15 Marbles

Moments.Musings.Memories. ❤️Gathering little marbles from ordinary days and keeping them for our memory jar. ❤️

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  • I Blame My Friend for the French Martini

    I am not a big drinker, but I don’t mind a good cocktail every once in a while. My usual go-to drink is a Margarita.

    But this one is about Martinis – the French ones in particular.

    Every time I see Martinis on a menu, my brain automatically hears it in a James Bond voice:

    A Martini – shaken, not stirred.

    And I am no James Bond, so I usually look away. 😂

    But recently, I caught up with an old friend, L, for dinner. She asked if I had ever tried a French Martini.

    I said no.

    She insisted I try one.

    So, somewhat hesitantly despite her encouragement, I ordered one.

    Now, let me tell you a little about my friend L.

    I have known her for more than 15 years. We met at kindergarten pick-up when her twins and Miss A attended together. She also had a toddler then, and I was pregnant with Miss An.

    She had her hands full but ALWAYS had a smile and a kind word to offer.

    The girls were in the same classes across various years of primary school, and we slowly became more than acquaintances.

    There is something about knowing people who have watched your kids grow up. People who have watched you stumble and find your way through different phases of motherhood, while finding your footing in a new place – a new country for me, a new city for her.

    Over the years, the girls have grown apart, but we have grown closer – navigating our own lives while raising smart, strong-headed daughters.

    Anyway, back to that night.

    Cocktails were ordered, and I absolutely loved my French Martini.

    The perfect combination of sweet and sour, with a hint of fruit. I thought guava. L told me it was raspberry. 😲 Very nice regardless.

    And just the right amount of alcohol to reach that happy feeling.

    I realised belatedly that it was my first drink since surgery.

    Of course that was a milestone!

    Before we knew it, hours had passed, drinks were drained, many stories and confidences shared, and we had to call it a night.

    But not before L promised to host a French Martini afternoon tea.

    Typically, like all mums would know, we checked our schedules and realised the next free weekend for both of us was a couple of months away.

    At least it wasn’t a couple of years. 😃

    So now I wait dreamily for that afternoon, a few months from now.

    An afternoon soirée in our loungewear, sipping cocktails or tea and continuing our conversations from the other night.

  • Going it alone

    This one is a bit vulnerable.

    I thought about posting it here, leaving it in my head, or taking it to the group chat – where I will probably hash it to death anyway. 😃

    But here it is too.

    I’m booked in for a four-day professional development training program away from home.

    This will be the first time I’ve attended something like this completely on my own – as in, without a colleague or someone familiar to turn to.

    I won’t lie. I’m a little nervous about not knowing anyone.

    I know I’m going there to learn, but it’s been decades since I’ve sat in a physical classroom without a friend by my side.

    What if I can’t find anyone to sit with at lunch or talk to?

    What if they’re all younger and wonder what I’m doing there?

    What if everyone already knows people from their own teams, university or somewhere else?

    My university course was online and interstate, so even that experience didn’t involve walking into a classroom and finding somewhere to sit.

    Yeah.

    I’m anxious.

    A friend I shared this with reassured me that I’d be fine, and that I have enough extrovert and social energy in me to get through the four days.

    But then, she’s only seen me here at this workplace – where I’ve been for what feels like forever. Eleven years.

    Here, I know people. I know where I fit. Even then sometimes, I feel like an imposter.

    This will be different.

    So, wish me luck.

    Hopefully I’ll come back and tell you I was worried about absolutely nothing.

    And if you have any tips for walking into a room where you don’t know a soul and pretending to be a perfectly normal, socially capable adult 😂 — please share them.

    Any and all suggestions will be very gratefully received.

    ❤️ Trish

  • Chicken Biryani- Instant Pot version

    Slightly hazy photo because it was piping hot!

    [In a hurry?] Jump straight to the Recipe

    💕You can always come back for the story later💕

    My family loves my chicken biryani. It’s one dish that is often requested and makes an appearance when the kids’ friends are visiting.

    I have it on good authority that the resident teenagers are slightly biased towards my biryani over the restaurant versions.

    Maybe it’s because the spice levels are tailored to their taste buds. Or maybe it’s the warm cooking aromas floating up to their rooms or greeting them as they walk into the house.

    And just for that, I want it to turn out right – at least 99% of the time. 😃

    So, when I first got the Instant Pot, of course I had to try making biryani in it.

    I asked Google and AI, studied a couple of recipes and then worked out a version that suited my own cooking style of “just wing it.”

    It was one of the first dishes I made in the Instant Pot – my motto being, Go big or go home!

    It worked well. Luckily, because it was my first time making it, I had actually noted the timings.

    Except I didn’t release the pressure in time.

    Mushy rice.

    And I do not like mushy biryani rice.

    So I cooked it and re-cooked it until I perfected it to my liking – each grain of rice separate, just the way I like it.

    And when the husband asked me what I’d been doing differently with my biryani lately, I knew it was time to share the recipe.

    The amount of water may seem low, but trust the process. Of course, feel free to adjust the spices – and anything else – to suit your own taste.

    Recipe

    Ingredients

    • 500 g chicken breast, diced
    • 1.5 cups basmati rice
    • 1.5 cups water
    • 2 medium red onions
    • 1 medium tomato
    • 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
    • 3–4 tbsp yoghurt
    • 2½ tbsp tandoori paste
    • 2 tbsp crushed fried onions
    • 1 tsp kasuri methi
    • 2 tsp ground coriander
    • 2 tsp ground cumin
    • 1½–2 tsp red chilli powder — add more if you like it hotter
    • 1 tsp meat masala or garam masala
    • ¼ tsp turmeric
    • Salt, to taste
    • ½ tsp cumin seeds
    • Oil, for frying and cooking
    • 8–10 strands saffron, soaked in a little warm milk
    • Fresh mint and coriander leaves, to garnish

    Preparation

    Marinate the chicken with the tandoori paste, yoghurt and crushed fried onions. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

    Wash the basmati rice well and soak for 30–40 minutes. Drain before using.

    Thinly slice 1½ onions.

    Finely chop the remaining ½ onion and the tomato in a food processor.

    Cooking

    1. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté – High. Add oil and the thinly sliced onions. Fry until golden brown and caramelised, then remove and set aside. FYI : Mine’s set for 6 minutes & I continue cooking at that temperature till I am ready to change the mode – restarting or extending time if needed .
    2. Add a little more oil to the pot, followed by the cumin seeds and ginger-garlic paste. Add a splash of water to deglaze the bottom of the pot.
    3. Add the finely chopped onion and tomato mixture, followed by the coriander, cumin, chilli powder, meat masala or garam masala, turmeric and kasuri methi.
    4. Sauté until the onion and tomato mixture is soft and mushy and the spices are well combined.
    5. Add the marinated chicken, salt and a small splash of water – I usually rinse out the marinade container. Cook for 3–4 minutes. If you use leg pieces or thighs pieces, you may need to cook the chicken longer.
    6. Add a layer of the caramelised onions over the chicken.
    7. Add the drained rice, spreading it evenly over the top, then add 1.5 cups of water. The rice should be fully covered. Do not stir or mix at this stage.
    8. Cancel Sauté mode. Secure the lid and cook on Pressure Cook – High for 8 minutes.
    9. Release the pressure immediately, but leave the lid closed for another 5 minutes before opening.
    10. Pour over the saffron-infused milk and let the biryani stand with the lid closed for 2–3 minutes.
    11. Gently fluff and mix, then garnish with fresh mint and coriander leaves.

    Serve hot with raita or even plain yoghurt. Enjoy !

    If you do try this recipe, do leave a comment with your feedback and any tweaks that you might make.

  • Why 15 Marbles,though?

    I have been asked this question often – almost every time I share the link to my blog.

    Some have wondered if it has something to do with how unhinged I can be – you know, the number of marbles I may have lost – while others have wondered if it has something to do with a secret hobby I may have.

    Sorry to disappoint both sides, but it literally came from a place of permanence.

    Or maybe, my desire for permanence.

    At one point, I even called myself – and my blog – The Gypsy Mumma because that’s how frequently we moved : first as a child with my parents and later with my husband.

    For work. 🙄 Nothing overly exciting, in case you were curious.

    I had moved my blog URL nearly as many times as I had moved myself from place to place. So when life finally felt a little more settled, I wanted the blog to have a permanent home too.

    And 15 Marbles became it.

    I moved all my old posts there, much like I had carried little souvenirs collected along the way from one home to another.

    Whether anything in life is ever truly permanent remains to be seen.

    But the name stayed.

    And over time, the more I read my posts – both old and new – the more I realise that the name has taken on its own meaning.

    This blog has become a holding space for my thoughts, recipes, stories and memories.

    Sort of like a memory jar.

    I keep bringing little marbles back to it – no matter how big or small, special or mundane.

    Precious to me regardless.

    I share my thoughts here mostly unfiltered. It’s probably the one place where I let that mental filter drop almost completely.

    I do that to keep my voice true, and in the hope that when you – and eventually my girls – read these posts, you’ll recognise my voice in them.

    Maybe you’ll relate.

    Maybe you’ll feel heard too.

    Or maybe you’ll simply know me a little better.

    So there you go.

    Now you know why 15 Marbles.

    Well… sort of. 😉

    What would you name your blog, journal or memoir if you had to choose today?