Spinach Paratha

Spinach is one thing I detest having! But due to my newly found responsibility of cooking meals for my household, I had to include Spinach into my otherwise not so-healthy diet chart!

But I know for sure that I cannot have those spinach-paste called "saag" or those curries of green broth with Paneer they call, Palak Paneer.
So, instead I thought of a better way out!
And it worked great for me! And I know you will like it too! It can be served with a Hot and Sweet Sauce, or any cooked vegetable.


Ingredients Required:

Flour
No need of Maida. Use the normal atta you use for making rotis. The quantity of atta would be the same amount as much as you use for Parathas.

Spinach
not just the leaves but the stems, (halfway) too. No need to blanch them. Just wash them properly, and then chop into fine pieces.


Onions
Chopped into cubic pieces, chop it and keep it out for an hour before using it.That would take care of the moistness required in it, to make the Parathas tasty.

Ginger
Scrub the ginger and take about 5 cms long a piece, less if you don't like too much spice.

Chillies
Green chillies.Four to Five~ A must for me. If you're not into the spicy mood, add one medium sized chilly, finely chopped.

OiL/Ghee

Salt

Sugar

Red chilli Powder

Black Cumin Seeds (Optional)

Water



Steps

1. Take the flour in a large bowl. Add 2 Tsp. of Ghee/Oil into it. Mix it into the flour with clean hands. Next add 4 pinches of salt, 4 pinches of sugar to it. Mix well.
2. Take some warm water, and pour little into the flour. Add black cumin seeds and begin to make the dough.
3. Add spinach, onions, chillies and ginger with the chilli powder too and mix it all up into a nice smooth soft dough.
4. Make round balls out of it, measuring to fitting into a palm. Smooth-en them into circular plates, and then first roast them on a dry tawa. After that, smother oil/ghee on to it and let it roast till nice golden and brown.
5. Serve hot.

It should look like this. Doesn't consume much oil, is healthy and not too heavy. Plus there's spinach, and the kids won't complain! :)
Do try and then let me know what you think of it!

Cheers! And Happy Cooking!

The Love Trade

Under one canopy of Us,
We sheltered our love
Against the shards of clouds
That fermented upon us, time and again..
Half wet, half dry
Naked eyes,traveled beyond
The known and unknown
This rain drop on my lip,reminds me again..
The dried tears are safely stored
Somewhere in the contours of my soul
Wrapped mildly into your memories
They whisper to me,in silent verses.

The dampened stirrings of my love
Are still there,somewhere
In my abode of your heart,
Some creases would still be left..

Can you bring that back to me,
My love,that belonged to me?


' Ek akeli chattri me jub,
Adhi adhi bheeg rahe hai..
Adhe geele adhe sookhe,
Sookha man toh mai leke ayi thi..
Par geela man shayad bistar ke paas pada hai..
Wo bhijwa do,,
Mera vo saaman,
Lauta do..'

Supplemented Ego-bruised Love O' Mine

I sat down to write few lines

to wash away the wrinkled frowns

by the tides of events

that rise and drop, yet another pretense.

I came to you, to sing a song

Of our love, to a world where we belong

the place where intentions are right

and actions are never wrong.

With the wind, the petals flew

the roses that you threw

at me, as if it were thorns

and thorns alone?

No, don't go, I plead

your scorned face, cold

as I whimper, like a weak breed.

Your laugh, resonated, out and bold.

I stopped, looked at your face

you were not you, but your alter-ego

the one I loved, was now veiled

behind a concrete shadow.

The ego of needs, playful beliefs

see, how they burnt away our love

Yes, I still long for our love, so true

But not your attitude of Ingratitude.

The Love-er

Men always want to be a woman’s first love.
 Women like to be a man’s last romance. . ♥





The two brooks

Seldom meet..

Never forever

Not too apart


They silently

Make their presence felt.

Like summer scorch autumnal breeze

Bubbled air, love-lustred lips.

Book Review~ Dream's Sake

“The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.”

This quote has been my favorite since a long time. Dreams are mysterious rays of hope.speculations..interpretations and at times, conclusions. So when I went on to read Dream's Sake penned by my friend, Jyoti Arora, I was very much excited. Dreams take us to an unknown destination where we see things, the way we perceive them, conscious or subconsciously. But dreams are tricky. They mean different things to different people. Some take dreams like a glass of scotch-they gulp it down and forget about it. Some others, treat it like threads, weave them together to form a piece of it. The best part about this book is the variance of its characters and yet, the penumbra of the thread called Life that binds them together on a journey, that changes their lives. Who does not have a Past? We may fret about it or regret, love it or miss it.. The past is what makes us the person that we are today, in the present. The book revolves around four characters, Aashi, Siddharth, Priyal and Abhi -nothing extraordinary about them! Simple average people we find all around us. People we walk, travel, eat, work with. Every person has a story and Jyoti takes four such focal points to narrate a story that transcends each of their lives to a newer pedestal. Aashi is a practical, "aaj ke zamaane ki ladki" ( 21st century woman) who is emotionally, financially, vulnerable, She comes down to a rented house with her mother.She is aware of the world around her and thus, remains quite conscious regarding the people she has to interact with. Priyam and Abhi are her neighbours, who live just next to Aashi's rented house. They lost their parents in an accident. Their friend, Siddharth's wealthy father helps them meet their ends. His love for Priyam, lingers on even after succumbing to the impacts of his distorted family life. Like I mentioned before, Jyoti manages to encapsulate as well as distinct between the various characters as they entwine into each other's lives by each passing day. I'd suggest you to read this book to freshen your mind from the daily romances that seem to be the current obsession. Of course, at the end of the day, what are we without Love.. But to experience the vivacity of it, you must read this book. The only thing that I felt was that certain parts were a bit sluggish, though those parts were necessary. But at the end, it hurries at an end, which is a common feeling among writers. Nonetheless, the intensity will surely keep you enticed.The language is simple and the idea behind this book, is appealing. A well deserved 3.5 out of 5 for Dream's Sake. Thank you Jyoti for sending across a copy of your book.Wishing you the very best in this and all your future endeavors.

At the gates of Borgha

The nonchalant prophecies
Often return an amused smile
Away from the chromic door
I stand,at the gate of Borgha.
The palace set up,like a gem
Decorated into a clumsy whim
The grills are cold, ember black
They sing to me, a tale of tales,untold.
And the more I see,
The more I know
The vassalage of Goddess Tara
Occult writers,describe the Mother
The Queens and haridasis,hymns and fables
Write the story of time at Borgha.
Carts of gold, steel and coal
Sweaty hands and empty pockets
Still protruding ears to hear the happy shrill
But they are cursed,the men at Borgha
Never would a woman be conceived there,
And when they protest,
Shadowy reminisces of a sinned past, haunts.
Mother Tara, deflorated by one of their brethen
Lay in blood,soaked in disgrace
Her body, covered in ochre,
Her face mutilated.
A man, appears on the other side of the gate
Lust, staring into me,
I loathe with venomnous hatred,
As I turned around and left.
The city of Borgha must remain sinned
Till the Holy water is found again.
I shall take births,but not come to my abode
Till they know they are sinners of Borgha.

Myth-maker

The Myth-maker
I write to thee,the story of time
When passages were small,roads sublime
between you and them, a dwindled taker.

Herculean tales to Babylonia sermons
Cults venerated of magic cusps and trees
Mother Goddesses, ochre and mutilated debris
I seethe the Chinese dragons and Asian demons.


Past glimpses resonate the fear
guilt of the rule, curse of the ruled
Age of humanity often ridiculed
and sometimes, show us that End is near

I tell thee, the secret verses of faith and occult
the face of a yesterday, you would barely know
I stand testimony,to you I show
in writings of time, in papyrus and basalt.

I, the myth-maker of time
tell some concealed lies
forfeit my own desires
Seek me from the rudimentary ruins and cure of thyme.