Homemade Paneer Butter Masala & Veg Pulao | June 13, 2026 Daily Diary

 

June 13, 2026 | The Day I Felt Like Cooking

Today started like most days.

I woke up, watered my plants in the morning, and enjoyed a quiet start to the day.

Breakfast was simple.

Very simple.

In fact, I would even call it boring.

Just upma.

Nothing exciting, nothing worth writing home about, but it did the job.

The interesting part of the day came later.

For some reason, I woke up in a complete cooking mood.

Now, if there's one thing I've learned about myself, it's that my cooking depends entirely on my mood. On some days, I don't even want to enter the kitchen. On other days, I suddenly feel like a contestant on a cooking show.

Today was one of those days.

Since we had a lot of milk at home, I decided to make homemade paneer first.

And then I thought, if I'm already making paneer, why not make something proper for lunch?

So I ended up making vegetable pulao with green peas, carrots, and beans, along with paneer butter masala—my all-time favorite.

And here's the shocking part.

I made everything in just 50 minutes.

Fifty.

Minutes.

Honestly, I surprised myself.

It reminded me that I can be efficient when I want to be.

The problem isn't capability.

The problem is that I'm usually just lazy.

The lunch turned out really good, and I was quite proud of it.

Dad and Mom had already eaten, so I was the only one having lunch at that time. But the good thing was that Mom's dinner was pretty much sorted because there was plenty left over.

A successful cooking day and a solved dinner problem.

I'd call that a win.

The evening was peaceful.

I spent some time reading a book while eating jamun, which feels like one of the best fruits to have during this season.

I also exercised for an hour.

Lately, I've been trying to stay more active, and whenever I'm at home, I make it a point to walk for about 20 minutes after every meal.

It's a small habit, but I enjoy it.

By nighttime, I was still incredibly full from lunch.

So full that the thought of another meal felt impossible.

I ended up skipping dinner entirely and went straight to bed.

Although, I do have a confession.

I've been craving a burger.

A really good burger.

But I've decided to wait a little longer.

The burger can wait.

For now.

And that's how the day ended.

Good food, a little exercise, some reading, happy plants, and the realization that maybe I'm not bad at cooking after all.

I just need to be in the mood.

At some point during the day, I also listened to a positivity podcast.

It was nice while it lasted.

For a few minutes, I felt motivated, inspired, and convinced that I had everything figured out.

But I've noticed something funny about motivation.

It usually stays for a little while and then quietly leaves without saying goodbye.

A podcast ends.

A video ends.

A motivational quote gets forgotten.

And life goes back to normal.

Maybe that's why habits matter more than motivation.

Because motivation visits.

Habits stay.

At least, that's what I'm trying to learn.

Some days I get it right.

Some days I don't.

And that's okay too.