Mommy of 2 -- Lesson # 3

Your child starts reading, now you better stop.

Your child has started reading, now she is reading books, she can read an entire book by herself, you are one proud Mom or Dad, you have a feeling of déjà vu BUT wait don't get too elated. There is a downside to this whole thing which might not have crossed your mind when you were desperately trying to teach her the difference between "C" in Cinderella and "C" in Cat.

Pros of Reading:

• The child can read, reading is definitely a good habit, being a voracious reader myself I don't have enough words to say how reading can change one's life.
• You no longer have to read your child a bed time story and so can utilize that time for better things like maybe blogging
• If the older one reads, you might just get away reading a bed time story to the younger one. Yeah, delegate and so now the older one reads to the younger one. Yippeee!!!
• Your child can now read road signs and give you directions from the back seat.

Cons of Reading (not to be taken seriously) :

• You no longer can read whatever you want. If you are the kind of person who has hoity-toity coffee table books and cheap romantic trash in the bedroom, your life is doomed. You wouldn't like it if your 5 year old picks up one of those and reads a page aloud...ahem
• You can no longer take her and roam freely through all aisles of the Super Market, you never know what might spring up. I suggest keep away from aisles labeled "Feminine Hygiene" and such
• You can no longer write a blog where you exaggerate and basically write stuff which might not be exactly true to life, small deviations like "I made Chicken Curry yesterday" might make her comment, "No, you did not make it yesterday, it was 2 days back"
• She peers over your shoulder while you type and suggests that you put her stuff on the blog too, so your personal space is no longer yours now.

Since Big Sis S started reading fluently a year back, I have to be more careful around her at home. More than her own books, she is interested in reading my e-mail or the bills or even Toys R Us fliers and at times my blog. She does read to her sis, which is a good thing though

Last snow day, when we all were at home, she baked some cookies and wanted them to be put on my blog. I am no baker and we made the cookies from Betty Crocker Cookie Mix, it didn't matter she still wants it on the blog.

We also used up our time that day by making a book. I cut up some of her old daily sheets (we reuse all such papers by using them for printing, drawing, writing etc.) and she made a book with a story and illustration. The book was much liked by her teacher and classmates. When she had first started reading books, she would read every page from the cover to back, including the author, publisher, illustrator, etc. and in the right order. She has gotten over that now but she insists on writing "By S...." in the cover page and insists that she is an author.

Also here are some of her recent drawings. Check out Dora in high heels.
The little girl might object to some of the above things I have written, but come on there is something called the author's license

On another note, to get your kids interested in reading try these

• Start early (as in once they recognize alphabets) and ask her to read out aloud and sound out letters when you are at the store, on the road where ever
• Get those fridge letter magnets and form words with them which she can read. This can be done any time, all the time.
• You need to read to at least initiate her interest. If you don't have any books at home or a reading atmosphere, and ask her to sit and read that won't help a whole lot. Once she is into it, go watch your TV
• Go to the library or the bookstore and spend time browsing, borrowing, reading.
• Ask her to read and write your grocery list to show how reading is incorporated in daily life. She will get a kick out of writing and reading simple words like Milk, Egg etc.
• Ask her to read instructions of her new game, the card she has received, her school calendar which shows the "pizza day"
• And again each child will read, write, do whatever at their own pace, don't rush and be patient.

Happy Holi and Happy Reading !!!

Mushroom Olu & Taher

Lousy picture but heavenly Taste

(This was cooked last Tuesday(02/24/09) and drafted last Wednesday)

To go with the President's fiery speech yesterday, this is what I made. I am a big fan of that guy so I will refrain from discussing his dog, his wife and his stimulus here. But that man surely inspires, how else do you think me who has to be up by 5:30 in the morning after a midnight feeding break, would start cooking at 9:00 on a work week night. I would have normally just served leftover dal with an omlette but I made this fiery dish instead.

Anita's tcharvan-olu was reincarnated in my home but with mushroom & potatoes. I didn't have a goat tied in my backyard and so had to resort to mushroom. It was wonderful to say the least.

Next I wanted to have it with taher. Though mustard oil is a staple at Bengali homes I had never had rice infused with mustard oil. Many a days back in my grandma's home, when the refrigerator was not in vogue, left over rice would be saved for next day by soaking the cooked rice in cold water overnight. For morning breakfast my ma & Aunts would some times have that with Mustard Oil, Green Chillies, raw Red onions and maybe Kaancha Posto(poppy seed paste). This rice was called Paanta Bhaat. My Ma was not fond of this and would usually avoid having it and never let me have it. My Kakima/Aunt however loved this rice and would often have it for herself and during summer holidays I would get a share of that "Paanta Bhaat" on some days. That is the closest I have come to have rice flavored with Mustard Oil

Taher, therefore excited me and satisfied me and the husband's taste buds fully. To do this cook rice with a little turmeric. Once the rice is done fluff it with a fork so that you can see the grains. Heat Mustard oil to smoking and then mix it with a little salt with the rice.

This with the mushroom-olu was bliss. This Kashmiri recipe is there to stay in our Bengali home for sure. I would insist that you use Mustard Oil for both Mushroom-Olu and Taher. Both dishes are very simple and light if you consider the spices, it is the Mustard Oil that lends it the flavor, with any other oil it may taste flat. So go ahead and buy that bottle.

Aloo Mushroom

Quick Recipe Recap:

Heat Mustard Oil

Temper with a biggie Bay Leaf /Tejpatta, 3-4 cloves, 2 green cardamaom

As they sizzle add lots of green chillies finely chopped(I added about 4-5) and 1/2 tsp of finely julienned ginger (use ginger powder instead). The original recipe uses 1& 1/2 tsp of Red Chilli Powder and Ginger Powder

Add 2 peeled and cubed potatoes with a little turmeric and saute for a minute

Add 2 tsp of fennel powder, mix well with the potatoes and cover and cover and cook for a minute or so

Add the sliced mushroom, add salt, mix well and let it cook

Mushroom will release lot of water. Wait for all that water to dry up. Stir intermittently

Drizzle a little more mustard oil and you are done. At this point you are supposed to add 1/4 tsp of Garam Masala or a Kashmiri Masala. I gave this step a miss but still it was great.


Also see Anjali's Taher & Gucchi Olu

BookMark Please

It was snowing, snowing and snowing. It was March and yet as far as the eyes could see it was white.

Bong Mom with the tropical blood in her veins did not like the snow. Give me a hot summer afternoon she would say, remmebering nothing of power cuts and profusely sweating arm pits.

Today was different though. The snow ensured that she could take off from work. The rest of the household followed suit. And while she could have spent her nature gifted time to dust the console, cook for tomorrow's lunch, make hideous craft projects with her older daughter, croak lullabies to the Baby or argue with her husband she chose to buy and set up her own domain instead. Yeah her own domain where she could be just what she wanted to be and spin stories about food and people.

So here is http://www.bongcookbook.com/. Please do bookmark. Blogger confirmed that it will redirect old links but it is best to update your BookMarks, that is if you have me on it.

If you have any issues with my feeds please do let me know.

And yes if you need any help in setting up your blog (hosted by Blogger only) in your own domain leave me a line right here and I can probably help.

Masoor Dal -- revisited with Mangoes

So we all know about the rising food costs and the plunging economy. We also know about food wastage in the first world countries. Being born and brought up in a developing country we were not used to wasting food. Food or Anna was sacred for us, something to be revered. If I didn't eat up my food, my Ma reminded me about the kids who went without them and those kids weren't some that I saw in a magazine page, they were right outside my home. Food wasn't something to be thrown away unless it had gone bad or was spoiled beyond consumption and those situations were ardently avoided.

Here in my daughter's school they have this rule of throwing away leftover lunch. Even when the kids get home lunch, if they don't finish it up, they just throw it away. They cannot save leftover food for some quality adherence issues, and so perfectly good food goes to trash. Food that could have fed millions of hungry child finds its way in the compost heap. And this is not only with this school, I see a similar scenario in atleast all other pre-school/daycares.

I tell my daughter that we don't throw away food and we try not to at home. If she doesn't finish her lunch or dinner, either I just eat it (and now you know why Google puts adds like "Cut 1lb off your stomach" on my page) or I save it for later. Usually I start off by serving really small portions, and giving her more only if she wants it. But that is not always possible when I pack food for lunch. So how much food do your kids waste every day and what do you do to control it ?

On the other hand have you ever tried to keep a tab on how much your every day food costs ? Go over to this blog to see how two social justice teachers tried to eat at just One Dollar a Day for 30 days. They say it wasn't healthy though and no one should attempt to repeat it, so eating cheap is not healthy.

But really in our effort to eat right and Organic (expensive at least in my area) and go Local (which is again expensive where I live) how much are we spending on food some of which we might just be wasting ?

With Masoor Dal you can never go wrong and not eat it. A bowl of Dal is also pretty cheap even when you add a green mango. I had blogged about Tak er Dal earlier but with Matar Dal/Yellow Split Peas. Since Masoor Dal is a staple in my pantry I made Tak er Dal with Masoor & Green Mangoes this time. As BWM said in her comment, the orginal Tak Dal has a phoron or is tempered with Mustard Seeds & Dr Red Chillies, here I have used Paanch Phoran & Dry Red Chillies instead.

This Dal is a staple at my home in India only during summer because thats the season for green mangoes. Here I am guilty of buying a green mango, not grown locally and out of season, but at least I just got one mango and didn't waste any of it.


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This goes off to Susan of the very well known Well Seasoned Cook for MLLA - 8, she is the creator as well as the hostess of this legumy affair

Masoor Dal with Mangoes (Tak Musuri'r Dal)

Serves about 4-5 adults when served as part of a meal

How I Did It

Peel a green mango and chop in smallish cubes. I used half of this the rest including the kernel was saved for a small serving of ambol

Wash 1 cup of Red Massor Dal(Red Lentil) and boil with 3 cups of water, 3 slit green chillies, 1/4 tsp turmeric and salt in a heavy bottomed pan. Alternately you can cook the dal in the pressure cooker as I did here.

The dal should be cooked well, so well that the legumes will be soft and mushed up. After it is done, whisk the Dal with a fork or a whisk

Heat Mustard Oil (or any other Oil) in a Kadhai or a deep frying pan

When the Oil is hot, add 1 tsp of Paanch Phoran and 2 Dry Red Chillies

As soon as the spices sputter, add about 1 cup of chopped cubed green mangoes and 1/4 tsp of turmeric

Saute for some time say 4-5 minutes at medium heat. The mangoes will be pale yellow in color and have softened a little by now

Add the cooked Dal and 1 and 1/2 cup of water (I like my dal soupy and add more water)

Stir well and cover & cook at medium heat till mangoes are done. As the dal simmers it soaks up more flavor.

Add 1 tsp of sugar and salt to taste

Just before serving, heat 1tsp of Mustard Oil and temper with 1/4 tsp of Paanch Phoron and 2 dry red chiilies. Pour this over the dal to get more zing. I would suggest do not sidestep this and definitely use Mustard Oil for at least this step.

Have it as a soup or with Plain Rice

Other Similar Dals from my Kitchen:

Tak er Dal -- Yellow Split Peas with green mnagoes

Musuri'r Dal or Red Masoor Dal

Trivia: Interesting article on Decision between Organic & Local itself is not easy

Muri Ghonto -- a heady Fish Head Dish

Muri Ghonto -- Bengali Fish head Curry

Bengali kids are initiated into eating fish head from a very tender age and so very soon they learn to do it with a panache that very few non-Bongs can contend.

By tender age I mean at the age of 6-7 months when they have not tasted anything beyond mother's milk or formula. At their Annaprashan or Rice Ceremony, an occasion to mark the intake of first morsel of rice by a Bengali baby, they are offered to suck on a finger dipped in Paayesh and then presented with a silver plate with rice, dal, bhaja, maacher muro(fried fish head), fish curry, chaatni, mishti. Of course the baby is not even allowed to eat such stuff but a moment with the fish head is captured on either a film roll or a piece of memory(not human but digital). For fish loving Bongs anything fishy is "not fishy" but auspicious and might even bring good luck.

When we were kids we were pushed into this barbaric activity (of eating fish head) with an incentive that devouring fish head especially the brain part of it would enrich our brains and also make our vision stronger."Khub buddhi hobe (You will have a high intelligence)", my Ma or Aunt or some other such person would shout over the din and we would deftly manouevre a tricky head and suck with might. What we would do with so much "buddhi" was a question that was never asked.

By the time we were teenagers and had lost sight to myopia and also lost faith in "more buddhi" when we saw veggie eating South Indians topping the IIT-JEE every year, we were so used to eating a fish head that we relished it even without the added incentive.

The deed was done, we were now fish head loving converts for life.

Muri Ghonto is a dry dish made with fried fish head (known as maacher matha or muro in Bengali), potatoes, very little rice and myriad spices. Don't turn up your nose, it smells nothing but heavenly and tastes more so. If you haven't sucked onto a piece of fish head and pondered on the complexities of life while doing so, you have not lived a full life.

To eat and relish Muri Ghonto you need a long leisurely afternoon, enough time to deal with fish head pieces without being rushed, family banter in the background to convince you that everything is right in the world, company that will let you sit cross-legged on your dining chair and rest your elbows on the table, people who will not make fun of your facial expressions and of course a nice nap afterward.

Get this recipe in my Book coming out soon. Check this blog for further updates. 

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Now I was always used to a Muri Ghonto with rice and potatoes till the other day I had a discussion with the nanny. She is a Bengali but from Bangladesh and I had no idea that there was so much difference in cuisine across the borders. She said she had never even heard of Muri Ghonto with rice and instead they make it with Dal or Lentils. What she makes is more like our Maacher matha diye Dal(Lentil with fish head) and nowhere near my dear own Muri Ghonto.

So I made Muri Ghonto our way last week after a long long time. I don't make this very often so I eyeballed the ingredients and the measurements are approximate. It tasted great and while I had mine with Rice, D had his just by itself. The kids in my home, they are the generation of Bengali kids who are not pushed into eating a Maacher Matha and so avoid it, maybe the time will come for them to get "more buddhi" soon.

Muri Ghonto -- a dry dish with Fish Head

Makes just enough for two bong fish lovers

Prep: Wash and clean fish head, sprinkle salt and turmeric and let it sit for 15-30 minutes. I used half of a regular sized fish head for fish like Rohu or Rui. I have not used fish head of salt water fish or any other fish than Rohu for this dish ever and do not know how it might taste.

Start Cooking:

Heat Oil in a Kadhai/Frying Pan

Fry the Fish head till its nicely fried, it should turn a nice shade of yellowish brown. While frying try breaking it into medium sized pieces, kind that is easier to suck on but will not choke you. Remove and keep aside.

Fry 2 cut and cubed potatoes to a light golden, remove and keep aside

Temper the Oil with a large Bay Leaf, 2 green cardamom and a 1/2" cinnamon stick

Add the paste of one medium sized onion and fry till the oil separates and the onion has taken on a light brownish hue

Add 1-2 tsp of fresh grated ginger, 2-3 slit green chillies, 1 tsp of Cumin powder and saute the masala with a sprinkle of water for couple of minutes. Now add back the potatoes

Saute for a minute

Add 1/3 cup of uncooked and washed Basmati Rice. If you have Gobindo bhog( a variety of rice popular in Bengal), it's better.

Fry for a couple of minutes and add the fried fish head pieces.

Add 1 tsp of fresh Garam Masala Powder, 1/2 tsp or less of Red Chilli Powder, salt and mix well.

Add about 1 cup of water and cover and cook at low heat. At this point you can add few golden raisins (15-20) to add a touch of sweetness.

Check to see if you need water in between(you might need to add 1/2 cup more water), and stir in between.

Cook till the rice and potatoes are done. It should be moist but will not have a gravy.

Top it with a little ghee, lends a wonderful flavor



*Buddhi -- intelligence, brains

Trivia: The reason fish is so good for the brain is the so-called omega-3 fatty acids it contains. Oily fish, like salmon, sardines, mackerel, herring, bluefish and black cod, are the best sources of those special fats. One of the omega-3s—DHA—is the main constituent of cell membranes in the brain, and a deficiency of it can weaken the brain's architecture and leave it vulnerable to disease.

Mommy of 2 -- Lesson # 2

Do not compare your kids with others or others with your kids or whichever way, baseline is do not compare kids. Period.

Each kid blossoms in his or her own pace so just let them be. If you have concerns, talk to the doctor but don't compare. If you are proud of your kid's over achievements you are mucho welcome to brag about it but again do not compare.

If you are a third party do not say stuff like "A's son cannot read yet but my niece started reading at 2", ok if you are saying that out of ear shot of A&A's son or the niece, I don't know what the protocol is.

Now that I have two kids I keep repeating such stuff to myself so that I do not ever compare them, maybe we discuss their differences but not compare.

But there is a thin line between comparing and motivating.

Like say Big Sis S wouldn't want to towel herself dry after her bath, her claim was she was too small for such tasks and so I should do it for her. So then I started drawing on examples of a friend's daughter who had started drying herself at the same age. This girl is looked upon by Big Sis S and so it was easy to convince her that such tasks are doable by 5 year olds.
Now what did I do just now, did I compare or motivate ? Or did I compare to motivate ?

So, what is your opinion, what is the fine line ? Or is it that I should not take such devious routes to motivate ?

Some harmless motivations can lead to funny results though. A few weeks back I has seen this post of ChoxBox. I loved the story idea and what n3 wrote.

Since Big Sis S now writes small sentences at school I asked her if she would like to write a story for me and then I told her she could write one on "How The Tiger Got Its Stripes". She readily obliged, took her writing tablet to the table and was back in a minute. So there was the "Shortest Story of the Century" illustrated by the author and duly signed off as "By S..."

I was !!!:D

It says -- "I think they Paint it"

(Cross posted @ Desi Momz Club)

I am closing comments here because I will be discussing and replying to the same post @ DMC

Fish 65 or Hot Hot Indian Chili Fish

She was hesitant, nervous even

Dancing had never been her forte. To say that she had two left feet would be a mere understatement. The last that she had wiggled her fat hips were at the New Year Eve party but that didn't count because mostly people were under the influence and she had an excuse -- the baby in her arms.

But she so wanted to. As she rolled around the name on her tongue it sounded so much fun, maybe even wild, certainly not something that a middle class bengali girl from a bhadro family would do. She imagined graceful women with flaming red lips in swishing silks twirled around by tall, dark men with taut muscles. And she decided she would go.

"But I don't know much dancing, is that ok ?", she muttered to the girl at the reception
"I don't know but it seems like so much fun. Why don't you try?", whispered the young girl

She looked around, shuffled her feet, took a deep breath and pushed open the glass door.


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The room was bare with mirrors all around washed in white light. Maybe they will dim these she thought. She looked around and instead of swirling silks she saw these women, so many of them, all fit and flat, their slim legs encased in fitted black leotards, their chests pulled back in black top tanks. She didn't see any men and was secretly thankful, she didn't want to be twirled around by unknown men after all.

And then the beat started, it was pulsating, fast and made your heart jump.
And she let her inhibitions drift
and she danced....

While all the fit ladies in black went left, she in her faded tees and crumpled tracks went right. While they shook their slim waists in circles, she with the girth of Saroj Khan shook hips like Amitabh Bachchan. She wiggled and jiggled and sweated and panted.

It didn't matter anymore, her lack of skills, lack of glistening hot men or silks, lack of her hand-eye co-ordination. What mattered was that she was having fun and sweating in the process.

And so Bong Mom danced away to the rhythms of Zumba at her neighborhood sports club

If the neighborhood sports club had any business acumen, they would cash in on the above event and arrange for a peep show, after all its not everyday that you see fat bong mammas jiggling lard out of sync with Latin music.

Back home she wanted something spicy out of her salmon and with a brain that had been charged up by all that energy she decided to make Fish 65 a la Chicken 65. It was hot and spicy and immensely fulfilling, a tad more than the Zumba.

Fish 65 with the other half's Brown Rice Khichuri

Fish 65 or Hot Indian Chilli Fish

This was just enough to serve two people

Marinate about 2 cups of filet of fish cut in bite size pieces in 1 tsp of Tamari or Soy sauce, 2 tsp of fresh lime juice, 1 tsp of freshly grated ginger, 1 tsp of garlic paste, 1/2 tsp of cumin powder, 1/2 tsp of Garam Masala Powder, 1/2 tsp of Red Chilli Powder for an hour or so. I used salmon but you can use any other filet of fish too.

Heat oil, enough to shallow fry the fishes

Sprinkle 1 tbsp of corn flour on the fish, toss them and fry them in oil till nicely browned on both sides. I had salmon and shallow fried them, but you can also deep fry. Remove the fish pieces and keep aside.

In the same oil, fry 2 fat cloves of garlic finely minced, 3 chopped green chillies and 6-7 curry leaves till you get a wonderful aroma

Add 1/2 cup of finely chopped red onion

Fry till the onion are translucent and light pink in color

Add the fried pieces of fish and mix well, carefully so that fish pieces do not break

In 1 heaped tbsp of thick yogurt, add 1/4 tsp of R. Chilli Powder, 1/4 tsp of ginger paste, mix well and add it to the fish in the pan. I wanted this to be totally dry so did not add any more yogurt.

Add salt, toss the fish around and let it cook on slow heat for maybe 5-8 minutes.

You will get a beautiful aroma and the yogurt will totally dry up. Taste and if you think it is fine you are done

Serve with wedges of lemon

Note: Depending on your heat tolerance up or down the Red Chilli powder and green chilli. This was ok hot, not good for my daughter but we could have definitely tolerated more

Trivia:The word "ZUMBA" is derived from a Colombian word meaning "fast moving". Its also a fusion of the word "samba" the Brazilian dance and the Latin word "rumba" meaning "party". In other words Zumba ® means" to move fast and have fun"

Tum Ho to...

Ok, so if you have been reading me long enough you know my anti-valentiner attitude about Valentines day.
I am the kind of person, Ram Sena would have loved to put on a pedestal and pray on Feb 14th.

But then a girl has her hormones & Bollywood and no Sena could ever take that away from her. If they dare to throw Farhan Akhtar singing mushy numbers at a middle aged twice repeated Mom, who gets to watch "Rock On" blear eyed in the middle of the night only today, 6 months after its release, this is what they will get.If there is more mush coming my way, I might even break my "occasional wine" rule and wallow in self pity or bucketful of Scotch at the nearest pub.

For now, this is for D,post-valentine who I am sure is going to snort green tea through his nose, when he reads this tomorrow, it's not without reason that "You Tube" and "a drink" is blocked at work...

Jhinge Chingri Posto

Ridge Gourd & Shrimp in Poppy Seed Paste

Jhinge Aloo Posto | Ridgegourd and Potatoes in a Poppy seeds paste

The typical Jhinge Posto in the Bengali kitchen is a vegetarian or niramish dish with Jhinge(ridge gourd), potatoes and posto/poppy seeds paste. In this slightly different version I have added shrimp to make a non-vegetarian version Jhinge Chingri Posto which has onions and shrimp. Both the recipes are shared here. If you don't get ridge gourd or Jhinge, this recipe turns out great with Zucchini too

Jhinge or Ridge Gourd is not one of my favorite veggies, never was, in fact I hated it as a child and even when I was no longer a child. The dish I hated most with Jhinge was Jhinge Posto, I absolutely lurrrrved (that is some twisted form of love it seems) , really truly loved Posto and that includes Alu Posto, Posto Bora, Ka(n)cha Posto blah, blah except of course Jhinge Posto.

I felt Jhinge totally ruined Posto's personality and would become emotionally upset on days Ma made Jhinge Posto. Yeah, I was that attached to my food.



So when my Ma was here and she said "Why don't you get some Jhinge, I will make Jhinge Posto", you can well imagine my reaction.

I gasped, grunted and was about to faint when she said "Chingri debo" ("Shall add shrimp to it")

That helped because I lurrrv (BTW what is this "lurv", is it some different emotion altogether, I am hating it, makes me think up a larva) or rather really really love Shrimp, Prawns, Lobster, all crustaceans, blah, blah, blah. Anything with shrimp in it cannot be less than desirable for me.

So I got her those Ridge Gourds in their sharp armors, pretty defensive for a soft veggie like that I say. And she made Jhinge Chingri Posto, ahhhhhhh and it was absolutely, lip-smackingly delicious. I would give up a chocolate cheesecake for that Jhinge Chingri Posto and some Rice, I am telling you.

I should tell Big Sis S "Be like a prawn, make the mundane desirable by your mere presence and if someone is allergic to you avoid them and move on". Isn't that a great life's lesson !!!

BTW do we still call Big Sis S that in this blog or do we have a different name for her ? From the comments I feel I am making her look too big and responsible for her age.What say all ye veteran readers who have seen Lil' S grow up right here?



The typical Jhinge Posto in the Bengali kitchen is a vegetarian or niramish dish with Jhinge(ridge gourd), potatoes and posto. In this slightly different version I have added shrimp to make a non-vegetarian version Jhinge Chingri Posto which has onions and shrimp. Both the recipes are shared here. If you don't get ridge gourd or Jhinge, this recipe turns out great with Zucchini too

Jhinge Chingri Posto

How I Did It

Prep: Peel skin of 3 ridgegourd and chop in small pieces. Cut 1 potato in cubes. Dry grind 2 tbsp of Poppy Seeds.
Defrost 12-15 frozen medium sized shrimp or if using fresh, clean and de-vein. Cut the shrimp in pieces and lightly fry with turmeric and salt.

Start Cooking:

Heat Mustard Oil or any other Oil in a Frying Pan

Add 1/4 cup of chopped red onion and 4-5 slit green chillies

Saute with a sprinkle of 1/4 tsp of sugar till the onion is pinkish brown and translucent

Add about 1 cup of cubed potato or 1 potato chopped in cubes

Fry with a little Turmeric till the potatoes are light golden in color

Add the chopped ridgegourd and fry for a couple more minutes

Add salt and 1/4 tsp of red chilli powder

The ridgegourd release water, so cover and let it cook in its own water

When the ridgegourd is still cooking in its own juice add the poppy seed powder. If you see there is not enough water add about 1-2 tbsp of water.

Give a good stir and cover and cook till the veggies are done and the water has all dried up

Add the fried shrimp and mix

Top with 1/2 tsp of Mustard Oil

Jhinge Posto

How I Did It

Prep: Peel skin of 1 long ridgegourd in strips and chop in small, long pieces, each piece about 1.5" long. Almost 2 Cups of chopped jhinge

Chop 1 potato in cubes. 

Make a paste of 1/4th Cup of Poppy Seeds. Dry grind the poppy seeds and mix the powdered posto with water to make a thick paste. Alternately you can also wet grind the poppy seeds with little splashes of water to make a thick paste.

Start Cooking:

Heat Mustard Oil in a Frying Pan

temper the oil with 1/4th tsp of kalonji/Kalo jeera/Nigella seeds and 4slit green chillies

Add the potato chopped in cubes

Fry with a little Turmeric till the potatoes are light golden in color

Add the chopped ridgegourd/jhinge and saute for a couple more minutes

Add salt to taste

The ridgegourd/jhinge releases water, so cover and let it cook in its own water. Add little more water if necessary. Cook covered for about 4 minutes.

When the ridgegourd is still cooking in its own juice add the poppy seed paste. If you see there is not enough water add about 1/4th Cup water.

Give a good stir and cover and cook till the veggies are done . Dry off the excess water if like me you don't like soupy posto.

Drizzle with 1/2 tsp of Mustard Oil and server with rice and dal.


More Posto Recipes:

Alu Posto -- potatoes in poppy seeds paste

Kalai'r Dal with Alu Posto







Trivia: The fruit of L. aegyptiaca commonly known as Ridge Gourd may also be allowed to mature and used as a bath or kitchen sponge after being processed to remove everything but the network of xylem. This version is called Lifah in Arabic, bholor jaal in Assamese, dhundul in Bengali, ghiya tori or nerua in Hindi.(from Wiki)

Mommy of 2 -- Lesson #1

Do not Co-Sleep with your babies. Period.

Yeah I know warmth of that soft, cuddly body besides you is irresistible, it is comfortable, easy for you, and now studies prove that it makes kids more independent. But take it from a Mom who has been co-sleeping twice over.

Here I am after a hard days work, with baby A on my left, same bed but she is on her own little mattress. There on my right is Big Sis S who insists on certain days of the week that she wants to come in and share the bed with me. that is what comes of co-sleeping with her all these years.I am wedged in a tiny space in-between, trying to get my sleep, which is not easy given that I am allotted so small a space in my own bed in my own bedroom.

The husband has been banished to snooze under a pink & purple Dora comforter on a Dora bedspread.

If I stick to laws of nature I can never ever become a Mommy of 3 and Thank God for that.

Err, so what does that mean, should you Co-sleep or not ?

(Cross posted @ Desi Momz Club)

CLICK: Tom-a-tar

I say Tomayto, You say...

Remember my mystery bounty from Summer of 2007. This time they are being sent to the gorgeous couple @ CLICK RED.

In another news I just read that a blogger was bullied by NDTV to withdraw his post written in the aftermath of Mumbai Terror on Nov 27th. So a blogger doesn't have the freedom of speech errr or blog anymore ?


Quoting Patrix "Chetan’s post titled ‘Shoddy Journalism’ (now removed but available on Google cache) was one of the well-written rants in the blogosphere that documented the Indian media’s failings and handling of this crisis."

I don't have NDTV and didn't follow Barkha Datt's reporting either but I don't see anything wrong in what this guy has put forth, which is his opinions.

Isn't NDTV acting like the big bully. And what happened to democracy ? What is your take ?

Chetan's Cached Post -- "Shoddy Journalism"

His apologies

Broiled Salmon with Spicy Mushroom Sauce

Sibling Love, what is it, how would you define it ? What is that sibling mush that you would love to share ? Me, I have no siblings and so no first hand knowledge of the whole thing. I desperately wanted some or at least one of my own when I was growing but my parents didn't comply, and my many requests to at least adopt one, sibling that is, fell on their deaf ears.

My lofty idea of sibling bonding was that if I happen to be a very callous Mom and my two kids were separated in some Mela (fair), I could go about life peacefully trusting their sibling bond would bring them together in middle age and we could then live happily ever after. Also if I was successful enough to pit them against each other, at least one of them would say "Mere pas Ma hain", as if I was nothing but a jar of Complan.

Armed with this glamorous knowledge I took the plunge, my fast approaching middle age and my ever aching limbs (as in back, joints, knee) not taken into consideration. That my very good friend said that she and her sis fought all life and found sibling love only after marriage( to separate male entities) didn't dither me, the deed had been done.

So here I am seeing the love that siblings share in full technicolor home production and it indeed is precious. Big Sis S simply loves Baby A. She reads to her, plays with her and entertains her all the time. Every day she draws a card for Baby Sis A in school. She conjures new games of Peek-a-Boo and makes Baby A laugh and cackle. Baby A in turn saves her best gummy smiles for her Didi. She seems to be enamored by Big Sis S and follows her every move and laughs at every stunt that Didi pulls.

Of course everything is not as rosy as I make it sound. Big Sis S takes out her frustration on being the Big Sis, on us. So there are days when there is a lot of drama and melodrama, there is she crying for no reason at all -->me bearing with clenched teeth and finally losing it and yelling -->she declaring that I am not a good Mom --> me feeling guilt now but continue with sterness-->she quietens --> finally peace and hug ensues but never and not even once does she take it out on her little sister. That strikes me, as I look back on yesterday evening and I am so proud of her, for being so good to her little sister. Maybe I will try to keep my cool next time and have that much more patience, I am no SuperMom but at least I can try being a better one... (and read this when things are bad)

Weekday cooking needs to be quick and easy and as I was broiling salmon, I saw all the mushroom in my freezer and googled for a "mushroom sauce". I loved this but didn't want all that cream so found a lighter version here. I knew I needed to spice it up so here goes my version of Broiled Salmon with a Spicy and Low Fat Mushroom Sauce. This goes on to glam blogger Meeta's Monthly Mingle -- Healthy Family Dinners hosted this time by Michelle of Whats Cooking Blog

Broiled Salmon with Spicy Mushroom Sauce

How I Did It

For Salmon: Rub the salmon pieces with fresh lime, little salt, red chilli powder or black pepper, ginger paste and garlic paste. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes and then brush olive oil and broil it with skin side down for 20 minutes. I have my salmon skinned and my small toaster oven settings are Broil --> Temp at 400 --> for 20 minutes and then about 5 minutes on the other side

For Mushroom Sauce:

Heat Olive Oil in a frying pan

Add 2 cloves of minced garlic, 2 finely chopped green chillies and saute for a couple of seconds

Add 1/4 cup of chopped red onion and saute till the onion is translucent

Add 2 cups of thinly sliced mushroom and saute till they are browned and release liquid

Add 1/2 cup of vegetable broth, 1 tsp of curry powder, about 1/4 tsp of chilli powder and let it come to a boil

Stir in 1/2 tbsp of flour, 1/2 tbsp of flax seed powder, 1/2 cup of 2% or fat-free milk and let the sauce thicken to the right consistency. If the sauce seems to be too thick add little more of the Vegetable stock.

Season with salt

Serve immediately with the broiled salmon

Now to last weeks menu. This was the weekly menu for last week

Cabbage-Carrot Stir fry
Vegetable Jalfrezi -- Inspired by this and this. I didn't bake it and I used brocolli instead of cauliflower and added paneer cubes
Dal -- my favorite Masoor dal
Chicken with Methi leaves -- I need to re-create this and then write the recipe
Salmon, salmon and salmon -- on two weekdays

Trivia: Pacific salmon die after their first spawning (the reproducing process); the Atlantic salmon does not, and returns year after year to its breeding place to spawn again

Thai Vegetable Soup

Live in Nannies are not fun. Especially if they tell you "C Didi to apnar theke double mota chilo" ( C Didi (her previous employer) was doubly fat than you)

While Bong Mom wonders if she should be thankful that her fatness quotient hasn't reached the full potential, the Nanny continues, "M Didi to apnar theke koto slim, monei hoyna duita bachcha" (M Didi(apparently the most favored of all past employers) is so much slimmer, doesn't look like she has two kids)

Bong Mom hastily drops the cookie she was munching on and proceeds to make some soup in mortal fear of her bulging anatomy being discussed in the next Didi's house.

Now to the Thai Vegetable Soup which is a delicious one that I first had at my friend N's place. I was apprehensive at the thought of consuming so many "good for me" veggies at one go. But my fears were allayed after the first spoonful. It was warm, delicious, with the subtle hint of spice and very comforting with the thought that consuming such liquids might put your waistline back to there rightful position.

I am out of sync with most events in blogosphere but just saw this one and thought this soup would be a good entry as it has Red Lentils as one of its main ingredients.
So this goess off to My Legume Love Affair brainchild of Susan and hosted this time by dear Srivalli

Also since I am getting comments saying "Yellow" this goes off to Sunshine Mom' FIC Yellow

Thai Vegetable Soup

How I Did It

Heat 3 tbsp of Peanut Oil.

Add 2 tbsp of grated fresh Ginger and 1 small Red Chilli pepper finely sliced. I added 3 hot green Indian Chillies. You can also add 2 crushed dry red chili pepper.

Add 1 small Red Onion chopped and saute till translucent

Add 1 small parsnip roughly chopped, 4 large carrots chopped, 2 stalks of celery thinly sliced and 1 medium potato peeled and sliced. You can play around with the veggies, I added turnip instead of parsnip.

Edited on 01/31/11: Roasted a butternut squash with olive oil, salt, pepper and little honey. Instead of above vegetables used the roasted squash and potatoes

Add 1/4 tsp of Cumin powder and 1/4 tsp of Curry Powder and saute for a couple of minutes. I added about 1 tsp of Curry Powder
Edited on 01/31/11: Use a pinch of Garam masala in absence of curry powder

Add 1/2 cup of Red Lentil (our very own Masoor dal). Mix well and add about 6 cups of water or vegetable stock. Add salt.

If you have Kafir Lime Leaves add two of them. Instead 1 tsp of lime zest will do just fine

Cook till the veggies and lentil is done.

Cool and puree in batches in a blender

Bring back to a boil on the stove top. Add 1 cup of coconut milk (less is fine).

I added about 1 tbsp of fresh lime juice at this point, add according to your taste. Garnish with fresh corriander and basil leaves.




Trivia: Curry powder is a mixture of spices of widely varying composition developed by the British during their colonial rule of India. Yeah they made everything fanous from "Curry Powder" to "Slumdog Millionaire"

Time for Change

I am an Indian
I do not want to become an American...
...by choice
I am proud of my Jana Gana, my Jhansi ki Rani,
my resilient nature and my lit up Diwali
My Amar Chitra Kathas, my Namasteys
My bhutta on the road and curbside Gol-Gappes
And I clutch on to my navy blue passport
My proof of my Indian-ness

I am an Indian
I do not want to become an American...
... by choice
I don't get all the jokes on SNL
Am baffled even today by NFL
I like the "u" in my color
And no ice in my water
And so I clutch on to my navy blue passport
My proof of my Indian-ness

I am an Indian
I do not want to become an American...
... by choice
I love the wide roads here
The green in my suburb, the clean fresh air
I love the politeness, the independence
The discipline and the freedom of my space
I am a tad selfish and a hypocrite
And so I clutch on to my navy blue passport
My proof of my Indian-ness

My little girl is an American
And yesterday she got a brand new President
She calls him "Orack Obama"
I love that guy, his presence, his charisma
And today I am proud of my daughter's American-ness,
I believe in her president
He is no messiah but change is his tenet

"Who is your President?", she asks
And I still clutch on to my navy blue passport
Do I want to make the change, maybe Yes but not yet

Jana Gana Mana -- India's National Anthem
Jhansi Ki Rani -- the rebel queen of Jhansi
Bhutta -- Corn on the cob roasted, salted and sold on carts on the roadside
Gol-Gappe -- Panipuri

Bleakly Weekly Menu

This is how the backyard view was in summer.....

And this what I see now...

I desperately needed a warm splash of color to fix the chilling cold outside and my Friday evening tea just set the mood...

A quick recap of what I cooked last weekend for this week. This time it was better and I didn't have to cook anything until Thursday except for the odd pasta, Big Sis S's school lunch and some scrambled eggs.

With two girls, one of whom craves attention like Jennifer Aniston and other who voices protests akin to Mamta (banerjee) if left alone for two minutes, I don't really want to spend weekday evenings cooking and neither do I want to eat outside evrytime. I find the cook ahead pretty convenient and have also shifted my grocery day to mid week. This way Baby A's nanny chops all my veggies before she leaves on Friday and then cooking become pretty easy actually.

D has been delegated with the duty of feeding us either outsourced or self implemented food for Friday nights and Saturday, so it has been pretty interesting so far. On cold winter Friday nights, a new avtaar of Campbell tomato soup (a different avtaar every time he has served it so far, two to be precise) spiced up with green chillies and such graces our table with garlic bread. I am really looking forward to see what comes up tomorrow.

Aloo Gobi -- A dry potatoes and cauliflower preparation that I picked up from Sailaja's Blog. The taste was different from what we are used to but we liked it, actually I liked it more with white rice than with the tortilla I pack for lunch

Aloo Methi -- This is an all time favorite and goes well both with roti and rice, better with roti I think

Aloo Bhindi -- This is a potato okra stir fry done the Bengali way. The oil is tempered with Paanch Phoron and Dry Red Chillies and okra and potatoes are fried with a pinch of turmeric and salt.

Toor Dal with Methi -- I deviated from my favorite Masoor Dal to Toor for this week inspired by Indira. Pressure cooked about 1 and 1/2 cup of Toor Dal with one biggish red onion, one chopped tomato, 1 cup of fresh methi leaves, a pinch of turmeric and water. Tempered the Dal with Cumin seeds, Dry Red Chillies and 1 fat clove of garlic roughly sliced. Wanted to add some cranberries but wasn't convinced...yet.

Pepper Chicken Curry -- This is one more of my favorite chicken curry from Sailaja's blog. Chicken doesn't taste good if cooked ahead so this just survived Sunday evening and Monday.

Looking back it seems like we had a lot of potatoes last week, this week I am going to cut down on it. Also hope to revisit this menu again as all the dishes were pretty good.

I am typing this as I glance at Sex and the City re-runs. We don't have HBO and I had not watched it before. Some Fridays if I am still awake I force myself to wtach it because I really want to understand why people liked it so much. The more I watch it the crappier it seems !!!

Looking forward to TUESDAY

Paneer Khichuri

Well it has been almost ten days into the New Year and I have no plans or Resolutions. I have stopped making plans, because it seems my life has a definite mind of its own and leads its own oblivious of the plan I have laid out for it. There are lucky people who make plans and their life stick to it, but alas my life is a free spirit. So I have decided to gather all my faith from every crevice of my being and just put the burden on the All Mighty, let him/her lead me through the path that has been already set out for me.

But however much I don’t plan at the macro level, when it comes to the micro level as in “what to eat for lunch, dinner etc. etc. this week” I need to have some kind of a plan thing in place. More of a TBD I would say, than a plan. This has been the first week after the parents left, after both me & D got back to work, after Big Sis S went back to school and the Nanny is at home taking care of Baby A. I was pretty tense about this week as you might well imagine. Other than major guilt pangs of “Ohhh, I am leaving the little baby girl in mercy of a ruthless nanny, I am a bad bad Mom” there was also the fact that I needed to cook ahead to tide us through most of the week.

So I made a plan, ahem…but a “micro” plan.

This was what I cooked last weekend for this week:

1. Masoor Dal with Brussel Sprouts -- almost the same way I did this except here I used chopped brusel sprouts
2. Baingan Bharta
3. A Mixed Veggie Dish that had carrots, celery, broccoli, brussel sprouts and potatoes – pretty scary all that veggies with the “healthy” label
4. A Thai Veggie Soup – this was delicious and am going to post sometime
5. A simple paneer dish for Big Sis S alone who following on her dad’s credentials refuses to eat fish since the last few months, and following her own pretty much everything else. Kids turn weird as they grow older until they become Moms like me.
6. Fish Curry for Monday

I would make a quick Non-Veg something on Wednesday to survive Wed & Thur I thought.

Come Tuesday evening and I knew my plan was failing. There was very little of what I cooked left. Between us 3 adults (me, D and the Nanny) we had managed to finish major portion of what I had cooked. This weekend I am thinking up better plans, only on the “micro” level of being though !!!

While I was cooking last weekend for the week, I couldn’t possibly let anyone in the family eat that food over the weekend and make my life more miserable. Eating out on cold weekends with the baby is difficult and takeouts is not an option for every meal on weekends. I wanted to make something quick, simple, one pot and I came across Paneer Khichuri in my growing collection of that Bong Mag Sananda.

We liked it served with my Ma's delicious Tamarind Achaar/Chutney, I of course because it was simple and made my life easy, D because he didn’t want to ruffle my already ruffled feathers. Big Sis S proclaimed she didn’t like it that much. She is in a stage or phase where she likes home cooked food only if the home is NOT her own.
But really it was pretty decent if you like Khichuri or Khichdi


This quick Medley of rice and lentils aka Khichuri takes on a new dimension with the Paneer and Raisins.It made the mundane Khchuri special and we liked it, try it out for a quick simple meal

Paneer Khichuri

How I Did It

Prep: Lightly fry till golden about 1/2 cup of Paneer cut in small cubes. If your paneer tends to get tough on frying dunk the lightly fried pieces in salted warm water.
Wash 1 cup of Rice and 1/3cup Yellow Moong Dal (Yellow Lentils), 1/3 cup Red Masoor Dal (Red lentils), 1/3 cup of whole Black Urad (or any other dal of your choice) . To learn more about Lentils or Dals go here.

Strat Cook:

Heat Oil in a Frying Pan.

Temper with 2 Bay Leaves/TejPata, 1/2" of Cinnamon stick and 1 tsp of Cumin Seeds/Jeera.

Add 1/4 cup of finely chopped onions (not in original recipe). Saute till the onions are soft and translucent.

Add 1/4 cup of finely chopped tomatoes(not in original recipe and can be skipped) and fry till the tomatoes are well done.

Add 1 cup of rice, and the Dals, 1/3 cup each.

Add salt, little sugar, 3-4 chopped green chillies, 2 tsp of fresh ginger paste and saute the rice and dal. Add water in proportion, I added about 4-5 cups of water. Depending on how you like your khchuri to be in respect to the consistency adjust water.

Mix well and let cook. When the rice and dal are cooked, add raisins and the paneer cubes. Stir and cook for couple more minutes.

Add 1 tsp of Ghee if you wish

Sprinkle Garam masala and grated paneer and serve.

Tips: Substitute paneer with Tofu for a healthier version. Instead of grated paneer you can add scrambled eggs before serving

Happy 2009

Happy New Year

Wishing You all A Very Happy New Year. Yeah, someone did say "Happiness is too many things these days for anyone to wish it on anyone lightly. So let's just wish each other a bile-less New Year and leave it at that." (author: Judith Crist), but I still insist that You have a Very Happy New Year and may You achieve all that makes You Happy, if it is bile so be it.

I have been in absentia for long, so long that I wasn't sure what to do after I logged into Blogger, Google had changed my dashboard, Haldiram had stopped sending me Goodies, and in general blogging seemed like something I did in another life just like maybe sleeping. But then there were very nice blogger friends who stopped by to Wish Me a Happy New Year and I wanted to come back, wanted to be a part again and so here I am. I am sorry for not replying to comments and just disappearing like the last cookie in the jar but I hope you do understand, and if you don't ummmmmm...

As you can see a lot happened in the time I have been missing. Little S is now Big Sis S and she is joined by Little (yeah really little) A. We went through some difficult times but we waded through them and are now looking forward towards a better, brighter 2009.

Cooking is not really my priority these days though food definitely is and I am also struggling to come up with a simple weekly menu to simplify life. So maybe I will be back with simple quick food to help me balance out life and also share some very delightful moments with the two sisters.

Bong Mom's CookBook Recipe Index

My blog Bong Mom's Cookbook is a collection of Bengali Recipes representing the Bengali Cuisine as I know it. It also has those recipes that are non-bengali but which we loved. The measurements are not always exact as I do not treat the kitchen as a lab but as a place where I follow my heart and rely on my senses and instinct. Also they were created to suit mine and my family's tastes, please adjust spices etc. according to your own taste level.

I hope you are able to create a satisfying dish from these recipes and have fun while doing so.

Click on the following titles to see the recipes

FISH from my Blog

CHICKEN or MUTTON from my blog

EGGS from my blog

VEGETARIAN COOKING from my Blog

DAL and SOUPS from my blog

SALAD from my Blog

ONE POT MEALS from my Blog

Savoury Snacks from my Blog

Sweet and Sour Chutney from my Blog

DESSERTS from my Blog

Summer and Yellow for CLICK

Delicious summer is here at last, taking up all my time. Haven't been able to dedicate any time to blogging, so I am just going to post some pics for your viewing pleasure.

Plenty of time at the park...

Carnival at school...

Fun with friends at the Kiddie pool...

Enjoying swim lessons...

Getting S's room done in the hope that she will start sleeping on her own...

And now the two pics I clicked for CLICK

This is a pic of the surprise package that had arrived from Indosungod with lots of love, a huge bar of chocolate and also a packet of raagi as part of the Arusuvai Friendship chain. It has been a while since it arrived and I have been using the gorgeous yellow sambhar powder to spice a lot of dishes. The jewels that it rests on is palm sugar which sweetens my tea. Thanks Indo, the post about what I did with all those stuff is still pending but I thought this would be a fitting tribute for CLICK for Bri, if I am not past the deadline that is.

This is a delicious Kadhi I enjoyed from Hooked on Heat. As usual I deviated from her recipe and molded my Pakodi Kadhi recipe to fit hers. No onion here but the myriad spices used for tempering and the Kasoori Methi added a very distinct taste to the Kadhi.

I was not sure which pic to send for CLICK but decided on the former.

Thanks to all those who tagged me and passed on awards my way, I will try to do a post as soon as I get some time.

Oh, and did I say the parents just arrived ?

CLICK & Chip In For Bri

This is an appeal on behalf of a group of food bloggers who are friends of Briana Brownlow @ Figs With Bri.

Bri was diagnosed with breast cancer two and half years ago. A mastectomy, chemotherapy and two years of relatively good health later, the cancer is back. It has metastasized to other parts of her body. At the age of 15, Bri lost her 41-year old mother to the disease. Now, she’s waging her own war against breast cancer. More about it here.

She is going through intensive chemo and other treatments and needs to focus single-mindedly on healing and finding what treatment works best for her. Her health insurance, unfortunately, does not cover holistic alternatives which she would like to try. Bri and her husband Marc have enough on their plates right now in addition to worrying about her medical bills.

The team organising the JUNE edition of CLICK at Jugalbandi has organised a fundraiser to help Bri and her family meet her out-of-pocket medical costs for ONE YEAR.

CLICK is a monthly theme-based photography contest hosted by Jugalbandi. This month’s theme is: YELLOW for Bri

Yellow is the colour of hope. Through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer

The entries can be viewed HERE. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2008. The fundraiser will extend until July 15, 2008.

The target amount is 12,000 U.S. dollars. We appeal to our fellow bloggers and readers to help us achieve this. Bri deserves a chance to explore all options, even if her insurance company thinks otherwise.

There’s a raffle with exciting prizes on offer. After viewing the list, you may make your donation HERE or at the Chip-In button on any participating site.

Your donation can be made securely through credit card or Pay Pal and goes directly to Bri’s account.

This month’s photo contest also has some prizes. Details HERE. Chip In and help Bri fight and win the battle.

You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser, by participating in CLICK: the photo event, and by publicising this campaign.