Change of life and a new herby recipe

The aloo paratha crossed halfway to my mouth, when he screamed.... Aaaaangeeeeeeeeee..... 1year ago, in this situation, nothing could have distracted me from that aloo paratha; but now (sigh!), paratha went back to the plate and I started running towards the car holding him in one hand and umbrella in another (forgot to mention it started raining at the time he started crying). Finally he was calm after an ample time of feeding.

Yeah that was my son, who was screaming as soon as I started eating paratha. He will say ( or make a clear sound similar to) Aange which means I am hungry; we, the new parents understood this word once he was 3weeks old.

After having a baby, life has become upside down, in a good way.  We have put a PAUSE in so many things, a few things specially for the new mother. Weekends movie-marathon, planning sudden trips, eating anything, wearing any dress, sleeping whenever I want and there are many more. See, there is a big PAUSE now for all these, pause for a few months only. This "a few months" may be 6 months, 12months or 36months, completely depends on individual parents. There was a time, I used to require 8hours of sound sleep in a dark room. But now my body has evolved to cope up with 4hours of sleep (that too not continuous!) with light on.  If I get 2hours of continuous sleep within 4AM to 7AM, I am fully fresh and capable of doing all the household works. Parks of being a Mother! Even I am writing this post, during that good-night-sleep-break.

The thing is life changes and in the beginning of any new journey we will struggle to adjust with the change. But the struggle is worth it! The smile of that small face and the touch of those little fingers make all my efforts priceless.

Today's recipe is also something I tried for the first time.

It is a herb which is good for lactating mothers (Fathers, please don't complain, you know how your better-half is struggling, so don't be upset if they get more attention). These are Dill leaves. It is widely available in Bangalore but has a pungent smell. One of my neighbor, in our apartment, Priyanka, a very jolly and caring person, told my mother about this. Her mother-in-law is also very sweet and caring. She not only prepared the shaak for me but also sent me a bunch of those leafy vegetables. I liked the dish. So thought to prepare it in our bengali way. I have used a mixture of whole spices which are good for a lactating mother and helps to make the smell of the vegetable less.

What you will need:

• Dill leaves : a bunch
• Tilauri 1 small cup; tilauris are sun-dried lentil dumplings, which are available in bihar and Jharkhand. My friend Juhi, whenever she goes home, brings for me. I am in love of these tiny dumplings. You can fry and have with rice.
• Potato 1 big
• Onion 1 big
• Chilly 1 or as per your taste
• Garlic 4/5 cloves, chopped.
• Salt
• Turmeric powder
• Mixture of spices, 1 teaspoon each: Cumin seeds, Fenugreek seeds, Mustard seeds

Before I explain the recipe, one fun fact about these herb: One tablespoon of dill seed contains more calcium than a cup of milk. So, you see, if you don't like to drink or can't drink Milk, there is a herby substitute.

The recipe goes like:

1. Chop the leaves along with the tender stems, discard the matured ones. 
2. Peel and cut the onion and potato in small cubes. 
3. Heat oil in a non-sticky pan. Fry the tilauris.  Keep these aside.
4. Now add a little oil in the pan again, if required and heat it in medium flame. Add the mix whole spices. Once the seeds starts to crackle, turn the flame low, add the chopped garlic, once it starts to become brown, add chopped onions. Stir fry till it changes color.
5. Add the potatoes. Fry it for 3-4 min.
6. Add the chopped herb. Add tilauri. Sprinkle salt followed by turmeric powder. Mix everything carefully. Cover.
7. Keep stirring. The leaves will leave water, which will make the potatoes soft. Another 5mins and you can see the green color will become darker. Once the water is dried, potatoes are soft, check the taste of the leaves. If the raw taste is gone and it is a little sticky, your shaak is ready. 
8. Enjoy with rice and daal.

For all the lactating mothers, enjoy this period and do a favor to yourself, don't compare your health and lifestyle with others. Enjoy each moment and don't regret for the things you are unable to do now. Within blink of eyes, babies will be grown ups and will be in high schools. Then college and then job, finally they will get out of your house and will get settled somewhere else, with their other half. That's life, keeps on changing.

Hope you enjoyed the recipe as well as the post. See ya!