Tag Archives: australian

Chhori : growing up too fast

I can’t believe how quick kids grow up. I believe it now when people say that all you need to do is have kids and they will grow up; you don’t even remember how time flies by.

Chhori is 16 months now and she constantly manages to surprise us.

chhori (3)

These days, she wants to eat her own meal. So she sits in her chair, she can strap herself in if she wants to and then waits for the tray to be put on the chair. Then she patiently waits for her food. Once the food is on the tray, she wants a fork and she feeds herself. It is so cute to watch her eat.

chhori (1) chhori (2)

I have to admit, she might grow up to be a patient one unlike her mum. It sometimes takes her few attempts to get her food on the fork but she is very persistent and keeps going until she has them on her fork. There were times when she got frustrated and threw her fork but she is getting better at it. She loves her independence.

It is easier for us as well. If there is food she can eat using a fork, like meat, pasta, noodles, veggies, fruits, we cut them into small pieces and give it to her and she will eat it all. Of course, she makes a mess as well but it is all a learning process.

I still haven’t given her rice and lito as she is not very good with a spoon and only 50% goes into her mouth. So that will be our next goal once she masters the fork. But we still are quite proud parents.

chhori (2)

She also managed to surprise me with her dancing. From very early on she has managed to copy the actions from the rhymes on Youtube but this one was very special. I didn’t know that AS was teaching her but he asked me to come to the living area on the weekend.

So when I got there, AS asked Chhori to bring a teddy bear. She got a big pink one and AS started to sing the rhyme “Teddy bear teddy bear turn around” doing the action with the teddy bear. I was pleasantly surprised when Chhori joined and did all the right moves with the rhymes. So the rhyme goes like this

Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Turn around!
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Touch the ground!
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Jump up high!
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Touch the sky!

Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Bend down low!
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Touch you toes!
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Turn out the light!
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Say good night!

Chhori was doing all the right action and the best and cutest part was when she was turning around, doing the full circle. She is doing it so well and I am so happy to watch. This father-daughter team means a world to me for sure.

chhori (6)

I am sure every kid goes through this phase and every parent has these happy moments. Please share yours and let me know what I can look forward to :).

Have a good day everyone and take care.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Healthy snacks: Roasted Chickpeas

I find that eating healthy is not easy, especially if you snack a lot. I try my best to eat healthy meals and I am happy with that part but when it is the time for a snack, I eat whenever is available which means chocolate, cheese sandwich, biscuits and chips are on the menu too. Of course, everything in moderation is OK but sometimes I know I can go overboard.

Normally, I snack on fruits and dark chocolate at work so I don’t jump to eat other unhealthy options but it gets boring at times.

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I am so happy that I have recently re-discovered Roasted Chickpeas. There are many varieties of chickpeas and most common ones are beige, black, green, red and brown. They are all tasty and healthy at the same time.

chick peas (1)

According to experts, they add a low-fat boost of nutrition that supports healthy weight loss. If you Google them, you can find different ways to eat them but I just want to consume the roasted ones right now.

What healthy snack are you munching on? Do share some ideas.

Take care,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Pan fried Chicken Gizzard

As I have mentioned in my previous post, in Nepal, a goat’s brain (gidi), feet (khutta), head (tauko), stomach (bhundi), tongue (jibro), liver (kalejo), kidney, lungs (phokso), fried intestines (aandra), fried solidified blood (rakati) are considered delicacies and are in very high demand during Dashain and other festivals. We also eat certain parts of chicken apart from the usual.

I know some of you might feel squeamish even thinking about eating offal but believe me if you love your meat, you will love these dishes. Another thing is that eating offal uses the parts of the animal that might otherwise be wasted. As it takes 10 kilos of cereal to produce one kilo of meat we should not waste any part of the carcass. Unless you deliberately avoid meat, eating offal should be regarded as “green”.

Today I am sharing the recipe to cook chicken gizzard. A gizzard is an organ found in the digestive tract of a chicken. Similar to a stomach, the gizzard is used to grind up the foods the bird eats. Eating gizzards provide a healthy dose of certain vitamins and minerals.

Chicken Gizzard is a very popular appetizer and tastes really good.

Ingredients

  • 500 gm Chicken Gizzard, cleaned
  • 1 teaspoon Ginger/Garlic Paste
  • 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
  • 3 teaspoon Vegetable Oil
  • Salt to taste

Method

  • Clean the chicken gizzards and boil them for 5 minutes until they are tender.

Chicken Gizzard (1)

  • Drain them and let it cool for a few minutes.

Chicken Gizzard (2)

  • Cut them into bite size pieces

Chicken Gizzard (3)

  • In a big bowl, add ginger garlic paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt with chicken gizzard and mix them well.

Chicken Gizzard (4) Chicken Gizzard (5)

  • Heat oil in a pan and add the gizzard and fry for around 8-10 minutes.

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  • Keep stirring occasionally until they are brown on all side.
  • Serve hot as an appetizer.

Take care,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to nominate your favourite blog. NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2015

P.S.S: If you blog about Nepal, please visit my new page .

Okra (lady’s finger) fry

I have to admit, we don’t cook too many different types of veggies when we are on our own but since my parents came here we always have vegetables in every meal. Normally my mum cooks them and I am trying to learn how to cook them :).

Here is an easy recipe for Okra (lady’s finger). I know it might not be everyone’s favourite but it tastes so yummy when done the right way. I am not a big fan of it either but when my mums make it I just love it :). Just remember not to add water.

Ingredients

  • Okra- 250 gm washed, dried and chopped into small pieces

okra (1)

  • ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds
  • ½ tablespoon garlic paste
  • 1 teaspoon of chilli powder
  • ¼ teaspoon of turmeric powder
  • Cooking Oil – 1 ½ tablespoon
  • Salt to taste

    Method

  • Wash the okra, dry them, chop and throw away tip and tail ends. Chop into 1/2 inch pieces.
  • In a pan, heat oil and add cumin seeds and let them brown.
  • Add garlic paste and let it fry for a few minutes, stir them for few seconds.
  • Add turmeric powder and add okra and mix well.
  • Fry on medium high heat for 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally.
  • Add salt and reduce to low flame and cover it and cook for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
  • The okra is cooked when it turns soft.

okra (2)

  • Enjoy!

Take care,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to nominate your favourite blog. NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2015

P.S.S: If you blog about Nepal, please visit my new page .

Specialist visit

When Chhori was around 6 months old, I saw a dark line underneath her left ring finger. She had just started to crawl so I thought she had managed to hit her finger somewhere and it caused a blood clot under her nail. I just checked if she was OK and let it be.

When I cut the nail the next time I noticed that the new nail still had the line so I got a bit worried. I googled it and there were many posts from birth marks to cancer. So we visited our GP to make sure it was nothing to worry about. He checked her and referred her to a specialist to check it further just to be safe.

chhori (2)

It took us almost 2 months to get an appointment and so we finally went for a visit on last Friday. We both took a day off work for the visit.

About 3 hours before the appointment time, I got a text letting me know that the doctor is running an hour late so we adjusted our day accordingly. When we arrived there, we had to wait around 5-10 minutes before it was our turn. In that time, we filled out the paper work and made sure Chhori didn’t break anything while she was busy exploring the place. She has become so active recently that she needs a full time minder when we are out and about. I was scared she might hurt herself or break something.

Chhori (1)

Anyway, when it was out turn the doctor came in and introduced herself. She checked Chhori’s nail and said that it was just a mole and there was nothing to worry about which was quite a relief. She took a photo of her finger in her phone, also under a microscope and asked us to come back next year so she can examine Chhori again for any changes.

I was confused for a while because she was literally done in less than 2 minutes and it was all over so quickly. I can understand that she was busy and all that but we paid $235 for the consultation and it was done in 2 minutes.

Chhori (3)

I am super happy that Chhori is OK and we don’t have to worry about it but at the same time I don’t understand how a dermatologist can get away with charging $235 for a 2 minutes consultation. I guess I am in the wrong profession.

Does anyone out there have a similar experience? Do you think the doctors are getting more money than the service may be worth?

Take care,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to nominate your favourite blog. NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2015