The Triveni Sangam of Allahabad City

When my husband was transferred to Allahabad 1 year back, the place which i wanted to visit eagerly and was very curious was about the Triveni Sangam. Allahabad is also known as the Sangam City (or Prayag City in ancient times). Triveni Sangam is the place of Religious importance and also a place of historic importance where Kumbh mela is held every 12 years on the banks of Ganga. Since the time we came here, i visited the Sangam many times, many relatives too visited us time to time and visited Sangam, but i thought to write a blog post too this time so that when we will be transferred to a new place, memories of our Sangam visit will always be with us...

Way to the Sangam

Triveni is the union of three rivers - river Ganga,river Yamuna and river Saraswati. While river Ganga and Yamuna are visible with there different colors, river Saraswati is not visible but faithfuls believe it is present beneath the Akbar's fort in the river banks.  

The Ganga and Yamuna are visible clearly as they merge, while the Yamuna is greenish blue in color, the Ganga is clear with a little muddy undertone.The Sangam is said to be the place where nectar drops got spilled after the sagar-manthan and this is why this a place where lakhs of devotees take holy dips during auspicious days to attain Moksha.

Boats takes the devotees to the Sangam site (where rivers actually unites)

Clearly visible two distinct colors of river Yamuna (bluish green) and river Ganga (muddy brown)

The migratory Siberian birds (comes in winters and stays till holi in India) and the Akbar's fort beneath which hidden Saraswati river is said to be present

At present Magh mela is going on which is an important anual hindu ritual held on the banks of Sangam during the month - magh as per hindu calendar). It starts on January 14th (Makar Sankranti) and ends on Maha ShivRatri. It is believed that taking a holi dip at the sangam on the auspicious days during this period washes away all the sins of an individual leading the soul to Moksha. The auspicious dates for the holy dips for the year 2014 are:

1. January 14 (Makar Sankranti)

2. January 16 (Paush Purnima)

3. January 30 (Mauni Amavasya)

4. February 4 (Basant Panchami)

5. February 14 (Maghi Poornima)

6. February 28 (Maha Shivratri)

My kid had a wonderful play time too on the sand...

Choco Vanilla Cake for beginners

This is a very simple recipe, takes just 1 hour or less to make it. A very easy and quick recipe to have with your evening tea.

                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Ingredients:

1 cup maida (all purpose flour)

½ cup oats (ground to powder)

1 cup ground sugar

2 white eggs

1 cup refined oil or butter

2 tea spoon baking powder

2 tea spoon cocoa powder

1 tea spoon vanilla essence

½ cup milk

1. Take a deep bowl and add a cup of maida ( flour) in it. Grind half a cup of oats in grinder and mix it with the maida. Now grind a cup of sugar and add to it. Add 2 tea spoon of baking powder.

2.       Beat 2 eggs in the grinder till fluffy. Add  1 cup of refined oil and vanilla essence, run the blender again. 

3. Now pour the egg-oil mixture slowly to the bowl containing maida and mix well. Stir continuously so that no lumps are formed. Add the milk slowly so as to get dropping consistency mixture.

4. Now pour half of the batter in another bowl and add the cocoa powder.Mix well so that no lumps are formed.

5.Now comes the main step of how the black and white pattern will be formed. In the deep greased baking tray ( i have used borosil deep bowl) put a little vanilla flavored batter and let it spread. now in the center of it pour a little of the chocolate batter and let it spread. repeat the whole process and you will get a pattern like this.

6. Bake it in the oven like a regular cake is baked. (here i have used microwave 110 degree for 6 min, and it is ready to serve with my cup of tea.

Maternity Leave Over!!!

 I was sooo missing blogging.....my little angel kept me busy. But i have no regrets as well. A baby is the best gift to a mother and in spite of all those sleepless nights, messy things, un-organised stuffs bla bla bla...the smiling face of baby gives a mother the greatest joy of her life. After we shifted our base to Allahabad,UP, i couldn't get a maid who could stay with us morning to evening, or any nanny for my baby and it got very difficult for me to manage everything alone as my in-laws stays in west bengal and my mom too isn't in her healthy self...but in this 1 year my baby taught me to be more patient, to be more responsible and a more matured person...
             Now my daughter is 18 months old...she is growing up so fast...her shoes, dresses all are getting tight in a few months...she is learning soooo many words. Whatever she listen...she tries to say it..She can recognize all the animals and birds in her book which we brought for her...and the most surprising fact is when she says something which we didn't taught her...no wonders, babies are copy master and they do have sharp catching power!!!
             My daughter Raima, her nick name...(Shrestha Sharma as she will be known to her world) now has inspired me to get back to blogging which i love and also has given me a topic about which i will be writing more blog post - that is all about Raima and my motherhood...And this is Journey of a mother....

I have become a new MOM !!!

A wish made upon a star..
my life is now complete, i'v become a new mother!

Proudly announcing with pure delight the birth of my newborn baby girl born on 08 Feb 12 (through C-section, baby weight 3.6 Kg). Today i got discharged from hospital, Yeppi....... and brought my huggable, lovable baby home ! 

This is the 1st picture of my baby when she was hardly a few hours old..

On the same day of birth in the evening

Bread bhurji with egg & cheese

This is a very quick and easy recipe with just few ingredients. Usually i feel hungry in the evening when the lunch have digested long ago and just tea and biscuit are not enough. During pregnancy i need, Infact every preggy lady needs some solid nutritious food / snacks in evening when there is a huge time gap between lunch and dinner. So one day i tried this recipe and it really satisfied my taste buds..

So here it goes:-

First heat a little oil in a kadai. Break one egg or two in it directly, put salt and swirl a spoon vigorously to make bhurji of the egg. Put the flame low.

Meanwhile take 4 slices of bread and cut them into small cubes as shown below.

Put the bread peices in the kadai, 1 spoon butter for taste, a little salt as per taste and mix the egg bhurji with the bread in low flame. Cook for about 5min, This will make the bread crisp.

Now add a little hot&sweet tomato chilli sauce and toss. after about a min put grated cheese over it

It is ready to eat.

Yummy and crispy to taste...tell me if u like this. :)

Coconut Murg Pulao Recipe

Whole spices, dry red chillies and coconut milk makes this rice very fragrant and spicy.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS :

2 cups basmati rice - soaked in water for 30 minutes.

500gms chicken cut into small peices

7 tsp oil

3 tsp salt, 1 tsp haldi powder

4 1/2 cup ready made coconut milk or fresh coconut milk

3 1/2 tsp lemon juice

PASTE (makes 1/2 cup approx)

5 dried red chillies

2 onions chopped

12-14 flakes garlic

4 tsp chopped ginger

2 tsp cumin seed (jeera)

2 tsp saunf (fennel)

2" stick dalchini (cinnamon)

seeds of 2 moti elaichi (cardamom)

1/4 tsp grated jaiphal (nutmeg)

4 tsp sabut dhania (coriander seeds)

4 laung (cloves)

8 sabut kali mirchi (black peppercorns)

METHOD :

1. wash the chicken pieces and rub a pinch of salt and turmeric.

2. I have prepared fresh coconut milk here. For this grate 1 big fresh coconut, soaked it in 1/2 cup warm water for 30 min. Then grind it to make a paste and squeeze the milk out with the help of a muslin cloth.

If the coconut milk doesn't come out to be 4 1/2 cup then you can also add water to make it 4 and 1/2 cup.

3. Grind everything enlisted in the paste which will look like this.

4. Heat vegetable oil in a kadai / pan, pour the above paste and fry in medium flame till it becomes brown in color.

5. Now add chicken pieces and cook in low flame till the chicken is half cooked.

6. (I made this pulao in microwave oven). Drain the soaked rice.

7. add the chicken gravy and mix well. Add the coconut milk, add salt and turmeric powder as per taste.

Put in microwave oven and cook for 20min (or as per your type of rice because i feel different rice takes different cooking time)

8. Enjoy the heavenly taste of coconut milk flavored pulao...

I have also added chopped tomatoes and coriander leaves (dhania patta) in garnishing, u can add it if you prefer or also could skip it.

Beguni / Baigan ke pakore - Bengali snack

All of my friends here who have never heard of this snack may think that “baingan ke pakore” !!! how will it taste like as its so unusual! But it is as tasty as normal pyaz ke pakore or any pakora. I remember my mon making this snacks in most of monsoon and winter evening along with tea/coffee and I never felt satisfied and ended up having 6-7 pieces of pakora at a time! Ya I know hats not good but that’s a nature of a pure bengali foodie...

Beguni is a Bengali snack made of eggplant (or brinjal) slices deep fried in besan batter. Longitudinally cut slices of eggplant  are dipped in a batter of Bengal gram (besan) with salt and turmeric, and deep fried in mustard oil in bengali kitchen. We also add small amount of poppy seeds to the batter to improve the taste. It is extremely popular street food and an evening snack.

Yesterday I made the beguni and thought of sharing a quick recipe with my non-bengali friends in case they would like to experiment something new..

What you will need :-

1. 2-3 long purple eggplants

2. Besan or gram flour

3. Salt

4. Turmeric

5. Red chilli powder or green chilli if you prefer

I have added a little ajwain too as it is known for its digestive properties

What you have to do :-

1. Cut the long eggplants into half pieces and then slit it into thin slices as shown below. Now sprinkle and rub a pinch of salt and turmeric on them and keep it aside till you prepare your batter.

2. Now for the batter take half cup besan, add salt, turmeric and red chilli powder / green chilli and half spoon ajwain. Make a batter.

3. Dip the thin eggplant pieces in the batter one by one, coat it well on both the sides and deep fry in hot oil. In bengali kitchen mustard oil is used for frying but for those who can not sustain the strong aroma of mustard oil, plain vegetable oil or olive oil can serve the purpose.

4. Deep fry them properly till golden brown.

5. Serve alone with tomato sauce or with tea / coffee. A bowl of puffer rice (mudmudey) will add up to its taste...

Sorry for the not so proper pic, i hope you all will like this quick snack and for those who hate eggplant may now include it in their shopping list from now onward...ha ha!!

Hi FRIENDS I'm on Family Way ......

Friends, Here is the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT. I'm on family way and now into 9th month of my pregnancy !

     Yes, till now it has been quite a long journey indeed towards motherhood and now when I have entered into 9^th month of my pregnancy, I feel that it is time i share my wonderful experiences with all of you friends. I must say the 1st trimester was really exhausting. However, the 2nd trimester was better and it passed rather quickly with so many medical tests and regular visits to Gyne specialist. And now when i'm in my 3rd trimester & in last phase of my pregnancy, i'am feeling it is taking a bit long time. Actually, now as i can clearly feel the movements of my almost fully developed baby inside my womb, the feeling of having MY OWN BABY is making me desperate to hold her in my lap! I just can't WAIT !!
        The baby started kicking inside the womb in 5th month itself proving her presence as if some pop-corns were popping up inside the belly !! Sometimes the feeling was like as if a few butterflies were fluttering inside!!   Gradually the kicks started getting more intense and now when she stretches inside, the move is clearly visible from outside ! In my 9th month, i know all her organs / senses must have fully developed and she must be able to hear me too!! Wow, it is sooo exciting...
    .  As the space in the womb is getting lesser every day with her gradual growth, i just move my hands gently over my belly assuring her that it is just a matter of another few weeks - and she would no more be deprived of space..ha ha!! I'm prepared to bring my SWEET LITTLE BUNDLE OF JOY in my sweet home where every single person is eagerly waiting for her. 

            All the way in these 9 months I have experienced all kind of emotions – sad when I was vomiting frequently throughout my 1^st trimester, energetic and  enthusiastic when I was in my 2^nd trimester, a strange eternal wish of eating sweets which once I used to hate so much before getting preggy, a feeling of protecting my baby bump while walking through a crowded place, and above all an overwhelming feeling of motherhood  thinking of my baby while sitting quite and staring at my baby bump. Very recently ‘my nesting instinct’ also surfaced up so strongly that now whenever i feel energetic, i try to do all normal household chores like dusting/cleaning our home, washing cute cute delicate garments of my baby which I recently purchased. This gives me an immense self satisfaction that – yes, my home is now ready to welcome my delicate new born!

            This being my 1^st pregnancy, making me very excited everyday which I will never ever be able to explain in words. Long back I had decided to make myself photographed each month so that I can cherish them later on…Here are a few pictures of mine with my baby bump, taken by my ever loving Hubby...

Me in nine months

nine months baby belly

This pic was taken in eighth month

Nine month belly again

Some people say, my baby belly is too small to be a nine months belly…but I don’t bother! Till my doctor gives a perfect ok for my baby’s growth and development there is nothing to bother about…

And hey, i'am very very happy now a days and very excited to reach my due date which is 12^th feb 2012…

Fried Mushroom in 5min

I have heard, pregnant ladies feel hungry all the time! i mean not after a meal of course but within 1-2 hr of a light meal, as in most of the times it is not possible to eat one big stomach full meal due to some heartburns and acidity problems during pregnancy. But, now i'm experiencing it too! I need to eat small - small meals every after 2hrs cos already the belly is expanding, no one can eat one big meal. So here is how i fried the mushrooms.

First heat a little oil and put chopped 5-6 cloves of garlic and a green chilly.

Then add one chopped onions and fry tll golden brown in medium flame.

Now add 1 chopped tomato and fry it till oil separates.

Now add the cut pieces of mushrooms with little salt (as per taste) and turmeric. Mushroom will give out lots of water itself, let it dry in medium flame and till then keep the kadai covered so that the mushrooms gets cooked well.

After about 5min when the water will dry ou put red hot and sweet tomato chlli sause and if u prefer a little soy sauce and mix well.

Garnish with grated cheese and a little coriander leaves and enjoy the wonderful nutritious snacks in your evening time when you feel hungry...

A little bit of announcement to share one of my joyous moment....today i felt my baby kick for the 1st time (in my 19th week of pregnancy) it was very light sensation though, something like little popcorn popping inside my belly! It was so nice to feel a "Life inside me" as if my baby was telling me "mummy, i'm here, playing with you".......Iam so very happy today!

My journey towards motherhood..

Pregnancy is a wonderful journey for those who waited it for long…and even for those who got it as a surprise gift! I have many friends who didn’t had any plans to get pregnant but accidentally it happened. Even they in their later stages of pregnancy find it amazing and wonderful experience. It’s a new kinda feeling for dads-to-be too!! I remember, when I first informed my husband about my conception, he was elated like anything! Since 3 yrs of marriage, I had never seen my husband sooooo very much happy before!! More to my surprise, his caring nature towards me changed so drastically! Ya, he used to care me a lot earlier also but he started caring me even more after the news broke out. He started to serve me milk mixed with mother’s horlicks ( so that I don’t skip drinking milk saying its Yukk!! ), make me eat fruits, salads and dry fruits in his presence, almost stopped making me drive or any kind of bike ride to avoid any jerks in the road, started to cook for me and so much more. I felt as if, I was falling in love with him all over again…..

            So I thought, I should pen down my feelings during these nine months so that someday when my baby grows up and read all these articles, he will be so happy to know that m'ma and daddy were on top of the world when they got the news of his/her arrival…and what will be the better option that noting down everything in my blogs??

my positive HPT

Sukto (Bengali dish of karela / bitter gourd)

Sukto is a bengali dish served with white rice. It is a must during summers as the bitter gourd or karela is said to cool down boby :)
This time my mom-in-law taught me the correct method of making sukto which i was unaware...ooops!
well, Sukto is not new to bengalis, it takes consuming recipe but the outcome is really healthy dish :)

what all vegetables can be added in this recipe :
1 Potato
1 White Radish
1 Jhinge / ridge Gourd,
1 KanchaKola or Raw green banana
1 Eggplant/baigan (the slender one),
1 Uchche/karela or Bitter Gourd,
a bunch(about 6-8) of long green beans or string beans
You can also add drumsticks, zucchini etc.


So now lets proceed. Below is what we call in bengali "Bodi". This can be purchased readymade from any bengali kirana store. This is basically sun dried vadis of dal (mostly masoor dal or mixed dal sometimes).


If you have it then fry it till crispy in a little oil and keep it aside, if you don't have it, skip it..

Now cut the vegetables (that is what all you have) in long strips..

Wash all veggies and keep aside.
Next step is Soak and grind 1 tbsp mustard seeds + 1 tsp poppy seeds + little salt, to a paste with little water

This is paste of poppy seeds and mustard

This is poppy seeds

                      

STEP !. In a fry pan, heat 2 spoons of oil and fry all the veggies for 4-5 min (this makes the aroma of all veggies to mix and make the gravy aromatic). Take out and keep it aside. My mom used to fry karela separately and other veggies separately, but i did it together..

STEP 2. Now heat a little more oil, and prepare for tempering (tadka)

1/4tsp Radhuni(optional),
1/4 tsp Methi(fenugreek) seeds,
2 bay leaves,
a pinch of Hing(asafoetida)

Put all the veggies, put salt and turmeric as per taste. 

Add the poppy seeds+mustard paste to the veggies and stir well.

Keep the flame low and close the lid for 5 min and let it cook.

STEP 3. Now grate 1 inch ginger and add it to the kadai. Add the fried vadis also (if you have).

Add 2 cups of water and again close the lid and let it cook for 10 min.

STEP 4. After 10-15 min, it is almost done, now add half cup of milk. Let it come to boil and put the flame off.

Add a pinch of sugar and stir.

NOTE : here one should take care not to boil the milk too much nor it will curdle up!

This is the final look of Sukto...i hope you will like it :)

The gravy tastes very creamy due to milk. It gives all the essential nutrients as many types of veggies are added in it...Bengalis are a fan of sukto, and me too..