curry for cold

Being a part of a medically-inclined family has its benefits and then it has its massive losses. You never see a common cold as common anymore. You see it as a pest that will torture you for for a week no matter what you do. So every single homely-remedy is a waste for your brain, you know it won't go away for that one week. You know you have to hydrate and keep up your fluid levels and you have to take plenty of rest. And you also know that spicy food ain't so good for those achey throat muscles. Poor throat muscles though, because I never heed this last bit of good old advice.

More importantly, after two days of "restful non-cooking", I am craving some real good curry. So here goes. I am experimenting today with my trusted old chicken, only adding rustic and welcoming flavors to keep the spirits high.

I start by adding whole red chillies to a tablespoon of oil heating up in a large open wok. I think this sort of large open vessel affords me a good surface area, so I don't have to add too much water to cook the chicken and it gets that rustic "bhuna" taste. next i add in some mustard seeds and a spoonful of cumin seeds and as soon as the sputtering catches my attention, in goes one medium sized finely chopped onion. salt makes it way in the wok to sweat out the onions and so do some slit green chilies and curry leaves.

as soon as the onions turn yellow, i proceed to add a cup of shredded coconut, turmeric, some ginger-garlic paste and some fresh coriander powder. now this is going to a very simple plate, with everyday simple ingredients. so i want every single thing to stand out and provide its own special flavor. so i keep the flame on a low-medium, ensuring that the flavors get time to blend and specially so that the coconut does not burn or dry out.

next goes in the chicken and some chili powder, if you still haven't had enough of heat for your taste. now stir the mixture and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes and you will start to see the chicken changing color. as soon as you have enough browning, add a third of cup of yogurt, a little splash of water and put on the lid. this will ensure that the chicken is cooked through to the inside, but still has the taste of a laboriously cooked meal. check for salt, sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper right on top and serve garnished with chopped coriander.

I love to plate my dinners elaborately. But this one, shall remain rustic. Not for long I fear, it will be wolfed down as quickly as it got cooked.

chop chop your way to weight loss!

Sigh! This is so hard - trying to lose weight post baby is the hardest thing I've ever had to do...well, apart from having the baby! The fatigue is unbelievable, specially since I've chosen to have a super long commute to my dream job (yeah yeah, it is still my dream job!)

I remember when I was in 10th grade and everyone else was so svelt and cool....I was the fat kid. Very round...very very!! I started my first aerobics class and loved it so much that 3 months down the line I was super hot.

Then there was the year before I got married. Atul was to come and see me soon and I knew how much he loved working out....so I jogged. religiously. every morning. And ran up and down the stairs. I also came back home from work and worked out while watching tv -- all this was wonderful then and I was so confident I'll be able to do this any number of times in my life.

The post marriage weight was lost when I re-discovered jogging and unleashed the forces of portion control. But now...now, I'm 30. Yes, an ugly truth is dawning upon me. Things aren't going to be easy this time around. I have surrouded myself with work, I have a terribly long commute and then there's Aarav. Everything makes me realise that I have to really watch what I eat - like most of you out there....my days are spent researching what I am putting into myself. Thankfully I have realised that I don't need to add to this misery by eating things that I will not (probably) be able to burn off. But every bite seems to turn me into an imaginary balloon. And so, as I start my workout routine again tomorrow morning, I turned tonight's meal into something enjoyable, yet...HEALTHY!
A note here on how much I love potatoes. I know I can't have them as much as I would love to, but here's what I did to turn my potato into an active protein.
I love bengali cooking and my fav would be the chops. Fish chops and veggie chops alike!! Chops, the bong way, are basically a fried variety of patties. You add the boiled potatoes to fish or veggies and then you fry! I soooo wanted some chops tonight, but I also sooo wanted to eat healthy. So I used only one fried potato and the rest of my batter was soy :)

Patel cash & carry, carries my favorite soy nuggets for a tiny bit of cash. So I boil them, add in the ONE boiled potato - come on, I had to fool my mind, right? add in some ginger, garlic, green chillies and coriander and toss in a whole packet of maggi seasoning (I AM CRAZY about this flavor packet btw!)

Once my mix is ready, I coat the little patties in sooji (wayyyy healthier than bread crumbs)...note: very very little sooji and shallow fry them in 1/10th of the oil I would have used to deep fry. Crisp, yummy, and happy looking veggie chops are now awaiting me in my plate. Alongside a big bowl of daal....with a small 1/4 cup serving of white rice. And that's the way we'll roll.

Target for 16th April: 6 lbs loss. Days to go: 12, on the stake: unwanted fat and the loss of an hour of sleep every morning.

Let's hope I write back with healthier recipes, from a lighter body!!