Too many sweets, too many treats! A bevy of deliciousness greets!
Chocolate, cheesecake, and cupcakes galore
My tummy just cannot hold anymore!
Nan katai – an indian sweet for a twist
We’re an international company – you get the gist!
Click here to watch the goodies!!!
Happy Heart (and tummy) Day!
My daughter turned 13 last Sunday, February 5th. She hemmed and hawwed about how to celebrate. “Don’t you want your friends over for a sleepover the night before, and then a celebratory lunch or breakfast?” we inquired? (Tradition.) “No…..IDK……I’m not sure……hmmmm….sigh…” was her response (or the gist of it, anyway). Well, turning 13 doesn’t happen every day, so I was a little sad that she wasn’t honing in on something special and fun for that day (yes, I’m a sucker for celebrations).
(One of her) best friend to the rescue! “Let’s throw Avanti a surprise!”, she says. YES! A surprise! All my maternal motivation kicks into high gear, and we plan all week long. Emails and texts fly back and forth, plans are Read the rest of this entry »
Valentine treat for kids
Valentine’s Day is around the corner. An international holiday, the Valentine’s Day shopping rush is everywhere, driving flower sales in India , strange hotel sites in London and of course, apps for your smartphone here in the U.S.
Has Valentine’s Day fever swept through your house yet? On a family shopping trip this past weekend, the color red was everywhere. My daughter, who loves color almost as much as she loves music, was constantly lunging out of my arms towards the displays of flowers, teddy bears, and chocolates. “Oh great,” I thought, “it starts early!” Read the rest of this entry »
One AmaraMom took her kids skiing, one took her kids to the beach. Same weekend. In California. (Granted there wasn’t a ton of new snow, or the beach wasn’t balmy, bake-in-the-sun weather, but still).
My sister visited us recently from London and my husband and I got into the usual “should we stay or should we move back to India” discussion. This has taken on a totally different hue for me lately when the ground got pulled out from beneath my family’s feet last November, and I feel an urgency I’ve never felt in the past. The theoretical nature of this debate, the almost great-chat-over-cocktails-conversation material with other Indian immigrants who still have family in India, has turned 180 degrees into something more serious for me. My sister, who will move back from London to Mumbai this year, will likely face the largest lifestyle change in many ways. Hence I thought that when I told her of my serious desire to return to Mumbai, even if only for a 5 year period, she would jump. Jump she did, but in the opposite direction to what I anticipated. Read the rest of this entry »
HAPPY 63RD INDIAN REPUBLIC DAY!
I love a parade!
I love parades. In person is best. When I go to Disneyland, I never miss the light parade at the end of the day, no matter how tired the kid or my husband may be. As I kid, I sat on the curb in my neighborhood first thing on Memorial Day at the end of May and just waited for the parade to come by. Something about the flags, the marching military men, the bands, the floats, the waving politicians – it is all so fun. I’ll sit in front of the TV and watch them too: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day from New York City and the Rose Bowl parade from Pasadena that accompanies American college football are two of my favorites. So I’m excited about the Republic Day parade in New Delhi. It includes not only military presentations from all branches of the armed forces, but also cultural floats from all over the country. Winners of the National Bravery Award, children who have committed acts of bravery in saving the lives of others, ride by on elephants. Read the rest of this entry »
”Quinoa is the new preferred grain in our home! Why? After years of eating white rice we started experimenting with brown rice, quinoa and cracked wheat in yet another effort to loose weight and get fit! Our startling realization – we felt ravenously hungry a couple of hours after eating white rice but quinoa and brown rice in smaller portions kept our hunger at bay! Protein packed, tasty and excellent for keeping heart disease and migraines away, quinoa has made its way into our heart and kitchen. It also helps that organic quinoa is available in Costco! ” Pavitra Kandadai shares her Quinoa passion with AmaraMoms!
A yummy mango, blueberry, minty quinoa salad by Pavitra Kandadai:
This recipe is for 4 servings of salad.
Ingredients:
Quinoa – 1 cup
Water – 2 cups
Fresh Blueberries – 1 cup
Cubed ripe mangoes – 1 cup; you can also use thawed frozen mango
Cubed cantalope – 1 cup
Cubed Cucumbers – 1 cup
Dried cranberries or craisins – 1 tbsp
Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s a very easy recipe for sweet pongal. Traditionally made to celebrate the festival of Pongal in India, we enjoy this on any cold, winter day. Delicious!!
Wash the lentils and rice together and pressure cook with one cup milk and a half cup of water for 10 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, then cook it on the stove top till the rice and lentils are well blended. Read the rest of this entry »
The next week is full of festivals that are celebrated throughout India with new clothes and clean houses, new beginnings and thanksgiving for past successes. It is harvest time!
Associated with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, Lohri, Pongal, and Makar Sankranti are all celebrated at this time of year. These festivals are an opportunity to give thanks for the harvest of the last year and to ask for the blessings of the Sun as it returns for another year. Sure, most of us aren’t actually harvesting anything – I have a garden but even in sunny California it is pretty dead this time of year – but we all have things that have come to fruition, right? A new baby, a marriage in the family, a new job – last year’s plans have become this year’s fruit.
This is a great chance to introduce the kids to one of the most ancient, and universal, holidays in our calendar. People celebrate the Winter Solstice all over the world as the days in which Light overcomes Darkness, Good triumphs over Evil, and everyone gets some sweets. Kids understand these things. They notice that the days are getting longer, that Winter is peaking, and that somewhere in the distance, Spring is coming. That’s a reason to throw a party, no matter where you’re from.
So how do you celebrate these festivals with the kids?
1 – COOK! I’m a big believer in every celebration coming with good food. Maybe you’ve got the time and you can make the entire traditional meal of your family. Go for it! Maybe you’ve got more desire than energy – don’t worry about it. Read the rest of this entry »
New Year’s Resolution: Healthy Recipes: Amara Moms
Mahi Mahi with a Ginger Glaze
You will need:
• Four (6 ounce) mahi mahi fillets
• Three tablespoons each of low-sodium soy sauce, honey, and balsamic vinegar
• One teaspoon of ginger powder
• One tablespoon of garlic powder
• Pam cooking spray
• Pepper and low-sodium salt to your personal taste, optional
1. Combine low-sodium soy sauce, honey, ginger, balsamic vinegar, and garlic in a bowl. Season mahi mahi fillets with salt and pepper (optional) and place them into the bowl, ensuring that all sides of the filets are saturated in the ingredients. Cover, and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for twenty minutes. Read the rest of this entry »
