This heartwarming photo is all over the social media today. In a single frame, the famous cricketer Sir Vivian Richards stands with his newly married daughter Masaba Gupta, her latest husband Satyadeep Misra, ex-girlfriend Neena Gupta, and her present husband Vivek Mehra…Everyone looks happy. Forget, forgive, and move on. That’s the message you get when you look at this pic. Well, that’s the best way to live, isn’t it?
This year, in 2023, I thought the Lohri festival on 13 January would be different. For me, at least. My father passed away last year around this time and I wasn’t in a festive mood at all.
And guess what? I ended up celebrating twice, in the office and then at home at night! When everyone around you is celebrating, you can’t stay behind, can you? Even our Gurbani says never to grieve because everything happens as per God’s will and we’ve got to accept it.
That night, after I reached home from work, I felt cold and exhausted and all I wanted to do was to go to bed right away. But my family gave me a pleasant surprise. My husband Sukhangshu and daughter Suroshri had made arrangements on our terrace for not just a bonfire, but also kebabs and tikkas.
Suroshri said, “Mom, I am making paneer tikkas specially for you, because you won’t eat the nonveg. stuff. So just sit down on the mat and relax. No need to fret about cooking.”
The dexterity and efficiency with which she and Sukhangshu managed everything was truly amazing. No mess whatsoever. It was for the first time that we celebrated Lohri on the terrace. They made me feel proud and lucky. It was, I think, their way of helping me get over the loss of both my parents.
The next day, it was Makar Sakranti and my turn to spring a surprise on my family. I used my favorite ingredients, the leftovers, paneer tikka marinade and a piece of pumpkin sitting in the fridge for several days, to make a special alu-matar (potatoes and green peas) sabzi. Suroshri hates pumpkins, but this time she didn’t mind. She said it was the best alu-matar dish she had ever had at home. Find out more about this sabzi here. https://jasbirchatterjeephotoblog.wordpress.com/2023/01/21/special-alu-matar-sabzi/
Here are the pics.
Lohri @ office
URL: https://youtube.com/shorts/3q1piveRb9o?feature=share
Lohri at home
Here is some more info about Lohri.
Lohri is a North Indian festival celebrated every year on 13 January. We Punjabis celebrate it with great enthusiasm.
Although different people celebrate Lohri in different ways, one common feature is that there is a bonfire into which people drop items such as rewri, whole ground nuts, gajak, and popcorn, etc, with a small prayer for the wellbeing of their loved ones.
Being a community festival, you enjoy Lohri the most when you are part of a big group. The more, the merrier. Once the pooja is over, there is a lot of singing and dancing. As DJ music is now easily available, dancing is more fashionable than singing these days.
What can you do with a leftover paneer tikka marinade? Here’s a great cooking idea for you; alu-matar (potatoes and green peas) sabzi.
I made it without onions and garlic and used this marinade. It was delicious. See the step-by-step pics below.
Your special alu-matar sabji is ready. Enjoy.
Here’s a cutlet recipe that I am sure you would love. See the pic on top. The best part is that you use leftovers along with some basic ingredients. You save money and minimize wastage.
I started with a bowl of boiled rice, three medium-sized potatoes, and some leftover potatoes & cauliflower gravy. See below.
I churned the rice in a mixer-grinder. After taking out the mashed rice in a mixing utensil, I added the leftover sabji and some bread. See below.
Then I added boiled potatoes, spices, salt, green coriander, one chopped onion, one green chilli, some rice flour and some corn flour. See below.
I mashed and mixed the ingredients into the dough with my hands. With some oil on my hands, I took out small balls and rolled them into the shape of tikkis. See below.
I shallow fried these tikkis on both sides on a non-stick pan with minimal oil. Once they turned brown on all sides, I took them out in a bowl. See below and top.
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