Mom's Whistling Kettle and tea-time chats

Every day is not equal, neither does your brain and body work in same pace and efficiency on each fine day. We can be happy, sad, emotional, upset on any day without us having any control over it. But, come what may, the tea-time ritual is a discipline. My kettle whistled late today as we were running late. But, now we are sipping into our afternoon/ evening tea, we are busy enjoying our recent goodie bag from Netherlands. Koffiekoeks, stroopwaffels are adding a new dimension to our tea-time chat. Missing the Dutch summer, the Tulip festival at Keukenhoff, the Tulip fields by the highway in Bollywood Silsila style.  Stroopwaffels are typical Dutch goodies, where in, two thin layers of waffels are sandwiched with very sticky caramel sauce and come in circular shapes, stacked and packed for convenient gifting and carrying on travel. Koffiekoeks on the other hand are one type of caramel and coffee flavored cookies that Dutch would often bite into with their fra...

Hi All, My kettle is whistling again. So why are you waiting? Join me for a cup of steaming Makaibari or Margaret’s Hope Tea Gardens. By the way this tea kettle from pepperfry is a recent gift. But ,What do you serve with tea? Honestly, it varies from region to region. British tea as a concept was elaborate, cookies, crackers or the heavier scones, and tea cakes and savoury tidbits make teatime a well set celebration. This is a recent addition to my crockery...waiting eagerly to get filled up, when you join me for tea-time adda. In Kolkata, tea always comes with a plate of biscuits at the least. Biscuits come in plenty of forms, taste and structure. But it always makes us so nostalgic to remember the lero biscuit. The low grade local bakery product available in the tiniest of the local tea or grocery shops. Even today, Kolkata can proudly boast of the best cake shops and now baking studios. Today’s new gen bakers are doing wonders with cupcakes and macarons, cake ...

My tea kettle has whistled, and fragrant Darjeeling second flush tea leaves are being brewed, and I am all set with my tea-time adda. Catching up with friends is always fun. You can start off anytime from where you had left it the last time you met up. So let me start off with our story of life as expats. Last 4 years we were in the beautiful country of Netherlands, in Utrecht region. Our apartment looked over the Amsterdam Rijn Canal and the Hoge Brug(High Bridge). It would have been great if I could take you through a house-tour, but somehow it did not happen that way. We stayed in this furnished Dutch apartment and enjoyed every minute of it in spite of all grief and loss that we had to go through at home in India. These 4 years have taught me a lot. First and foremost staying away from home country, family and relatives was not easy, more so when my Mom was unwell, fighting Cancer in India. The short grey wet winter days were exciting initially, but depressing...

A Mom becomes a Mom when a child is born. The child grows and becomes an adult, flies off his nest and sets up home in some other part of the globe, but the Mom is always a Mom, here, there, everywhere. I am back to blogging after almost  5 years. School going son is now in final year of engineering in some other country. So our home is our empty nest where the tea kettle is always whistling calling you friends for a round of tea-time chats.  Tea in typical Bengali homes have no fixed time...anytime is tea time. Small cups of tea in khullar or in fine bone-china is only an excuse. It can just be yet another conversation starter. So, why are  you holding back. Note down the Homepage URL and join me for tea-time chats.

Shubho Nababarsho 1421. This is one such day, almost all Bangalees around the globe remember the date from Bangla calendar. Though Poila Boishakh is not observed as a holiday anywhere outside Bengal, we , in our own small ways try to make the day stand out from the rest of the ones we live otherwise. This year on April 15, while we welcomed year 1421, tried to make the family dinner a little special. Made Dahiwalla meat. There are plenty of recipes on the net, finally drew inspiration from the one credited to Atul Sikand and adapted it to suit taste buds of my family. This dish scores very well on taste , colour and flavour but is very easy to cook. DAHIWALA MEAT MY STYLE Ingredients Mutton: 600 gms, preferably from leg, and with some bones Dahi : 250 gms; hung; beaten to smooth consistency Onion: 1 large, finely sliced Ginger paste: 1 and ½ tablespoon Garlic paste: 1 and ½ tablespoon Red chilli powder: 1 tablespoon(optional/ to taste) Garam masala p...