LOVE

           How many of us know what exactly "Love" means ? Love doesn't means just merely  exchanging gifts , of course thats one way of showing your love for that particular person.. apart from this there is also some other things which matters . Love exist where you accept the person with his/her good and bad habits. And not trying to change that person for the sake of your happiness.

  A real love is something different, pure, full of love ; no matter you are in whatever situation your partner will always be by your side and i believe this one thing makes a relationship stronger . Love should be in such a way where there is no place for bondage , yet  there is feeling of commitment which should come directly from the heart.

 Other name for love is respect . Respecting each others feelings holds an important place in a relationship. That way relationships flourishes with more love and happiness. Also misunderstanding  can happen at some point of time in everybody's life; how do you handle the situation is a real test.

               

 

ALOO MATAR WITH A TOUCH OF BENGALI FLAVOUR.

                          Since my childhood days i have seen my mom cooking tasty dishes and i used to wonder what makes her dish so special, ofcourse mother's love. Apart from that she used one spice which would create a unique flavour in any dish- PANCHPHORON(blend of five different spices). So i thought why not give it a try. And guess what!!! it turned out great.


RECIPE FOR ALOO MATAR: 
Panchphoron- 1 tsp
Tomato puree-2 to 3 tbsp
Hing   - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder
Chilli powder
Coriander powder
cumin powder
crushed Ginger- 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Sugar   - 1/2 tsp
Cream - 1/2 cup
Potato - 1
Peas(matar)-1/2 cup
Coriander leaves
water - 1 cup

Heat the pan, add oil , panchphoron . After spice starts fluttering add Hing , Tomato puree, Ginger ,Salt
, Sugar.... saute well till masala fries well. Then add potato , fry for few mins , followed by peas. add rest of the spice , water and bring to boil. Add cream and cook covered for 10 mins till gravy thickens a bit.
Garnish with coriander leaves.

The place where we dwell in...

       Its been almost 4 years since we moved to chicago. When we first landed here , i still remember that evening...with so many thoughts  in my mind( will i ever belong to this city, make friends, fight with loneliness)  we came to our hotel, unlike india where you can hear out people almost anytime of the day and here it was so calm and quiet... it was indeed a good feeling but at the same time  a feeling of nostalgia gripped me , before i could realise tears welled up in my eyes... i am so so far from my home where i used to feel protected and next moment here i am all set to lead our lives on our own with no advice or guidance.

Years, months, days passed by and each day was a new experience for me with so many ups and downs.But finally at the end of the day everything would fall in place with little effort. Now after 4 years
i really feel chicago has accepted me with all his heart or should i say i feel close here. I do miss my home, family and all festivals , but i guess " to gain something you have to lose some".

And not to mention i love chicago even more in winter when it is covered in a beautiful blanket of snow

which is truly a million dollar view especially during the night , spreading the luminous light from the snow itself. With all these alluring stuffs around me i am really looking forward to spend many more years here in beautiful chicago.