Pray!

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephe 3:16 -19

Prayer is never just asking, nor is it merely a matter of asking for what I want. God is not a cosmic butler or fix-it man, and the aim of the universe is not to fulfill my desires and needs. On the other hand, I am to pray for what concerns me, and many people have found prayer impossible because they thought they should only pray for wonderful but remote needs they actually had little or no interest in or even knowledge of.

Prayer simply dies from efforts to pray about “good things” that honestly do not matter to us. The way to get to meaningful prayer for those good things is to start by praying for what we are truly interested in. The circle of our interests will inevitably grow in the largeness of God’s love.

- Dallas Willard, Divine Conspiracy

Everyone needs encouragement and by dropping someone a card and letting them know we are praying for them, we can offer them hope and encouragement.

Have you ever considered keeping a prayer diary? This is a powerful testimony to the power of prayer and it can also function as a reminder to pray for someone we may not have prayed for in a while.

Perspective!

Be happy with the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Entrust your ways to the LORD. Trust him, and he will act [on your behalf]. Psalm 37: 4,5

Why can’t I get what is right? Why do I have hard time? Why is it looks difficult for me? What could be the motive?

Are you in the middle of these questions? Just read this story!!!

                  A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box.

Curious, and somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angry, he rose his voice to his father and said "with all your money, you give me a Bible?" and stormed out of the house.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

When he arrived at his father's house, a sudden feeling of sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still gift-wrapped Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. His father had carefully underlined a verse, Matt.7:11, "if ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven, give good things to them that ask Him?"

As he read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words PAID IN FULL.

How many times do we miss God's blessings because we can't see past our own desires?

Put God on the first throne of your heart! Over everything!!! 

> Over Family

> Over Health issues

> Over Marriage

> Over your career!

> Over your money!

> Over you! 

Don’t just put God there with your mouth! rather, put Him there with your commitment! Don’t just say He is first and then go on with your life, allow God to transform your perspective!

Open mind!

The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. Prov 18:15

Are you open to thoughts or opinions that may be different than your own? If a thought or opinion is giving you a lot grief, start thinking if your base assumption is right! May be the base assumption is not your own and can be incorrect. By seeking wise counsel you may find opportunities that you were not aware of. It is quite amazing, how thoughts or opinion can crawl into our brain, build a network of “” ideas and make it believe all along. 

When discussing an issue, stay open minded and understand the other persons opinions and who knows, sometimes your own thoughts/understanding on the strong matter may change as a consequence. Most of all have a healthy conversation. 

Empty() Tomb!

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead ... 1 Peter 1:3

Are we ready to leave the tomb of worldliness, as Jesus left his tomb? The truth of the resurrection is the basis of the experience, but as the flower is more lovely than the root, so is the experience of fellowship with the risen Savior more lovely than anything else.

There was a man who was on his death bed and he called the three men that he trusted the most to come and see him. He called his minister, his doctor and his lawyer to him and said, “When I die, I my savings account of $90,000 divided three ways and when you walk by my casket, I want each of you to put your $30,000 into my casket to be buried with me.” They didn’t understand why the man wanted to be buried with the money, but they oblidged him. A week later, the man died. At the funeral, each man placed their portion into the casket as they walked by to pay their last respects. As they were eating dinner together afterward, the minister said, “Guys, I have something to confess to you. I kept out some of the money. We’re in the middle of the building project, so I kept out $10,000.” Then the doctor spoke up. He said, “Well, if were going to confess things to each other, I guess I’d better confess too. We’re adding a new maternity ward onto the hospital and I kept out 20,000 of my portion to help defray the cost.” The lawyer had a disgusted look on his face as he shook his head and said, “You guys ought to be ashamed of yourselves. I hope you know that my $30,000 will always be with him in the ground. I wrote a personal check for the full amount!”

There are times when we are not good enough with the choices we make, and like the” little mind” to keep the promise, we believe that we’ll get what we want. 

What about you? Do you feel like you are settling for less than God’s best for your life?

life is too unpredictable and too brief to live it without God at the center. Our lives are like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Have you been on driving? What it look like giving speed and brake at the same time...meaningless! Yes, We do the same when we are riding with God, we don’t trust His driving, out of patience we are like” No , not that way”, “Where are you going?” and “Watch out, Boom crash!” We are intend to find brake pedal on our side! 

Do you REALLY want to make a drastic difference in your appearance today? Let's stop focusing on our outward issues today and start focusing on what really counts -- walking uprightly and wholeheartedly with the Lord. A spiritual extreme makeover!  So don’t let your life’s story be told by something perishable, spoiled, and fading. Don’t store up for yourself treasure on earth with fame and riches—which will all be destroyed. Don’t let your story be an empty and purposeless legacy that will be another lost page in history. Instead be embraced by Jesus’ story, and have treasure in heaven.  

Bhindi Masala

Bhindi Masala is Okra sauteed with Tomatoes and spices. It is delicious Indian curry which is generally served with chappati or roti. I was not a big fan of Bhindi Masala till I tried this. But it tastes yummy!!!

Ingredients

• Okra(Ladies finger) - 1 lb
• Onion(thinly sliced) - ½ cup
• Tomatoes - 2
• Green chilli (finely chopped) - 1
• Ginger(grated) - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tbsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tbsp
• Garam masala powder - 1/2 tbsp
• Chole masala powder - 1/4 tbsp
• Salt To Taste
• A Pinch of Asafoetida
• Oil for Frying

Preparation :

Cut bhindi (Okra) in diagonal pieces.

Heat the oil in frying pan and shallow fry bhindi (okra).Keep fried bhindi (okra) aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds wait until seeds crack. Add pinch of asafoetida, then add green chilli and ginger paste, fry for one minute.

Add onion and tomato pieces, salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and mix well, cover the pan and cook for a few minutes until tomatoes become soft. Stir if needed to avoid the mixture from sticking to the pan.

Add fried bhindi (okra) and mix gently. Keep on low heat for two minutes and then remove the pan.

Bhindi masala is ready to taste....and it goes well with Rice or chappathi.

The impact!

Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give me if I betray him to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. Matthew 26:14-16

What does the story of Judas and Jesus have for us ? It is a reminder to show , how powerful the things around us are! Yes, Never underestimate the power and impact of a decision. The impact of our decisions unfolds through our lives and ripples into the lives of others. Do you see that it is not the money itself, but its the attitude, the heart that made all the difference. He did it for the money, he loved his money, more than he loved, Jesus as his Lord. The money itself can’t hurt us, but a corrupt love of money will change us. Our material things in this life, will either help or hinder, enrich or destroy ; and our attitude toward money and possessions most clearly reflects our relationship with God.

In our own lives, this can be seen when we seek to betray the truth, we betray our Lord in the same manner as Judas did here. Our reasoning for doing such a thing may resemble some of the thoughts that could have been on mind of Judas. Judas may have been disappointed with Jesus and did not used the opportunity to get the grace of God. In a similar way, we can be disappointed or frustrated with the truth of a given set of circumstances, and be tempted to sponsor a set of falsehoods. This temptation …. the powerful act of sin....impact of a decision is forceful. It may be the secret desire of gaining a person’s favor? or it may be a quick escape from a stressful situation? The bottom line is the truth is sacrificed in favor of getting something. 

Success is what we learn from our failures.  No matter what you have done, it is time to learn from mistakes. The world of Judas is the opposite world from the love of Christ. Judas knew of love but did not know God’s love and so he did not know the redeeming grace of God in Christ. Trust in Lord and don’t despair. Begin the journey anew and allow Him to redirect your walk.

Crispy Ivy Gourd/ Kovakai Fry!

Ivy Gourd has been classified as a medicinal herb in traditional Thai and its a ayurvedic medicine. It contains beta - carotene, major vitamin A precursor from plant sources. It is also considered a good source of protein and fiber. 

Ingredients:

• Ivy gourd(lengthwise cut) - 2 cups.
• Onion (Chopped) - 1/4 cup
• Red Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tbsp
• Urad dhal - 1/2 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Curry leaves to garnish

Preparation :

Spread the Ivy gourd in a microwaveable plate and sprinkle some salt and oil and microwave for 10 minutes.

In a pan, splutter the mustard and urad dhal with oil. Now add the chopped onion and saute it for a while till the onions turns brown. 

Add the Ivy gourd and fry for few minutes. Add the Chilli powder and turmeric powder and salt. 

Cook the Ivy gourd in medium flame until it becomes crispy and tender. Serve with any kind of rice...but it goes well with curd rice. :) Yummm!

Serve....Serve...Serve!

Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. “He will not be disheartened or crushed until He has established justice in the earth; And the coast lands will wait expectantly for His law.” Isaiah 42 :1 -4 .

"Where should I serve?", "Do I meet the qualifications of a good servant?" and "Does God wants me to serve here?" are the usual questions that we ask about serving others. Highlighted part is when it becomes challenging!

In analyzing the servant character of the Lord Jesus there are many Scriptures that could be examined. The entire Gospel of Mark, for example, presents Christ as the perfect Servant. Mark should be studied from this perspective  for its rich insights on servant and the ways we have to follow on. In old testament the book of Isaiah depicts the servant-passage and Lord Jesus Christ as the perfect model Servant. Isaiah has been called "The Gospel of the Old Testament"...!

I love the Book of Isaiah! The book of Isaiah mirrors the Bible...

Isaiah has 66 chapters...The Bible has 66 books...

Isaiah has 39 chapters dealing primarily with the history of the Israel...The Bible has 39 Old Testament books dealing primarily with the history of Israel...

Isaiah has 27 chapters dealing with dealing with the future of the Israelite people...including some beautiful prophesy about Christ, the coming Messiah...The New Testament has 27 books dealing with the story of Christ.

Most of us would walk away from a drunk person, stay away from shady characters, walk past the homeless person, reject the needy young person on the street; Is this the way God wants us to serve Him? !!! This is not what we are called to be by the God who loved US so much! We are called to be God ’s servant. He didn’t look at the world and turn his back, no, in spite of His rejection he did more than anyone could do. You know, not once did Jesus boast and say, "oh, look at all these wonderful things I am doing for you, aren’t I wonderful?!, "look at brave me dying here for you, aren’t I wonderful?!" No, he did everything even when the disciples didn’t understand why he was doing it.

Here is a challenge, next time you do something for someone, don’t tell them you did it. Just rest in the satisfaction that, what you did will have lightened the persons load. Don't give up! The Most wonderful Servant is still in the business of healing and helping bruised reeds and flickering wicks. He came to conquer with love and to shepherd his people in mercy and grace. Submit to His tender and gentle hands. 

Talk the Talk!!!

Let no filthy talk be heard from your mouths, but only what is good for building up people and meeting the need of the moment. This way you will administer grace to those who hear you. Eph 4:29

Are my words useful to the hearer? Are my words helpful and needful? Are my words are constructive? Do they hurt someone? Do they do good or damage or destroy the relationships? 

The question is, where is our focus? It is too easy for it to be on what we need to say instead of what our neighbor needs to hear. Every word we say impacts our relationships for good or for ill. Once a slanderous word escapes our lips, our relationship is changed forever. It can never be the same again. God's solution is not to just "zip the lip" and never say anything at all. Also, Mere silence is not good enough. 


Remember who you are! Are we glorifying God? Words give us control over others.We need to be careful how we phrase things in accordance with the person’s actual needs. We need to encourage people rather than tear them down. Always consider how our words will be heard and build up the relationships with loving intent.


If you can’t say something nice....Shut Up...,No; Instead, by God’s grace... say something nice. To simply put, “Every word … all good … all grace … all the time”.

Please Wait!

Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.Rom 12:12

Gary Ingrid, who has written extensively on friendship, tells the tale of some parents on the East coast who got a telephone call from their son during the Korean War. They were thrilled, because they hadn’t heard from him for many months. He said he was in San Francisco on his way home.

"Mom, I just wanted to let you know that I’m bringing a buddy home with me," he said. "he got hurt pretty bad, and he only has one eye, one arm, and one leg. I’d sure like him to live with us."

Sure, son," his mother replied. "He sounds like a brave man. We can find room for him for a while."

"Mom, you don’t understand. I want him to come live with us."

"Well, OK," she finally said. "We could try for six months or so."

"No, Mom, I want him to stay always. He needs us. He’s only got one eye, one arm, and one leg. He’s in really bad shape."

By now the mother had lost her patience. "Son, you’re being unrealistic about this. You’re emotional because you’ve been in a war. That boy will be a drag on you and a constant problem for all of us. Be reasonable."

The phone clicked dead. The next day, the parents got a telegram: their son had committed suicide. A week later the parents received the body. They looked down with unspeakable sorrow on the corpse of their son - who had one eye, one arm, and one leg.

There are things in our lives that happen that we don't understand; Accept the twist and turns in life gracefully. If we plan for something, but things don't always work out as planned; not only in circumstances, but also the behavior of those around us. Don't bother too much. 

Keep your expectations realistic and most of all wait on the Lord. Perhaps good things may not always come to those who wait, but MOST good things that do come don't come right away.

Humble Yourself!

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in the due time. 1 Peter 5 :6

Bamboo

Once upon a time, in the heart of the Western Kingdom, lay a beautiful garden. And there, in the cool of the day, the Master of the garden was wont to walk. Of all the denizens of the garden, the most beautiful and most beloved was gracious and noble bamboo. Year after year, bamboo grew yet more noble and gracious, conscious of his Master’s love and watchful delight, but modest and gentle withal. And often when the wind came to revel in the garden, Bamboo would cast aside his grave stateliness, to dance and play right merrily, tossing and swaying and leaping and bowing in joyous abandon, leading the Great Dance of the garden, Which most delighted the Master’s heart.

Now, once upon a day, the Master himself drew near to contemplate his Bamboo with eyes of curious expectancy. And Bamboo, in a passion of adoration, bowed his great head to the ground in loving greeting.

The Master spoke: “Bamboo, Bamboo, I would use you.”

Bamboo flung his head to the sky in utter delight. The day of days had come, the day for which he had been made, the day to which he had been growing hour by hour, the day in which he would find his completion and his destiny.

His voice came low: “Master, I’m ready. Use me as Thou wilt.”

“Bamboo,” – The Master’s voice was grave --- “I would have to take you and cut you down!”

A trembling of great horror shook Bamboo…”Cut …me… down ? Me.. who thou, Master, has made the most beautiful in all thy Garden…cut me down! Ah, not that. Not that. Use me for the joy, use me for the glory, oh master, but cut me not down!”

Beloved Bamboo,”—The Master’s voice grew graver still—“If I cut you not down, I cannot use you.”

The garden grew still. Wind held his breath. Bamboo slowly bent his proud and glorious head. There was a whisper:

“Master, if thou cannot use me other than to cut me down.. then do thy will and cut”.

“Bamboo, beloved Bamboo, I would cut your leaves and branches from you also”.

“Master, spare me. Cut me down and lay my beauty in the dust; but would thou also have to take from me, my leaves and branches too?”

“Bamboo, if I cut them not away, I cannot use you.”

The Sun hid his face. A listening butterfly glided fearfully away. And Bamboo shivered in terrible expectancy, whispering low: “Master, cut away”

“Bamboo, Bamboo, I would yet… split you in two and cut out your heart, for if I cut not so, I cannot use you.”

Then Bamboo bowed to the ground: “Master, Master… then cut and split.”

So did the Master of the garden took Bamboo…

and cut him down…

and hacked off his branches…

and stripped off his leaves…

and split him in two…

and cut out his heart.

And lifting him gently, carried him to where there was a spring of fresh sparkling water in the midst of his dry fields. Then putting one end of the broken Bamboo in the spring and the other end into the water channel in His field, the Master laid down gently his beloved Bamboo… And the spring sang welcome, and the clear sparkling waters raced joyously down the channel of bamboo’s torn body into the waiting fields. Then the rice was planted, and the days went by, and the shoots grew and the harvest came.

In that day Bamboo, once so glorious in his stately beauty, was yet more glorious in his brokenness and humility. For in his beauty he was life abundant, but in his brokenness he became a channel of abundant life to his Master’s world.

Author Unknown

If you are truly humble, you will be constantly amazed that God is so good and gracious to you.

Thirunelveli Sodhi!

Sodhi is one of the unique and popular dishes in Tirunelveli (South India). Sodhi is normally made for lunch as it is a very heavy dish, but it taste awesome the night it is cooked and goes well with plain idiyappam. It is heavy gravy made of coconut milk and vegetables... a kind of stew. This stew is delicious and yummy!!! 

Ingredients:

Coconut -1/2 grate it and extract 1 cup thick milk, 2 cups thin milk

Ginger grated - 4 tbsp ( If you want it spicy add a little more)

Moong Dhal - 1/2 cup

Green chillies - 3

Carrots - 1 cut in long slices

Drum Stick - 1

Beans - 5 lengthwise cut

potato - 1 cut in cubes

Shallots - 8

Lemon - 1

Cabbage - 1/4 of a medium sized cabbaged cut in large pieces.

To grind:

Grated coconut - 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Green chilies - 1

Preparation :

Pressure cook moong dal with garlic and green chillies.

Cook the vegetables in water adding little salt. When the vegetables are half done, add the second and third extracted coconut milk. Let them cook in low flame. 

Add the ground mixture to the vegetables. Add the pressure cooked dal (Mash all the garlic and green chillies)also.

Cook in low flame and scrap the bottom side by side. Keep stirring it. 

Now add the third extract coconut milk and cook only for 3 minutes and before switching off, add the grated ginger. Once the stew is cooled off, squeeze the lemon over it. Sodhi is ready !

             Note :If you want, you can tamper with mustard and urad dal and add to it. Try adding a little sour buttermilk and taste the twist in sodhi. Try not to heat the sodhi and have it with piping hot rice.

FACT:

Sodhi is the standard stew of every Tirunelveli weddings. The weddings celebrated there for two days. On the second day, the lunch is organised by the Groom's family. Though the cook has been arranged already from the Bride's side, on the morning of the second day, right after breakfast, Bride & Groom(!) and the Groom's family, invite every single person of the Bride's family for "Great lunch" and Sodhi is one of the dish served and the traditional  menu hasn't changed in years. 

In built Spirt!

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, love and of sound mind- sóphrón. 2 timothy 1: 7

I’m Afraid !!! We all deal with this phrase at times; some are afraid of nature; for some others speaking in front of others makes them fear; some others afraid of difficult situations; some others are afraid of rejections. When we are dealing with “(!) fears, what we need to do? We need to understand that they are not from God.

God has not given us the “spirit of fear”, We don’t need to accept what God has not given us (spirit of fear), but we need to humbly receive and walk - what God has given us - the spirit of power and of love and sound mind. 

God wants us to take His power of love and His calm thinking to be used of Him with all the gifts that he has given us. His purpose for our lives is not making money, being entertained, being comfortable; It is that to use the gifts to touch His people and a needy world. When we realize that God will take care of us, it relieves our fear. The more we love God, the less fear we will have. What does it mean? It is the matter of trust. 

sóphrón -the Greek word here has the idea of a calm, self - controlled mind, in contrast to the panic and confusion that rushes in us when we are in a fearful situation.

Be content!!!

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. Phil 4:11.

A man named Victor Frankl, a Jewish psychologist, discovered this great truth in the midst of a Jewish concentration camp during WW II. While seeking to survive the horror of this imprisonment Frankl began observing his fellow prisoners in the hope of discovering what coping mechanism would help him endure this horrendous existence. What Frankl discovered was this... 

Those individuals who could not accept what was happening to them, who could not make their present suffering fit with their faith, who could not find it’s meaning in their world view... they despaired, lost hope, and eventually gave up and died. But those individuals that could find a meaning from their faith, were then able to find hope for a future beyond their present suffering, and so could accept what they were enduring as a part of their existence, and they survived.

Courtesy :Gregory Dawson.

pencil baby!

Babies are so hard to draw since they have lot of little architecture(!). In Trichy, we can see lot of tea stall and their boards were normally or usually drawn by a great artist (can't remember the name!), he used to deliver a great and unique style of art. But I liked drawing this baby, this baby picture was inspiration from the great boards and it stuck in the heart long ago. Babies are really wonderful and it took me few hours to get the perfection in ears and mouth...cutiee!!

Ven Pongal!!!

Ingredients:

• Raw rice - 1 cup
• Moong dal - 1/2 cup
• Ginger(Finely chopped) - 1 tsp
• Black peppercorns - 1 tbsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
• Ghee - 3 tablespoons
• Roasted cashewnuts - 12
• Curry leaves - 2 sticks for seasoning.
• Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
• Water -5 cups
• Salt to taste

Preparation :

Wash rice and moong dal and rinse completely. Cook the rice and moong dal with 5 cups of water and salt in the Rice cooker. (Pressure cooker needs 3 to 4 more whistles)

Transfer the cooked rice into a serving bowl. Heat ghee in a small pan, add peppercorns, cumin seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves and cashewnuts. Pour this into cooked rice and mix well. Ven Pongal is ready to taste. Serve with sambar and or Coconut chutney.














Memories :

             Villages are Lovely , Clean and Comforting. But sometimes, it can be little...little more thrilling. The Schools were closed for the Pongal. All of the cousins and their parents gathered at grandma’s house to celebrate and enjoy the holidays. Spending a few days of our holidays with them was a very high point for us. We were amazingly fortunate to have all the families geographically close by. It was a time like that, where hundreds of people gathered in the village, and Bull Race(Jallikattu) was the predominant act to watch. The bulls will race through the looooooooong street. people can watch through upstairs porch (machu veedu)...lot of amazing memories .

            Our grandma was very strict but loving , yet get-together’s were so important for her. It was a evening time, and everyone (cousins and parents) used to spend their time - sitting and talking on her front porch(thinnai). Grandma enjoyed doing something around the house because she couldn’t stand inactivity. While she was preparing the evening snack and tea for the 20+ people(!),.. she then noticed that she wanted someone to get milk from her mother’s(!) house. By her order, One of cousin and me made our way to great grandmother’s (we were the 99-100th great grandkids for her)house”. We started walking on the streets, suddenly some were shouting, and cousin was yelling run, run, run.... no more words just ran. Though it was not the time for Bull Race, when we heard the sound of the bull bells, the fear really kicks in. We both were running like anything, took the short cut and reached in front of our great grandma’s house, but the house was locked inside. *Her house was huge, an estate which always fascinated me in lot of ways. It was old- fashioned, ultimate place to play hide - and - seek and some stufts that we always have to be careful around. There were even couple of rooms where we aren’t even allowed to be in without permission.

             No Idea to act fast, if we knock , she will scold(we should not disturb her sleeping) or if we go back …. no chance. Just we peeked inside, a complete silence. Suddenly, as she was working on her garden, she noticed us and opened the door but both of our heart were thumping and mouth was total dry. We didn’t get back to our grandma’s house at time, Imagine what could have happend? scoldings...! Don't ever ask?!. It was the most magical and thrilling experience.

I actually have a dream that all of great grandmother’s kids and her generation should come to her place again and have a great re union party.

Spicy Garlic Chicken!(Chettinad style)

Chicken chettinadu is a very famous dish from tamilnadu. It’s prepared with lots of aromatic spices which makes this dish unique. I just tried with a little twist(spicy garlic) but it tastes delicious. This is a kind of chicken fry with some thick gravy. It has an unbeatable flavor and taste.

INGREDIENTS:

• Chicken (washed and chopped into fine pieces)
• Onions(Chopped) - 1 cup
• Tomato(Chopped) - ½ cup
• Ginger - 3/4 inch
• Garlic(finely chopped & crushed) - 10 to 12 pods
• Curd - 1 tbsp
• Lemon juice - little
• Cinnomon sticks - 3
• Cardomom pods- 4
• Cloves - 5
• Fennel seeds- 1/2 tbsp
• Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp.
• Garam masala - 1 tbsp.
• Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Cut chicken into small pieces. Add curd and lemon juice 5 drops , turmeric powder, curry leaves, red chili powder little and Salt. Keep this aside. Let it marinate for 30 min.

Dry roast the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, fennel seeds.

Heat oil into the pan, add the spices powder and then add the chopped onion and fry till onion turns brown. Add the crushed garlic and then add the grated ginger....fry till the raw smell goes away. 

Add the tomatoes and cook until it makes a gravy. Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder and coriander powder. Add garam masala, and little salt. Do not add any water, just cook till it leaves oil in the pan.

Add the marinated chicken and cook(if needed add 1 cup of water) till chicken is soft and tender, when the oil separates add the chopped coriander leaves. Enjoy with fried rice or any rice variety.