Capsicum Biriyani

We are in the middle of a move right now, and needless to say it’s a very stressful time for me. It’s not just the actual work that stresses me, but more so the anticipation of the work, because I know exactly what to expect. You see, within a span of 11 years, we have relocated to 6 different cities and within a city we have shifted form one house to another at least 2 times.. and we are not minimalists you know, we have stuff and it needs to be shifted... and it’s all manual labour!!!

In chaotic times like these, I take refuge in food. 

If generally I prepare just sambar and rice for dinner, during these times I prepare an elaborate meal, like chapathi, sabzi, and rice bath.

It’s not only during shifting, it could be during any boring or tiresome activity. Even when I am vacationing, my first priority is food :) 

It’s not junk food that I look for, just some comfort food. Knowing that I’ll be eating something nice gets me through the day. I have something to look forward to, some assurance that all this stress is temporary, to know that there is light(aka good food) by the end of the day. 

Thank you food! 

And incidentally I came across this, which brought a huge smile on my face :)

“But the one thing that has stayed consistent through our crazy transient life is the hand of our Lord over it all. We've seen it day in and day out. Moving in and moving out.

He stays the same and we can be confident as we can rely on Him as our Rock when the storms pick up and toss us in a new direction” (read full story here)

Okay, it’s food and God! Thank you God :)

Well, moving on from my love affair with food..

Capsicum Biriyani is again from “YummyTummy..”, my favorite blog. It tastes heavenly. 

The recipe asks to pressure cook the whole thing directly, but I loved it more when I cooked the rice separately and mixed it with the masala paste. 

Do try!

Benne Muruku

Being married for more than a decade, Valentines day has lost its charm completely!

I no longer get mushy watching Bollywood romantic movies, like I used to. Reality has set in :D

It actually angers me more now when I see a guy falling head over heels over any girl just over a glance!! or ‘love at first sight’ type stories.

I remember vividly, when my whole family went to watch ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’ in a theatre, back when I was little girl. It was a blockbuster movie of that time. In the second half of the movie, Salman Khan is beating himself up to prove his worth to his future father-in-law(daughter is already in his “butti”, now it’s father-in-law’s turn), and sitting next to me, my father is grunting  “chhe”, “thoon”(as in “what nonsense is this”) loudly... I still remember how embarrassed I was feeling then.. My father just couldn’t take that movie, and he didn’t have any qualms showing it. 

Now it’s my turn, I guess. I hate love stories. Either it has been passed down to me through genes (though I may never go to the extent of grunting in a theatre.. :)) or my hubby has killed romance for me :)

Oh well, there’s always anniversaries and birthdays to celebrate..

Coming to the recipe -

Benne muruku is nothing but softer version of chakli, broken chakli to be precise. It is more buttery than regular chakli. And also, since it is directly pressed into the oil, you are actually saving a lot of time by not pressing chaklis. 

And as claimed, a whole batch can be made within 20 min. Pretty easy if you ask me! 

Do try and enjoy with your Valentine :)