Since the festival of Diwali just finished, here’s a throwback to the Diwali Bazaar in Little India from a couple of years back!
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2018 Week 46 Update
Another week has gone by and the children are almost in the middle of their school holidays.
Last Friday, GG’s school organised a two hour long concert of their school choir plus two other invited schools. It was lovely programme, not because GG was the opening emcee of her choir, but because all the schools sang quite well. Other than the open house in her school next week, this activity will be the last one for her for the school calendar year.
BB is his usual self, playing games on his laptop whenever he can and getting scolded by me! He also started shaving, something I didn’t think I’d see so soon! My baby has become a man!
In my news, some career expectations I had didn’t come through and I took this to be a sign from the universe that perhaps I should focus more on my freelance business which is what I will do now. I will spend the next month focusing on my family and the children and when the new year rolls around and people start coming back to work, I will start contacting potential clients.
Have a wonderful Sunday and an awesome week.
In My Hands Today…
The Last Kestrel – Jill McGivering
Ellen Thomas, an experienced war correspondent, returns to Afghanistan’s dangerous Helmand Province on assignment, keen to find the murderer of her friend and translator, Jalil. In her search for justice in a land ravaged by death and destruction, she uncovers disturbing truths.
Hasina, forced by tradition into the role of wife and mother, lives in a village which is taken by British Forces. Her only son, Aref, is part of a network of underground fighters and she is determined to protect him, whatever the cost.
Ellen and Hasina are thrown together – one fighting for survival, the other searching for truth – with devastating consequences for them both.
Recipes: Tamarind Date Chutney
I realised when I shared my recipe for chole that I have not yet shared this easy, piquant yet sweet Chutney. This is great when paired with fried food and also makes a great spread for sandwiches. It does take a while to make but is totally worth the effort.
I made this chutney along with my Green Coriander Chutney and Dried Red Chilli & Raisin Chutney when we hosted S’ colleagues for a Diwali open house.
Tamarind Dates Chutney
Ingredients:
- 1 cup tamarind
- 1 cup dates
- 2 tsp rock salt
- 1 tbsp red chilli powder
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- Salt to taste
Method:
- Deseed the dates and the tamarind. Make sure there is no fibre also in the tamarind.
- Soak the dates and tamarind either separately or together in hot water for an hour or so.
- When the dates and tamarind have cooled off, blend them, along with the water they were strained into a fine paste.
- Strain this paste through a strainer into a large pot which you can put on the gas. You may need to blend and strain a few times so that you get all the paste in.
- When everything has been strained, put the pot on the gas and add the salt, rock salt, red chilli powder and cumin powder and let it come to a rolling boil. You can also check spices at this point and add more if needed.
- Once it comes to a rolling boil, reduce the flame and let it boil for around 5-10 mins. It will start thickening and once it is almost as thick as you require, switch off the flame. It will become thicker as it cools.
- When cool, remove to a clean container and refrigerate. It should stay well in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
Notes:
- If you don’t have access to dates, you can substitute them with raisins. Or you can even do a combination of both dates and raisins. Just use the same quantity as above.
In My Hands Today…
The Flower Boy – Karen Roberts
The Buckwater family live side-by-side with their Ceylonese staff in a house nestled in the lush hillside tea estates of ’30s Ceylon. Premawathi is their cook and housekeeper. She has two beautiful daughters and a son, Chandi, who even at four-years-old is bright, inventive and more mischievous than his young harried mother can sometimes cope with.
As the novel opens Elsie Buckwater, an embittered woman is giving birth to her third baby. Chandi is enchanted by the idea of making an English friend and he christens her Rose-Lizzie after the flowers he loves. But the discontented Elsie imposes a stifling and unhappy atmosphere on the household and forbids Chandi to go near her baby daughter, whom she herself largely ignores. Eventually, however, she packs her bags and returns to England. Without her, life at the bungalow flourishes.
Memories and Such 