple built their nest in my neighbor’s balcony who were out of station and I was overwhelmed, at the same time sad; overwhelmed because getting them to befriend me, was now a matter of balcony-to-balcony job and sad because, why not my balcony!?
Sorting out some misunderstanding!!
I could have just waited but waiting is difficult, isn’t it? So I decided to help them realize that they are welcome here, my home is a comfortable & cozy place, to convey this I built a nest! Yes…a man made nest!! I know, I know, birds sense human touch and have apprehension towards it, yet I did. I got different reactions, like, DH was speechless, some whatsapp friends were all aww….. and some were upfront, “Jolly, you are silly” they said.
Getting all creative….
The very first memory of birds in my life was the one that my sister shared with me. We are four siblings and the eldest, our sister raised us, as our mother suffered from schizophrenia when I was a toddler. When a sibling has to get into the shoes of parents, things are different…. and difficult. Its like four kids walking in the darkness, holding each others hand, one kid ahead of the other. In that circumstance, one learns fast & grows up fast. And the one in the front, takes the most strikes.
I have a picture of her in my mind, silently sitting alone on the varanda of our 1 bedroom house and looking at nothingness. May be that was her time of reflection. Once, after a stormy night she sat outside drowned in her thoughts; tree branches had fallen, the wind had carried with it dust, papers and wrappers: small stream of water was flowing along side the road, that’s when a little bird caught her attention, the tiny bird was busy picking up sticks, grasses, threads and whatever it could fit into its beak and fly away. The rain had possibly washed away her nest and there she was toiling hard to build back her nest. One stick in its beak and it would fly away, again it would come back to pick up a blade of grass and fly away just to return again. One thing at a time. She went on and on. Sis chocked while sharing this incidence with me. It was the manifestation of her own life, our life. Till date it is fresh in my mind …. as if it was yesterday, as if…..
Site inspection
That was a day and this is today, I find it easier to communicate with birds & strays more than humans. Today we are busy, we are so busy, that we don’t have time for anything. And the ones who are at most loss … are children. They don’t count stars anymore, they don’t climb trees, no more paper boats, they spend hours staring at TV and playing games on mobile phones. And this concerns me.
In the depth of my heart I know, that day, those little birds gave her (my sis) the strength to go on, and the many little birds and ants and lizards, insects that we grew up with, those trees that we climbed and the animals around us, give us the strength. That’s how my sister raised us into who we are today.
My self-made-nest stood their for the longest time, until one day I heard the sweetest noise I have been waiting to hear. They are here!!!
This post got deleted in the final stage of editing…..
I am a homemaker, a teacher, an inquisitive person, an experimenter and of course being a womdan, natural skin & hair expert!!
I used turmeric roots, homemade turmeric powder can also be used
I love turmeric and I can vouch on it, I have been using it since I was a child. During festivals or auspicious occasions my mother would make a paste of turmeric roots and apply on my whole body. The yellow tan did not matter much then, because many other neighborhood kids also roamed around looking like yellow zombies. It carried on to my teens and has continued till date, except that it has reduced from a bowl to a pinch, and from whole body to only face!
Grated the turmeric roots and cooked in coconut oil over low flame till all the moistures vapourises
Here I am sharing the very easy turmeric oil making process along with my recent experience, hoping it might be helpful. Around 2014 DH started getting small red patches over his forehead and cheeks, it was extremely dry and itchy, slightly swollen, it aggravated when exposed to sun. Every day he would return home with new the red patches which eventually turn into white dry patches. Soon my once carefree hubby was under constant fear of getting out in the sun. And things looked worse day by day. It looked dry so I guessed a good moisturizer would do the job but soon realized it was not so. Next we went for the sunscreen but that too did not do much good. Then an appointment with a skin specialist, who consoled us saying nothing serious and prescribed medicine. Soon winter approached and with the medicine his skin healed.
Allow it to cool down
Up until the next summer, during which it all came back and this time doubled the size. We were at our home town, there we consulted another doctor and again medicines were brought. On returning back, I did my own little research and found alovera gel to be magic cure, well no harm in trying I said, and DH was convinced. Patanjali Alovera gel was the brand I choose and even before any effect was visible DH kind of enjoyed the massage he was getting every night (which was in itself a proof of something good is happening). A few months into the regime, I added the second most referred ingredient to alovera gel and it was also my favorite! A few drops of turmeric oil (home made). Even after his medicines were over, we continued with our alternative therapy. It was nearly after four months, when we first saw its effectiveness. Soon, we were on our own, trekking, Goa tour, Pondicherry trip, Coorg trip and many more without any issue. Once a 30 minut to-and-fro ride from home to office left scars and itchy skin, we were more than glad with the results! First the itchiness was gone, then the reddenning due to sun and finally the white dry patches now slowly fading. With all that, we still continue the regime as its important to understand that any issue be it acne or eczema or anything, they are the reflection of some deeper issue, which might be pollution or immune system or age or anything else. We accepted that his skin has become sensitive and we will continue with this simple trick. We cannot say how long it will take to completely cure and we are not waiting for it. It’s just like applying any other moisturizer or sunscreen! We’re happy to know that if we can get rid of something in a natural and healthier way then why not!
Strain it and bottle it!
I have shared the turmeric oil making process, it’s simple and easy & I use it occasionally as skin moisturizer too. Other oils that I love and keep alternating with turmeric oil are coconut oil, almond oil, kumkumadi tailam. Other oils that sit beside my bed are castor oil for cracked heels, neem oil for acne, mustard oil for hair and feet massage ……and many more, will share about them in future.
Watching two tiny little leafs peeping out of the earth, slowly growing to become a plant, new leaves grow and old ones turn yellow before shedding off. The flowers and the fruits bring along many occasional visitors, worms, bees and butterflies. And yes, the beautiful music of rain drops flapping on the leaves….Nature is hypnotizing.
I must have been 16-17 when I was drawn towards gardening, one reason for it might be that, by this time I had witnessed each and everyone from my family proving their expertise on this particular skill and thus, it was my turn. Digging the earth, weeding, planting, watering everything seemed beautiful to me and I was ready for the amount of dedication and hard work (atleast I thought so!).
Next day, I brought some flowers cuttings from a friend, removed weeds from a patch of land, loosened the soil, prepared the bed, planted the cuttings and watered. That’s it. Within a week the plant died. I tried few more times, yet all the plants died. Then I decided to plant saplings instead of cuttings. Brought some rose plants from a nursery and manure, filled the pot with red soil, added manure, watered….1 week and that too was dead. Its okay, I said to myself and shifted my aim towards easy plants like Tulsi, I sowed the seed at the best possible time and what came out was some edible grasses. I didn’t give up, next plant was alovera… would you believe me?? Yes, the Alovera plant died! Its supposed to be the easiest plant on earth to grow….??
This continued over a stretch of many years. My dream of seeing flowers and butterflies has now reduced to see the plant alive for 1 month/week. You see, the place where I come from, its extremely humid & hot and the quality of soil is amazing, most of the people I know could grow about anything and they dont even realize that. And there I was…..murdering one after the other.
But I never gave up. I would only quit to return more determined. I remember, the first plant that ‘survived me’ was aloe vera! Yes my first taste of victory was a alovera plant.
Back to present, life here in apartments with a small balcony and frequent outstations did slow the process but once a gardener, always a gardener.
In a way, this is the right time to share my journey, as an enthusiastic amateur beginner who has just qualified the test of time and for the first time tasting the sweetness (or bitterness) of her belief! Belief that, like swimming we are born with the skills of planting. Its just the natures way of testing us.
In my tiny balcony, grows green chilies,tomatoes, bitter gourd. Bottle gourd and lemon are on their way. Rose, hibiscus and aparajita (clitoria ternatea), star jasmine, sebati (chrysanthemuma) are some of the flowering plants. In the journey I’ve learnt about the importance and beauty of composting, pollination, the various techniques of growing a plant from seeds and cuttings.
These days there are so many great videos, websites, tutorials and communities to help! I wish I had all this back then.If you are someone like me, thinking, wondering, struggling or you are in a verge of giving up…. just don’t. No amount of lifeless decors will beautify your home and lives the way these greens would. So don’t, its all worth it!
In case you are still wondering how I managed to kill so many plants, which I too think about, I guess… I over did everything. One thing I’ve learnt is that a little less care does no harm to plants as compared to over care!
Writing down the list of necessary items for the coming months I paused and sat back, looked at DH who was drunken busy in his work, seeing me looking at him, he got puzzled (the look in his eyes said, “what did I forget this time?!?”), “Nothing”, I said, just wish we could get rid of this mosquito liquidators, being exposed to any chemical for such a long span of our lives must be having some impacts no matter how much those companies deny the fact, isn’t it? DH quietly nodded in agreement with eyes still fixed on the laptop screen.
Alas! gone are those good old days when in the late evening hours frankincense would be lit and soon the house will be filled with its soothing smell, mosquito nets would be pulled and after dinner we would carefully slip inside the net for the night.
Ahh…the smell of the burning frankincense, I immediately googled it to know what the world thinks & says, found it to be a very common practise in so many parts of the world! I also found many videos and post about burning frankincense over charcoal but it is not how we do it in our homes. So I decided to share how its done our way!!
Coconut husk/coir and frankincenseIts called Jhuna dani in Odiya, Jhuna (frankincense) dani (holder/container)The coconut husk is carefully placed inside the container and frankincense sprinkled over it. And lit it.
Some places they use coconut shell as well. Lighting it can be a little tricky initially. Don’t forget to keep adding jhuna/frankincense and coconut husk in between as long as you wish…..
We keep adding frankincense little at a time. This one burns for less than 10-15 min and the smoke can stays for around 1 hour with fans off and windows closed.
The other thing I like about it, is that its a kind of small family activity, as kids we took part in removing the coconut husk, dry them in the sun if it’s wet, placing it in the container and fighting over who is going to add frankincense, with four of us(siblings), we surely did add a lot more than necessary!
I’ve caught a cold and am resting for a while. I rarely get cold or fever, it was just the other day while massaging DH feet with warm mustard oil who was suffering from cold, I lovingly said, “I wish your cold catches me and let you free” and see here we are! As I am sipping my cup of herbal tea I thought, why not share it! Its a very simple & easy herbal tea recipe and brings great relief in case of cold, cough & fevers.
Ingredients: Water : 1 Cup Ginger : 1 inch (appx) Bay leaves : 2 Black pepper : 4-6 Mishri (depending on sweet preference) Salt : Pinch (Optional) Time : 4-5 min Recipe: Add all the ingredients to 1 cup of boiling water. Wait till it reduces to half and stain it. Enjoy it warm. It can be consumed 2-3 times a day depending on the severity of cold and fever.
Handy notes
*In case of people who do not prefer sweet flavor, adding a pinch of salt brings about a balanced taste.
*Having one cup will not bring about immediate relief.
*Black pepper can be skipped in case of unavailability.
*The quantity of the ingredients vary depending on the number of people & severity of aliment.
Sprouted green beans are loaded with nutritional values, rich in fibre, good for digestion, improves immunity system of the body and are so easy to make. I’ve seen a few posts on bean sprouting in jars! Never tried though, whatever works is great! I sprout beans the age old way. Sprouts are great for breakfast and can also be added to different recipes.
Here we go:
Green beans: 1 cup
Water: 2-3 cups
I started off in the morning (around 8am), so that it will be ready for breakfast the next day. First I washed the green beans thoroughly 2-3 times under running water and then soaked it in water for atleast 7-8 hours.
And I forgot all about it…..evening (around 6 pm) removed the water and placed the beans in a thin cotton cloth (or muslin cloth), tied it and hung it over night.
Next day, its ready!
Serving time, in the little bowl you see in the pic below is sprouted beans mixed with jaggery which is a rich source of iron & helps in the production of haemoglobin, I like it sweet and I’ve been advised by my doctor to add jaggery into my diet. For DH, since he prefers the mix flavour, I added chopped onions, green chilli, coriander leaves,peanuts, pinch of salt, squeeze a half a lemon and enjoy! How do you like your sprouts?
A few handy notes,
* Once soaked, tie the beans only & only in cotton cloth, a friend of mine once tied the beans in a towel and they never sprouted, lesson learnt!
* Sprouting time can vary. If beans have not sprouted overnight not to worry, wet the cloth in which beans are tied and give it some more time.
* Eating a lot of sprouts is not advised so work according to your body.
Every one have their own morning ritual, that one thing, which you cannot skip, the one thing that gets your day started…even if you don’t realize it, its always there. It can be any thing, like, when you first wake up and open your windows to let the sun rays in or your morning cup of tea! Some say, its their early morning walks when the roads are still empty and to others, its just sitting silently. Yes it can be anything.
Usually its one as hubby doesn’t drink tea. This was when my sis came to visit us!
Mine as you can see is the morning cup of tea! Be it a hot summer day, cold or rainy, I need my cup of chai once done with my Yoga & Pranayam. Though not the healthiest choice, yet, sipping my cup of chai sitting beside the window staring into nothingness or, or the simple talks with my family. It is the time, when my brain is actually not multitasking. These small moments and the many such, hiding here & there in our day to day chores ensures, no matter how life treats you, everything is lovable and liveable.
This blog is a home makers journal and everything revolving around an ordinary home in the making. There is really nothing new I can tell that you already dont know, but its the ordinary which is most beautiful and is what i wish to treasure & share with all. If you wish, do walk with me on this lane…..
Here in India, kitchen is still considered the most important place in a home. And many women take pride in their role as a home maker. But its not all that easy! For long our parents especially mothers, have made this balance between providing good-healthy food and managing all in a tight budgeting look so simple that we rarely put any thought into it.
Home making requires a lot of dedication and conscious effort. The above pic is an average day meal in an Odia household. Rice, dal(lentils) & sabji (anything extra are good!) Not usually kerela with mango, but I had to finish the mangos…. Odisha is an eastern coastal state in India, it is also one of the largest rice producing state and the varieties of vegetables used per day in an Odia family is something I’m yet to experience anywhere else in India. And now, the most important thing- I love rice! 😀 All my non-odia friends lovingly tease me about it!
I started cooking quite early, so, developed a taste for my own food and no amount of fancy food matches it. Now DH’s company has provided us with a luxury food card and we are falling prey to its trap. As a home maker, we want every things to be perfect and to our standard & those times such habits becomes a challenge. The other such challenge is, when I’ve to push myself to go for veggi shopping after office every monday! Which is today…
On mondays a small vegetable market is set up at a distance of few steps from where I live. Family and friends love it when they visit us. Its a common practice in India, you will always find a local market near by selling fresh vegetables. At times its directly from farmers as well, organic!
I try to shop for a week only so that, next week i can get fresh veggies!
Despite all, I love shopping from local stores. Though many times I’ve been suggested to order or buy from commercial stores or malls, I choose not to. Reasons are simple, we get fresh fruits & vegetables here, better price and support our local farmers & businessmen.
Morning hours are the craziest, preparing breakfast, lunch, packing lunch box, getting ready and hundred other things getting before heading to work. But I never miss my ‘cup of tea’. Today, as I boiled milk to add to my cup of tea, I released it’s spoiled. About two cups of milk and no time in hand….what would you do?
So, Boil the milk for about 5 minutes, until water is separated from cheese, stain it and add little jaggery/ honey, smash a banana into it and that’s it!
For people like me, who are not very fond of sweets, it’s perfect! I add jaggery according to my liking and fruits for extra flavor. You can also add grated coconut or cashew nut, whatever is available. The texture and the smell of cheese will simply melt in your taste buds!
Just About My Life 