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Chatpati recipes for chatpata season

With the monsoon magic on.....and the magical pitpat sound of pouring rain.....it's time to indulge in mouth watering recipes (hot, chatpata and healthy).....so here we come with few recipes to satisfy the urge.......

TANGY BASIL TOMATO SOUP

Preparation time:   45 min
Serves                   :   4 People

Ingredients:
500gm – Tomatoes
2 to 3 pieces of Carrots
14 Basil Leaves
2 to 3 cloves
4 to 5 Red Kashmiri Chilies
2 to 3 spoons Fresh cream
2 spoons of butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

Recipe:
Boil Tomatoes, Basil leaves, Cloves, Carrots and Red chilies in cooker .
Once boiled grind it and strain it nicely.
In pan put butter, once heated add crushed tomato puree.
Add salt and pepper to taste and let it boil for 10 minutes and your soup is ready.
Garnish it with Fresh cream and Basil leaves and serve hot.

Mix Vegetables with Paneer 


Preparation Time:  30 Minutes
Serves                   :   4 people

Ingredients:
1 small bowl boiled carrots
1 small bowl boiled potatoes
1 small bowl boiled capsicum
All cut in rectangle pieces
1 cup green peas par boiled
4 big Tomatoes gravy
2 Onions gravy
1 tbs Garlic Ginger paste
1 small bowl of grated paneer
4tbs oil
Salt and red chilly powder to taste
1 tsp Turmeric powder


For Garnishing:
Coriander Leaves and Paneer

Method:
In a pan take 4tbs spoons of oil, once heated put ginger garlic paste and saute it for few seconds.
Later add capsicum, once half cooked
Add tomatoes and onion gravy mix properly cook it for 5 min
Add boiled vegetables, salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder mix properly and cook it for 5 minutes with closed lid.
Once cooked add paneer and cook it for 5 mins more with closed lid.
Garnish with coriander leaves n paneer.
This delicious mix veg with paneer you can have it with palak paratha or jeera paratha.

  
Chapata Mix Sprouts Bhel

Preparation time:   15 min

Ingredients:
1 Big bowl of mix sprouts
1big onion finely chopped
1big tomato finely chopped
1small boiled potato finely chopped
1 medium bowl of roasted puffed rice
2tbs Lemon juice
Mint and coriander chutney to taste
Khajur imli chutney to taste

Garnish:
Sev and Coriander leaves

Method:
Take one big bowl, add mix sprouts, onion, tomatoes, potato.
Add green chutney n sweet chutney as per taste add salt, lemon juice and black pepper
At last add roasted puffed rice n mix well.

Garnish it with sev and coriander leaves.

Pit Pit Patter Of The Raindrops...


The evening was round the corner. The skies casted the gloomy shadows making the ambiance all the more dull. I was waiting at the entrance of the society  for my daughter to come home from the school. Suddenly it started raining. Good Lord!!! I had an umbrella ready with me. By the time I opened the umbrella, a bus came to a screeching halt, splashing some water over me. Oh no....I don't want to get wet at this hour, my mind sulked....

But then something was to change... Here came my bubbly bundle, all full of energy, in spite of spending five good hours at school! With her usual grin she chirped...

Barish aai cham cham cham,
Lekar chata nikale hum,
Pair fisal gaye,
Gir gaye hum,
Niche chata uper hum.....

Then she busted in her usual hearty laughter. It turned out to be the Midas touch. Suddenly my heart was filled with the sunshine of the happiness. 

As we marched towards, our building, my daughter waived to our neighbouring couple. Both of them seemed to be lost in their own world. As I passed by them, I heard uncle humming the song...

Pyar huva, ikarar huva hai,
Pyar se fir kyun darata hai dil...

That reminded me of Raj Kapoor and Nargis...their subtle romance under the big black umbrella!! Here at that moment, uncle and aunty appeared just like the Raj Kapoor and Nargis. The rain gods have transformed the reel life to real...

My stream of thought was broken by the loud sneezing sound. I saw a young lady, drenched in water. She was coaxing her Activa to start up...but in vain. Is she Madhubala, I wondered??? I then found myself singing the song...

Ek ladaki, bhigi baghi si...

The young lady turned her head and gave me a broad smile!!!

Our march continued. There came a train of bachu-kachus of our society. The engine driver, the guard and the passengers, all clad in colourful raincoats,  were enjoying the rains. Their train was chugging to the tune...

Ghode jaisi chal, hathi jaisi dum,
Oh sawan raja kaha se aye tum!
Chuk dhum dhum, chuck dhum dhum, chuck dhum, chuck...

As the engine driver blew his whistle and the guard waved bye to us, we continued ahead.

Now we were right in front of our home. Man of the house, who had just returned from the office, welcomed both the ladies with a song that he was singing...

Rim zim gire sawan,
Sulag, sulag jaye man,
Bhige aaj is mausam me,
Lagi kaisi ye agan...

The expressions on his face and the song made be blush and soon it was not just the rain but that love that showered all over my world. My heart started to beat to the tune...

Barso re megha megha,
Barso re megha baraso...

And to give me the company in my blissful world was the Pit Pit Patter Of The Raindrops...

----By MocktailMommy Anagha

Linking this post to #WordSante by Varad and Namy



Monsoon Getaway.. All Work And No Play....

As rightly mentioned in our first post, the one thing that all of us miss most in our lives is that "ME TIME".... After dutifully fulfilling my job as a doctor & mother, I felt that void somewhere within, the nagging question, "What about me???!!!!" The yearning to break away from the monotony & meet up with friends for a casual chit chat was strong. Adding up to my woes was the harsh summer heat, which had made life miserable. But then, after every "down" in life, you get something to look "UP" to...

After a gruelling summer, it was the most pleasurable feeling to welcome the Rain Gods.  They brought with them, not only relief from the sweltering heat, but also the lush greenery that covered the ghats surrounding Mumbai.
In this romantic season, one can't help but feel the irresistible urge to get away from one's daily mundane life and delve into some adventure. "All work and no play, makes Harry a dull boy!" So true! This very feeling translated into a weekend plan to trek up to Sarasgad Fort over a Sunday. So, we didn't waste any more time and packed our bag packs to hike up to this wonderful fort.

Sarasgad fort is located at the Sarasgad village, which is very close to Pali.Pali village is famous for the Ballareshwar temple (one of the Ashtavinayak temples). The fort is located at a height of 1600 feet from sea level (487 mtrs). It can be identified by its four pinnacles, which were used as watch towers to survey the surrounding area. The trek was of medium difficulty level and can be completed in a day.

We were a group of friends and chose to drive down to Pali from Mumbai. The drive is around 130 kms from Mumbai along the Mumbai-Khopoli-Nagothane-Pali road. We took the exit after the Khopoli toll booth on Mumbai-Pune expressway towards Imagica and continued down the same road till we came to Pali. For those who do not prefer to drive, Pali is connected by state transport buses.

The trek started from the base village of Pali, just behind the temple. Though it did involve quite some steep terrain, slippery rock climbing and some gruelling stairs (111 to be precise, each step approx. 2 feet in height), the serene view from the top made the effort worthwhile. We got a mind blowing view of the sahyadris covered in clouds and a green carpet, the beautiful Amba river negotiating through the magnificent landscape and the mountains lined with in numerous waterfalls which sprouted all over because of the rains. We also got to see 3 big water tanks on top of the fort which were constructed to store water during olden days. Alongside was a camping site, where one can choose to camp overnight.

The climb down was equally exciting as we got to experience something we hadn't done in a long time...get totally drenched in the rains!!!! All in all, it was a Sunday well spent!!!


P.S: What lured us at the base village was some freshly brewed 'Gavati chai' (lemon grass tea) & piping hot, crisp 'kanda bhaji' (onion fritters).




Precautions: 
Full sleeves & track pants with sport shoes advisable.
Some light munches & water bottle can be carried
Beware of slippery rocks & stairs (don't be ashamed to crawl on all fours if you feel like)

Finally, leave all your worries behind and enjoy what nature has to offer!!!!!


-----By MocktailMommy Prasanna



This travelogue is being re-posted for Quoted Stories Linky Party #9

The Beginning


Another calendar day was about to be over. It was just another usual busy day for everyone...especially for some Queens. As the evening descended, Queens along with their lil prince and princess were spotted in the play area. For some Queens it was a long day at work and for some it was a hectic day at home. It was this twilight time that the Queens and their pride enjoyed  play time and chit chat....

Every single day when they met, they would discuss about an empty feeling that was rooted somewhere deep within. This very 'something missing in life', bothered them a lot. Every Queen was a talented lady and they came from a diverse spheres like banking and finance, physiotherapy, health and medicine, cooking, software, art and craft to name a few. All the Queens, at the same time, were dutifully and diligently discharging their duties in the capacity of either a mother or a wife or a daughter or a daughter in law or aunt or an employee, etc etc

When they grew closer to each other, one could see a vibrant, chirpy amalgamation of different spirits. Soon the Queens realized that they complimented each other. It was a unique concoction after all.  Cherry on the top was the fact that the 'missing something in life' quotient was fast disappearing from the canvas of their lives. It was nothing but the precious little 'ME TIME'.

As the Queens got the magic potion of the 'ME TIME', .... a tangy, fresh, refreshing mock-tail evolved. And why it shouldn't be...after all every Queen had unique flavor and color of the personality. Each Queen had a faith in the saying that 'Friends are like stars that come and go, but the ones that stay are the ones that Glow!!!'

This very  mock-tail encompassing different aspects of life from the perspective of each Queen now has a face, a platform....


Enjoy the making of the Mocktail Mommies with this short and cute video....


In case you could not open this video, please use the link below...



Come join us to rediscover that missing 'ME TIME' from your life. Lets live and enjoy the life King size!!!

....Watch out this space for a mocktail of ideas, concepts, views and everything about the monsoon to begin with. We have a whole lot of experiences to share with you from different walks of life...

Coming up the shore.. 'Monsoon Trekking Trip Experience' by a Doctor Mocktail mommy!

And we await your response as well... more the merrier...!!!