Fenugreek-Hibiscus Hair Pack!

I love to try different hair packs. Here is a recipe of a simple hair pack with just 3 ingredients!

You will need
Fenugreen - 2 tbsp.
Organic hibiscus powder - 1 tsp
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

This measurement is for a shoulder length hair.
So, to make this pack, The fenugreek seeds should be soaked in 1/2 cup of hot water for  three hours or overnight is fine too.
Filter it out and take the water and mix in the hibiscus powder and coconut oil.
Apply this mask and let it dry for a couple of hours before you wash your hair.

This pack used over a period of time reduces dryness, dandruff  and controls hair fall.
It leaves the hair feeling soft and manageable.
Note:
You can also add a table spoon of curd to this mixture.

Eco friendly Non Toxic Products for your home!

Today am going to talk about these eco - friendly products I got introduced to at Marshalls -
Grab Green  Eco friendly products. First of all let me tell you this is not a sponsored post and all opinions here are unbiased and completely from my personal experience. To begin with, I chose to write on these products because I love them!
I tried only a couple of  their products namely - Grab green dish soap & Grab green all purpose cleaner

Am a strong believer  of using all natural products. I do think its as important as going organic in food we consume. Am aware that most people now want to use chemical free, all natural products but its still got the "expensive" tag that comes along with it.  But I guess I didn't think twice to grab these bottles because of the benefits it offers.
Grab green dish soap - I got the red Pear and magnolia 16Oz bottle
Its a viscous , transparent  liquid packaged in a 16Oz plastic bottle.
For starters, The packaging is very attractive, highlighting details like
Non toxic, Phosphate free, bio degradable , no animal testing
The ingredient lists naturally derived ingredients which is very  attractive.

With the actual use of the product. I realized the product is very effective on  scotch burns and tough food particles. It doesnt leave my hands dry. Its gentle to use.  And yes, I dint need to use too much of the product for getting the dishes squeeky clean. A pea size amount of the product was good enough for several dishes. I love it and highly recommend this product.

ALL purpose cleaner
I got the red pear and magnolia fragrance in this as well. This is non toxic,phosphate free, bio degradable,ammonia free, formal dehyde free. There is a clean sweet fragrance to this product. This does a good job in removing grease from my counter tops, I clean  my wooden furniture, stove top, and even bathroom tiles to remove grout and it does its magic. Again, I don't use a lot. A small amount of this product sprayed directly on the surface goes a long way and gets the surface clean.
But the downside according to me is, it doesn't work very well on mirrors, glass surface. As a "all purpose" cleaner I would expect it to work on glass as well. Nevertheless, its a great product for other surfaces and its ideal for homes with small kids since you don't them to be exposed to too many chemical cleaning products that come in contact with the furniture or surfaces the kids have access to.

Price on both - $5 each
I cant wait to try their other products! Chk out their products on their website 
 
                       

Quick Meal - A healthy , delicious choice!

Ven pongal  with Gothsu 
Ven pongal 
I honestly consider this recipe as  probably south Indian cooking 101. This is yummy and  a quick - healthy option for breakfast/lunch or dinner.
This is a perfect combination of  of rice and dhal cooked to a soft  consistency and spiced to add all the rich flavours of south Indian food.
I make this atleast once a week for lunch. Here you go with this simple yet absolutely delicious recipe.

Rice - 1 cup
Moong dhal - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Jeera - 2 tbsp
pepper- 2 tbsp
ginger -  1 tbsp grated
curry leaves - fed
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Salt - To taste

Method
Pressure cook the  rice and dhal together with half cup excess water and cook for a couple of extra whistles than you normally cook your rice
mash it well
In a pan, add ghee, add in the jeera,  pepper,ginger, curry leaves, asafoetida and allow it to splutter
Now add in the mashed rice and dhal mixture and blend well, Add it the salt and mix evenly.
Drizzle a few drops of ghee while serving and enjoy!

Gothsu
This is a simple sambar made with moongdhal and this tastes delicious with the pongal

Onion- 1/2 cup
bell pepper - 1/4cup
Egg plant -  1/4 cup
Tamarind  water - 2 cups
Moong dhal - 3/4 cup
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly - 1 no
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Jaggary - 1 tsp
salt to taste
Oil- 1 tbsp

Pressure cook moong dhal with turmeric powder
In a pan add in the oil, throw in the mustrard seeds, red chilli and allow it to splutter
Now add onions and fry it until turns dark pink
Next, throw  in the eggplant and bell pepper and allow it to cook
Add in the sambar powder , salt and blend well.
Add in the Tamarind water and bring it to a boil
Now add in the cooked -mashed  dhal and mix well
Bring it to a boil
Add in the Jaggary
Gothsu is Ready!

Note:
To adjust the consistency, you may add in rice flour mixed in water and  bring it to a boil

Tips for Travel

Well, it feels good to be writing after a short while. Now that the holiday season is round the corner, I wanted to write on Travel packing. This is something I really enjoy doing the smart way. By "smart" I mean not just remembering things you want to take on a trip but also not taking a whole lot with you on these trips. So here are the things  while planning your vacation

Make a List
Making a list is  quite essential as it sort of clears your head from remembering all those must haves. While going on a vacation, there are usually two kinds of list that I make depending on where we go. Along with a list of things we need to take for the trip, If its a place that offers things exquisite to the place, then of course I make a list of things I need to buy from that place to bring back with me. This also helps me pack accordingly so that I have space in my suitcase for the things I want to bring back home.

Buying Travel size products

I love this, I do this even when I don't travel and want to try a new product. If I find a hair spray or a perfume Travel size, I grab them! So getting back to the topic, I normally buy Travel size empty round containers for cosmetics and small spray bottles for perfumes and body sprays. These are really handy and you can carry them around in your purses.

What to pack
This is the fun part. Apart from clothes which I prefer to carry light as well, am going to share some essential things here. If you have your stay figured, spend a few minutes by looking at the Hotel's website and see what they provide. Most hotels provide shower gels, soaps, shampoos, conditioners, Hair dryers. This saves some space if you don't have to carry these along with you.  For shoes, If am going to a cold place(considering its winter in most part of the country), I wear the boots(to reduce space in the luggage) and carry a walking/jogging shoes and a pair of sandals. I also carry with me 2 Large plastic bags to bring back used clothes , if its a short trip and if we don't have a free laundry facility. I also make sure I carry phone/ipad/lapotop chargers, portable chargers and car chargers. These are essential since on vacation we are mostly outside and invariably using the GPS. These sums up the essential things I take with me.

Miscellaneous
I have found it extremely useful to carry big empty bottles that you can use to refill water and of course some cereal bars. When on a trip, you tend to misjudge the time you need for a certain spot and you run over your lunch/snack times. You don't want to starve and spoil your enthusiasm while on a vacation, do you? So bananas, cereal bars etc comes in handy. And Yes, Aux cables do come in handy if you have long drives ahead of you during your vacation. Its a good idea to carry, a small pouch with  insect balms/bug spray, medication if any, wet tissues.
For accessories, I love to carry my jewellery organizer or I carry the ones I know I need for sure in the complementary small pouches  I get  from my international travels for this :-) (Reusing at its best)

Finding Hotels:
Here is a small tip in finding hotels for your stay. There are several websites like Hotels.com, Priceline, hotwire etc for getting good deals on Hotels . From my experience, I love priceline   as I always find good deals at the last minute. After 3 pm which is normally the check in time for hotels, there are empty rooms and the hotels want to get rid of the rooms so normally after 3pm you do get very good deals . Especially if you are looking for same day accommodation. Its worked for me and I think its worth giving it a shot.

I hope this helps and comes in handy while planning the  next time around! :)