Garam Masala Tuesdays: Oats Khichdi

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Sukaina of Sips and Spoonfuls recently blogged about a topic that resonates so closely to what I feel as a blogger.

The post talks about how Sukaina got an email from one of her readers and how the reader thought she had a perfect life with everything about it perfect- “the perfect house, the perfect blog post, the perfect meal, the perfect recipe, that perfect image, the words or story that sounds just perfect.” But, of course, as she points out in her post, in reality, things are far from perfect.

For me, Sukaina’s blog is perfect. Her recipes look and sound great. The pictures are bang on in terms of styling, lighting, sharpness, and focus. The video she made is still, in my opinion, one of the best cooking videos I have seen. So it was refreshing to know that she goes through the same doubts as I do, that like me, she too is constantly struggling with getting everything perfect and somehow that more often than not does not happen.

SHU_6643Take this post for example. I made and took pictures of this “oats khichdi” a few days back. I was not happy with the pics. So I decided I will have a go at them again. I made the khichdi again, and I had a picture in mind as to how I wanted to style it (which I did even the first time but this time I improved on it). I tried different surfaces, different stylings but somehow what I wanted I couldn’t achieve, mainly because that would have required props I did not have. So I ended up with these pics that I am posting today and I am just not satisfied. None of them were how I had imagined it to be. But, since the recipe is good I decided to post anyway with what I have, mainly because of what Sukaina had to say.

I know I have come a long way from where I started almost 3 years back, but I still look at blogs and sigh to V, when will I be THAT good!

I also know there are people who have started blogs with the perfect pictures, the perfect recipe and everything about their blog being perfect; but I have come to terms with the fact that while some people catch on quickly, some take their time. I am the latter, but then, I try every day to improve myself and I think that says for some thing. So even though I am not happy with what I have to put forth today, I know tomorrow I will improve on it. But because of my insecurities I should not let a good recipe go by and as Sukaina puts it:

There would be no blog if that moment of perfection is coveted. Perfect is not always possible. And that shouldn’t be our aim. If you succeed each time, you will stop trying. And if you stopped trying, you would stop creating.

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Slow Cooker Love: Chicken Taco Soup

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I have finally come to admit to myself that I suck at throwing. I don’t play cricket for the same reason because I literally throw like a girl. I would rather walk the distance and hand you the ball then embarrass myself by throwing it and having it land 100 feet away from you. Yes, I speak from experience.

This realisation strengthened yesterday when we played darts at my friend’s place. It was painstakingly embarrassing, but luckily I had enough drinks in me to not be too bothered about making a fool out of myself. V, on the other hand, was perfect. Maybe it has something to do with all the yoga he does. *Mental note to self- practice yoga to get better at darts.*

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Funfetti Cupcakes

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My friend’s daughter got very sick last week. She had to be admitted to the hospital and after four traumatizing days for my friend and her family she was finally released to come back home. She is still under observation but she is a trooper and fighting her way through her sickness with a smile.

Since the poor little girl went through so much, I decided to welcome her back home with cupcakes. I remember when I used to get sick as a child, I would crave for something sweet- anything to get rid of that bitter taste that medicines leave in your mouth.

I knew she loves funfetti, well which kid doesn’t? And, I had recently stumbled upon this recipe by Sally’s Baking Addiction. They seemed the perfect amount of fun to greet a child with.

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Sally uses a vanilla buttercream for the frosting and while I am sure that tasted absolute heaven, these days my latest frosting craze is the chocolate malt frosting (originally by Sweetapolita) I used for the five layer cake. And since I love the combination of vanilla with chocolate, you do get the best of both worlds, I paired these fun funfetti cupcakes with the chocolate malt frosting.

The cupcakes are great on their own, and fun to look at with colorful speckles all over the cupcake. So if you do not want the extra calories, skip the frosting and just make the cupcakes.

But, I’d rather you not.

Instead, I would suggest you have only one, or even half but make sure you have it with the frosting since it is so darn good. Since that’s how it is supposed to be. Because that’s what makes these divine. I can not say it enough, but treat yourself with this frosting now!

And, since these were being made for a kid in mind I made sure I topped each cupcake with a LOOOOT of frosting. <3

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