Tangy mint marinade for Chicken

This is a very fresh tasting marinade with a tangy touch. I made some chicken and veggies in one pan . Somehow the easy to make dishes taste great .

I had about 350 gms of chicken thighs.  I used 2 potatoes and one carrot cut into roughly the same size too.

For the marinade , grind or mince

Garlic - 8 to 10 cloves peeled
Green chilly - 1 or 2
Pepper corns - 6 to 8
Mint leaves - a bunch
Coriander leaves - 1 bunch
I added a few flakes of sea salt to crush everything well.

to this, Add..

Curd - 1/2 cup
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp or more

Mix well, add more salt of needed and marinate the chicken in it for half an hour or more.

I used a flat pan , heated olive oil and shook the pieces out one by one and placed it on the pan. Once the chicken changes colour, turn on the other side. after about 5 minutes, add the veggies agter tossing them also in the left over marinade.

when the chicken and veggies are well cooked and the oil in the pan shows, switch off the stove, add 1 thinly tomato , keep the lid on for 5 minutes .

Serve hot. I made kaboos and a dip to go with it.

The Immortals of Meluha and The Secret of the Nagas

I love books on Hindu mythology . I read a lot of other Genre too, but for each and every book that I enjoy, the thing that makes me enjoy a book most is not even a great plot, but the narration.

There are already a lot of reviews on these two books and I liked this review by Sundari Venkatraman on her blog called Flaming Sun 

Set in 1900, the language was really out of place , but as I read on, (that is a compulsion with me... I almost always finish a book even if it gives me a head ache. Am totally intolerant with movies in that respect, though...)

But the characters, the plot... and the language just grows on you.  The author makes that journey or transition of Shiva from a 'barbarian' to the Savior really interesting.... and I noticed that in the sequel, the language is not as rustic either. Does it indicate the change in stature of the central character , or is it just an effect of the reviews that called for more refinement in the language ???- I do not know...

All I can say is that I am glad that I could pounce on the second book as soon as I finished the first ... that abrupt end really worked  ... !! And I could have turned my nose up at some of the language, but it just would not be fair to such a brilliant story.



And it is interesting to note that there is mention of snakes, yet, the Nagas don't just mean snakes....!!
I am absolutely looking forward to the third of the trilogy and really really hope with all the selfishness of a book worm, that it will be a fitting end to these absolutely good books ...

Memo board - 1st post in 2012

Wow... one of my resolutions involved posting more frequently on my blog ..and before I know it, it is already 9 days into Jan when I post for the New Year !!!

This is one project that has been on my mind for some time...  a Memo board... of course, I looked into a few that I could buy, but the crafter  in me, could not resist making one , especially since I saw this tutorial. 


I found some more sites with tutorials...
 Like this one on Little Miss Momma 

Mainly , mine was an attempt at recycling.

I used a cardboard that came with a  artist's drawing pad . I had some left over rolls of sponge sheets from over a decade. The maroon cloth is a dupatta that had seen better days .

The only new things are the ribbons and the pins . at the back I glued the ribbons and also stitched them on to the fabric .

So one ticked off from the 'try to make' list ...!! Only thousands more to go...!!

Adieu to 2011

2011
It has been an eventful year for us and in a big way, for me personally...

We moved into our nicely renovated home.
Celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary
Discovered air -dry clay
I started my Jewelry and Craft line, and though it has a loooong way to go, I finally know that this is the way forward.
Made some great friends .

As a summation, it is just a few lines... but totaling all the ups and downs, I feel that the 'ups' win ..!!

I did not bother to set any goals. Can't say it was dogged determination. Just took each day as it came. Did what I could. The main thing was that, I did not agonize over a lost hour or so, doing nothing (there were a lot of those.... !!!) but just forged on and did what I could in the coming hours.

I can say that I have learned a few new things this year. And that lifts my spirits a lot.

For 2012 ...

I need to pay more attention to my blog.

Make sure I tick off every single item on my DIY list. (which covers nearly everything ..!!)

And for my friends and Family..

I wish you all the very best of Health, Wealth and Happiness....

A very Happy New Year to each and everyone ....

Holiday craft - Paper Birdcage

I was inspired from the blog post on The Bride's Cafe. There are step by step instructions, Here is the link.

Spending a day inside is very difficult for my restless daughter and when it is raining, AND the cable is out, there are some surprisingly nice results.

Since my dad had gifted her some bird stamps earlier this year, it was easy to keep her occupied by asking her to stamp and colour them for the cage.

Saved me having to draw ... and I could get on with making the cage.

Notice how she has discarded most of the colours while neatly arranging those of her choice beside her . See how closely they match the colours of her outfit  ... !!!


Even the parrot is coloured purple and pink. She informed me that a real parrot is green with a red beak, but since this one is made by her, it can be her favourite colours ...

So ...the sparrow and the pigeon are also varying shades of pink, purple and yellow. Of course, the finished product here may not have any resemblance to those in the article of  our inspiration. Ichu decided that the cage needs more 'decoration' so she HAD to decorate the pink strip on the cage after everything was fixed. So naturally, the yellow strips got a bit bent .. AND she did not let me take the time to glue the bottom bit and the spokes, so i finally stapled it together !! 

And so there it is, ... slightly bent, yet still.....looking good.

Memories of Christmas...

Some of the greatest times we spent with our parents have been when we went to Doha for Christmas. ... I still remember a Christmas at Dukhan Sports Club... there were stalls for games, food, lots of people smiling and talking , a fancy dress competition, dancing and the best part of all, GIFTS from SANTA...

There is something special about getting a beautifully wrapped gift from Santa that can put a lot of other maybe, more thoughtful gifts in the shade. I still remember the utter joy of seeing 12 tiny thumb-sized dolls, 6 dressed in pink and six in blue.... They did come to a sad end a few years later, when they were planted in the garden by my brother and were not found till months later, and I was back in India.. !!

Still, 2 decades later, it is a very fond memory... Another very special one was years later,with a lot of cousins, dancing, parties, a celebration that started a couple of days before Christmas and went on beyond the New Year. And a lot of great parties at Ninan Uncle's place with friends...


Now our daughter is at that age, where she appreciates special occasions.... So hopefully, some of these will translate into some warm memories for her too.. This year , we went out for a Christmas dinner.

She was very happy to see Santa... Santa kept making rounds and she would run up and meet him or tug on his suit as he passed by, each time...!!

The 'Magic Man' was a hit because she got his personal attention and he even pulled out a ball from her ear ..!!

She loved the colours of this mask, but thought it made her look scary. And princesses are not supposed to look scary ..only beautiful..

Then there was great food, live music, dancing and lots of desserts, though she had only strawberry ice-cream...

Amma...I looooove Santa...!!!  :D

Free Christmas Giveaway and some venting ...

Nearly six weeks since my last post and it does NOT feel good to have neglected my blogging. When life was kind of routine, blogging added sparkle to me..meeting so many talented and warm-hearted folks helped revive my zest and interest in a lot of things.

It has been days of excitement and discoveries, the past weeks... As I had mentioned, I started selling Jewelry and some craft I make online and I call my line SWARDAA.

I have made some lovely new friends who have been very encouraging and also supporting my endeavor, and my family have been  absolutely wonderful.

On one hand, while this has been happening, I have been also aware of a curious phenomenon.... some friends as well as relatives have been shying away from any contact since I announced Swardaa on FB. It is like they are afraid they would be compelled to buy stuff from me... !!!

I guess I should take the time to reassure them that as long as they do not expect offers of free gifts from me , every time I chat with them, I would not try to make them buy my creations... !!

Is it that painful to acknowledge or comment on a person's creative efforts?

Anyway, if I had been doing this as a means of my livelihood, I would have felt more let down by these so called 'close ones' . Since I make each piece with so much care, I rather see them going to people who are excited about owning them.

Now..venting over, I need to get on with the good things in my life. And for reading my vent with patience, I present a few of my creations here...

Please feel free to comment ...

To check out more of my work , please visit this link.

And there is a FREE GIVEAWAY on my Facebook page, as a Christmas special......A pair of festive earrings. Please click on the text and you can see it.

Hurry please . last date is 18th December 2011. Good luck and Merry Christmas.