Few years ago if someone had asked me to describe Madhumitha in just one sentence then it would have been this…
“A happy-go-lucky girl who loves baby elephants,colors and all things cute”
True to the saying “புலிக்கு பிறந்தது பூனை ஆகுமா” .. Madhu is definitely as talented as her Mom (Read about her mom Mrs.Shanti Ramachandran here)
She is one her vacation right now and irrespective of that busy schedule, she managed to respond to my queries. Thank you M 🙂 🙂
Read the Q & A session with her below :
1.I vaguely remember a tweet that you posted years ago. It was about your first attempt at making pizza from scratch at home 🙂 From that stage to where you are now I could see a very big transition in terms of cooking and ofcourse other things too 😉 . How it happened?
Haha. Wow, you have crazy good memory. That pizza attempt was an epic fail of sorts. A lot of my first attempts at cooking were too (probably why they are not on instagram :P). Post marriage, I had quite a bit of free time since I wasn’t working then and that made me cook a lot. After quite a few not-so-great attempts later, I finally got a hang of things. That and being a foodie helped me get better eventually and now I can confidently say that I am not too bad and can make an edible meal anytime. 😀
2. What was the first meal you cooked for Bala & in-laws?
Pulao and raita (with padhuskitchen open on the phone secretly. :D).
3. After living in a happening city like our singara chennai how did you manage to adapt to AbuDhabi? Did Cooking helped you get through the stress of being away from home,friends & family?
Life in Abu Dhabi is quite laid back and somewhat monotonous after living in a city like Chennai. The first few months were the worst since I had nothing to do once my husband went to work. When I wasn’t spending time exploring the place on my own (which wasn’t much because of how hot it was), cooking helped a lot because with access to all sorts of ingredients, a brand new cooking range and a lot of time, I experimented a whole lot and went from spending over 2 hours to make a meal to less than an hour.
4. Does Bala like your experimental dishes ? Whats his favorite in your cooking?
Bala is not very experimental when it comes to food, at least not as much as me. Give him a cup of rice, applam and arachuvitta sambar or some phulkas and aloo curry & dal and he will be a happy soul. I, on the other hand won’t mind three different kinds/cuisines of meals each day.
However, the best thing about him is that he doesn’t complain and I take complete advantage of it. 😀
5. Being a mother to a toddler how do you manage to even bake when he naps? While most of the mothers prefer taking a nap or doing other chores. Share some tips to new moms who are trying to find a balance between their new borns & other activities
Haha, I think i should just thank my gene here. I am so used to seeing my Appa and Paati doing something or the other round the clock that I can’t sit still even if I have some time in hand.
My day starts early since Bala leaves to work by 730. So breakfast and lunch is done before that. For now A takes two naps a day. When he naps in the morning, I finish all the household chores – doing the dishes, sweeping, mopping and the likes. When he takes his afternoon nap, I either finish any other work I may have or go into the kitchen to prep for dinner or bake something if I feel like it.
This doesn’t mean I don’t get any rest at all. I do chuck everything and nap while he naps time and again.
I have no particular tips to offer but I would just say that do things at your own pace. No two babies are the same. Some nap more, some nap less. So depending on how your baby is, get into a routine that works for both of you.
There are a lot of days when I can’t wake up in the morning because I would have been up with A all night, on such nights Bala either cooks for us or he eats out. He keeps A engaged when I make dinner. So it’s all about finding out what works for you and sharing chores with your partner.
6. From Baby Led weaning to cloth diapering there are so many information related to new age parenting is now available on internet. Who do you think is a reliable resource? Do you recommend any particular website or books to to-be moms?
And to date, I haven’t read a single parenting book. Let’s just say I never found the time to do it. Whatever adulting I have been doing is merely going by my gut feeling/instincts and by following people who’s parenting I have loved – two of my sister-in-laws top the list. 🙂
7. We always have people commenting on what we should do & what not to with respect to food,feeding etc.(Especially while you were pregnant & after Adhvik). How do you react to those & how do you handle criticisms?
True, it’s especially annoying when people think they can dictate your life with their so called good advice. I always listen (or at least pretend) to what people say just to keep the drama at bay. But what I do later is what I really want to do.
I have had at least a dozen people telling me that now that A is one, I should immediately stop breastfeeding and to all of them I have nodded and said ok, but in reality, that is not what I plan to do. I firmly believe in breastfeeding and plan to continue doing it till A weans on his own, even if that means I breastfeed him until 3 or whatever.
8. Apart from Amma who is your inspiration when it comes to cooking?
My amma, paati and MIL are great cooks. Apart from these people, Ajit was/is one person I have always looked up to even though I can’t even pronounce more than half of the ingredients that he uses. 😛
Sharmi (sharmi’s passion) is another person I admire. Managing two kids (one infant!) and doing all that she does everyday is beyond amazing.
9. Whenever my mom is visiting me, for the first two days we both will be all lovey dovey and then from 3rd day she will start asking me to clean the kitchen shelves, to keep my phone down and start working and so many silly arguments over food & other things Are there any incidents like these with you and Shanti Aunty ?
Hahaha, I guess all moms are the same. We have a lot of such incidents between us too. From looks of disapproval for what I wear to things I do, there are a whole lot of such incidents that take place when we are together. Although I have to admit the number of things we fight for has reduced a LOT since I got married. Probably because we don’t get to spend so much time together any more. 😀
10. For people visiting AD, recommend some of the best places to eat out?
Being a vegetarian, I don’t really have a lot of options out there. But I do love all the little cafeterias that are all over the city.
Spice (Madinat Zayed) is my absolute favorite restaurant at the moment. They offer great food for very nominal prices. The egg omlette rolls at Filli Tea Cafeteria (behind the new Etisalat building) is another favorite. The flaky paratha and egg curry at Happy Tea Cafeteria (Madinat Zayed) is another place we love. Love Sultan Bakery & Carrefour for their fresh breads; Urban Bites (shining tower) for their salads and carrot cake; Golden Spoon restaurant for their Chole Bhature; Olivella Pizzeria for their crazy delicious pizzas to name a few.
All these places are very budget friendly and offer a great selection of stuff to eat. Since the cafeterias are quite small, we prefer home delivery from there places.
11. Last but not least whats Buchkoo’s fav food? What does he hate the most right now?
Buchkoo thankfully is not a picky eater. Although there are phases where he doesn’t even touch food he has previously loved, he usually gets back to eating them after a while. He LOVES yoghurt (makes my life easy! :D)
He loves crispy food too – crispy toast, murukku, fries and the likes.
He is right now in a I-will-reject-banana in all forms phase.
Thank you so much Madhu for the honest answers and letting me to use your pictures. Keep inspiring people. Stay happy and awesome like this forever.
Her blog : www.andsoweadult.wordpress.com
Instagram : www.instagram.com/madhumitharam
