Venthaiya mangaai with a twist

Summers when growing up.
Didnt need any fancy vacations.. Didnt need any summer camps..
All I needed was my paati.
Days were filled with Simple pleasures and happy times with her....

It wasn't summer,  if we didnt have fresh maavadu, fresh vadam, banganapalli and venthaiya mangaai..
Venthaiya mangai.. The simple yet perfect accompaniment for another staple - thayir sadam aka curd rice.

I remember hunting for kili mooku mangaai aka bengaloora..
It was like an unwritten law, that if there was any mangaai lying around in the house, it should either be in the form of maavadu or venthaiya mangaai..

Venthaiya mangaai was my favorite.. I love the fusion of the different tastes..

It is just in the past couple of months, that my kitchen is a part of the house I am visiting often:-).
With a difficult pregnancy and then an infant, full time job, elder sibling, cooking was the last thing in my mind and life...
Now slowly getting a hang of things..

Warmer weather and summer fast approaching, the first thing that came in mind, was of course, Venthaiya Mangaai.
While at Whole Foods, fresh, bright and colorful, I couldn't resist picking up a bunch of fresh raw turmeric rhizomes along with raw ginger.And so it all came together.

Venthaiya Mangaai, with a twist - A Healthy, anti oxidant packed, tangy side dish..

Here are few of the benefits of this yummy side dish..

• Raw tumeric - Digestive aid, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, sugar level regulator and anti-carcinogenic. The single all powerful weapon from the Indian kitchen arsenal.
• Raw ginger - Mr.I-take-care-of-your-gastric-tracts.
• Raw mango - Vitamic B, C and strengthens the immune system
• Lime - Gem of citruses, rich in calcium and folate. And good for cholestrol..  

Without further delay, heres presenting, Venthaiya Mangaai with a twist


My mortar and pestle.. Nothing even closely matches the texture and taste of herbs hand ground in this...

Venthaiya Mangaai with a twist

Preparation Time : 10 min
Ingredients

• 1 cup Raw mango, finely chopped
• 1 cup Raw turmeric, finely chopped
• 1 cup Raw giner, finely chopped
• 2 tsp gingely oil
• as per taste, about 1/2 tsp salt
• a sprinkle chilly powder(optional)
• a sprinkle hing
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp methi seeds
• mortar and pestle
• 1 lime

Cooking Directions

1.  Wash the raw turmeric and ginger rhizomes nicely and peel the skin
2.  Finely chop raw mango, raw turmeric, and raw ginger to get 1 cup each.
3.  In a mixing bowl, mix all three and sprinkle salt.
4.  Take the mortar and pestle and hand grind the methi seeds
5.  Sprinkle the ground methi on the pickle mix in the bowl
6. In a small kadai, heat 2 tsp gingely oil. When hot add the mustard seeds and hing. Pour this on the pickle mix.
7. Toss all the ingredients to coat all the pickle pieces nicely
8. You can have it immediately or give it a day for the tastes to blend.

Optional :

1. You can add a dash of chilly powder or 1 or 2 finely chopped green chillies, if you like it spicy, like me.
2. As another variation, add the juice of 1 green lime and allow this to marinate for a day to get the sourness set.

After thoughts...... : I made both the versions, with and without lime juice, and still trying to figure out which I like better. Love both of them equally. 

Please dont grow up fast.

March 1 2015

I should be happy. Deliriously happy.

Yesterday you started pivoting on your tummy.

Like a wallclock needle, you followed your brother as he sang and danced around you..

He was happy.Yes. Deliriously happy..

Today, you gained more confidence. I saw you pivoting clockwise and anticlockwise in super speed..

And suddenly, you started moving.

On a wooden floor, in your footie, it looked like a little penguin, sliding on the tummy.

I should have been happy.

This is HUGE step for you.

But I had tears in my eyes.

Like I have tears in my eyes now.

You are growing up. Growing up fast.

Your elder brother, is living proof of how fast time flies.

He is almost as tall as me.

He was my baby. He will always be my baby. Or thats what I thought..

If only..........

As you sucked my breasts, your little hands cradling them, I kept looking at you, tears swelling up.

It was as if you understood. May be the flutter of my heart... May be the tears that dropped on you.. Yes you understood me.

You stopped and looked at me and smiled.
It was like a tiny bud, blooming into a smile.

It made me want time to stand still.

If only..

With your brother, I celebrated his every month of his birth day.

With you, I dont want to.

He keeps reminding me. But I dont want to.

Not that I am forgetting it..

But because I cannot get myself to do it.

I cannot get myself to face that, you are growing up so fast.

Seven months already.
Wasn't it just yesterday that I found I was pregnant?

You are now fast asleep.

Oblivious to mommy's tears or my fears.
Your every step is going break my heart a little bit.

Cant you be my little baby for a little longer?

Please dont grow up fast.