Popeyes recipe

          Nope it is not the KFC-rival fried chicken Recipe I am about to blog, I will leave that for the franchisee to sell that poison(I do like it I admit). This is about Palak Ghosht.
Spinach (Palak) has always been associated with Popeye the Sailor Man. Since my childhood Palak Ghost has been one of my favorite desi dishes partly because I was made to belief that my biceps and triceps will protrude instantly and I will go in to some sort of super hero transformation saving my 'Lilly' from Brut - kids imaginations are weird sometimes ; I finally realize it after my seeing my 6 year old son talk.
Ok so my wife and kids were coming back from Houston and I was suppose to pick them up from Buffalo on Saturday afternoon which means I had only few hours of window on Friday evening to restore the order of our place and prepare some food for dinner next day. I resisted catering from outside as they had it enough while there (It was my wife's cousin's wedding they went to attend) ; I also resisted my mom's food as I wanted to make something myself.
I did the grocery from a desi store after work and here how the events leading to Palak Gosht unfolded. I started at 11:30 pm on 13th June Friday - pretty daring to be in the kitchen cooking by myself on that day lol. Preparation time was almost an hour (I was making Karhai Chicken simultaneously as well). It was my first ever attempt and I used one helpline : calling my mom in the middle of the night for re-reinforcements.
- 1.5 lb of veal meat (washed ,cleaned and cut into bite-sized pieces)
- Half Ginger - peeled, chopped and MB-ed*
- Few Garlic cloves - chopped and MB-ed*
- 2 onions - peeled, sliced
- Heat the oil in a Vessel ('Pateli' for Urdu and 'Bagona' for Hyderabadi) and put the above items and stir it
 - Generous pinch of Salt, light sprinkle of Turmeric Powder,  Coriandar Powder (1 teaspoon) and Red Chili Powder (1 teaspoon) and 2 cups of water and close the lid for 30 mins on medium-low heat
- Toss 2 diced tomatoes into the mix and keep stirring it
- Throw in frozen spinach pack in it and keep stirring it
- Dial down the ignition to low heat and keep stirring it
- Check if the meat is tender  (by sampling a random piece from the Vessel and try to dissect it)
- Add in a pinch of Garam masala and toss some whole green chillis and keep ...... (you know the drill)
- Keep the heat low and keep stirring, this painful and tedious step is called 'Bhoonna'
- Put it away from the oven and transfer it in a white dish with a green spoon (Yes , presentation is equally important as food preparation :) )
- Ready to devour. It tasted good and my wife and in-laws were amazed that I made it myself :)
Pretty sure made Popeye - the Sailor Man proud too (A)

*MB-ed - process involves making a paste by using Magic Bullet

Using Magic Bullet to make garlic paste

Chopped Ginger ready to feed Magic Bullet next

making the Onion 'golden brown'

The end result

Rejection before Approval

 
History is littered with examples of great personalities that were ridiculed, rejected, outclassed, ostracized or whatever adjective you can use to describe how they were treated not-one-of-them to one-of-them! Sheer belief and unyielding resoluteness in their struggle led them to taste success !
These obstacles arises to test us how bad we really want something, it by no means an end of the road.
Einstein said: "Genius is 1 percent talent and 99 percent is perspiration". The wisdom behind struggle before success , pain before gain and ....well...you get the point...is simply interleaved with simple philosphy : you expand your emotional, intellectual, and all other faculties to better equip for the bigger and better things out there. To make yourself more worthy and deserving, stumbling before will make you cherish your victory even more.
Had a fruitful discussion with a friend today and he said that failures are groundwork for our success later. Couldn't have summarized any better. We aka Hans Sapiens with limited range of senses with myopic views are totally unaware of the grand scheme of things that we fall under. We should just "Stay calm and work hard" and not fret to much about the fate of the end result. We can only be called 'Experienced' when we go through obstacles and pitfalls. It is okay to get knocked down, important is to get up !
Whenever you fail , remember success is around the corner. The taste of failure will only make the taste of success sweet and worth the wait. Never give up, keep trying till you 'click' at the end.
To end on a lighter note, I was rejected by dozen of girls before one said yes and I quickly married her before she ponders on her decision :)

Start of new chapter

After nearly 8 years of academic drought, I have finally enrolled in a Master’s program! Yes, I didn't believe in that at first. I came across the ad on LinkedIn about this brand new program and it was just an instinct yes. Masters that would complement my current skills yet take me to new levels still within my area of (desired) expertise. The program name is Masters of Management Analytics (MMA) – sounds much ‘cooler’ than the dull and ubiquitous MBA. After all the grinding rituals (Application, Resume, Transcripts, References, Skype interview) I got accepted end of last year! [My GMAT was waived – yes suckers !!! ]

I will be endeavoring this part time for one year program starting in June. Our 2-day workshop just concluded last weekend. Now I realize what I have put myself into! Morning till late in the afternoon – stats workshops! Although Math is my strong area (I am a Brown after all) but stats was my weakest (and lowest) link.

I am looking for many take-a-ways from the program besides the three letters next to my name. The habit of getting out of my comfort zone and explore new terrain is definitely I will be focusing on. Negotiations, Collaboration, resolving conflicts, solving problem, presentation and much more!

I will look up to various people for motivation, beside the students, my mom – she did her 2^nd degree in ECE after coming to Canada while working and taking care of the house. My uncle – who studied for his USMLE while working and supporting family with 2 teenagers. My friends (Hisham , Hasham (not related lol) ,Asif and Nauman Abbasi ) who pursued their MBAs part-time while working and supporting their respected families.My other motivation will be my kids; to hold them in my arms while posing for a picture at my graduation ceremony IA.  (you can laugh I get it lol)

This of course comes with a price; balancing academics with work and young-and-growing family and having more energy and planning time effectively will be the biggest challenges! With parent’s prayers and wishes I can overcome the anxiety. Oh almost forgot, not to mention my wife’s unfaltering support (I will chew my words later for this lol).