Baby Corn & Carrot Masala

I have tried this recipe thrice now - once in front of my mom who is wary of baby corn but she loved it too.This recipe is taken from Monsoon Spice - Sia's Food Blog.I have followed this recipe exactly the way Sia has mentioned in her blog.Thanks Sia for such a simple and tasty recipe.

Recipe:-

15-20 baby corn cut into fingers
10-12 Baby carrots/2-3 medium carrots
1 medium onion finely chopped
2-3 green chillies slit
1 Tsp Jeera
1/2 Tbsp Kasuri Methi
1 Tbsp Coriander leaves finely chopped
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 Tbsp oil

For Ground Masala :-

1 small onion quartered
3 large tomatoes /1 canned chopped tomatoes
2-3 cloves garlic
Ginger paste
2-3 dry red chilli
1 Tsp Garam Masala
1 Tsp Kitchen King Masala
1/2 Tsp Amchur
1/2 Tsp Jeera
1 Tsp Coriander Seeds
1 Tsp Sugar
10-12 cashews

Method :-

• Grind all the ingredients of Ground Masala without adding any water and keep it aside.



• Cook Baby Corn and Carrots with Turmeric powder and salt in water for 5-6 mts till they are fork tender.Drain and reserve the water.



• Heat oil and add jeera. When they start to sizzle add finely chopped onions and slit chillies and saute on medium heat till they are golden brown.



• Now add Kasuri Methi ,ground paste and saute it continuously for 2-3 mts on medium to low flame till raw smell of masala disappears.



• Mix cooked Baby Corn and carrots. Add reserved water as and when required to get gravy consistency.Saute for 10 mts and add chopped coriander leaves.

Pineapple Cucumber Salad

I always wanted to make a diary of my recipes which i have tried and tested from magazines/ cookbooks/ Food Blogs etc.. I have a Notebook of recipes too but i want pictures as well to remember how the recipe turned out. So from now on i will try and include recipes in this blog.

This is a Tarla Dalal salad which came in my email - Pineapple Cucumber Salad.I tweaked the recipe by adding sugar instead of honey and added mint leaves and omitted lettuce altogether as my mum is not very fond of that.

Recipe:-

1 Cup pineapple cut into small pieces

1 Cup cucumber cut into small pieces

6 Cherry tomatoes halved

2 Tbsp Chopped coriander

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tbsp roasted Chana Dal -Coarsely powdered

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method :-

• In a bowl combine the lemon juice ,honey,chana dal powder ,salt and pepper and mix well.


• Add the rest of the ingredients and toss lightly.


• Serve immediately.

First Holiday

Packed frantically on Wednesday for our first trip with baby to Leicester/No traffic on Thursday on route and reached Hilton Hotel on time/Not a very impressive Dinner in Bobby's/Drive around the Leicester City center/Elaborate breakfast buffet on Friday morning/Bought Real Simple Magazine from Borders/Browsed ASDA Superstore Friday morning/Bought Dhoklas,SabutDaana Cutlets,Laddoos,Aloo Bonda,Daal Pakoras from Popat Sweets and Farsaan /Took a detour to Warwick on route to Birmingham/Drive around the Birmingham City Center/Amazed to see the crowds in Ashas Restaurant/ Pineapple Spiced Lassi,Malai Kofta,Daal Makhani/ Roomali Rotis and Dessert Platter of Gulab Jamun,Rasmalai,Mango Kulfi,Gajar Halwa for Dinner/Left for home very late on Saturday/Detour again to Northampton/Lunch in Milton Keynes in Jaipur restaurant/Paneer Lababdaar,Aloo Gobhi,Daal Tadka with rotis for Lunch.

A Typical Day

My day starts when Baby A wakes up. Today he was up at 6:15 am.I changed his nappy and gave him his medicine and at 6:45am - his first milk feed of the day.After about an hour playing in his Swing - he slept.In the meantime i completed my morning chores of folding laundry, preparing his bottles and surfing the net/having breakfast.

Usually he sleeps for 45mts to an hour after his first feed.Before his next feed - we try and give his massage and bath.Since my mum is here she does the massage for the baby.

Most of the times he sleeps for an hour before his next feed at 11:00 am.After his second feed i take him out in his pram to shop locally or for a walk in the fresh air.

If i am lucky- he will be sleeping once i am back home and i can peacefully have my lunch.After this baby is ready for his next feed at 2 pm.I give him full bottle and then try to put him back to sleep.Sometimes i am successful and some times not.He does take a nap of 45 mts.

Otherwise he plays in his Play gym or in his swing.He does want attention all the time and would make sure he gets it. I do carry him around in every room as i do my chores.He is often fascinated by the music which i play for him on our DAB Radio.


By evening he gets restless - and is time for his feed.He gets his bottle around 6 pm.If Ashish comes back on time from office - he plays with him otherwise i try to put him back to sleep.He sleeps for an hour or so .. in the meantime we finish our dinner.We watch TV till 11 at night. He is given his last feed at 10-10:30 after which he sleeps through the night.


This schedule is followed almost everyday but there are days when schedules are thrown out of the window and i have to start all over again but so far so good.

Week At a Glance

Saturday - I woke up at 5 am along with Baby A and gave him his first feed of the day. He went back to sleep and slept for at least 3 hrs. In the meantime i completed my Morning chores.I have always felt that if i wake up early i finish a lot of work early in the day.My mum cooked a delicious breakfast of Semolina Dhokla which was made from scratch.Ashish and my Mum went for a movie " London Dreams" and i had my friend come over for a chat.
Evening we did Grocery Shopping and had Moong Daal Pakoris for dinner.After dinner we settled for some Evening television.


Sunday-Went for a drive around the Ilford area and did a takeaway lunch of Idlis /Vadas and Dosas.Pottered around the house the whole day.

Monday- I started writing Baby A's Feeding and Nap time schedule again.I also visited my local library and took some books out for reading.


Tuesday-This is the day when we visit our Local Clinic for Baby A's weighing Sessions.We also attended Baby Bounce sessions which take place in our Local Library. Unfortunately he was quite unsettled during the session and so i had to bring him out of the session.


Wednesday-We did nothing but shopped locally for grocery.


Thursday-I took Baby A and my mum to Canary Wharf to have lunch with Ashish.We had lunch in Tiffin Bites and had Vegetarian Thalis comprising of Biryani/Kadai Paneer and Chole.

Friday- The weather was extremely bad and Ashish had Doctor's appointment so we accompanied him and came back home.

Life with Baby A

• Last week has been very difficult for us.Little A 's Reflux issue got very serious as he started throwing up almost all his feeds. He was crying all the time and was unsettled almost all day.He didn't gain weight for 3 weeks.The only consolation was his weight was stable.We tried changing his milk to Enfamil but he could not digest that and had to be switched back to SMA Gold.He was admitted in Whipps Cross Hospital and stayed there for 2 nights.He had to undergo blood tests and an Ultrasound scan to determine if he had any underlying problem. Fortunately for us, he was diagnosed with Reflux and was given medication to control his throwing up.


• After completing 2 months- our baby smiles when we talk to him. He gives a very welcoming smile once he wakes up in the morning.I feel that he can now understand his surroundings and therefore gives us the response by smiling.


• We also noticed that he has started to entertain by himself for at least 20 mts... sometimes for half an hour.He stares at the ceiling and plays with his hands.


• Finally, i have switched to Formula based milk from Ready made carton milk.I was skeptical that he might reject it again as he did when he was 4 days old but this time he took it without any problem.


• Baby A has also settled into a routine.He is fed every 3-4 hrs depending how hungry he is.After coming from hospital i am feeding him 150 ml of milk which is recommended for an 8 week old baby.


• He had his 6 week checkup done at our local GP.Also he had his first injections.We all went for a nice afternoon lunch at "Rose Vegetarian" in Kingsbury.We had Aloo Tikki Chaat/Dahi Bhalla/Vegetable Chow Mein/Sweet Corn Soup and Rasgullas.


• Socially i have never been busier - I have my office colleagues coming to see the baby and have lunch prepared by my mum.Also i am going to attend this year's Christmas Dinner with my colleagues.