life

Alone and listening – PAM

| Masuma

I went grocery shopping to Indian groceries at Quality Foods Hayes and alone. I amazed myself by going beserk buying as many vegetables and fruits as I could, the cook in me was thrilled and the health conscious foodie in me was unbelted.

Almost 2 hours in my riot of grabs, I was almost done and then I thought let me go buy some bittergourd too. So I hopped quick leaving my shopping trolly in a corner and I was back to the greens and as I was going through the lot to select a few, a lady next to me coughed and then she said “I am sorry”, I casually said “Oh seems like you are unwell”…and then it began.

She said she had a big brawl with her brother, feels very choked. And I asked her if she is feeling fine…and her story began, she was looking for someone to spill out everything that she was holding in her heart, maybe a stranger like me…and I took interest.

It was a 20 minute of talk and in that her life view summarised to me.

She is not married and is 60+, retired, worked all her life, has her own home, has an ongoing pension that supports her, lost her parents recently, has an abusive brother. She told me about her achievements, her troubles and her worries!

I patiently heard, I gave my bits in between and then at the end I told her..take care of yourself, she looked dressed well and tidied..so I told her seems like you do take care of yourself, continue to do so…travel..you may have travelled a lot, you may want to travel for a purpose…for volunteering, for helping kids across the globe…give them what you have acquired all your life, your wisdom…and more importantly dont feel guilty when you are not able to help your brother…there is only so much you can do..life will open other doors for him…she found solace in my words..her eyes beamed at the idea of volunteering work..her eyes glowed when I appreciated her achievements and her life..

She asked me my name, I gave a brief intro..it was not about me anyway so I kept my description light.

I asked her name:   “PAM”

A photo I requested:  She denied, did not want to be logged anywhere.

“PAM I wish you a wonderful life” is all I said and moved on, she smiled at me.

That picture I took of myself to keep the memory of PAM, born to a Portuguese mother and an African father.

 

Chicken Recipe With Avocado

| Masuma

 

Ingredients:
1 whole baby chicken, skinned out and fresh.

For marination:

  • Greek Yoghurt
  • Fresh Ginger paste
  • Fresh garlic paste
  • Fresh Lemon squeeze
  • Salt
  • Some masala if you have, I had used peri peri in my dry run turned out spicy so then for the main day I used chicken masala.
  • Pepper
  • Olive oil, 1 teaspoon

For Sauce:

  • Tomato ketchup
  • English mustard sauce
  • Avocados
  • Greek Yoghurt
  • Creme fraiche (1 teaspoon) optional

For sizzling

  • Coconut oil
  • Jeera (cumin seeds)
  • turmeric
  • red chilli powder
  • Kali jeera+ ajwain + methi (fenugreek seeds) -> roasted and powdered. I keep this powder for daily direct oral consumption. Health Benefits of this

Method:

Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients and keep it overnight in the refrigerator.

Sunrise 🌄 and it’s a new day.

Preheat the oven (180)

Let the full chicken roast in the oven for about 45 minutes uncovered.

Do keep checking in between.
Then switch off the oven and let the chicken sit hot in there. It’s baby chicken, gets tender nicely.

Sauce:
I had taken 1 and half avocado, peeled, chopped and blended into a paste for one baby chicken

In a big mixing bowl, add avocados paste
Add Yoghurt
Add Ketchup ( this is from the original recipe I based on, you can make your own tomato ketchup or go for tomato purée )
Add Mustard sauce
Add one spoon creme fraiche (optional)
Now proportions I controlled based on my taste.

Assembling:

In a big pan, heat oil
Add jeera, once it crackles then keep the flame slow
Add turmeric
Add red chilli powder
Add the kali jeera + ajwain + methi seeds roast powder (optional)
Then slowly add the the sauce, let it cook for 2 minutes
Remove the chicken from oven and gently place it in the pan with all of its stock and juices.
Nicely get it coated with the sauce so the chicken gets enriched with the flavour
Now let it cook uncovered for say 5 minutes and then put the lid and cook for another 4 minutes. Switch off! Job done.

One can also do dhungar! I simply added crackled ghee on top.

Garnishing:
Coriander chopped
Masala eggs – is boiled eggs and they are then sautéd in oil with salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and pepper powder!

This is what happened with me , you can build your own taste! Encourage you to customise 🙂

Thuli greatness!

| Masuma

Thuli (It is a quick funny read)

In Bohra tradition on Islamic birthday (varas), we cook a sweet dish “Thuli”.
What is thuli ? -> http://www.thoughtsoverchai.net/thuli-bohra-sweet-dish-spe…/

It was Amreen’s varas in Dec 2018 and it was not going to be without thuli ofcourse.
I had woken up really early say 4:30ish for cooking 10 food items to be portioned and stored in the deep freezer to suffice my family with daily food when I was to be travelling to India.
So in that mechanical mode the first thing that I had to finish that day was to prepare thuli, I reached out for the cracked wheat, added jaggery, fennel seeds and water to it – pressure cooker On!
Began with the giant mess of cooking for 10 days, in a while the cooker whistled, I felt happy and assured that thankfully I kickstarted “Thuli” first thing in the morning so it will be ready for the day! yay!
I did not open the cooker as I was assured it would be all good and will attend to it after I am done with few items that were in progress.
Say after an hour or so opened it and what I see….?
I expected cooked broken wheat, that would had turned soft etc..
But I see brown water, shocked !!!!!

1. What did I buy, the broken wheat was really fine, but it melted?
2. Does it melt?
3. I have found something so unsual
4. now what to do with this water, did I overcook it?
5. I cant understand, that such kind of broken wheat that melts is conceptually possible.

and then then then it all occured, I rushed to the packet that I had used…damn it was cane sugar, lol!

I had used cane sugar in my morning dead eye confidence, so that cooked water – was sweet water (jaggery + cane sugar). OMG.

I could not stop laughing, with everyone still tied up in their beds I called up my sister to share the laughter.
It was hilarious!
Later I used that water to prepare the thuli which turned out oooh lala delicious with all that sweet laughter mixed in it. Joyous feed !
No pics taken, just solo memory!

So that was the story of Thuli, as promised its out.

Pic of the cane sugar I had blindly used #funAloneMemory #nojudgingPlease#afterAllAmum

Good morning 

Orchestration

| Masuma

That orchestration map we keep building/rebuilding as we live.
Routing of messages through the myriad of channels filtering/enriching as they go.
such a web of human energy routes – I wonder if there could be a dynamic energy map generation for every human in the nature’s view

Now as I put this random thought down I actually sense this should be existing and definitely you can communicate to all your direct powerful routes instantly, just keep conveying. It will keep the softness, I am so sure!

This map would be so chaotic but it could easily simplify a lot of unknown had it been visible. You know mystery is rather good 🙂

Happy 2019

| Masuma

“Today or tomorrow the envelope will get closed
And the parcel will get posted to the ghost
Meanwhile fill it up with fancy bright bows
By vivaciously living your purposeful chores
Build up your strength and put it in your store
With brazened courage get out, explore!”

Happy New Year !! Wishing you all beastly determination with those nasty tough resolutions 👍🏻

Love & Strength,
❤️asuma

Life

| Masuma

Ranjish Kaha se Shuru hui
ZehNaseeb aap nazar kijiye

Zindagi koi tamanna na rah jaye
Har maud ko jeeya kijiye

ghane kaale badaal ki khoobsurati ko samjha kijiye
Nikhaarti roop mein beshumaar bheega kijiye!

zindadili Apni yakeen se chalne dijiye
Muskarahat ko dheere se roshan karne dijiye!

Meaning:
Where did your anguish begin from
Hey you blessed soul take a look

Life should not remain a mere desire
live every turn of life

Understand the beauty of the dark dense clouds
drench your self in its ever glowing growth

Go on vivaciously with strong hope
The smile will come slowly and brighten it all up.

Adult Tears

| Masuma

That uncontrolled burst
Simplifies telling of hidden thirst
They are goddamn special
Renders a meaningful festive facial

Mostly are held up for long
Or either they are shed away from
But They are goddamn special
Reveals the secretive musical

Sweet difficulties easily shared
Bringing soft meetings so cared
oh They are goddamn special
Sings an everlasting hearty jingle

Bear Fingers – from my catchup email

| Masuma
Hello all,
To top up to this noisy world that does not shut up even if you say so I dare to be aloud, the difference is I am here back in my private little corner.
It was time to share some of my unimportant but very lovely moments. Let me just jump to that…
So every night we perform this ritual of reading with Amreen (these days Zahra just squeezes in too, she is the naughtiest of us all who makes me laugh nonstop).
Even if that means picking up that funny comic strip from the newspaper we read it.
Ummm but but but sometimes we are not able to do extensive reading after a very long day of hardwork.
As it appears with kids there is a good amount of time taken in patience …patience …anger and patience!
The time to cuddle up would get sacrificed which I did not like….
 I  asked Amreen one night before we opened the book – should we form a story instead of reading ?
 Her eyes said it all! I saw that joy oozing out shining — the smile so genuine, truely excited..Kids are so true with their expressions its amazing!
So there we did our first story in 3 nights and before kissing good night I would tell her to come up with ideas for the continuity.
” Bear  Fingers “
Chapter 1:
There was a Bear who had equal sized fingers on his hands and he did not know why
He was very confused and could not understand why was it so.
He wanted to find out and asked all his friends and parents but no one had an answer for him
He knew humans were very smart he knew there were doctors for animals…he knew he could ask them but how..
He tried to approach them several times but they ran away..they would try to shew him away..
He would find it difficult to interact with humans..but he had to know the answer.
So how will he reach out?
So I asked Amreen to think over this and build up the next chapter so that he can reach out to humans.
And then taken over by Amreen we formed the next part based on her ideas.
Chapter2:
The bear thought if he could approach humans in disguise of a human and know how to talk in English he could possibly reach out.
To achieve this he needed to have a human costume and he would need to learn English.
So the bear thought there are Bohra women who have a costume called Rida that can work well to hide his body, his tail would be hidden too and he can hide is face by putting up the pardi in front.
So he broke into a fat Bohra lady’s house to get her Rida and left a note there saying “Thankyou, will return it to you soon – Bear“
He was happy with the fitting and now he started to wear it to attend English classes.
He would remain quiet and not talk to anyone and simply attend the lessons.
He was very smart and mastered English in a weeks time because he would only do that all the time..
Now he was ready….
So I ended it here and asked her that next part should be the last one where he gets to speak to the doctor and he will have his answer so whats gonna happen she can throw in her ideas.
She said “I am so excited I cant wait for tommorrow”
Those little words…i felt amazing..”cant wait for tomorrow”..it was satisfying to be able to give such an experience to her and it was so simple to do …. quality time is always rewarding!
Chapter 3:
The bear got an appointment of a vet doctor and he could not wait to see him, he looked at his fingers all the time with a curious face and a smile.
The bear got in the clinic, when he was called in, he jumped inside the room and said “Hello Doctor” and stripped off his Rida,
The doctor and his assistant were shocked.
The bear kept saying ” Dont worry Dont worry”…and he told him his problem and his story of making it possible to reach him.
The doctor was very shaken but he felt he should help him and he conducted few tests and concluded there was nothing wrong.
He said “Bear, you are different but there is nothing wrong and you are perfectly normal. He is as alike as any other bear.”
And the bear was happy to hear that and got back to his life happily and satisfied.
He returned the rida back to that lady with a small chocolate leaving it at her doorstep.
Story Ends.
After this I told Amreen  – Everyone is different and they have some weird things in their body or mind, but that makes them special and they do something great because of it.
The fact that bear had a concern for his fingers he was the first bear to learn English and do something really fantastic!
So it is good to know what is that weird thing and once u know it…dont stop there…make awesome use of it!
This made her happy and we stuck to each other a Bear finger hi-five! We slept well with a sense of achievement.
I have told Amreen self made stories n number of times with moral values etc in the past and she has told me her silly stories with sweet morals too but this one will stay with us both !
Hope all of you are shining in your journeys. Wish you well always!
Love,
Masuma