Baby, it’s Hottt!!!

Hot Garlic Chicken

This is a super dish which can be cooked when you’re in a very good mood and feeling kindly about spending time in the kitchen. 

Children love this dish though it’s slightly on the hotter side.

So, you need to have fresh, boneless chicken chunks,about 500gms,which you need to marinade in 2 eggs, 2 tbsps of corn flour, some salt and some olive oil. Mix and keep aside for an hour.

While the chicken marinades, dice a bit of bell peppers,yellow, green,red whatever have you, mushrooms, spring onions, 3-4 cloves of garlic.

That done, make a paste of red chilli powder and and crush some 8-10 garlic cloves. 

As the chicken marinade gets done, deep fry them till golden brown. This can be done and over with in two batches.Deep frying is a skill which requires a lot of patience. It makes or breaks the whole game. So, I suggest, as your chicken deep fries keep giving it a stir here n a bit there while you’re at dicing your greens.

As the frying part gets done, heat a tbsp of oil in a separate wok, add your paste of red chilli powder and crushed garlic and let it sizzle.. once that done, add your diced greens and give a quick stir.

By this time your glistening, stir fried greens should look good enough to devour!🤗 

 Add the pre fried chicken with greens, fold n mix the greens over, add hot tomato sauce, mix again and it’s ready to eat!

Two things. You can choose to add gravy in it or you can keep it dry. If you’d like to add gravy, just add some corn flour, a tbsp mixed in a bowl of water and allow all of it to come to a boil..

Lay some chilled lettuce leaves in a beautiful plate, pour over your brown chicken delight and serve.

PS: This dish is impossible to stir up without some music on! I was listening to ‘I could fight on a wall’..Try it! ♥️

 https://youtu.be/kcCgal4s80k

Pure Protein!

Eggs rid of yolks!

This is pure protein, only egg whites sautéed in ghee a bit, alsi or flax seed, safed til or sesame seeds thrown in about a teaspoon each, greens like spring onions, garlic,ginger dredged with tastemakers like paneer masala, cinnamon powder , cardamom powder.. a little mint leaves on top.. will do wonders..!

This pure protein based food delight ( my son of 10 years,Arjun, announced it as a ‘burst of different tastes’ & my day was made!😀) is something I tried keeping in mind a very dear friend of mine,now a Corona patient.who has lost his appetite..This is in a bid to make food more palatable to their taste buds!

PS: As I read about it, I understood that Covid patients require a lot of proteins to compensate for their losing muscle strength..and inactivity due to being quarantined and therefore,sedentary!

Wish you all a speedy, strength building! ♥️

Chicken Spinach n herbs !

• Protein Punch!

  

  A delectable basic protein punch for the health watchers!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Method to muscle building :
  • boil your chicken with bay leaves, peppercorns, a cinnamon stick and some cloves of garlic in a pressure cooker.
  • strain it and keep the stock aside.
  • dice the chicken or shred it coarsely.
  • cut n splice up spinach leaves, ginger juliennes,capsicum, some parsley and roughly crushed garlic cloves.
  • In a spoonful of ghee, sauté together all of these. Sprinkle salt as per your taste, not too much though.

  
  

  
  
   Keep these in your kitchen cabinet handy.
• cinnamon powder
• green pudina raita mix
• oregano
• kasoori methi
• paneer masala
• sesame seeds
• flax seed

You can throw in these as and when you like without much thinking.They are all healthful and so good to taste. 

Have plentiful.Know your Proteins! ♥️

ख़ालिस छाछ !

Pure But Buttermilk!

A jar of Buttermilk everyday  to be had various times in a day! . At 12 , 4 and 10!

Method

Take half a glass of curd in a blender.

Add three glasses of water.

Add 3 scoops of your protein powder.

Add roasted jeera, 1 tablespoon.

Chop some mints, cilantro n ginger and drop in the blender.

add salt to taste.

 Blend in a jiffy . Less than 30 seconds!

It is ready! 

Benefits of curd !

A portion of curd in a bowl with either Sevia or roasted jeera, coriander seeds powder is great for health. In the form of छाछ, मट्ठा or लस्सी, it has immense health benefits.

 If it is home set, even better!

• It strengthens our teeth and bones because it has galore of calcium.
• it makes your skin and hair glisten
• it improves digestion
• it builds immunity

Curd. When your brain curdles and don’t know what to eat, Curd is the thing to eat. ♥️

Ahuna !

Champaran mutton

Champaran is a district in Bihar which is close to Nepal and north of Bihar.

Popularly known for the farmer uprising in 1917 .. the first Satyagrahi movement led by Gandhi against British indigo plantation owners, happened in Champaran.

That  and then there is Champaran mutton or ‘ मटका गोश्त’ a traditional speciality of Champaran which gives it its rightful place on the map of India. 

अहुना or मटका गोश्त as it is called is cooked on slow wood fire in a matka if you really want to cook it the vintage style.

Otherwise our good old LPG and a heavy bottomed तसला ( cauldron) with a lid would do. 

 I vouch for Champaran mutton.Its the quickest. You just mix up the spices, put it on flame n done. It is  absolutely finger licking and smacky in taste. I’d love it if you try this age old

‘बिहार बिसेस’!

Ahuna Mutton recipe (my version) (1/2 kg meat)

For garam masala mix

Dhaniya 2 spoons

Jeera 1 spoon 

Dalchini 1 inch PC

Nutmeg 1/4th 

Mace 1 PC

1 black cardamom 

5-6 laung 

4-5 small elaichi. 

Roast for a minute n grind coarsely

For onion marinade mix 

Hf kg onion, sliced 

Red chilli powder 

Salt

Haldi 

Garam masala (that we prepared earlier)

Broken dhaniya seeds 2 spoons 

dahi 3-4 tbsp. 

gg paste 1 big spoon.

hot mustard oil. 1/2 cup (that is smoked)

Mix, almost knead it together. Then mix half kg mutton. knead again. (Optional let it marinate for 30 minutes)

In the pot. (Off the heat) Put 2-3 whole garlic bulbs and 2-3 tej patta. Pour some smoking hot mustard oil on it. Let it sizzle. Put the mutton onion mix. Add half cup water.  Seal the pot. And put on dum. If, using gas burner, put the claypot on the tawa, not on direct heat. Let it simmer for an hour. Check on it. Shut it and let it simmer. It should take abt 1.5 to 2 hours to get completely done. Depending on the amount and mutton quality. Keep checking every 20-30 minutes. 

Done!

L

Recipe credit:

‘The Kitchen Script’ Barnali Rath. Food Vlogger. 

A Pizza, an Avalanche of Mutz!

It was Pizza time today.😅 Long overdue. My kids had been asking for a Zomato delivery and I had been denying them this treat. Afraid how many hands it will pass through before it reached us. 

Such is the Corona time!

So, we got the resources. I missed counting one main ingredient, which is, pizza sauce. So, my son came up with the idea of making Marinara sauce. It came out fine but under utilised.

The good old Kisan ketchup and Red chilli sauce takes over when I am running short of pizza sauce on many occasions.

We like to turn cooking into an art form.Mindful of texture, colour, cuts and spices that go. Gives us a high turning the mundane into exciting! Some pictures!

My blog cannot be complete without Arjun,my little one!

Pizza is done and ready to eat.♥️

Hot Soup in cold cold winter!

Talumein Soup

Drop some fleshy chicken pieces in the pressure cooker with pepper corns, garlic cloves 3-4, a bay leaf, a stick of cinnamon.Salt.

• Let it pressure cook till 4-5 whistles
• Wait till the pressure releases.
• Strain the chicken stock.
• Put the stock in a cauldron and allow to boil..
• Mix a glass of dissolved corn flour , 1tbsp. Continue to boil broth .
• Set aside premade noodles for use in your soup.
• Crack open an egg over the broth n mix vigorously till it turns into white membranes.
• In a wok stir fry a bit of greens. Cabbage, spring onions, garlic, ginger, boiled beans and carrots cut diagnolly and chicken shreds which were boiled to make stock .spend about 7-8 minutes sautéing.. add few drops of Worcestershire or soyabean sauce..

• once done, add these to the broth simmering at the side.

• Let it come to a boil.
• Add noodles in the end. 
• Add salt.
• Serve piping hot with chilli vinegar.

Protein Pass!

I’ve been talking about powerful protein! 

Just a picture today of my Breakfast!Love your day! ♥️

Health is Tough !

Pure Protein

As planned, my boiled chicken was waiting for me in the refrigerator. I’d thought my breakfast would comprise of pure diced n sautéed chicken with some cucumber. 

1. 
   
   
   As preparation to the dish, all you need is some 4-5 cloves of crushed garlic, a green chilli, cilantro, a handful and ginger, about an inch , crushed. Lemon is mostly an additive in my preparations. 
   For some reason, a marble mortar n a pestle, this size always perks me up and gets me going!
   Personal quirk : What am I cooking with is as important as the thing that I am cooking.
    I’ve come to realise that if given the luxury of time, I work best with aesthetics, tools and a process in place. I love internalising.
    It gives me immense satisfaction! 
   
   

Ah! The butcher’s knife. My Dad’s favorite.The wooden chopping board and chicken, in all its beige glory!

A bit of a digression here!

This is Kylie Kwong. An Australian food show presenter. An expert in Cantonese cooking .I have been watching her shows off and on on TLC and she’s brilliant. She works like a sorceress in her kitchen and churns out magical delights! I love the way, more than anything else,how she works with her hands and kitchen tools. How she tears her herbs, puts pressure on the butcher’s knife and all the while explaining with so much of compassion for her audience and objectivity so you don’t miss a thing.You can almost feel like you are her guest for the evening and  invited to soak in all the aromatic ambience and the dishes she’s so carefully brewed and made to apparate..almost by magic!

Trivia: Cantonese cuisine is one of the 8  traditional cuisines,Chinese cuisine derives its inspiration from.

Back to our pure protein.

Let the chopped garlic, ginger, cilantro and chillies splutter in a bit of ghee.

Add diced chicken and fold in the herbs.. Let it turn a little crimson and crispy but not too much.

Accompany it with a plate of thinly sliced cucumber.and relish your protein joint ! 

Final thoughts. Pursuing mindful nutrition can be tough so do it with a lot of love and attention! ♥️

Fulsome Awesome Fish!

Robust Rohu!

‘Rehu’ or ‘Rohu’  as it’s called in Bihar and Bengal is a fulsome protein food rich with Omega 3 fatty acid, iron,zinc and Vitamin C. 

It’s particularly good for children as it takes care of their recurring cough n cold. 

Fish, once a week is a good frequency to keep. With my children , I have tried to incorporate fish whenever and wherever possible.

My younger son, Arjun, learnt to eat fish at a very young age. Maybe 5 or 6 ?!

Yes,it’s an art to eat fish.. since the fine bones need to be removed dextrously..looks easy but takes years of practice to perfect this.

Trivia : There’s a common practice in Bihar that when a fish bone gets stuck in your throat you have a lump of cooked rice called ‘bhaat’ to push down that spikey, irritable bone down your food pipe.Always works! 😎

Rohu is a fresh water fish also known as Carpo fish or Labeo rohita. 

It’s a food rich in protein.

When you’re on a weight loss program, a meal containing just 2 pieces of well sautéed Rohu in ghee does the trick. Just a dash of lemon, a dredge of chaat masala, few sprigs of cilantro and you’re good to go! 

It’s smooth and  tender on your palate! Juicy n succulent! The skin around it turns crispy and especially a delight to munch on. My older one,  Adi, loves it! 

You can accompany your ‘Rohu’ with maybe thinly sliced cucumber or lettuce.

Think health, live fit ! ♥️

Aubergine Divine!

This is Baingan ka bharta.Or as some people might want to put it, Baingan ka chokha!

The aubergine mash! 

Our homegrown eggplant.The reason why they are called eggplants in the first place is because to a European it looked like goose eggs without the wine purple color. It was named in the middle of the 18th century. 

Most commonly cooked in the Bihari kitchen. A favourite palate teaser with dashes of mustard oil, a must in a Bihari kitchen cupboard.

 A complete tamsik delight with garlic, onion,lemon juice, coriander greens and green chillies. Its unmatchable in taste and usually had with bhaat, daal and simple aloo ka bhujia. 

Here goes the Google find... 

 This curious comestible (actually a fruit, but eaten as a vegetable) probably has more names in varieties of the English language than any other. That’s because it has been cultivated for a very long time and it has been widely transmitted across the world from its heartland in eastern and southern Asia (the Arabs introduced it to Spain from India as early as the eighth century AD, and the Persians took it to Africa).

The name of eggplant was given it by Europeans in the middle of the eighteenth century because the variety they knew had fruits that were the shape and size of goose eggs. That variety also had fruits that are a whitish or yellowish colour rather than the wine purple that is more familiar to us nowadays. So the sort they knew really did look as though it had fruits like eggs.

In Britain, it is usually called an aubergine, a name which was borrowed through French and Catalan from its Arabic name al-badinjan. That word had reached Arabic through Persian from the Sanskrit vatimgana, which indicates how long it has been cultivated in India. In India, it has in the past been called brinjal, a word which comes from the same Arabic source as British aubergine, but filtered through Portuguese (the current term among English speakers in India is either the Hindi baingan, or aubergine). Some people in the southern states of the US still know it as Guinea squash, a name that commemorates its having been brought there from West Africa in the eighteenth century.

Anyhow, ‘Baingan ka bharta’ is best had when it’s roasted and smoked black on naked fire.

Simmering hot coal would be most preferred if you have the luxury  of an old world, native life and an expanse of space and a scurry of manpower.

Baingan ka bharta is exotic when eaten with ‘Litti’.

( some other time)

Its great with puffed rice too.

And in regular meals. Hot and steamy.

So. you stoke a well rounded , well endowed Aubergine on fire with garlic cloves some 4-5 of them pushed inside randomly after some gashes.

Smoke it till it looks like a charred, limp, defeated version of its glistening, waxy deep purple self.

You leave no effort in making it look that way by making sure it’s burnt from all sides.

You immideately put it in cold water. Chip off it’s charred covering.. 

A word of caution : when you choose your aubergine, make sure it’s well examined. You have to look out for the seedy ones.You don’t want a seedy Baingan bharta on your table!

Phir kya hai?!

A generous dredge of mustard oil over it. 

A must have in Bihari kitchen.

Finely chopped onion, garlic, tomatoes, coriander leaves, green chillies salt and a good dash of lemon. 

Your Baingan ka bharta is ready to be devoured !

Courage is a muscle which needs to be exercised every goddamn day!!!

It begins with the four letter word starting with F!

                           F.E.A.R

What if?

• you are incapacitated?
• you lose your priorities?
• your children are left floundering?
• you die?
• that one single parent they had is dead?

Good news is I am here to stay..

WHATEVER it takes!

My kids are going to take shape under my wings and fly and how?! I don’t have no answer but I do have      the how’s.. and I’m working on it at my own pace.. :)

Burnishing till I blow out...♥️

 

Possible Protein !!!

Curd and Protein scoop in a jiffy.

Needless to say, protein builds muscles, helps in repair and wear and tear of the body. It’s the most overlooked nutrient we ingest.

Our daily protein intake should be equal to our body weight.

For instance,

my 81 kg should be = 81 grams of protein 

At least.

And more.

I scoop of protein powder promises 8gms.

Other ways Protein can be incorporated in your diet is by eggs ,6 gms.

lean meat - 53 gms ,

fish, shrimps, lentils,

almonds - 6 gms in one ounce

Oats - 11 gms

cashews, peanuts, tofu paneer, cottage cheese, milk et al.

Caution : Facts are Google based. I go by it.Beware of calories.

Disclaimer: my math is dubious

Yet. I get by.

Here,  my Protein shake contains

2 large serving spoons of curd

a 1/2 glass milk

roasted coriander powder about 2 generous pinch

salt a pinch, low.

a scoop of plant based protein.

Blend in a mixie

Pour in your favourite glass!

Voila! 

My 8 grams to the scaffolding!!! 😀

Baby steps to internal health! ♥️

Health on my plate!!!

At 46. At 82 kilograms. Widowed.Two boys.

Beginning to get very very health conscious.Concentrating on weight loss.Addressing joint pains and back inflammation ,bouts of migraine, low haemoglobin, tizziness, premenopausal symptoms.Focusing on being fit.😅😎

Aspire to inspire my children!☺️

Day 1

Started on a wrong note.Ooops! Must’ve only proteins. But having sautéed veggies and fruits too.

Nevertheless.

My Breakfast menu

2 scrambled eggs fried in saturated fat.

sauteed cottage cheese

 boiled cabbage,beans,carrots, garlic, cilantro sautéed in leftover minced meat n cheese and saturated fat or ghee.

1 whole pomegranate 

1 whole orange

cucumber with a dash of lemon

no Indian bread, no baker’s bread.

Done.

Feel health n happiness! ♥️

Dahi Handi with Kesar!

Dahi Handi with Kesar! 

This is my humble Dahi Handi and I look forward to setting curd every night in it because it makes the mundane,aesthetic in looks and divine in taste.. 

I love to engage with this terracotta utensil in an endearing way. This maroon red labour of sweat and love crafted by some potter in some remote village finds its place in a plush kitchen is a story in itself! 

I love how it feels and looks when its washed wet, fresh to behold the milky white liquid, stirred with the leftover curd,we know as a 'starter'. 

In our part of the country, Bihar,we call it 'जोरन' जमाना। Coloquilly speaking!  

This part is the crucial part as here, the secret of it holding the 'creamy white' lies. The milk has  to be lukewarm, such that as you dip your finger, just a hint of heat perks it up.Right temperature. Neither too hot nor too cold.Understanding this, comes with practice! 

 It's stirred with great care,swirling till your starter dissolves completely in milk. 

'केसर' ।

The name itself is so poetic. 

Here, I've added  strands of Kesar in my curd while setting it. Intending to add some color and health benefits into it. My sense of aesthetics and a pursuit to balance it with functionality leads me to investigate further. 

These threads of  crimson are the stigma of the flower, Crocus Sativus.

Kesar or saffron is a great antioxidant.

Widely used in dishes like Biryani, Srikhand, Mango lassi, Meethi Sevayian, zafrani pulav and many other dishes, these slender threads are very potent and have a long shelf life. 

They are very laboriously harvested and therefore, have their weight worth in gold, infact, more, quite literally. They are revered for their medicinal qualities in treating a plethora of maladies. They are said to be  an anti-depressant and a mood enhancer.Its said to cure Cancer,often reduces PMS in women  and works as an aphrodisiac! 

Well then. Get set, to set it,and go! ❤

Grace Hath Brought Me Home Thus Far And Grace Will Lead Me Home!

It is by divine intervention I think that I happened to land up with this job which is satisfying all my emotional,intellectual and gastronomical needs.I have a fully functional Mess in my school which serves delicious meals in breakfast and lunch.I'm also urged by many people around to join the 'Cooking Club'..because to my understanding and revealation either I'm talking about food.. or children.. all the time! I must be really driven to do this..I didn't realise I was!A real Aha moment!
Here,I have a blog too dedicated to food and related to children..coincidence?!! Nah!! Sometimes the more you do something the more you start to believe in it..The Law Of Inertia. And then,the more you draw those things you love in your life! The Law of Attraction.:)
So.In my new job as a Primary School Teacher,I'm urged and coaxed to join the 'Cooking Club'which I will.I'm soon going to give it a good name too.Suggestions anyone?
Next October 12th, Spanish Day is being celebrated in school.Our Spanish teacher needs the 'Cooking Club' to come up with some scrumptious Spanish dish for the diners..I can't wait ..el plato buena comida !!! Ummmmmmmm!!! Mio!!!

Just.

Not so long ago my older one would sit on the Kitchen counter while I'd cook.He'd play with the dough while I'd be making chappatis.He'd often ask to shell eggs,peel potatoes,demand that he use the knife or light the fire. From the time he learnt to walk he'd often find me in the kitchen,tug at my skirt and insist upon being sat on the counter.There'll be times when I'd pull him up 'cos there'd be nonone in the house he had as a companion to play with.So,we'd turn our kitchen space into a story-telling time or just unwinding time.There'd be fun times and there'd be exasperating times when I'd have no patience with the kid. But all that fell away with time and I'm so glad they did.(With my younger one I'm so much more mellowed and wiser.)When he was 4 he even kneaded some dough and made his first chapati with that which he called India- Roti and learnt about the 3 states of matter when he insisted on making lemonade and putting it in the freezer to see what happened to it.We'd often make all kinds of sherbets and place in the freezer.It used to get intolerably messy but inexplicably joyful. Just how or when all these rituals became natural for us we don't know.
When he grew older,he'd often pull the dinning chair in the kitchen and tell me about how his day went at school watching me cook simultaneously while I'd help him with his school work.Proud to say that now he doesn't need that kind of help from me anymore.But he often drops in out of curiosity and checks what's cooking or just pilfers stuff from the kitchen -cupboard when I'm taking my afternoon siesta.Part of growing up I'd say.He's growing big and needs more food!
He still asks for the dough though and competes with his little brother,six years younger on who's made a better dinosaur.Sweet!
The other day he n I were watching'Fabulous Cakes' togeher on TLC and he didn't insist on changing the channel.I was pleasantly surprised.He likes the deftness with which those people use their tools and likes to watch it,he said.We discussed about whose cake turned out the best later.We watch 'Nigellissima' together and discuss about whether 'getting inspired' is an emotion when he sees me leaping to the kitchen after the show and announce that there's something outlandish for dessert like 'Creme Brulee'

or something. He! I like to look and sound really cosmopolitan when I do that,it gives me a high! :)
Now he's graduated to making dahi-papadi on his own,which he bites more than he can chew quite literally,prepares his tea and mine as a privilege assignment,all of 10, cooks Maggi and toasts his own bread when he's hungry.He'd remind me to put on my baking gloves when I'm handling the hot tray in OTG or warn me that's its on the Power 'on' mode for too long.He'll make note of the level at which the batter is filled in the cupcake casings and suggest me an alternative to the topping I've planned for that particular time.

I reckon that this is a part of his problem-solving temperament which has been passed on to him from his Dad but is greatly aided by partaking in tasks like the above where he can apply this wonderful disposition.
Including children while cooking hones their fine motor skills say while kneading the dough,using the rolling pin ,cutting,peeling the egg-shells, picking up things.It goes a long way ahead,particularly improves their handwriting which we parents are so worried about.They inadvertently learn about sequence of things,what comes after what,temperature(hot,warm,cold,lukewarm),texture,rough,soft,smooth,coarse etc. The law of cause and effect;if you do this ,this will happen,counting numbers,shapes,measurements,tidiness,hygiene.You can work on their organisational skills while building their vocabulary all along.Cooking along with children makes them get involved with family like no other job does.They love it.They get creative,imaginative and get to know their palate.We tend to keep technology and kitchen out of bounds for children.That should not be so. It helps in interdisciplinary learnings .Most importantly,it makes them happy esp. if you are cooking something of their choice.

Okra Fritters !

Okras,LadyFingers or bhindi as we all know it,is a good old favorite amongst children.Any child you'd come across will definitely tell you that bhindi is her favorite vegetable.It has got superb qualities too.It helps greatly in digestive processes as it is fibrous and contains mucilage,a sticky substance which helps in cleansing liver and gall bladder. So,what you have to do is cut tiny hexagonal pieces of your okras, say for a 250 gm. add 2tbsps of gramflour,a tiny spoon of ginger garlic paste ,li'l cuminpowder,li'l turmeric powder,chilli powder if you like,acc to your kid's preference and add a bit of water to mix them all such that the okras get well smeared with gram flour or 'besan'. Heat the wok,in about two ladles of refined oil,heat it,put it on simmer and deep fry.Your crunchy okras are ready to serve.Kids love this dish.They like to take it to school.You can keep a parantha with it and pack a healthy meal for your child to school.Don't forget to sprinkle a bit of chaat masaalaa on top. The USP of my blog is children's food.You would find innumerable recipes under 'bhindi-besan fry' if you look for it on Google.And infact,I'll implore you to do just that because I can't compete with the articulateness of those recipe-writers.I may not even bother to talk about it if I'm not too impressed by it myself. What I'm doing here is listing down food items which work best for me and my children. You're getting it from the horse's mouth.There are times when I find there is a large gap between what I cook and what they'd like to eat,that's the usual sceanario and frankly, a lot of times I couldn't care less.But it still gets you worked up because finally you are the one reponsible for their growth and health in general. So.Bhindi it is,friends,not cut vertically but in tiny hexagonal shapes..it chews faster and they swallow better. Till next time Tada! (My camera ditched me at the last moment.I couldn't take a picture of my Okra-fry!)

Cheese!!! More Please!

Almost all kids I've come across love pizza.So, wouldn't it be great if they found something similar in their lunch-boxes?!I just tried something new the other day to pack for my sons' tiffin.Since ,that's a million dollar question my friend! What to pack for your child's tiffin which they lick off quick in five minutes flat and rush to the playground. Because in my opinion,the big reason why they are bringing back there unfinished tiffin home and making you lose your sleep over it is because they don't want to spend all the little time they get in the recesses on eating their uninteresting , boring,tasteless tiffin. So,my experiment was this- I had bread,the regular loaf?! at home.And I had some shredded Mozzarella lying in the fridge from yesterday.Cildren love melted Pizza cheese.I was in a hurry,hadn't thought of what to pack for tiffin last night,it was time for the bus to arrive and kids were shuffling with their bags,water bottles,shoes and last minute hair-brush and stuff.I just grabbed the bread,cut its sides(you can choose not to do that),smeared toamto sauce on both sides (tomato sauce is a wonderful substitute for pizza sauce) and dredged it with a good fat layer of Mozzarella and qickly put in the mw oven while I moved on to see that the younger one's finished is milk and ready with his bag.All it takes is 5 minutes,better if you've thought of it before hand, like the night before ,and your version of the pizza is ready.(This is a very basic version,you can add any kind of topping to make it more interesting) The tiffin came back polished off nice and proper.You can pack it as it is.You can apply butter,dredge some Oregano or you can grill it to perfection if time permits you.Whatever! I take cues from my child's palate,preferences on food and stuff,so can you.Ofcourse its not always easy advisable to do that everytime because what they like and love in terms of food is usually not healthful ! But having said that,wherever one can make adjustments in one's menu for the day one should. I do and that keeps both my children and me happy!:) ,

So here I go...

I am always at my wit's end when it comes to what to cook for my children?! As I presume most of the mothers out there will swear by.Its a nerve-wracking question.So,I have decided to dedicate this blog to Children's Food for all you lovely Mummas out there. :) My older child is 10 and so I have been smarting this issue since 10 years you can say and still on my way to crack it...so.in a lot of ways I'm just like you. So.I'd love it if you can make this forum as interactive as you can! For one,I know,anything that children love has to be palatable,they like food in semi- solid state,something they can swallow quickly and rush to resume their play quickly without wasting much time chewing. I tried something on Sunday night which the kids loved.It was macaroni with white sauce mixed with Spinach paste.You'd say its a no-brainer.Kids usually love Macaroni.Yeah,

but what we are doing here is shoving some nutritious food too down their throat while making it look like they're having their way.What's more? Who's seen a green-colored gooey looking Macaroni??? Its a hit with boys,they like to imagine they're eating worms or something..(eeewe!!! )And they pretend-play too,like becoming Zarroonga from outer space eating all those worms.Haven't we heard 'if you're happy eating what you're eating it does show on your body?! (Recipe on request)