FRESH FRUIT & CORNFLOUR HALWA WITH MIXED NUTS

Some mornings are little more pleasant than the usual just as what I am feeling right now ..... why? I had a good sleep which of late has become an unusual affair for me ..... I had always been an early morning person which is a norm in my side of the family.... only after marriage I came to know people can sleep till 12pm also.... even they too laughed at me saying after 9pm... S switches off from the worldly being.... and the husband continues saying this to his friends. The school I worked in after marriage had a morning session for the senior section.... and the neighbourhood saw this almost newly wed walking towards the bus stop around 5:30 am in the morning.... that was no big deal for me... crossing the Dakshineshwar temple... Belur Math each morning was a pleasure.... what quite pricks me these days is .... once I taught high school students .... now I feel I cannot even guide a primary kid.... do I regret? .... Not really.... there were two little hands hugging me tight .... "amar mumma chai".... the mother could not even go to the toilet when required.... only when the littler slept she could .... the helps I had were too young; they loved our son but were more interested in befriending strangers than looking after the toddler.... I had to say goodbye to them... The man of the house is far from been chauvinist... he just said ... I will be sailing most of the time... if you too stay away from home all day long, the son may not like it! 

Sensing the genuine worry in him... I thought I was not a professional, my report cards do not say that the world will be at loss if I stay at home.... so I happily complied and happy till date. Then why do I wake up as early as 4:30am or at 5am when 6-6:30 am is fair enough to prepare two lunch boxes? I think and realise that the littler has grown big .... so big that hugging mumma  seems a child like affair to him.... he has gone after his father and screams if I share a photograph of him in public... At this point, I sincerely wish if they could behave a bit like others. So far my expectations are concerned .... one of my man's dearest pal, the old demon with a young wife ..... Dibyendu Banerjee told my husband long before .... "do not you notice her abnormal attachment with the son? This is going to be a big trouble if you do not have one more, there has to be diversion of attention a bit".... Emotional Attachments kill you unless you are wise enough to make a fair distribution of it. I do have some confidants in this matter.... the first one is my mother whose son does not go to office without kissing her, my friend Kana Dasgupta.... a teacher now .... eight years back when I was leaving Kolkata.... she was weeping hard and said S how will I?.... Our sons studied together since nursery.... two best friends now hardly talk when they meet... still friends though.... 

When it comes to sincerity, few people can match Kana.... once I had some work and could not go to the other side of the road to receive our son.... Kana's son.... my Mimo had a head injury.... he was bleeding.... courtesy Kolkata roads.... She made her bleeding son stand with our security.... got my toddler at my doorstep and then went to the hospital. Among her other qualities.... well she is a certified Rabindra Sangeet singer... too good at it and she never ever indulge in any kind of gossips.... always keeps herself busy with her school work, stitching, tuitions and Mimo. She hates cooking and eating but handed over to me the wonderful recipe of Posto Bandhakopi.... Cabbage with Poppyseed Paste..... What would have happened if we had stayed together till date ?...... We would have fought over that one number in Mathematics that either of our sons would get less than the other ... hihi.... "Kolkata Mother".... is phenomenal..... So meeting once or twice a year is a better idea... wherein you will see me clicking selfies with her husband in the morning while she still stands with her 10th grader Mimo at the gate waiting for the school bus. Does the father know which class his son is in?.... I doubt. 

Then there is that "another woman" I keep telling you about.... one who has a major contribution towards my abnormal behaviour concerning the son and the sleepless nights thereafter thinking about all negatives happening to him once he is out in the world.... What will you do with her name?.... The telephonic conversations goes as this .... S give up everything to bring up your son .... I know... I never saw any extravagance in you in those days and that endearing dedication towards bringing up your kids.... S ... I cannot sleep.... stop overthinking .... you have such a loving family... nothing will happen to them... Under stress, I keep chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. I hang up the phone and go to sleep.... wake up sweating .... I dreamt of the son crossing an unmanned street or falling from the bus or similar incidents concerning the husband, brother or the loved ones .... Yes, my readers I suffer from an anxiety disorder where I fear of losing dear ones, ever since early 90's perhaps after witnessing a train accident and was under treatment at different times .... I believe it is still there.... to get rid of all these one needs to be engaging... busy and I am way bit a lazy brat.

How come the above lines come while sharing a recipe about FRESH FRUIT & CORNFLOUR HALWA WITH MIXED NUTS.... Well I love unfolding my life and the people around however reluctant my readers are! You can always go straightaway to the recipe and the process of doing it. In this case, it is a sweet recipe done with fresh fruit juices of watermelon and oranges, cornflour and mixed nuts like pistachios, almonds and cashew nuts. This FRESH FRUIT & CORNFLOUR HALWA WITH MIXED NUTS is just a healthy twist to the very common desi sweet cornflour halwa. There are many variety of halwa and I perhaps have tried a few. 

Hey.... fat, old diabetic why are you sharing sweet dishes one after another? Trust me there is no reason, this was done as part of the husband's birthday menu, it was easy and done in less time. Oh My! 11/2 table spoon of ghee and 1/4teaspoon of green cardamom powder can fill your home with such aroma!... Amazing... the only thing we need to be cautious is to stir the entire mixture continuously while cooking, else lumps will form. Ok, the wonder called Mary Kom won a gold again and I am so much loving that.... I was never into sports ever.... the parents could not push me out of home. When the friends played badminton in the school courtyard... I was a silent watcher, yawning throughout.... I should never be an example to be set.... a sweet treat to anyone who makes a mark, a sweet to keep your calm after knowing that a teen kills a kid in the school toilet just to get the school examination postponed.... and you expect me to get cured of my anxiety disorder?.... It never will happen.... the reason why I like carefree, chirpy people.... the reason why I thank the almighty for not making my men like me!

You will find few hundreds of recipe of cornflour halwa in the internet shared by trained chefs to home cooks. I have gone through a couple of them, of Sharmis Passion in particular and then went ahead doing it on my own with my version of this desi sweet that I named FRESH FRUIT & CORNFLOUR HALWA WITH MIXED NUTS. I did it listening to Ustad Mehdi Hassan ..... "kesariya balam.... aayo ni.... padharo mharey des rey".... it is that much hassle free ....You see I do not understand a bit of the Oriental language, but while in the supermarkets.... my feet get tapped automatically listening to the background scores.... just as I am far from knowing the vast arena of local food.... I enjoy having them though.... but majority of my clan do not know what authentic oriental cooking / food is.... Let me take a midway and use fresh, too good quality local ingredients and go desi.... angry, sad, happy, merry, irritated?.... Up to you....

INGREDIENTS :

Watermelon : 1/4 of a standard size [I used a glass of watermelon juice]
Orange : 2-3 medium sized [ I used a glass of orange juice]
Cornflour : 3tbsp
Sugar : 1/2small tea cup
Rose Water : 2 tsp
Ghee : 11/2tbsp [clarified butter]
Pistachio : 4-5
Almond : 4-5
Cashew nut : 6-7
Food Colour : 1/2pinch of yellow / red [optional]

METHOD :

Chop and keep the nuts on a plate.

If you are using fresh fruits, cut the watermelon into smaller cubes discarding the seeds and the cover. Oranges too we will discard the skin and deseed. With the help of a juicer, we will get the combined juice of both the fruits using a little of water.

But I simplified my job & bought a glass each of the fresh fruit juices instead!

We will strain any residual pulp and take the juice in a heavy bottomed vessel. We would add the cornflour & sugar, mix very well!

We would switch on the gas stove & put the vessel on it. Once the  mixture comes to boil, we are to continuously keep stirring, else the bottom may burn! We would do the entire cooking at low heat.

We will keep stirring continuously till it tends to become thicker; add the ghee and keep stirring.

As the mixture gets thicker into a paste like consistency, we will add the chopped mixed nuts, the food colour & the rose water. We would keep stirring for few more minutes!

We will pour the content into a rectangular or square shaped container that has been greased with a bit of ghee.

We will let the sweet cool for an hour, refrigerate furthermore for an hour. We would take it out, cut in to desired shapes and serve.