Life As I Know It

Green peas and paneer is such a heavenly combo and whoever thought of it was such a genius! I love this combination so much because I love both peas and paneer and there is something about their combined texture that makes it all the more tasty or I may really just be partial to green peas in general. I like peas in all forms – fresh, frozen, dried, deep fried and seasoned and in curries as well as rice. Hence I am presenting to you one of my favourite dish – Mattar Paneer! It also gives me immense pleasure to let the world know that this was my first attempt at making mattar paneer and boy did I learn a few lessons!   So, ladies and gentlemen, don that apron and protect your eyes with ummm… I use swimming goggles and be prepared for some masala rain! Ingredients: 200 gms Paneer chopped 1 Cup fresh green peas 2 Tbsp fresh cream 1 Tsp jeera 2 Tsp ginger garlic paste 1 Tsp red chili powder 1 Tsp coriander powder 1 Tsp garam masala 1 Tbsp oil Salt For Gravy Paste: 1 Big onion diced

Raw bananas are usually used in curries, stir fries or are deep fried. It is yet another common ingredient found in a coastal household. I bring to you not a coastal curry nor fritters…instead a raw banana patty recipe! Ingredients: 2 Raw bananas 3 Medium sized potatoes 1 Big onion 1 Tsp garam masala 1 Tsp jeera powder ½ Tsp coriander powder 2 Rusk powdered 4 Tbsp rice powder Salt Oil Method: 1. Boil raw bananas and potatoes separately.   Let it cool then skin both the vegetables and mash them together in a big bowl. 2. Then, finely chop onion and add it to the mashed mixture. 3. To this mixture now add garam masala, jeera powder and coriander powder and mix well. 4. Make patties and set aside. 5. Mix rice powder and rusk powder in a plate. 6. In a non-stick pan heat 3 tbsp oil. 7. Coat the patty with the rice and rusk powder and shallow fry in the pan. 8. Serve hot with ketchup or hot sauce or mint chutney. Notes: ●Since onions tend to leave water make sure to get on with patty making

Coastal cuisine involves a lot of frying. Coastal folks tend to dip just about anything in a batter and deep fry it. One of summer’s gift to mankind is the breadfruit a.k.a ‘jeev kadge’, which is a common vegetable found in Konkan homes. We present to you two variations of fritters made with breadfruit. The batter ingredient plays a key role in the ‘taste’ of the fritter. We hope you try them and enjoy! Breadfruit Fritters with Rice Batter/ Jeev Kadge Phodi Ingredients: Half a bread fruit 1Tsp chili powder ½ Tsp ‘leveled’ asafoetida 4-5 Tbsp of fine rice powder Water as required Salt Oil Method: 1. Peel bread fruit and slice it. 2. Prepare mixture with water, chili powder, asafoetida, rice powder and salt. Make sure that the paste isn’t too dry or runny. 3. Marinate the breadfruit slices in the paste for about half an hour. 4. Heat oil in a deep pan and deep fry the slices. 5. Serve it hot as an accompaniment to your lunch or serve it at tea with ketchup and hot sauce. ________________

I love face masks/packs because every time you use a face mask the after effects are just so nice – the skin feels smooth, supple and well moisturized. Just because I love masks doesn’t mean I indulge in it often because face masks do require a bit of patience and work. Thus, when Lulu introduced me to sheet mask I just about chucked everything else aside. One just has to wash their face, apply toner and then put on the mask sheet and go about their work and take it off after 20 minutes or so and the routine is complete whereas all other masks require measuring, contemplating ingredients, mixing, applying, washing off, post care and all the mess that needs to be cleaned after! When we got the Mônd’sub charcoal peel off mask in our March GlamEgo box I wasn’t too pleased because I am a scaredy cat when it comes to peel off masks. I love watching people standing in front of cameras and taking off their peel off masks and bawling their eyes out and complaining how horrible the experience

Here’s one more mango recipe as requested before we finally bid the fruit adieu until next summer! Mango chutney is a common dish during summers in most Konkan homes and is called Ambuli guli. You can have it with curd-rice, chapatis, dosas or use it as sandwich chutney. This tangy chutney is a must try for all raw-mango loving folks. Ingredients: 1 Raw Mango ½ a coconut freshly grated 8-10 Big garlic pods 3 Green chillies A few sprigs of coriander leaves Salt Method: 1. Wash mango and wipe thoroughly and chop it. 2. Grind coconut, mango pieces, chilly, coriander and garlic into a fine paste. 3. Transfer to a bowl and add salt and mix well. Notes: 1. There is no strict rule about the quantity of ingredients used as it all depends on exactly how sour the mango is. 2. You can store the chutney in an air tight container and refrigerate it and it will stay 'good' for a week. Love Mangoes ? Here are a few more recipes you would enjoy making and eating :)  Aamras Puri , Mango Sambar

Nail art has swept the social media with new art surfacing around every corner. From the basic manicure people, have progressed to the French manicure which has now led to the French manicure with a twist and the reverse French manicure too! Call them what you may because at the end of the day they make your nails look pretty! I am a nail art enthusiast and hence I’m going to keep the first post extremely simple. Step 1: Wash your hands and moisturize them. Step 2: Get that cuticle pusher out and gently push back your cuticles.( No! Don’t bring the scissors out to clip them. That is a serious no, no. Doing so will cause infection and you don’t want that.) Step 3: Apply base coat. Step 4: Pick a colour. I chose blue, as I had both dark and light blue. I also chose one completely contrast colour – pink, to make the nail art ‘pop’. Step 5: Paint 4 out of 5 nails with the light colour and one with the dark colour. The dark coloured nail is called the ‘accent’. Step 6: Have an old eye liner

The Golden Gate by Vikram Seth is a compilation of stories of the characters that appear in the book. Each character has their own story, views and opinions. Each character’s story is told with emphasis. The author particularly wants every voice to be heard. It is really hard to draw yourself out of this story especially when you find yourself drawn into it as if you were an active character in the book except you don’t have a voice. Reading this book is like sitting mute in someone’s living room while everybody else is having an animated discussion about the world. The story isn’t written in prose, it is written in the form of sonnets. It is written in iambic tetrameter and follows the ababccddeffegg pattern. As a rule each sonnet has 14 lines and since this book is written in iambic tetrameter each line of the sonnet constitutes of 4 iambs. The ending of each line rhymes in the ababccddeffegg format . The book constitutes 590 sonnets in all. The Dedication, Acknowledgements, Contents

One of my favorite mango dishes is Aamras puri. It satiates my love for deep fried food and sweets. This has been a staple at home because we all love mangoes and Amma makes this for brunch during summers. The fact that it is such a simple recipe only makes it a more desirable dish. Here’s how you make it! Ingredients: 5 Raspuri/Payri mangoes 1 Glass of milk Sugar ( according to taste) 6 Elaichi/Cardamom pods finely powdered Fistful of raisins/kishmish Fistful of chopped cashews Method: 1.Thoroughly wash the mangoes and peel them. 2.Put mango pulp in the mixer and if you are up for it squish out the pulp around the seed and put the same in the mixer. 3.Once you have the juice ready, taste it. If required, add sugar. Then quickly mix the same and add a glass of milk and blend in the mixer again and transfer to a bowl. 4.Garnish it with cardamom powder and cashews and refrigerate. Serve chilled with hot puris.