Stress to de stress

Hi Folks👋

Guess what is common between Thai green curry, music and sleep?

Guess…guess…🧐🧐

Flinging my  school bag away to Antartica, slipping off my shoes and yelling an 'I am home, I plop  on the oh-so-soft couch. Closing my  tired  eyes for a minute,   yearning for  a warm blanket and  hot chocolate,  or  lounging in a  quiet, scenic beach,  sipping coconut cocktail and watching the sunset. Then  the reality hits !....I  am  in the  class with teacher shouting for pin drop silence & students  paying no heed. Oh! My  imagination surprises (and scares) me sometimes.😬

But this kind of relaxation even though imaginary, is self pleasing after all those hours of slogging on equations and formulas.. Anyways, I had exams coming up like almost every week at it is a fricking pain in the neck. After my exams I made a ‘No study materials allowed’ poster and stuck it outside my room.  Of course no one bothered but well, it was worth a shot.

We all have some or the other method of relaxing and unwinding. Some dance, some paint, some meditate etc. Stressbusters divert our mind from the strain of our workload and reenergise.

It is important to relax and unwind, forgetting all studies, pending work and worries once in a while. Just take up any hobby you enjoy and throw yourself into it. Our brain is an outstanding organ but it has limits too which if stressed, can be  injurious to the body and health. If you ask me, I need breaks very often, like every other day.😮‍💨

Listening music is essential food for my soul. And before you ask, no, not that boring classical types. Rap, jazz, hip hop.. they are more of my thing. Slow music is just too…slow for me. I get so lost in the song that I start singing with equal passion, imagining a large crowd shouting  my name and you know, being a famous pop star. But of course after a good 2 minutes I am brought right back to earth by a crowd, an unhappy crowd consisting of a grumpy dad and irritated mom but mostly a just-awoken- grumpy dad. Hey it is not my fault you are sleeping at 12 in the morning on a Sunday, who even does that? But no they look at me like I am the weird one. Seriously people, get a life!💃🏽🎤

But the most relaxing activity for me is gossiping. I know I know it is bad to be nosey and all,  but who cares ? I got that habit from my grandma. Earlier her friends used to gather at one place and gossip about the whole society and nani being nani used to blurt it out to all of us. So yeah, you can guess where I got that from. Then again nothing is better than sipping tea (or in my case, juice) with your besties and gossiping about the latest girl who said something rude or any teacher who gave us more homework. What, a girl needs to live!👯‍♀️

But my favorite de stressing method is sleeping. Well no second favorite, first is reading a novel. Anyways back to sleeping, I am practically wedded to my pillow. It’s just too soft after that hard desk at school, I can relax fully and start snoring (not really).😴

Travel also rejuvenates me. I recently went to a trip to Jodhpur- Jaisalmer. Such trips and travels also help me unwind. I took a virtual detox during the trip and damn, it was so refreshing. These breaks are quite welcome once in while from our hectic routines. (I will share the details of this trip in my next blog). All this  was refreshing change from being cooped up in my room the whole day,  binge watching Mean Girls again and again.

And one of the most relaxing thing most recently I did was immersing in cooking and learning to  make My mom's Indianised version of Thai curry. Nope, I didn’t make it on my own as my culinary skills are limited to making tea. 🤷🏽‍♀️.I can't even cut a cucumber without cutting my finger. I took help from mom and curry turned out to be delicious. Here I am sharing the ingredients and the recipe for all to try.

Ingredients For Green paste

• A few Stalks Lemongrass , we used a pinch of lemon zest.
• 1/4 cup Coriander (Dhania) Leaves , chopped
• 3 spring Basil leaves, we used mint leaves instead
• 1 tablespoon Coriander (Dhania) Seeds , whole roasted
• 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera) , roasted
• 1 teaspoon Whole Black Peppercorns
• 1 Onion , roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup Spring Onion (Bulb & Greens) , roughly chopped
• A few Garlic cloves to taste
• Green chillies as per spice level
• 1 inch Ginger
• Salt , to taste

Ingredients For Thai Green Curry

• 400 ml Coconut milk , unsweetened, we extracted milk from 1 medium coconut and 200 ml ready made coconut milk
• 1 cup Broccoli , florets
• 1 Carrot, sliced
• 1 Bell Pepper (Capsicum) , diced
• 1/2 cup French beans, sliced
• 1/2 cup baby corns, sliced
• 100 gms paneer

Thai Green Paste

     For Thai Green Curry paste, put all ingredients listed in the green paste in a blender. Add a     little water and grind to make a smooth paste. If using lemon grass, take only the tender            portion.

Method to make the Thai Green Curry

1. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a heavy wok. Add in the vegetables carrots, broccoli, French beans, baby corns and bell peppers. ( can also add zucchini, brinjal or any other vegetable of your choice)

2. Add in some salt, sprinkle little water and stir fry the vegetables on high heat until lightly tender ( just crunchy but not raw). Once tender turn off the heat. Don’t over cook.

3. Add a teaspoon of oil into the hot wok, next add in 2 to 3 tablespoons of the Thai curry paste and saute for a few seconds in the oil. Once it begins to bubble, add coconut milk. Add in salt to taste and add in a tablespoon of brown sugar ( as per desired sweetness)

      4. Stir to combine all the ingredients. Allow the mixture to thicken a little, adjust the                      consistency by adding water and give a quick boil. 

      5. Add in the stir fried vegetables and paneer. Stir the mixture, give it a light boil and the              Vegetarian Thai curry is ready. 

    Do try it out and share your feedback. Also share your favourite stress busters in the                   comments section. Peace out!🙋🏽‍♀️