Chembu kootaan( Taro roots curry)

 

TARO ROOTS 

Ingredients 

1. Taro roots   : 1/2 kg

2.  Turmeric powder: 1/2 teaspoon 

3. Chilli powder: 1 teaspoon 

4. Shallots or small onions chopped ( 1/2 cup)

5. Curry leaves a few

6. Coconut oil for tampering : 2 table spoon

7. Salt to taste

8. Water : for boiling 

Method:

Clean the Taro roots well. Remove the skin. Cut it into small pieces. Mom used to make this in ( kal chetti) black stone vessel. You can try out in clay pots too or the easy way in cooker. Add the washed cleaned and cut Taro roots in the vessel add turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt and water. Water should be  1 inch above the taro. It should be well soaked. Now boil the whole thing until it's soft and mushy. Check the salt. Add curry leaves and remove from fire.

If you are making in a cooker add the taro roots cut into pieces chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt with two cups water and boil until four whistle. Cool it down open the lid and add curry leaves.

Now for the tempering, heat a small pan add two table spoon coconut oil when hot add the chopped onions or shallots, fry until brown. Add this tempering to the boiled taro mixture. Mix well and your curry is ready to be eaten with steamed rice.

Best accompaniment is lemon pickle.

Cherish this curry with hot steamed rice, roasted papad and lemon pickle.

Pic courtesy: Google images 

Label: Mom's Delight 

The Birthday

BIRTHDAY 

What does a birthday actually mean? Is it just a day to celebrate one's birth? Or is it a reminder of one's accountability on this earth? Or is it a ticking time bomb? Or is it a calling for bonds, bonding, and binding? I think it's all of these, but bonds, bonding, and binding are the most prominent.

The birth of a child in a family is a calling for celebration, as you welcome the new member who has just landed on planet Earth. The child doesn't bear a name or identity at birth. They are just a child with a throbbing heart. Within hours, the child is introduced to their mother, who bore them in her womb for nine months. Next, they meet their father, whose name will be their identity in this materialistic world.

This bundle of joy is now adored by maternal and paternal grandparents, uncles and aunts, and, of course, cousins. Within weeks, the child is given a name with their parents' taglines. The journey of life has begun, and the child is cycling through the cycle of birth, bearing an identity with parents and relatives.

The child, now a tender flower in the basket of relationships, is basking in the bonds, bonding, and binding. They are now bonded with the rope of parental love and tangled in it. A year passes, and it's time to celebrate the child's birth as their birthday. The bonds are tightening now.

The child is introduced to extended families and the outside world, the child is now entering the world of bonding. With much pomp and show, the birthday is celebrated by the parents as a part of their prestige. As a one-year-old, the child can't even recognize what a celebration is about, but unknowingly gets affixed into the world of pride and prestige.

The child is now in the shackles of their parents' identity and pride. Years pass by, and the child becomes a teenager. The pride and prestige are no longer their cup of tea. They want to break free from the shackles and proceed on their journey of self-recognition.

Alas, in this journey of self-recognition, the human is again bonded and affixed into further relationships, still unable to break through the shackles of their birth and find their true identity. As the years phase out, the human starts counting their accountability and credits to this world, not realizing that they are actually moving towards the ticking time bomb.

By now the time has taken a toll on their health, and they are nearing the ticking time bomb, which is getting ready to explode at any moment. With every passing year, I too am getting nearer to the ticking time bomb. I don't know if I can fulfill my accountability to this materialistic world, but I am counting my blessings, which I have through relationships, bonds, and bonding. Time is phasing out... hoping to celebrate another birthday ahead.

Pic courtesy: Google images 

Label : Emotional expression 

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