RIGHT NOW! Right, Now! :)

Given my Vata-Pitta Dosha with a frequent Vata imbalance (i.e. air and space element in one's system/nature that makes one forgetful and confused if out of balance, but creative and spiritual when in balance) I am often constantly on the run and busy doing several things at once. In any given moment, I often feel like doing three different things - cooking, playing with my little baby girl and working on my PhD! Meera usually wins the tug of war in my mind and has all my attention. UNLESS I need to cook for HER! :) After quickly distracting her with her favorite toys, I run into the kitchen to prepare her meal which I know she will demand rather loudly very soon. But now that Meera knows that she can get my attention just by being naughty or by coming running to me crying, her toys don't interest her for too long :(

A few days ago, as the above routine was repeating itself for perhaps the 100th time, I got really frustrated! I looked at Meera tugging at my trousers while I was trying to cook up her favorite dinner and said "Meera, you know that mom is busy doing stuff just for you right? Then why cant you just relax and wait a few moments? What you need is coming right your way - food AND all of mom's attention (while she feeds you)! But Meera continued crying and demanding that she be picked up RIGHT NOW. I finally gave up and tied her around me in the baby carry system. This made her happy, but slowed down my work in the kitchen considerably! As expected, soon enough, Meera started crying again! She was hungry. She wanted the half cooked dinner NOW! As I tried to pacify her that the food was almost done, a thought occurred to me - isn't this what we all do so often? Cry and cry for things that we want RIGHT NOW without realising that nature is probably preparing something better for us already... If only we would be patient!

I remember Guruji saying once that just like a mom arranges all the toys around her kids to distract them (so she can take care of the "other" things that need her attention around the house), God or nature arranges all the beautiful things around human beings to "distract" them. But just like the mom has one ear only for her baby, Nature is constantly listening - it provides us exactly what we need when we start crying... and often, well before that! :) Once when I was in a particularly low phase in my life (long story - left for another blog post) due to unexpected and shocking things happening one after the other in my life, I went crying to Guruji.

He said in his usual loving but firm style - "you have nothing to worry about. Look back and see, haven't all your wishes always come true? You will do everything you want to do (notwithstanding the circumstances)!" I did look back and realised that this was so true! All our (good) wishes do come true - All we have to do is be patient - everything we need for our growth (spiritual or material) is on its way and will reach us at the perfect time. :D

Today's patient recipe: Mung Beans in Coconut Curry Sauce

Ingredients (for 2-3 servings)

1 cup Mung beans (whole green Mung beans)
1/2 cup coconut milk
5-6 curry leaves - chopped (not fine - just chop each leaf into 2 or 3 parts)
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3/4 inch piece of ginger - grated
1 green chilli - chopped (optional)
Salt to taste
4-5 cups water
3 tablespoons Cooking Oil

1/2 lemon
10-12 Fresh coriander leaves

Method

Soak the mung beans in 5 times the amount of water (i.e. 5 cups or more) overnight. Drain the water, add four to five cups of fresh water and pressure cook till the beans are cooked. (If you don't have a pressure cooker, cook it the regular way on low flame - it will just take a little longer... usually around 45 mins) Add the coconut milk, ginger and salt to the cooked lentils and set aside.

In a separate pan (maybe a small frying pan or tadka pan), heat the oil. Put in the cumin seeds. Once they start making a small sizzling sound, reduce the flame to minimum and add the turmeric powder, coriander powder, and chopped green chilli. Stir gently for 10-15 seconds. Add the chopped curry leaves and stir again for 10-12 seconds. Pour this spice mix into the cooked lentils, stir quickly and immediately close the lid of the lentil containing pan (to hold in the aroma and flavour).

Serve while still hot by pouring the lentils into soup bowls, laced with a dash of lemon juice and garnished with fresh coriander leaves :)

Responsible Risks

For the first 6 months of her life, when ever I was home (and cooking), Meera (my daughter, now 17 months old) mostly played with her toys keeping herself entertained without demanding too much of my attention. I felt quite comfortable leaving her "alone" for 10-15 mins at a time to play and discover herself and her toys. Come month #7 and she started crawling - backwards! Also, dragging herself across the floor to get to things she found "interesting." As she took more risks, she got more often injured and cried more often, BUT, she also got more attention from me. Being an intelligent soul, she realised very quickly that the amount of attention she gets from me is directly proportional to the number of naughty risky things she does :D So now, she does them all the time! Interestingly, once I pick her up and am carrying her around, she is very happy and content! Almost as if she was doing those things only to get my undivided attention :D :D

A few weeks ago, as I was carrying her around (partly to prevent her from climbing on to the chairs in the balcony in an attempt to look over the balcony safety grill!), I remembered a question that someone once asked Sri Sri during a public talk - "Why do you keep some people more close to you that others?" He replied - "whether or not it is apparent, everyone is close to me. But I keep a closer watch on the trouble makers :)" I always wondered what he meant by "trouble makers." Over the years, I had come to believe that by "trouble makers" he means "the doers and risk takers" - people who are constantly up to something, doing new things, accepting new challenges, taking on more and more responsibilities! As I looked at Meera happily mumbling in my arms in the baby carry system, I knew that this was probably true! The more things we do, the more risks and responsibilities we take (especially risks aimed at increasing our own strength or benefiting others perhaps) the more "attention" nature, divinity, God and our Gurus shower on us :)

It is no wonder that Guruji says that the greater responsibility you take, more power and energy will be given to you... So here's to improving our skills and our strength and taking on more responsibilities!

Today's naughty-new recipe: Healthy Millet Cutlets with Mint Chutney

Ingredients

To cook the millets (Hirse - for my German friends :)) :
1/2 cup millets (Hirse)
1.5 cups water
1/3 tsp salt

Other things to be added to the cooked millets:
2 medium sized potatoes
3 medium sized carrots
1 cup peas (optional)
Handful of raisins
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Chilli powder (optional)
1/2 tsp Garam Masala (Or Curry Powder)
1/3 tsp Turmeric (Curcuma) powder
1/2 inch ginger - grated
Powdered/Crushed rusk (Zwieback) or powdered very crunchy toast
Oil for light frying
(Some more) Salt to taste

Method

Wash the millets well. Put in the water and 1/3 tsp of salt and let it come to a boil, reduce the heat to minimum and cook for another 15-20 mins (or till the water is all gone). While the millets cook, wash, peel and chop the potatoes and carrots. Steam cook the peas, potatoes and carrots for 10-15 mins (Till soft/mashable).
Mix the millets, steamed vegetables, salt, ginger and all the spices and mash well. Make balls and flatten them out a bit (into desired shapes :D).

Put a thin layer of crushed Zwieback/toast on a plate. Place each side of the cutlets on the crumbs so there is an even layer of crumbs on both sides and the circumference. Put about 2 tablespoons of oil in a well heated frying pan and place 3-4 cutlets (max) at a time in it. Fry on each side for 2-3 mins (or till golden brown in colour). Serve immediately will Ketchup Or Mint Chutney (Recipe below)

Mint Chutney

1 bushel/bunch of fresh mint
1 bunch of fresh coriander
1 inch piece of ginger - grated
1 green chilli (optional)
Juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon (Depending on how sour you like your chutney to be)
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt to taste (1/2 to 3/4 tsp)
1/3 cup water



To fry:
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder

Remove the Coriander and mint leaves from their thin branches, wash well. In a high speed blender, put half the leaves. Add all the other ingredients and blend till smooth (you may need to add more water if the whole thing gets stuck). Add the rest of the leaves and blend again till smooth.

In a small frying pan, warm the oil and add all three spices. Stir on low heat till it starts to sizzle a little - do not turn up the heat to speed up the process or the spices will burn! Add the cooked spice mix to the blended leaves in the blender and blend again till well mixed. Serve immediately!
(Will stay good in the refrigerator for 4-5 days)