Today is the 19th day of India under lockdown. Something that started with a lot of apprehensions and fears slowly is becoming a new normal. People working from home as much as possible. Kids learning through online classes and each of us is trying our best to make sense of this changing time in our own unique way.

Many of you asked me on my instagram account about the rotis in my Sarson ka saag recipe. Yes, they are Tandoori rotis but made from scratch at home. And No, you don't need a tandoor or even an oven to make them at home, also they are very easy to make. Much easier even than normal tawa rotis, which I believe we all have struggled with at some point in time.

It seems winter would be early this year, not that am complaining but definitely worried about the erratic behaviour of the weather. Last year hardly there was any day when the temperature dropped below the usual and this year it's not even Diwali but there is a quite visible nip in the air around the evening time. And as usual like every other year it makes my heart happy. 

Every night I try hard to make my two kids fall asleep peacefully. It has always been a difficult task but now with the husband being away it has become an herculean one. Every night a lot of effort and time is wasted to make them sleep. In my desperate attempts I start by reading them a bed time story, then I sing all the lullaby I know, I cradle the lil one till my back starts to hurt and then I move to the bed with the toddler on my lap and the first grader by my side. while I frantically move my legs up and down, up and down to rock the baby my right hand tugs and pulls the hair of the sonny boy to give them the comfort they need to fall asleep. and the worst part is till date even after 6 years of being a mother I could not establish a sure shot method to do this. 

Every night I make a fresh start...trying all my ways to soothe their over active nerves...some days I fail and some days are just a tad better.

But this journey of motherhood is not about failure or success. 

How kids grow up so fast! I know I know I have said that zillion times indifferent manners, in different language. Yet still. Every time they do something new I feel like telling this to myself. Loud and clear. to remind myself how time is zooming by so fast. 

My daughter completed one and half years this July and is such a joy to watch. With her endless energy and non stop blabber she drives us crazy most of the times.. But no one can get angry with the innocent smiley face she makes when scolded. I especially love her sweet talks. Most of the times she is behind me for swithing on the TV where she wants to watch Bibi tibi (Baby TV) and then she will try to mimik the words and will animatedly wave her hands to the cartoon creatures. When her dadda sits to study she also  brings her little red chair,open her baby books and will read P, K, A, C.

 After the grocery shopping her work is to count the number of bags sometimes 1, 2, 3,4 sometimes she counts from 1 to 10. Once I refused to make a bottle of milk for her so she brought the formula packet, her water and milk bottles to me and instructed me, 'Mummum Bayayo" (banao or prepare in bengali). 

Steaming is one of the most ancient and healthiest cooking technique which could be traced back to some 10,000 years. This most probably is one of those methods that Human civilisation tried experimenting with. Steam pits, Stoneware steamers were the very old steaming utensils that were devised to cook food while retaining the taste and most importantly the nutrients.

But very unfortunately we donot use this very healthy technique much in our daily cooking. Apart from steaming some Hilsa here or a batch of Idli there, This still is not part of mainstream Bengali or North Indian cooking. And all thanks to Tupperware that this trend is going to change for good in my Kitchen.

We had very grown up talk with the five and half year old of the house this morning. Like every year he is ready with his letter to Santa. This year he not only have written down his lists but also has included his sister's wish.

While having breakfast we wanted to make sure that we have got the kids's wishes covered and ready for their morning surprise.

So I asked him, "so what do you want from Santa this year?"

The boy got all excited and said "Kinder joys, story book and a carbox".

Now a carbox is something very new to the parents. I mean we never have heard it. We looked at each other and asked him "What is a carbox?"

The visibly disappointed son at the ignorance of their parents, pouted his lips and said " you dont know the carbox!!! Remember the toy shop near our doctor's chamber they have that toy with plenty of mini cars in it".

Now the Hubby intervened, "But Santa does not know that shop, how could he get you that".

Letter to Santa, year 2013. This year the list is much bigger

"Santa knows everything" pat came the answer. 'He has a toy vending machine from where he gets all his toys".

Well thats something new. so it was my turn. "but you know if its very expensive then Santa cant get you that. Think how many gifts he needs to buy for all the kids all over the world." I tried to convince him.

"Then send him a Cheque Mummum. We all need to help him." Well this boy definitely knows his way and no wonder the conversation ended then and there.

So while we figure out the shop and the toy, you enjoy this simple Breakfast recipe which is one of the most favourite breakfast of the little boy. We are banking on this in case the husband cannot locate the gift he wished for.

Whole grain pancake with Orange syrup

Ingredients:

Wholegrain flour(Atta/Whole wheat flour): 1 cup

Oats: 2 tbsp (the quick cooking variety)

Baking powder: 1/2 tsp

Baking Soda: 1/3 tsp

Sugar: 2 tbsp (powder in your food processor)

Melted Butter/ white oil: 5 tsp

Egg: 1 large

Milk: 1 cup (or see notes)

Yogurt: 1/4 cup

Vanilla Essence: 1 tsp

For the orange syrup:

Oranges: 2

Honey: 1/4 cup or 4 tbsp

Method:
Make the syrup:

First put the syrup for the pancake on to boiling. Grate the rind of the oranges and collect the zest in a small heavy bottom pan. Add the honey and the juice from the two oranges. Add 2 tbsp water and put on to boil. Once they start to simmer reduce the flame and let it become syrupy for another 3-4 minutes. Take off heat and keep aside.

You can store this in a clean sterilised bottle in the fridge for a couple of days.

Make the Pancakes:

Sieve the flour with baking powder and baking soda. Mix in the Oats. Keep in a big bowl.

Whisk the yogurt and milk together and keep aside.

In a bowl whisk the egg with sugar till the sugar melts. Add the melted butter/oil, milk mixture and vanilla essence. Whisk to incorporate. 

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the liquid in it. Start whisking to incorporate. Do not over whisk and make the batter fall flat, which in turn will result in hard disks, not airy bubbly pancakes. Its better to under whisk in this case than to over whisk.

Heat a heavy bottom fry pan, tawa, or griddle. Grease with melted butter or oil and pour a small ladle full (3 tbsp or so) of batter in the center. Let it cook for a few seconds and once you see bubbles appearing on top, carefully flip it. Cook till the center becomes springy and set. 

Take out and serve out of the pan with the orange syrup poured on top.

A Homemaker's Notes:
You can make your own buttermilk if yogurt is not readily available. Pour 1 tsp white vinegar to 1 cup of warm milk. Cover and keep aside for 15 minutes. Whisk and your buttermilk is ready.

You can add either chocolate chips or raisins to the batter.

If you get good quality Maple syrup buy and enjoy your pancakes with that.

Yes am talking of animal shaped dinner rolls today. If that's not enough how about stuffing them with yummy cheesy veggies to make it a meal in itself. 

What not yet ....

Then look at the above picture... 

The Hot dogs in all its true senses, Just out of the oevn with a sausage roll in his mouh and cheesey tongue.

or these super cute pumpkins that smell like cinnamon. 

How about this fluffy eared suffed Bunny? Doesn't that melt your heart?

Or these plain cotton soft pillowy dinner rolls to go with your soup or to munch on with your evening cuppa with a big dollop of butter?

Hope that's enough to convert you to try them at least once. Not only these are super cute to look at but super fun to make. Provided you have a some time to knead, shape and proof them, the rest is taken care by the oven.

The best part is they are so very versatile. you can stuff them with anything, make them sweet or savory, shape them whatever way you want and still they will look pretty and taste awesome.

Think of the surprised giggling face of your kid. That awe in their eyes while you present these as an after school treat...Or think of Christmas gift, Kids party menu...the possibilities are endless.

So here they are my super easy, most versatile Dinner rolls recipe.

Shaped dinner rolls and buns

I had no plans to make or post hot cross buns today but sometimes you just prepare things to make others happy. In my case its my 5 year old sonny boy. Both the kids got their shots yesterday    and while going to bed my cranky sonny boy in pain asked for something sweet for breakfast. No,  the usual pancake will not do, he wanted something new that he has not tasted yet...so on Easter morning I set myself to prepare these delights. Funnily enough I kept on humming 'one a penny, two a penny hot cross buns...' while kneading the dough. 

"The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight...

My life seems to be in a jeopardy these days. one after another problems are just keeping on coming like heavy weight punches...whack, whack, whack. once we think that we are going to be stable and plan to arrrange life with a positive note there comes another blow. I dont know if its only me or it happens to all of you, but it seems like a big black cloud is covering our lives. you might think this is another post to announce one more break but no...a big BOLD NO...this time I choose to be brave, I choose to face everything that tries to diminish my spirit. am going to fight and I am going to face whatever comes our way. With my undivided faith in God I leave everything to him and I will do what he chose me to...to be true to myself and to others surrounding me. Here comes another boquet of thanks for my blogger friends. if you are a blogger or a blog reader you would never know what it means to have prayers from online buddies untill you need it. in distress faith and prayers are the weapons that makes you couragious. so thanks friends for all your support.as a lovely blogger buddy mentions blogging gives us time and space to be oueself and to channel out tensions. I cling to this window of mine to be a part of all your lives...There is no way I can thank you enough and ask you to be with me...the way you always do. Just a small note of thanks to have received all your support.

In between all these miseries  my Laptop also decided to leave me which explains my absence from the blogosphere...yesterday got a new one and here I am connecting to you once again. 

Now back to todays recipe. 

On a day to day basis I prefer to cook healthy (like all of you) and with a crazy-haywired schedule like the last few days i mostly resort to one dish meals. Hubby doesnt like to eat rice for dinner so often I make stuffed paratha. some good fat parathas and a yogurt dip (raita) and you are all set to rock the dinner. better if you make some more to have leftover for next day's breakfast. my kitchen often sees many experiments in this regard. Though we love stuffed parathas but when it comes to Bengali parathas...those refined flour tringle piece of flatbread dipped in ghee gets a stern thumb down from both of us. we much prefer their Punjabi counterparts made with wholewheat flour and stuffed with the goodness of vegetables. by 'healthy' I mean thats how I make my parathas. My best friend who is married to a Punjabi family once told that her in laws dining tables always have a big slab of butter in the center and they simply love to generously slather their parathas with it.but if you read my recipe carefully you will see no use of ghee(clarified butter) and very little oil. 

Though these days all veggies are available the year around but it wasnt the case when we were growing up. we had to wait for winter to taste those fresh peas, cauliflowers or tomatoes. come winter Maa would deny to cook if her fridge was not well stocked with ruby red tomatoes, jade green peas or freshest coriander leaves.and if you go by taste you will also agree that these veggies taste much better in season. now when i run my own household in a big city where everything is available if you have money still I crave those freshest of ingredients, nothing can beat the tender taste.so every winter I love to go to my local wholesale market (Madiwala) to indulge in winter veggie basket. the fresh small new cauliflowers, ripe plum tomatoes, fresh baby carrots or green spinach. last weekend we bought a pair of very cute looking new cauliflowers and made our all time favourite  gobi paratha with it. with my black and deker chopper it hardly takes any time to bring hot warming meal to the table. 

Here is how I made it

Gobi Paratha

(Makes 5 parathas)

Ingredients:

for the stuffing:

grated Cauliflowers: 11/2 cups (please see the note below)

Onion: 1; small

Ginger-garlic paste: 1 tsp

finely chopped coriander leaves: 1 tbsp

coriander powder: 1 tsp

cumin seeds:; 1/2 tsp

green chilly: 1

chat masala: 1 tsp

turmeric

salt

oil: 2 tsp

for the dough:

whole wheat flour: 2 cups

ajwain: 1/3 tsp

salt

oil: 2 tsp

warm water

oil: approx. 1/2 tsp for frying each parathas

Method:

First take the flour in a big bowl and mix the ajwain and salt. pour the oil in the middle. mix and then knead with warm water to make a soft but firm dough. knead for 2-3 minutes. cover and let it rest for min 15 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and chopped green chillies. once it splutter add the finely chopped onion. fry for a couple of minutes and then add the ginger-garlic paste. fry on low till oil separates. mix in the coriander powder and turmeric. mix.

Add the grated cauliflower, salt and little bit of red chili powder. mix and cover. it will leave water and will be cooked in that juice itself. so cook on low by stirring in between.

Once they turn dry add the chopped coriander leaves, chat masala  and check the seasoning. take off from heat and let it cool.

Knead the dough again and divide it in 5 balls.

By pressing in the center to make a bowl like shape. place a big amount of stuffing in the center. bring the sides at the middle and cover the stuffing.

Press and make it flat. dip in flour and keep covered. do the same for the rest.

Now roll the balls with dry flour to get thick round breads. 

First roast the breads on a dry tawa till brown spots appear. smear the sides with little oil and fry till cooked through center. (for a pictorial of how to make stuffed paratha please see THIS).

Keep aside. Repeat for the other four and keep covered.

serve hot with some yogurt raita.

At late afternoon we enjoyed ours with cucumber-onion raita and home made sweet-n-sour mango pickle.

A Homemaker's Note:

The most important aspect of making this dish is grating the cauliflower florets really fine, almost like coarse breadcrumbs. this is very important as a coarse and lumpy stuffing wiill result in breaking of the parathas at the time of rolling. so do your best if you need soft parathas.

Event:

photo credit: Debarshi Duttagupta @ushwaia.dpphoto.com (amazing photography, go and check his album)

   6. I can’t emphasize enough on the importance of right heat for the deep-frying. This is most important to get puffed up flatbreads that resemble a round ball.
   7.  Sometimes I add chopped onion to the alu charchari. for that after tempering the oil with nigella and green chilies add chopped onion. Once they turn transparent add potato and proceed there after.


Events:
this mindless blabbering goes to Pree's beyond five days of Durga Puja.

to Ayeesha's anyone can cook at Taste of Pearl city.


to CFK: festive foods this month hosted at Veggie Platter, an event started by Sharmi of Neivedyam.


Only series: festive food this month hosted at Khaugiri and originally conceived by dear Pari of foodelicious.