Uthama's Tip For A Stress Free Week
Blending two rich cultures in my children's lives has not always been easy. My husband and I have had to talk through so many different things. We have to talk about the food we make in the house, the languages spoken with our children, how often we will visit India, which traditions we will follow, and we're always re-evaluating how it's all going. One thing we have been very intentional about lately is the food we make. Now, that we live with my father in law I have been making much more Indian food. It's been great because all I have to do is go and ask him if I have any questions about the dishes I'm making and he guides me through the process. My husband's Uthama (aunt) also taught me a trick. She is extremely busy through out the week with work and then helping the kids with school.
However, she always has Indian dishes ready to go for dinner. Her meals are always amazing and my husband says he feels like he's back in India when he eats there. How does she do it!? Some of these dishes take hours to prepare so how does she find the time?Over the holidays, she shared her secret with me...
Uthama's Secret Tip
Can you guess what she does? Her and her husband spend their weekends cooking up elaborate dishes and then they enjoy them through out the week. While we were there, she made fish curry, chicken curry, lamb curry, and then five different vegetable dishes. Each night we were there, she would take out two or three dishes and cook up fresh rice or parathas. While some dishes out there are only good fresh, Indian dishes are amazing any time! There is a big joke in my husband's family that Indian food always tastes better the next day. It's because the flavors continue to blend together beautifully and it's just delicious. Evenings are always hectic and chaotic in our house. I'm always up for anything that makes things run a little smoother. We tried Utha's secret tip this week and guess what... It worked! We made a few fresh sides through out the week and mixed it up with Veda Foods Mystique Indian Barley Pilaf, but other than that everything was prepped over the weekend. 
My husband is still raving about how good dinner was all week! I felt like I was no where near as stressed as I usually am during the evenings as well. Instead of running around trying to get dinner ready and things settled in the evening, things went smoothly. I loved using the pilaf as well because we have been trying to eat healthier and it had all the spices of Indian dishes we could want with nothing to make us feel guilty about afterwards. How often can you say that about tasty dishes? Plus, it only took five minutes to make! 
Help yourself this week and try out Uthama's secret tip and see how much it helps you. If you really want to make things easy, pair your dinner with some pilaf! Check it out here.