Rice, Lentils & Egg

Ever since I've been back at work, I've had this nagging feeling of needing to prove my worth all over again. Its like I've been away for ages and there's been so much of changes around the place, I hardly recognise it anymore. So many new faces around the office and most of them look at me like I'm the newbie, when actually I'm not. All my hard work and achievements have pretty much been forgotten and I'm sure most of these people don't even know who I am or what I actually do here.  But then again, I'm not sure I know anymore either.

Thankfully my team leader decided that  my brain would need a huge jolt to get it out of the "baby brain"mode and back into the programming mode and so put me on a  new SharePoint project instead of my usual role as Applications Support.  And I couldn't  have agreed more with him.  Being on this project has not just given me the jolt I needed but more like the shock treatment my system needed to get back into the rhythm of things at work. The project has been a huge challenge and I can confess that there have been more than a couple of times when I've wanted to just give up.

I never thought that it would be so hard to get back into it.But then again in all fairness I've been so out of it all for  almost over a year, if you also count the time while I was pregnant and my team was sweet enough to keep all the hard/stressful work  away from me. My brain was almost dead with all that inactivity by the time I came back to work!!

Anyways, my project's almost come to an end, and I must say I'm very happy with how it all turned out.  And it couldn't have all happened at a perfect time too. A new opening's just come up in our team and it is a perfect opprtunity for me and I now feel that its time I took the next step in my career. I just hope my employers feel the same way. Well, at least with this project, I've got actual proof to show them I'm ready to move up the ladder now. Wish me luck guys!!! :)

Now, getting back to what this blog's all about, ofcourse, my little angel Issac!! He stood up on his own a couple of times now, YAY!! I can't tell you how excited I got when I see him stand up on his own. My heart almost burst with pride. Issac is becoming more and more a little dude and doing sweet little things that show us his personality more every day. He’s started eating “big boy food” , he’s been eating solid fruits, hummus and crackers and he abolutely loves music! His favourite song at the moment is Chamak Challo from Ra-One… he’s growing up! June 25th he stood on his own and has been working at it everyday since, I’m sure he’ll be running through the house soon. My mind is blown with each passing day.

Today's recipe is something naadan. Its rice with lentils(parippu char) and egg. Its full of yummy goodness and am sure your bubs will love it. I guess its pretty much like Kichdi, but am not calling it that as it was not a one pot meal. I made the parippu just like how we would for adults minu the chillies. And then just added cooked rice and egg.

Rice, Lentils & Egg

Rice - 2 cup
Egg - 2
Milk - 2 tsp
Cheruparippu (moong dal) - 1 cup
Desicated coconut – 1/4 cup
Jeera (cumin) – 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Ghee – 2-3 tsp
Water – 1/2 ltr
Small onion – 3-4
Mustard seeds – a pinch
Curry leaves
Salt

Cook rice and keep aside.

Grind together the coconut, jeera & turmeric powder.
Roast the moong dal in a heavy bottomed pan (without oil).
Boil half a litre water and add the roasted dal to this.
Cook till the dal is done.
Mash it well or you can just run it in a food processor or blender for a few seconds.
Add ground paste, salt and 1/2 – 1 cup water to the mashed dal and let it boil.
Remove from heat. Allow to cool.
Heat oil/ghee in another pan and splutter mustard seeds.
Add small onion and curry leaves .
Fry till small onion becomes golden brown. Pour over cooked dal and keep aside.

Crack the eggs into a glass mixing bowl and beat them until they turn a pale yellow color.
Heat a heavy-bottomed nonstick sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the butter and let it melt.
Add the milk to the eggs and season to taste with salt and white pepper and whisk well.
When the butter in the pan is hot enough to make a drop of water hiss, pour in the eggs. Scramble well.
Transfer to a plate when the eggs are set but still moist and soft. Eggs are delicate, so they'll continue to cook for a few moments after they're on the plate.

Now combine the rice, lentils and egg. Serve warm...