Sister Shivani leaving after the program

It was the biggest AHA moment of my life! I am still spinning under its influence. I want to share this with you….

I am a big fan of Sister Shivani of Brahmakumaris. I have been regularly following her discussions on Aastha and Sanskar channels. Its safe to say that she is the single most influential person I have seen in my life. There are innumerable instances when I was lost or confused in life and its just her advice that came in timely. I listened to her religiously every evening only because she spoke exactly about the same problem I was experiencing at that time. In one of her sessions she went on to say that we feel this way because God is communicating with us through this medium. I believe her completely. How else is it possible that I sit with a problem, turn on the TV and there she is… talking about exactly whats on my mind! Not once but every time!

Yesterday God went one big step forward in making my dreams come true. Sister Shivani was to speak at Town Hall at 6.30 pm. I had asked an auto rickshaw person to pick me up at 6 pm. I also told my husband to reach home by 6 pm so he could watch the kids while I left. Something happened and my mom decided to join me at the last minute. She arrive really early and waited for me in the basement for half an hour. Mayank also arrived early and I left at 5.45pm. I was telling my mom that its too early to go. I couldnt imagine the function starting before 7 pm. I also told her that I was so surprised that the auto guy came 45 minutes early and Mayank also came 15 minutes early. Usually he is unable to leave office around 5. All through I wondered if baby would be too restless without me and if the program would start on time or get delayed.

As soon as we got off the auto at Town Hall I heard my mom scream from behind “ROMA, ROMA ! Sister ! Sister!” I couldnt understand. After all, all of them at Brahmakumaris are Sisters. Suddenly I turned around and there she was! Sister Shivani was standing right there. I couldnt believe my eyes. I have been seeing her on TV for so long yet when she I came face-to-face with her I couldn’t recognize her at first. May be because she is so much brighter and prettier than her TV image.

I went to her immediately and said ” Namaste Sister, I have been watching your program every day for the last 5 years and I am truly blessed to be standing here with you” . She gave me a sweet smile and went inside. This was like the biggest moment of my life! Sister was so beautiful and radiant. Now I know why in olden days they used to make a halo around the heads of saints. Sister radiates love. Her face glows like a power house of energy.

The session she conducted was for 2 hours. It was rejuvenating to meditate for 2-minutes with her. Definitely a more profound experience than watching her on TV. It was an interactive session. Sister really has the skill to put forth her points well. I enjoyed every moment  of the program. At the end of it I shook hands with her like everyone else and went till her car to see her off.

This is one of the best moments of my life and I think that the Universe conspired to make it happen. I recall the way my sister found out about the program and let me know timely that sister Shivani would be in town. How my husband and mom came home really early that day that eventually led to a moment with an incredibly dynamic personality. Its not everyday you see a celebrity next to you, just like that. You expect the person to be surrounded by crowd, flashed with media lights and unavailable to listen to you. Well, all that happened with sister but when I saw her she was by herself and thats what made that moment with her even more special. Om Shanti!

We celebrated our 7th Wedding anniversary yesterday. It being a Saturday we managed to have a long, lazy breakfast. Thankfully the kids slept on and we woke early so we could eat our breakfast blissfully. We chatted over some black forest pastries, Chocolate mousse, paneer rolls, mushroom buns and tea. Dont get me wrong, we dont eat so much everyday!  :-)

After breakfast Mayank headed off to work. He returned by 3 pm, by then I had fallen alseep with the baby. Finally in the evening we thought of making up for the lost time and we really did. We left the kids with mom and went to UB city to dine. As usual, Mayank didnt tell me where we were going. I had taken out a new saree, matching bangles and jewellery to go with it. As soon as I was going to start getting ready he said ‘Get ready soon…aur please saree mat pehen lena” I was like OMIGAWD! What to wear now? Then I took out a Benetton top and a pair of jeans. Since I wasnt going to be carrying the baby everywhere I wore my high heels (finally those poor things got a ride out of the shoe rack!)

As we were walking into UB City I was constantly trying to recall the name of that place which has a big buddha statue. I knew it was in UB City and was kind of sure Mayank was taking me there. Just minutes before we entered the lobby I exclaimed ‘I remember, its called SHIRO!’ The smile on his face was an indicative that I was right. As we entered we found pretty Jap-looking ladies ready to seat us. They gave us our table and said ‘There is another booking for this table at 9.30pm’ Hmmm….thats not so polite I thought :-/ Anyway, the ambiance was perfect. There were these carved statues on the walls sort of reminding us of the Ajanta-Ellora caves. Not to mention the big buddha Face, right under which we were seated. There was also a 15-feet tall statue of a lady holding a pot that was pouring out water all evening. Phew! Thats a boring job

We were greeted by a pleasant person who served us with great enthusiasm all evening. I actually liked the knowledge he had on all he served. We ended up having -

I loved the stylish font in which the chef had managed to write ‘Happy Anniversary’ on the plate along with presenting us with two chocolate sushis.

I cant begin to describe how delicious the chocolate sushis were. I am sure they used the best Belgium Dark chocolate ever. They were small, round chocolate cylinders filled with three different types of chocolate cream. It tasted somewhat like chocolate whipped with fresh cream. I have not had anything like it before!

After our dinner we took a walk around the place. There were crowded pubs, eateries, live bands and water fountains. God! I havent seen so many short skirts altogether in my entire life.

We returned home around mid-night. It was a great day and one of the most memorable anniversaries ever!

Here is the recipe of the coffee cake I baked for the occasion. Its nice though a bit heavy. I tried using a coffee essence for the first time and I think it made all the difference.

Here comes the Chinese version of the desi samosa! We saw the recipe on Tata sky cookery videos and my help Sunil managed to make these for us. He quickly converted something I have always wanted to eat into something stunning right on my plate.

Wontons remind me of that movie ‘Zinda’. Omigawd! What a movie. A poor guy was kept captivated for 14 years and was given only wontons to eat everyday. The taste hung onto him so much that after he escaped he ate only wontons at every street in Bangkok to find the place from where his wontons were got. Thats how he managed to finally track the person who did this to him. Why would someone hold anyone hostage for 14 years? I don’t want to say more, please see the movie. I saw it with only one eye open, other was squeezed in fear. I felt like I was inside that box… gasping for freedom. May be we all are in that box in some way. Think about it while you munch on these wontons.

Ingredients :

• 2 cups of all purpose flour / maida
• 3 cups of grated mixed vegetables (carrot, beans, capsicum, cabbage, spring onion)
• 3 teaspoons of oil
• 2 teaspoons Tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon chilly sauce
• 1 teaspoon dark soya sauce
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• Pinch of salt and black pepper powder
• Oil for frying

Procedure :

For the Dough

1. Mix 1.5 teaspoons of oil and salt into maida till it resembles the texture of bread crumbs.
2. Add luke warm water and knead the dough to medium stiffness.
3. Allow it to rest for at least half an hour.

For the filling :

1. Heat  1.5 teaspoons of oil. Fry the grated vegetables till they are half cooked.
2. Add black pepper powder and all the sauces to the vegetables and turn off the heat  (Do not add salt as the sauces are quite salty by themselves)

For the Wontons :

1. Take a ball-sized piece of dough. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a round-shaped roti.
2. Fill it with a teaspoon of filling. Apply water on the inner edges of the roti.
3. Fold over and press the edges slightly extending outwards.
4. Hold the two extreme ends and fold over. Apply water and press again to make a wonton (like that in the picture).
5. Deep fry on medium heat till it turns golden brown.

My baby doll is nearly a year old. She shows off two tiny teeth every time she laughs. I cant seem to get enough of it. Although its really cute to look at I know her gums itch quite a bit. No wonder she is always putting things in her mouth. So I thought its time I tried my hand at some teething biscuits. Now she has something home-made to sooth her gums. I was happy with the firmness of these biscuits but like any other teething biscuits they have a potential choking hazard. You need to constantly monitor the baby while eating so he doesnt bite off too big a piece (He heee… now I sound like a baby product company )

Yesterday we got the baby’s head tonsured at a temple in Bangalore. What a sad sight it was. She was too sleepy and got really cranky when we tried to hold her hands and legs firmly. She cried her head off and by the end of the ritual I was feeling dizzy. That brings us to the end of the series of events- her naming ceremony, annaprashan (giving food for the first time), ear piercing and head tonsuring. Of these, I really like the first two but the ear piercing and head shaving is not for the faint hearted. Now the baby’s first year is almost complete. Phew! What a year it has been. We are now looking forward to her birthday. Its just round the corner. Here is to many more….

Ingredients :

2 tablespoons Roasted rice powder

3 tablespoons Roasted wheat flour

4 tablespoons cold apple juice

1 teaspoon ghee

Procedure :

To make roasted rice powder:

Roast a cup of rice for 15 minutes on medium flame, stirring constantly.

Let this cool down and grind it in a mixer grinder. Use 2 tablespoons of this powder to make the biscuits and store the rest in an air tight container.

To make roasted wheat flour powder:

Roast 3 tablespoons of whole wheat flour (aata) in a thick bottom pan at medium flame stirring constantly.

In about 15 minutes you will get the aroma of roasted wheat. You can turn off the heat at this point.

To make the teething biscuits :

Mix the rice powder and whole wheat flour with the ghee.

Now knead the flour with cold apple juice till you get a soft dough. Add more juice if necessary.

Dust the dough with wheat flour and roll into a flat layer 1/4 inch thick, with the help of a rolling pin.

Cut out finger length pieces from this dough.

Place these biscuits on a butter paper and bake in a preheated oven at 175 Deg C for 25-30 minutes.

POTENTIAL CHOKING HAZARD : Please monitor the baby while he is chewing on these biscuits as he might bite off too big a piece that could cause choking.

Crunchy Soya Toasts

I love Tata Sky- it has made my life jhin ga la la! Simply because we get new recipe videos everyday. These are typically 4 videos recorded for NDTV Good times and some other regional channels earlier. The set of 4 videos is called ‘Menu for the day’ and it has a starter, a salad/ beverage, a main course dish and a dessert. Some times the combination varies, like if its raining too much outside they have only hot snacks. They even have festival special videos where they demonstrate how to make delicacies specific to each occasion.

Aravind, the younger brother of the house help we had after my delivery is very interested in trying his hand at new dishes. He had come home to stay with us for a couple of days and watched the recipe for crunchy soya toasts on Tata Sky. He didnt realize that the video repeats itself all day. I found it really cute when he said ‘Didi, I have understood the recipe, when is it going to stop?’

Few days later he soaked the soya beans on his own and started making these toasts in the evening. It was such a pleasant surprise and I ran for my camera to share it with you guys. I liked the way this little 15-year old was making a unique snack smartly on his own. I watched as he deep fried the toasts and thought to myself ‘This guy is like I was years ago’ (I wont tell you how many years ago, or you will know my age! ;-p)

Ingredients :

• 1 cup soya beans
• 1 onion , few springs of Coriander leaves, 2 green chillies (all fine chopped)
• 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Dried mango powder (amchur)
• 2 teaspoon All purpose flour / Maida
• 1/2 teaspoon Red chilly powder
• Pinch of Ajwain

Procedure :

1. Soak Soya beans for 2-3 hours.
2. Pressure cook in sufficient water for 15 mins.
3. Drain and cool. Grind coarsely.
4. Mix fine chopped onion, coriander leaves and green chillies.
5. Also mix salt, coriander powder and amchur powder. Keep this mixture aside.
6. Dissolve the maida in water and make a runny paste out of it.
7. Now mix salt, pinch of coriander powder, red chilly powder and ajwain.
8. Take a bread slice. Cut it in half. Place the soya paste over it.
9. Dip these slices into the maida paste and deep fry.
10. Serve hot, crunchy soya toasts with pudina chutney and sweet chutney.

Life Between the Granite Slabs - View from our pool

Which resort is this you can check into on Sundays? You dont have to go far to find it as it is in the comfort of your own home. Yes, yesterday I got a resort kind of feeling at my house. I wanted to share it with you all the easy steps with which you can check into that mode too :

1. Ensure you think differently so you dont do anything at any step that you would usually do.

2. Dont follow any routine.

3. Take onto the road and see where it leads

4. Dont bother tidying, cooking or doing anything more than the bare essentials.

I dont know if many people who ‘know me’ actually know that I am a regular follower of Sister Shivani of Brahma Kumaris. I have been listening to her discourses on various religious channels on TV for 4 years now. She has had a dramatic influence on my life in this span.

Last week she said that to experience different results we need to start thinking different thoughts. Same thought always causes the same action and then the same result.

THOUGHT -> ACTION -> RESULT

CHANGED THOUGHT -> DIFFERENT ACTION -> DIFFERENT RESULT

I was basically bored of the mundane job at home. Being a mother of two (out of which one in just a little baby) can be so exhausting. I thought of trying to change the way I do things to see if I can catch on a break very much being at home.

Yesterday being a Sunday was the only day in the week that Mayank (hubby) was actually at home. Now realize how precious that time is as that day comes only once in a whole week. I decided to change my thoughts just to see what the result could be and I was taken aback by the dramatic change in results.

I am a person who loves a planned, predictable lifestyle. As a result, my family can never suddenly decide to do anything interesting at the spur of the moment. Moreover, going anywhere with a baby calls for a lot of packing so now I feel even more that there is no scope for impromptu outings. So here is where I saw a thought change opportunity.

On Sundays usually Mayank makes the breakfast. Yesterday however he said “Lets go out for breakfast”. Looked at me expecting me to go into my usual trace – how will we make baby’s soup, maid is still working, house is untidy, baby bag is not packed….blah….blah….I on the other hand had anyway decided to think differently in every situation so I started packing. Before I knew baby food, hot water flask and baby bag was ready. I gave Raina her milk, got dressed and stepped out in 10 mins. Mayank was surprised. He quickly started googling for good places to eat breakfast. We left the maid working, house untidy and headed off for breakfast. Most places had closed by 10 am for breakfast. Finally we reached Egg Factory on St. Marks Road. This place basically serves all egg varieties like Frittatas, omelets, egg parathas and everything that an egg can fit into. We ordered a Cilantro Chilli Frittata, Salsa Cheddar cheese frittata, a cheese omelet, garlic bread and tea. What a scrumptious breakfast it was.

We reached home by 1pm. The house was untidy as expected but surprisingly I took it well. Mayank and Raina went for a swim while I was baby sitting. They checked in after an hour and then I went for a swim. We all finished our bathing routine by 2.30 pm (when has that ever happened before?) When it was my turn to swim, I was absolutely alone in the pool, which was again happening for the first time. I never go for a swim alone. This was weird. Not even an unknown person in the pool! (Thanks to the odd hour). Since I was doing a whole lot of things for the first time I though ‘Why not?’ I tried floating on my back and was able to stay afloat for 20 s. I have been trying to float on my back for decades now but was never able to do so cause I thought I couldnt. There! A change in thinking made me actually float on my back. I also think it had something to do with being alone in the pool, else I would never seriously try floating on my back with the fear of dashing against someone during my attempt. I have always been able to float on my stomach but on my back and that too for 20 s (I could have gone on longer if I had not started to feel thats its a rather aimless thing to do ) I was floating like a leaf on the water and as I opened my eyes I saw the clouds drifting along with me in the sky. I thought to myself – “ Like the way we wives feel that our husbands take their office work too seriously and dont let go even on Sundays, husbands probably feel that we take house work and kids too seriously and dont try to take a break from it at all”  Sleeping on water is so relaxing and allows a free flow of good thoughts. I guess you wont ever need any other kind of hydro-therapy.

So thats how I checked into a resort this Sunday. Not because I went anywhere but because I changed every first thought that came to my mind. The people who enjoyed the most were obviously the kids.

Compromises are made on the diet. For example, if I make baby food in vegetable soup its more nutritious than making it in hot water but if the routine depresses everyone at home and gives them a feeling of being tied down then that also affects health adversely. Once in a way anything is ok. After all happy people do look healthy and live longer too

Now after having rambled on for so long let me quickly re-cap on what can make you really rejuvenate this Sunday ~

This Sunday with every thought that enters your mind do the opposite of whatever you are thinking. Whatever first thought you have will be a part of a pattern that your mind follows. Changing the first thought by doing exactly the reverse of it can make you experience never before results. So what if I had milk at Adyar Anand bhavan instead of 9 am at home, so what if baby had her soup in the evening instead of afternoon and just ate regular baby food in the morning, so what if the house was so untidy on a Sunday…it did clear up by Monday , right ? I could at least relax and live one day of my life (and let others live one day of theirs too).

Try these tips and you could find yourself on an adventure ride that you never thought you could experience ever since your growing family and multiple responsibilities consumed you.

Just one word of caution : Every day is not a Sunday

©romasharma.com

How I love these chilly Christmas mornings. We had a great evening yesterday at my sister’s house. Kids played games, danced and got gifts from their dear Santa Claus. My 3 month old was tired after the festivities and slept through the night. I got a well deserved break from the night long baby sitting routine. So instead of being busy Santa just had to keep gifts on the bed side and go to sleep

Santa spreads the cheer

The fruit cake I baked uses all things I found running around in the kitchen. I havent picked the recipe from anywhere, its concocted on the run. I am happy with the result. I have been receiving cakes from my neighbors as well. Its like as if there is a dry fruit cake fest going on in our apartment. Well, all of us have our own version and thats what makes it interesting. It would be so boring if we all baked the exact same recipe.

Our Christmas Tree is all dressed up

My 3 year old daughter is attending 3 christmas parties this season. One at her school, one with family and one with friends. The party at school required her to go in a fancy dress. I made her into corn. Here is a picture of her – Oh Sweet Corn!

Dressed as Corn for Fancy Dress @ School

Here is the recipe of the cake I baked. I bake round the year but Christmas Cake always tastes the best (honestly, something in the air!)

Ingredients for Fruit Mix :

• 4 cashew nuts, 4 almonds : roasted and ground into a powder
• 4 cashew nuts, 4 almonds: roasted and fine chopped
• 6 yellow raisins, chopped
• 6 black raisins, de-seeded and chopped
• ½ teaspoon ginger peel chopped
• 1 teaspoon orange peel chopped (inner white skin removed)
• 1 fresh date

for the marinate :

• 1 tablespoon black currant
• 1 tablespoon grape squash

dry ingredients :

• 2 cups white flour (maida)
• 1 ½ baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda

other ingredients :

• 2 eggs ( beaten)
• ¾ cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
• ½ almond essence

Procedure:

1. Soak the ingredients of the fruit mix in the marinate for 2-3 hours.
2. Sift the dry ingredients.
3. Cream the butter with the sugar. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the beaten eggs and fold in (do not beat!). Add the marinated dry fruit mix to this.
4. Now add both essences and milk till the mixture reaches dropping consistency.
5. Once the mixture blends well and comes together pour into a greased and dusted pan. (you can grease with butter and dust it with white flour)
6. Bake in a preheated oven for 180 Deg C for 40 mins.

What wouldnt I do to eat some chocolate? These days I am playing the strict hypocrite, the character who doesnt allow chocolates inside the house as daughter eats too many of them but secretly nurses the dream of eating some herself. I think these chunks are a great substitute for regular chocolates. Whats more? You can even make it on festivals for prasad and the kids will love the new variation to the regular burfis. You can also make this any time you dont have Khoya, condensed milk or any milk at all. You can use the milk powder stored in your refrigerator to quickly make this dessert.

Ok, so these are what I made one day with my  time in the morning after a long night. My 2 month old has started giving me sleepless nights. Her typical wide-awake hours are 11 pm – 4.30 pm. Thats when she looks around for companions and finds only a couple of bored people sitting around waiting for her to sleep. I made myself some delicious fudge chunks on which I could binge and get over the tiredness. It worked wonders but only for a short while. Soon I realized that baby had to be taken to the doctor for her vaccination. By the time I was back I was nearly giddy as I hadnt slept peacefully in nearly 48 hours. I couldnt eat food or even move around due to exhaustion. I started wondering what the night had in store for me. I said a prayer and slept around 10.30 pm and Lo! Baby and I woke up at 10.30 am the next morning. With the exception of a mid-night feed we just did not wake up. I was delighted with the one-night rest which saved me from dropping unconscious

Ingredients:

• Milk Powder 1.5 cups
• Cocoa powder 3 Tablespoons
• Brown Sugar 1 cup
• Unsalted Butter 1 cup
• Water 1/2 cup

Procedure:

1. Sieve milk powder and cocoa powder together.
2. Grease a tray with butter.
3. Heat a non-stick pan. Heat sugar and water till the syrup reaches 1-string consistency.
4. Add the butter and stir till it melts. Add the sieved powder mix into this and stir well.
5. Cook till the mixture combines and leaves the sides of the pan. Work on low heat so the mixture doesnt burn.
6. Transfer into greased tray and allow to cool. Cut out squares and enjoy (Warning: High on Calories!!)

© romasharma.com, 2010

Dear All,

I have been blessed with a baby girl one week ago. My 3-year old daughter is really excited about the new arrival. We have named her Trisha (meaning: desiring)

I know some of you must be wondering where I’ve disappeared these last few months. My pregnancy had made me weak and completely cut off from any kind of kitchen work. I couldnt tolerate smells or cook with ease. Thats the reason behind my fairly blank and un-updated blog. Hopefully in few months from now I will be back with more recipes which I will be trying out for  my baby girl. For now, its months of nappy changing and lullaby singing. See you at the other end of it… cheers!