Asparagus desi stlye!!

Asparagus......surely doesn't sound like anything that could be turned into a nice Indain kind of dish you say?You'll be surprised just as I was at how well this can be morphed into something that will pair well with our very own sambar,rasam and chappathi.
My first attempt with asparagus had been quite a diaster.I made asparagus dhal....the asparagus ended up crunchy even though I had cooked it in the pressure cooker.And my husband and I realised we didn't really take to crunchy asparagus.
The past week bunches of fresh asparagus sat tantalisingly in the grocery store.I thought it deserved another shot especially since my sister had told me about the very edible asparagus curry that her room-mate makes.
So here's the recipe for my very own desi stlye asparagus.
Fresh asparagus - 1 bunch (chopped into 1cm pieces)
Yellow onion - I medium (finely chopped)
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Asafoetida powder - a pinch
Corrainder powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Cumin powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Ground pepper - a generous pinch
Salt - as per taste
Vegetable/canola oil - 2 tblspoons
mustard and cumin seeds for seasoning
dried red chillies - 2 (crushed)
In a small non-stick wok pour the oil.When it's hot drop the mustard and red chillies.When the mustard starts to splutter add the cumin seeds,asafoetida and turmeric powders.Then add the onions and saute till translucent.Add the chopped asparagus and the corrainder and cumin powders,pepper and salt.Stir a couple of times till add the ingredients are mixed together.Now add a little water and cover.Check after two minutes and stir.Cook till the asparagus is as soft as you would like.This serves 2 people.
We had it with chappathi but this would be a good side for sambar/rasam and rice too.
Enjoy!!

The cardinal came a calling today.....aah what a beauty!!
This bird is supposedly quite common in my city but I have spotted it only a few times.It is a vivid red with a small tuft on it's head.It sat on my balcony ledge for a few minutes this morning and with the backdrop of all the brown logs of my apartment....quite some sight it was!!

A month and two days

I never really made resolutions at the start of every new year mainly because I most likely forgot them by the end of January.But this year was different.

No,nothing earth shattering or anything happened to change my mind.In fact I did not even give it much thought.....just decided that I would start brushing my teeth every night this year.Yeah I know this is one of the most mundane of things to pick but hey what the hell this is one of my hurdles.

I post proudly today that I have managed to keep the resolution for a whole month and two days!!I have tried many times in the past to make this a habit and obviously have never succeeded till now.I know one person other than me who'll be proud of this rather boring achievement.......what say Daddy?