MummyMaa ka Khana Khazana

Last summer, my wife's grandmother (known ubiquitously as 'MummyMaa') was staying at our place.
MummyMaa has a strong influence on the family and Hyderabadi Cusine (no pun intended). She has written various recipes in Urdu which was challenge decipher it.

With hands-on live approach - I got to learn from the source herself.

Below are the dishes I made and jotted down the recipes after - hence written in concise

Dum Ka Qeema (In Hyderabadi they pronounce it as 'Kheema')

- 3 lb of lean ground beef..
- Blend ginger garlic paste, green chillies, fried onions, coriander leaves, Kabab Cheeni (never heard or saw it before), half cup yogurt, salt and pepper
- Pour the blend in the meat add oil, cinnamon stick , ground pepper, cinnamon powder, hara masala, coriander powder, cumin powder
- Place it in baking tray and bake for 30 mins @ 450F

Shahi Qourma

- Made green masala (coriander leaves , salt and green chillies), 1 cup yogurt and put whole chicken pieces
- Add Cinnamon stick, cardamom (Elaichi), round black pepper
- Heat one cup of oil and add the marinated chicken
- Put it on high heat
- Blender : half cup coconut milk, mint leaves and 2 tblspn of fried onions
- Add the above and after it comes to boil...lower the heat and close the lid

Green Masala Baked Fish

- Green masala (coriander, green chillies, ginger garlic paste, salt, coconut milk half, fried onions )
- Marinate fish and put 1/4 cup oil
- Bake it for 450 for 15 mins
- Once done sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese and vinegar (or lemon) on top

 

6 years ago [18 Oct 2019]...

Last Friday it was my daughter Sheza\"s 6th birthday ! It may be sound cliché but it feels yesterday she was born ! How time flies - a statement that I repeated on my son\"s 6th birthday six years ago !




Before she was born, read/heard lot of sayings about daughter-father bond - e.g. "Daddy\"s Princess" , "Daddy\"s girl" -  my parents having no daughter, I never understood the relation between daughter and father. My daughter has completely changed my life for the better. She is epitome of my existence. The way she captures my attention and melts my heart with her anecdote is beyond describable. I hope she grows up to become an educated, kind-hearted, caring and responsible individual - who carries her head high with self-respect, self-esteem, humility and confidence - Inshallah!




Some of the key characteristics that will give us some insights how her personality is shaping:




- Can hardly speak Urdu. Will be joining French immersion school from next year in same school as my son IA.

- Pickiest eater - prefers veggies - cauliflower, broccoli, carrot instead of chicken, meat or fish.

- Shy and reticent - takes her time to open up.

- Style sense - she is a mini fashionista - has her own makeup table with varieties of hair clips and other accessories. Very clear in how she wants her hair style to be.

- Her first travel destination was Saudi Arabia/Paris.

- Sheza was 5 years old when we went to Disney (Orlando) - a year older than her brother when we went there last time. Sheza didn\"t like Disney ! She was clinging on to me on each ride. We tease her saying that our next vacation will be Disney lol

Coke Studio

Rightly put  - Voice of the Nation
Coke Studio - a ground breaking idea of showcasing a theatrical musical performance weaved with soul stirring melodies, captivating tunes with myriad of musical influences from different regions and culture, immortal lyrics and mythical pairing of artists collaborating from traditional to classical music. All against the backdrop of alt-billboard Coke brand making it a truly magical and divinely experience. Yes, I am a huge fan of Coke Studio.
Coke Studio has passed 10 years and it is a force to reckon with. It ran 11 seasons and it went strength to strength every season with every season raising the bar higher.
Call it genius or magic - Rohail Hyatt hit the nail on the head ! Hitting the ball out of the park. Coke Studio is conceived, produced and directed by Rohail Hyatt (of Vital Signs band - known as 'Beatles' of Pakistan back in the 80s). The meteoritic popularity of Coke Studio Pakistan led to different 'chapters' in different countries - Middle East, Africa and India. None matching the popularity and cult following as Coke Studio Pakistan of course - a tremendous feat considering what the country has been through.
Following the popularity, other variations of Coke Studio model popped up e.g "Pepsi - Battle of the Bands" , "Nescafe Basement". Creating more options for listeners and musicians alike.
Special shout out to Nescafe Basement for creating a niche audience with 'raw' talents against the backdrop of more casual and 'garage' feel.
Quick Facts about some of the performances that comes to mind:
- Tajdar e Haram by Atif Aslam is the most viewed song
- Paar Channa by Noori features an Indian playback singer. The song also has a instrument playing by Noori's mother Noor Zehra. She is apparently the only person to play that instrument called Sagar Veena.
- Sayyonee - famous song by Junoon is the most hated song which was reprised by Salman Ahmed and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
- Ko ko Korina - most talked about song as this episode was featured as the last song of the season and sung by current heartthrob Raza Ali. Even the Interior Minister tweeted her dislike for the rendition.
- Afreen Afreen - by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan featured a debutant Momina that became a sensation across the country.
- Paimona De - a pushto poem by Persian poet Omar Khayyam sung by female duo Zeb and Haniya.
Below is the list of my best Coke Studio performances (not in any order):
1) Uddi Ja - by Mohsin Abbas
2) Khakhi Banda - by Ahmed Jehanzaib and
3) O Re - by Noori
4) Paar Channa - by Noori
5) Tinak Din - by Ali Sethi
6) Ranjish he Sahi - by Ali Sethi
7) So janey Do - by Ali Azmat
8) Aj Rung  - by Hadiqa Kiani
9) Meray Lawng  - by
10) Rangeela Re - by Ali Azmat
11) Paimona De - by Zeb and Hanya
12) Chal Deya - by Zeb and Haniya
13) Afreen Afreen - by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Momina
14) Sammi Meri Waar - by QB and
15) Ayya Layya Re -
16) Tum Naraz Ho - by Sajjad Ali
17) Sab Jag Soye - by QB and
18) Meri Meri - by
19) Lal Meri - by QB and
20) Man Kuntu Maula - by
21) Jhalliya - by
22) Chaap Tilak - by Haiqa
23) Nindya Re - by Kaavish
24) Yeh woh jaga hai - by Kaavish
25) Faasley - by Kaavish and QB
26) Naina Morey -
27) Aaqa - by Abida Parveen and Ali Sethi
28) Janey Na Tu - by Ali Khan
29) Bholay Bhala - by
30) Tera Woh Pyar - by
31) Garaj Baras - by Junoon
32) Dekh Tera Pyar - by Farhan and QB
33) Panchi - by Jal and QB
34) Tu Kya Howa - by Bilal Khan
35) Jal Pari - by Atif Aslam
36) Duur - by Strings
37) Titliyaan - by Strings

Gully Boy!

I finally watched the Bollywood movie Gully Boy. It was a lonely week night at my in-laws condo (they along with my family had all gone to Houston for a wedding while our place was being renovated), and flipping through IPTV channels, I decided to watch it.

I had watched the trailer and snubbed it as being a rip-off of 8 Mile. Bollywood is notorious for shamelessly ripping foreign content with no due credits. Therefore I joined 2 and 2 together and made an assumption (System 1 vs System 2 reference of Thinking Fast and Slow).

The movie is so well crafted and deals with issues the characters are facing at every level – socio-economic issues, parenting issues, marital issues, religious issues and personal identity issues.

There was not a single dull moment in the movie. Protagonists Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt were marvelous. Before the movie, I was not a fan of Ranveer Singh but this movie changed my perception. His transformation from a subdued passive-aggressive looking for identity and self-worth to an alpha male who climbs the top of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is really moving.

Alia Bhatt’s character of a rebellious, independent and a strong girl who does not bows to social pressure is heartening to watch. She wears a hijab and proving its not a sign of oppression but her own choice.

Ranveer Singh’s parents – how they were dealing with martial issues which led to harming their own kids personalities. Father being the sole bread-winner and his frustration in making ends meet. Imposing his parochial views of class system.

Alia Bhatt’s parents – how they were being over bearing parents that was leading Alia Bhatt to hide things from her parents. To build trust, you must foster a relation of openness and transparency with your kids where they are willing to share their insecurities with you.

I can’t come up with any flaws in the characters.

To sum up my review of Gully Boy – it was nothing like 8 Mile and the only similarity between those movies is the rap. A must watch movie .Gully Boy is a phenomenal movie!

And to sum up the message – you are owner of your destiny – own narrative. You are limited with your own imagination and not my limitations set by someone else. Above all, never lose hope – Apna time ayga…

Ramadan Special

In recent year, this was my ‘best’ Ramadan – relatively speaking of course . Personally, this Ramadan was satisfying at various levels. I was spiritually more inclined to make a conscious effort in doing an act of worship. I would engage in remembrance (‘Zikr’) and devote some time for self-reflection (meditation). Prayed 5 times a day, did not miss a single fast. But…there’s always a but…I didn’t do much Tarawaeh.

My biggest achievement was the first 2 weeks of Ramadan, my wife was away for work and I not only had to arrange for my own Suhoor (early morning meal) and Iftar (breaking fast) but had to take care of my kids! It seemed daunting but made it through! The Ramadan ‘barakah’ helped :)

This Ramadan, for the first time I played squash while fasting! Yes! I played 6-7 times during the month – some games while fasting and some encounters after breaking fast. I did loose weight if that was the obvious outcome of fasting and high-intensity cardio.

This Ramadan, I was able to land a contractual employment right after my previous engagement ceased. Thankfully did not had to wait long for my next assignment as I was fearing the ‘off season’ job market will make me a ‘House Husband’ lol. Hey, nothing wrong with that ! (had to write that as my wife reads this)

Lastly, we were able to sell our place this Ramadan. Our house was on the market for couple of months which was way unusual for a property and location like ours (modestly speaking of course). The overall market dynamics of darkening economic clouds and polar-vortex weather made us wait little longer for much our liking. But as they say – everything happens at its own correct time.  On the flip side , we were also able to find our ‘dream’ house which seemed inconceivable given we had huge want/need/wish list with a limited budget – we made our agent show us houses in Mississauga, Milton , Oakville and Georgetown – yep – we were all over the place. Miraculously, we found one that fulfilled our criteria in our dream location – Oakville. The barakah of Ramadan ensued.

May Allah accept our prayers and shower his blessings and mercy always. Amen !

Looking for Approval

As a child growing up always yearning for approval from others - teachers, friends , relatives and parents.
The constant urge of getting approval and fitting into the grove is mentally draining enterprise.
Although have been through various experiences in life I have placed the onus of approval on others.
For example, when I talk in a group I need to see a nod somewhere in the corner to validate my existence. When saying a joke or witty one liner , need a smile or a chuckle from someone to boost my ego. When the gesture is not reciprocated you feel rejected and dejected.
If you know you have worked hard at your job, you shouldn’t depend on boardroom meeting and pop a champagne to toast your marvellous achievement - that was an extreme example but you get the point. You grow professionally and personally and that constant churning of human physiological machinery keeps us sane, motivated and not surprised - happy.
If you know you played well in a squash game but the result didn’t suggested the same , you should not rely on someone to tell you “well played” to boost your morale . You know where you stand and by being honest to yourself you know it’s more hard-work and more practice that will change the fate and not an external superficial conciliatory comment from someone. One should be honest with him or herself in evaluating oneself .

Don’t get me wrong it’s nice to be appreciated just like an artist craves for one ( Yes , we are all artists and everyone is stroking different colour pallets on their easel). But one should have a robust framework of evaluation and a game plan for future development and improvement. That framework should be flexible, transparent, ego-free and also less harsh.

With the same token, I am not looking for approvals for this post. I wrote this as a reminder to myself  and of course getting approval in form of likes lol j/k