Time management - cooking, cleaning, and exercise

thanks for the likes manju and kkrish,latha..

I was thinking that lot of us india do not have all the options that are available abroad..so arranging and managing ideas in an south indian kitchen, just like how manju shared..more options will help people..

just back from vacation, i am happy to be here..no maid for the past 2 days and also for the next whole week (she is sick it seems), with so much dust all over, i had covered all the appliances, tv and every shelf with towels, old dupattas..the appliances were clean underneath while i just dumped all the old towels, dupattas into the wash.

has covered all the sink holes, using plastic lids from the sweet boxes..there has not been any insects residing inthe bathroom..

all the left over dal, pulses, atta i had heated in the mw, cooled and stored..it is fresh after 40+ days..(out of the country )

A little planning, a little effort, makes life easier when you come back feeling heavy, homesick and have to start the routine again...

will post pictures of how i arrange my kitchen if anybody thinks it will be of help....

 

kamala hope there has been no issues because of the tornado..

infact after seeing your dabara set arrangement i was thinking of those authentic kalchatti, illupachatti, thooku and dabbas..and honestly speaking mine does not have most of this..i was wondering if somebody still has those arrangements..with the fear of plastic more people are reverting back to those steel dabbas that our mil/moms had right..sorry if i conveyed the wrong message..

and i so agree,with every input by everybody helps somebody somewhere, and that is the intention of this thread..and i started peeping in only when it was something i could relate to..

and today i was talking to my daughter about the ammi, and aatu ural and heard from a acquaintance that their relative has got the ammi embedded in the granite slab of her newly designed kitchen..and i believe all this knowledge sharing will definitely help us all.. and i share this ammi news, maybe somebody who has one passed on and does not want to throw away can get it embedded in their kitchen or utility...

and no comparisons at all.. lot of issues govern them...health,finances, space constraints, tastes and comfort levels.

and if you have pictures of your mom's, chitti or mil do share, those pictures..i would love to see pictures of those dabbas and open shelves with all the dabbas in line in their order of height....

 

Hi Kamala mam, Latha, Shanvy & all other active participant ladies of this thread,
How are you all doing?
Since, I joined my job, i got too busy. But, not forgetting to post in IL(who can sleep without seeing IL)
Packing is in slow pace as of now since we have another 1.5months to move to different apartment. Sure, I will see Kamala/Latha mam's post for packing help.

How are other things?

I'll post my kitchen/all other areas once I move to a new apartment. :rotfl

Kamala Mam,
I have a question. The new apartment kitchen has got a white stove!
Ofcourse, our indian way of cooking requires lot of flavours, turmeric, chillie and I don't want to spoil the white stove/slab area/also want to prevent from the smoke coming out of cooking area towards the top stove area. Any idea how to protect this?
One IL suggested to use aluminum foil around the stove area. If you have any idea please post me back with pictures of how you maintain your stove area. :hide:

and please post me living room decoration if any.. like to know how good to keep living room which is the main view for friends/guest who visit our house. :bonk

Have a great weekend ladies,
Take care,
AnithaPartha

 

Anitha,

I think there was a discussion in il long long back, when anandchitra and all were very active.. they talked about readily available hob covers like this one I think..

DELUXE FOIL HOB PROTECTORS NON STICK GAS HOB COVERS: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home

and you need to take extra care in a white kitchen, when you know turmeric, and some of our indian food stains..and also our indian curry..

i think these days you get worktop protector guards ..and spoon rests and anti splash covers that come with a handle that reduces the spill when sambhar/gravies boil in a open dish.. I came to know about the spoon rests and anti splash covers only from chitvish maam.:thumbsup. maybe investing in them may be a better idea??. until you

until you get the hang of cooking in a white kitchen (with practice you become the expert, who knows you may be giving pointers to others soon..) for the smoke, if your stove has a chimney or exhaust(no idea.) keep it on while cooking especially frying.. also a wet napkin hanging in the way of these smokes and fumes is said to observe the flavors and the...(i have not tried it.)

and for the counters, if you cannot find the guards, use newspapers while chopping, mixing atta, making chappatis..layer the counter with one paper..it is just trashing the paper after your chore is done...

and use a sponge, and wipe the area every day and with soap water or anti grease wipes (see il has taught me that these wipes and cleaners are available there..) this should take care of the tiles.. for the stove, when there is a accident spill inspite of the just make a paste of baking soda..rub it on the stain and clean wipe..it should do the job..and also heard from sabitha(SRama) there is a magic eraser that does a wonderful job.

I had a white kitchen few years back, i did maintain with heavy duty aluminium foil covers.. now i too have a black glass top and managing that is a different strategy ...

all the best for your move.

 

kamala,

good one on the aatu ural..

but the last 4/5 months has seen a increase in the sale of ammi and aatuural.. for those who are not aware of these..these are the traditional motar and pestle..but in case of ammi it is horizontal..

i have seen one in a local store recently priced at around 400/500 bucks..a 1-1.25 ft by .7ft one..very appealingly done..though i wonder what i can do on that for a family of four..

all said i know one ilite who inspite of her busy schedule used to grind in this for all her cooking stating it as an exercise. she is not active here anymore, or i would ask her to ping in here..and if i my memory serves well, i think i have seen one in chitvish mam's home..

And indian kitchens and living rooms have changed a lot. i find more open kitchen's with all the facilities...when most of the us and european brands have their showrooms here, there is bound to be changes..and some even are going for those wooden flooring as they want the comforts they had when they were there after returning.. i heard from a friend whose friend has packed the whole kitchen, based on her local measurements from ikea..