arval or Patal, as it is sometimes also referred to as, is a common green vegetable that most if not all folks from India are familiar with. I looked around on the web and there seems to be a lot of confusion on its english name so I would rather not mention any here. It is especially common in northern and eastern part of the country and definitely well loved in the region in India where I come from. Growing up parval used to be abundant during the summers. So much so that it almost became a staple for those couple of months. It would either be aloo-parval with rice for lunch or parval bhunjiya with roti for dinner or even sauteed stuffed parval as a side, it would show up in some shape or form with every meal. You got tired of eating it eventually but you still liked it.
uickly browsing through my recipe categories, you will realize that I am not much of a soup person. There are very few kinds, actually only a couple, that I would even allow myself to taste and that too made at specific places or by specific people. This soup is one of them. My first encounter with butternut squash was aboard a Caribbean cruise liner out in the middle of that vast blue spread of the Atlantic. It was an acquired taste. Hubby tells me I made a sorry face when I first tasted it but the expression soon changed with the second and third sips. Very seldom happens to me. I either like something or I don't. Things don't normally 'grow' on me, but this was different. Having remembered seeing butternut squash on the shelves of the grocery stores, yes of course I decided I would try it at home. 
ppears that my last few posts have been about making dishes with my favorite ingredients. Here's a dish featuring another one of my very favorite, fresh Methi or Fenugreek. To give you an idea how much I love it, whenever I am at our local Indian grocery I eagerly scan through each one of those yellow wooden plank boxes sitting randomly on the floor where the nail is still sticking out from where the lid was forcibly pried off, secretly hoping to find one such box with bunches of fresh methi leaves stacked up. When I lay sight on such a box, my pulse does go up a few beats a minute, I kid you not. Hubby is well aware and when he goes grocery shopping by himself and get me a couple of bunches, he sure earns a few points ;) I also grow them in my backyard as well to have a limited yet regular supply. Last but not the least, I always keep a box of Kasoori methi or dried fenugreek leaves in my pantry just in case I run out in my backyard and the stores don't have it either, proof enough? lol.
inter is around the corner. Yay! It is getting cooler by the day. Well its sixty degrees so some of you might not think it to be much of 'winter' but that is how us south Floridians see onset of winter. lol and I totally love it. Talking about what else I love - Fridays - the best day of the week, well who doesn't huh. Waiting for five long days and nights for Friday evening is not easy. I get to go out and have lots of fun. Be it movies, catching up with friends, eating out, shopping etc. Can watch TV late into the night no school, no office, can sleep in till late the following morning and have two full more days to relax. lol.
n case you did not notice the nifty badge to your right, US Masala is proud to announce that it has been featured on yummly.com and has been 'Certified Yummly'.
o tantrums and food have any relation for you? Well, in my case, growing up they had quite a lot to do with each other. This is what my dear mom used to cook especially for me when me - the brat - used to tell her "mom, you don't love me anymore", count to her all the occasions when I was refused an ice-cream, a barbie doll, Shahrukh's poster and the bestest most expensive dress in the mall! She knew how to get me back to behaving normally... lol.
