A simple MoM

She wakes up early in the morning every day, challenging the rising sun. There has been not a single day she has spent sleeping extra-long hours. There is an in-built alarm clock in her. The clock can stop working but there is no stopping for her.

 She takes early morning bath, performs her daily rituals, and prays for her family. Even the divine above must be wondering whether he gave her an extra punctuality power. She takes a cup of tea and sits on the sofa doing all monthly calculations. She doesn’t spend this time for herself and her eyes are on the timepiece. And there the alarm rings and even her cooker. She goes to wake her kids for school, prepares breakfast and tiffin. She has to deal with 2 fussy eaters every day in same pattern patiently and sternly. 

Once they leave for school she again gets back to kitchen to prepare breakfast & meal for her husband and in laws. Everyone has a different taste. For kids she prepares sandwich, for husband corn flakes and for in-laws paratha. In the mundane task of preparing delicacies for everyone she has forgotten what she likes and eats whatever suits her time and is ready.

Though everyone has gone to their respective schedule, she still has loads to do; laundry, monitoring maids, cleaning, changing pillow covers and bed sheet, settling bills of milkman, laundryman, cable, grocery  etc., The moment she sits the bell rings, the moment she thinks to do something the bell rings and it does at least 10 times. She doesn’t get bugged but thinks of it as a good exercise.  

Its 12 noon and time for her to get back to work, not household work but something she loves doing and is passionate about. Initially her family was not taking her earnestly but yes now they are and proud of her. She loves teaching. She always wanted to be a teacher. Her parents got her married early, and then came responsibility of house & kids. But time came when she could pursue her dream and career of her choice, though not full time but at least few hours till her children are not home because she doesn’t wants to affect their schedule and give them best possible time.

She runs tuition classes at home. Not many students but takes maximum 10, due to space constraint. It’s been 2 yrs. and she is steady and motivated. Dreams of opening her own classes in a big space. These few hours gives her mental satisfaction and she gets rejuvenated to get back again taking homework of their kids, revision, preparing tea & snacks, going to the market, taking kids to the park, preparing dinner and putting kids to sleep, taking care of medication of in-laws and showing affection & care to her husband. She doesn’t sleep before 1 am. Sometimes after everyone falls asleep, she prepares notes and sheets for her students and reads her favorite book.

Turn the word ‘MoM’ upside down; it appears as ‘WoW’, she truly has a WoW factor in her. She is a simple mom but a fabulous woman.

No big aspirations and demands, happy in her own cocoon. She has few set of friends whom she meets on birthdays and anniversaries. She visits her parents twice in a year during vacations in her native place. You can find her in every single women whether working or at home. Few qualities here and there but she resembles all of us. 


**The content is imaginative and doesn't bear resemblance to any character or person

Quaker Oats contest receipe: SCHEZWAN OATS TREAT

The way to man’s heart is through his stomach, well, for me it was not applicable since I stole my husband’s heart first and then got a chance to cook for him. The way he is a fan of my cooking, I also want my daughter to say that her momma is the best cook. Earlier I used to prepare a feast for my husband and now I prepare dishes to attract my daughter, who is a fussy eater, to at least make her grab a bite.

It is so difficult to please kids to have food. People say, make colorful dishes, so that kids get attracted to eat. But for me it was opposite. My daughter loves modest looking dishes. So I try to make simple looking, innovative, scrumptious recipes which are full of nutrients and which don’t require much time in preparation & cooking.

Oats has been regular in my child’s diet. Oats have become very popular in recent times, due to its various health benefits. They are higher dietary fiber and have healthy cholesterol-lowering properties. It reduces risk of coronary heart diseases, lowers blood pressure, easy to digest, and helps in reducing obesity. Here is my dish which I made from Quaker oats:

Schezwan Oats Treat

Preparation time: 15 min Cooking Time: 15min Total time: 30min Serves 4 people

Ingredients for rolls/tikkis:

1 small packet Quaker oats Homestyle masala 40g

1 small bowl grated cabbage (boil it for a little while after grating. Usually I prefer boiling cabbage before using it. Squeeze it completely.)

1 small bowl grated carrots (squeeze it completely)

1 small capsicum finely chopped

2 boiled potatoes

2 Tablespoon Jeera powder

1 Tablespoon red chilli powder or as per taste

Black pepper (crushed) as per taste

2 Tablespoon Schezwan sauce

4-5 bread slices made into crumps by grinding

1 small cheese cube, finely chopped

1 small bowl suji/rawa

Oil for frying

How to make rolls/tikkis:

Take Quaker oats Homestyle Masala and empty it in a bowl filled with water (cook as per instructions given on the packet). Bring it to boil, make a thick paste. Add this paste to a big bowl along with grated carrot and cabbage, finely chopped capsicum, potatoes, bread crumps, jeera powder, red chilli powder, black pepper, salt, and schezwan sauce.

Smash it completely and make as soft dough. Start making finger rolls. Place the chopped cheese pieces in between the rolls before giving it desired shape. You can make finger rolls, round tikki or star shaped tikki out of it. You can also add chopped dry fruits in between the rolls/tikkis. Apply some oil on your palms before giving it shapes. Spread suji/rawa on a plate and place the rolls, slightly over it so that they get covered completely. This will give a crispy taste to it. You need not deep fry it. One can also shallow fry it on a non-stick pan with less oil.

Ingredients for Chutney:

1 small bowl finely chopped coriander leaves

Half bowl mint leaves

1 small onion

1 small green chilli

1 teaspoon jeera

Salt as per taste

Half cut lime

How to make Chutney:

Grind coriander leaves, mint leaves, onion, green chilli, jeera, salt and then squeeze lemon for some tangy taste.

Serve the rolls with chutney and some salad. Children would love to eat by dipping it in Mayonnaise sauce(its readily available in the market). 

Easy to prepare, easy to serve dish with a twist, especially for children. They can carry in their tiffin’s. You can prepare the rolls/tikkis and keep it raw in the fridge. It shall last for min 2 days, and fry it whenever you want to. One can add vegetables of their choice. Serve it with bread or chapatti; it is filling and healthy too.

Nothing can pull you down, be strong as a mountain!

Have you ever wondered why are mountains so strong? How can they withstand the pressure of nature? No  matter how rough the weather is they stand still and robust. This is because they have a strong foundation and are meant to be that way.

Even humans are designed to be strong and fight against all odds. But not all of us can face life’s challenges with equal ease. Though we all have that quality of a fighter within us but we don’t recognize it especially at the time of crises. We tend to easily fall prey to the situation and sulk in bouts of sadness. We become so blank & deaf to encouraging & supportive words by our loved ones and surrender ourselves to the moment of dismay.

How many times has one felt like just staring at the wall and not reacting at all, as if we have been bitten by some venomous snake? No one is happy or sad as they portray in movies or daily soaps.

We all have the courage and will to fight all odds of life. We just have to identify it at the right time. Birth, death, pass, fail, win, loose, fall, rise, are some of the natural actions of life and life never stops at any of these occurrences. One has to move on and reach the skies.

Look at kids, the more they fall, the faster they rise to achieve their target, without even a small grump on their face. Then what happens to us when we become adults? Why we get so terrified by pains and hardships?

We adults have very less percentage of patience and tolerance levels. I have experienced and heard people saying, “I have faced so much that I can’t tolerate any nonsense”. Sometimes even I repeat the same words.

Let us not define any level and believe that we are most patient and tolerant being on this planet.

Meditate and keep repeating to yourself.

Don’t get triggered over small things.

Face every situation as a challenge.

Be rock strong.

Do what excites you to achieve more in life. Practice what makes you happy.

Be among people who motivate you.

Remember that yesterday will not repeat itself. The present will never come back again and no one can judge or see the future. Then why crib about past and worry about future. Take any given worst situation as a passing phase, with a bright ray of hope.