April did turn out to be one long month, complete with 30 days! Each year it does has 30 days. This year, however, April beckoned right from the last week of March. It expanded and extended its reach till first week of May for me. Puzzling? How about adding “A to Z Challenge” to the discussion? This phrase is such a game changer!

The challenge aftermath saw me staying away from pen, paper, laptop and anything that could lead me to writing for almost a week into May. My apathy towards anything in print grew to the extent that I shunned the benign daily news paper as well. Second week of the summer month gave me a breather as I discovered few new facets of life… Life, that got washed away in the month of April.

The challenge aftermath handed out two victors. One was food and other by all means, the challenge survivor me and my family!

When I visited market, for fresh supplies of fruits and vegetables, I discovered that it was dominated by the “King”. Shades of orange-yellow floated across the entire stretch of market. The lanes and the by lanes had the signature aroma…one that is associated with the King!

You guessed it right, the king of fruits, Alphonso Mango had its royal presence at every nook and corner. Sadly, my household had remained dry, pretty much unaffected by the flood of the mangoes in the market. Thanks to the challenge, I had delegated the responsibility of buying the fruits and vegetables to my son, for entire of April. Being the most obedient son, he abided by the list that I would hand him over. That meant not honouring the King!

I have corrected the mistake by declaring a “Mango Mahotsav” at my household. You are cordially invited at my place to indulge in mango mania!

Closer to home, I experienced a compelling pull from the kitchen. It was the most striking discovery! Kitchen and I share love and hate relationship, “hate” being the dominant part of our saga. Post challenge, I found myself keen on serving fresh meals, three times a day, much to the surprise of my family.

I couldn’t believe when I decided to try a new recipe of “Puffed rice dhokala” for breakfast. I followed the instructions for the recipe on the famous food portal, very studiously (I have no choice here, as I am a big food-illiterate and panic at the slightest deviation in the process and outcome)

It was a miracle of sorts when the dish turned out to be perfect fit for eating! I now hope that my new-found love for kitchen and cooking lasts longer…

Spending longer time in kitchen awakened me to the sorry state of affairs on the grocery front. Grocery had depleted to the dangerous levels. It was inching closer to the extinction. Before the situation could turn worse from bad, I summoned the help of online grocery store.

In the feat of fear and equal measure of enthusiasm, I ordered things beyond the level of adequacy. Outcome? I have lined up a mammoth task for me…one that of fitting the purchase in the containers, kitchen drawers and shelves. I have a track record of being top rated serial-defaulter on this account. Grocery purchase always exceeds the storage capacity of my household. Keeping up my reputation, I have postponed it to the next month to get over my notorious reputation.

Going by sea of changes in my life; though I fear it may turn out to be a blink and miss phase; it’s not only me but everyone in the family is happy that I took the challenge. I now have been encouraged to take part in writing challenges that ultimately lead me to wandering off into the “Food World”. A win-win for all…



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Linking this post to #FlvoursomeTuesday by Sunita Rajwade of MumbaiOnAHigh and Shilpa Gupte of Metanoia

27 Comments

Mayuri6 · May 9, 2018 at 4:58 pm

Puffed Rice Dhokla sounds awesome, Anagha. Wish you had shared a pic though. Yes, getting back on track after a daily writing challenge is tough, glad you’re back on track. On your blog, and in the house hold too.

    Anagha Yatin · May 9, 2018 at 5:15 pm

    How I wish Mayuri. Unfortunately it vanished from plates no sooner I served it. And thats what I call it a “miracle”! Hahaha
    Thanks for visiting.

BellyBytes · May 9, 2018 at 5:07 pm

Thanks for joining us with this delightful tale of how you discovered a new relationship with your kitchen. Long may it thrive and hope to see you regularly at Flavoursome Tuesdays.

    Anagha Yatin · May 9, 2018 at 5:16 pm

    Amen! Summa Amen!
    Thanks Sunita for visiting.

writershilpa · May 9, 2018 at 6:17 pm

In my family, the mangoes come visiting even before they hit the market. Hubby being a die-hard mango fan, he gets the fruit home right in March. And, then it keeps coming till the season ends. I like to eat it as and when the mood strikes.
The dhokla does sound awesome, but I have prepared it with the ready to make mix. I, too, get intimidated if the recipe demands a lot from me, so prefer anything that’s easy to make!

Thank you for joining us at FlavoursomeTuesdays, Anagha! And, wish you a happy May! 🙂

    Anagha Yatin · May 9, 2018 at 6:20 pm

    Mango fan family, I must say! Good to know that Shilpa.
    Wish you a mango-laced happy May!
    Thanks for visiting.

Ramya Abhinand · May 9, 2018 at 6:29 pm

YOur stories were awesome anagha and cheered us all up through the way. And yes what a way to bring in May with the king of fruits Mango. We have a crazy mango family out here and the kiddos just cant wait everyday to dig in to the pulp of a juicy mango.I am not much of a Dhokla person. Never quite get the recipe right. So have stopped attempting it these days.

    Anagha Yatin · May 9, 2018 at 6:45 pm

    Same pinch Ramya…we connect well on Mango front as well!
    Thanks dear for visiting and sharing your story.

Deepa · May 9, 2018 at 11:22 pm

I need the recipe of puffed rice dhokla. I understand how tiring it was last month and we all needed a break.

    Anagha Yatin · May 10, 2018 at 9:17 am

    I firmly believe in one thing Deepa, all my recent love for kitchen has roots in reading your AtoZ posts on healthy recipes! Thanks for that.
    As for the puffed rice recipe, I will DM u the same.
    Thanks for visiting.

Alice Gerard · May 10, 2018 at 12:12 am

I’m glad that you are now friends with Kitchen. It’s a great way to end the A through Z challenge! I, too, would love to see the puffed rice dhokla recipe.

    Anagha Yatin · May 10, 2018 at 9:22 am

    Thanks Alice for visiting. As for the recipe, will message you the same on fB.

Varsh · May 10, 2018 at 7:15 am

Writing and cooking are two of my dear loves. I’m glad to see you indulging in both and rocking them! Time to open an Instagram account now. 🙂 😉

    Anagha Yatin · May 10, 2018 at 9:23 am

    Hahaha… rocking? Not yet!
    Thanks dear for being so supportive and encouraging.

weekend-windup · May 10, 2018 at 11:30 am

Puffed Rice Dhokla sounds something different.
WOW! Mangoes, we are mango family. All in our family love mangoes:)

    Anagha Yatin · May 10, 2018 at 11:41 pm

    Thanks for visiting

pushpendra پُشپیندر (@pushpendra4acti) · May 10, 2018 at 2:08 pm

love mango

    Anagha Yatin · May 10, 2018 at 11:42 pm

    Glad to know that Pushpendra ji. Thanks for visiting.

Jyotirmoy Sarkar · May 11, 2018 at 10:39 am

Mango is the only fruit that i love a lot and love to eat,
would like to join the “Mango Mahotsav” for your invitation but Ma’am you did not share your house address…just kidding.
April was really not an easy moth for all those who took part in A-Z challenge and you have nicely described the toughness, the after effects and the responsibilities both for the challenge and your family.

    Anagha Yatin · May 11, 2018 at 4:17 pm

    Jyotirmoy come down to Mumbai some time and will host you with my family!
    Thanks dear for visiting and appreciating the efforts.

mammaspeaks · May 11, 2018 at 10:43 am

That dhokhla does sound interesting, and coming from the land of dhoklas, I am more than interested in knowing how to make it, Anagha! Do share the recipe with me too! You didn’t have alphonsoes the whole of April and were still so creative. Now, with abundant mangoes in your meal, I wonder what wonders your mind will create. 🙂

BTW, you are nominated for the mystery blogger award – https://firsttimemommy.net/2018/05/11/the-mystery-mania/

    Anagha Yatin · May 11, 2018 at 4:33 pm

    Will DM you the recipe for sure. Mangoes right now are discouraging me from standing on the weighing scale! Hehehe
    Thanks for the pleasant surprise. So indebted.

      mammaspeaks · May 13, 2018 at 12:54 pm

      Put the weighing scale away from sight for the next 1 month or so! The first showers and alphonsoes are a goner! Enjoy!! 🙂

        Anagha Yatin · May 15, 2018 at 10:26 pm

        Thats a great tip! I am following it from this very moment!
        Thanks for visiting dear!

Esha M Dutta · May 16, 2018 at 9:35 pm

Loved your wonderful post, Anagha! My son and I absolutely love to gorge on mangoes…so we are a mango-family! We could live solely on the “KIng of Fruits”. Btw, tempted to try the puffed rice dhokla someday. Right now, eating right and exercising is on top priority because I’ve indulged so much over the holidays that I need to put a check on what I’m eating! But, mangoes are never rationed. 🙂

    Anagha Yatin · May 17, 2018 at 10:31 am

    I so agree with you for never ever rationing the King’s quota, Esha.
    Thanks for visiting.

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