A long wait....

I can't forget those three months when hubby and I were trying to have a baby. All the tension, the excitement, the waiting and the disappointment. I would look longingly at all mommies with kids and at pregnant women hand-in-hand with their hubbies smiling with joy...They all made it and I didn't!

Two weeks into my second trimester and I am all but miserable. Gone are those days of joy. All I feel is fatigue or nausea, sometimes both. Somewhere deep down I know I am so much better than last month but I seem to have forgotten those days. At times I wonder if I really have a baby inside me.  Or am I sick with some unimaginable disease which will never leave me :-). Crazy is it not?

But then last week I saw my little one in the ultrasound, waving her tiny arms and legs, being as naughty as ever and not letting the doctor measure her.  That feeling is simply unexplainable. Yeah hubby and I are hoping its going to be a girl :-). Will know in my next month checkup :-).

So I guess things are not all that bad. I just have to be patient for few more months, till my bundle of joy lands into my arms. Maybe I will start my shopping list and make plans for the nursery. Good luck to me and my baby.

Varathu Arachu More Kuzhambu

From travel to food...
I have got into a routine of cooking elaborate South Indian food during the weekend and simpler meals during weekdays. Today being a Saturday, I am attempting my husband's favorite Varathu Arachu More Kuzhambu. My mom-in-law cooks this amazingly well and so does my husband. Yeah..so its going to be quite challenging. Here goes...this is my version.

Ingredients:

For the coconut mixture:
1 tsp oil

4 - 5 red chili

1 tbls black gram dal

5 - 6 methi seeds

1 tsp raw rice
4 tbls coconut
1/2 cup water

• In a tawa, heat oil in medium heat and add all the ingredients except the coconut
• Fry till the black gram dal becomes golden brown. Don't let anything blacken
• Keep aside and cool
• In the same tawa, add the coconut and fry for a minute
• Mix with the other ingredients and let cool
• Grind the ingredients so it becomes a coarse powder
• Use 1/2 cup of water a little at a time and grind until smooth

For the more kuzhambu:
1 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 cup of any cut vegetable (eg. Pumpkin, Okra, Brinjal, Carrot)
Water as required
Salt to taste
2 cups of buttermilk

Cilantro for garnish

• Heat oil. Add mustard seeds
• Once it crackles add the cut vegetable and fry for a minute
• Add salt and just enough water to cover the vegetable and cook till it becomes soft
• Once cooked, add the coconut mixture and let it come to a boil. Add a little water if it is too dry
• Take off the heat and let cool
• Add the buttermilk and mix well. Check for salt
• Keep the mixture back on low medium until it warms up. Don't let it heat too much, if not the curd with curdle
• Garnish with cilantro and serve