Mangalorean Chicken Curry (Gassi)

This is my mums recipe :)) I made it from scratch today and it tasted absolutely fabulous, I am sure it turned out well because mum kept hovering in the kitchen while I made it!!


Ingredients

200 gms boneless chicken ( I prefer boneless chicken)
1 onion ( finely chopped)
2 tbsps ghee

For the red masala
6 dried chillies ( 3 kashmir and 3 bedgi) (roasted)
1 tbsp coriander seeds (roasted)
tamrind paste ( as per taste)
1 tsp turmeric powder

For the white masala
1/2 coconut (scrapped)
6 pepper corns (roasted)
10-15 fenugreek seeds
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1/2 small onion

Method:

1) Heat a pan and put in the scrapped coconut, keep tossing to ensure that it does not burn. Fry it till all the moisture evaporates.

2) Put the ingredients for the red masala in a mixie, add some water and blitz it till it turns into a fine paste.

3) Clean and cut the chicken into small peices and marinate it in the red masala for about 15-20 minutes.

4) Heat the ghee in a thick bottomed pan, add the chopped onion, fry till it turns crisp and brown.

5) Add the marinated chicken, cover and let it cook on high for about five minutes.

6) Add salt and let it cook on simmer till nicely done.

7) For the white masala, grind the roasted coconut to a fine paste.

8) Add the onion, fenugreek seeds, pepper corn and garlics and cumin seeds and grinds till all the ingredients are mixed well. (Ensure that you do not grind for a long time after you add these ingredients as it loses it aroma or some such thing(will check with my mom and let you know, a quick turn should suffice. Hence always add these only once you are satisfied that the coconut is reduced to a fine paste).

9) Add the white masala to the chicken and let it come to a boil.

10) Simmer and cook till done.

11) Serve with rice, sliced bread or chappati.

Chocolate cake

This is really easy to make and is absolutely heavenly!!! This cake is a result of a great deal of trial and error ( my family gets scared these days when I don the chefs hat). I can only list the ingredients and give you a fair idea with regards to the quantity of each...

Ingredients:-

For the cake:
Maida about 1 cup
Baking Powder, 1 tbsp
Cocoa powder about two table spoons
2 eggs
Butter, two huge dollops
about 100 gms of powdered sugar
few drops of vanilla essence
sugar dissolved in water

For the icing:
1 small packet Amul cream
Milk chocolate (melted)
Two tbsps powdered sugar

Method:

1) Pass the maida, cocoa powder and baking powder through a seive. Mix well and keep aside.

2) Beat the butter and powdered sugar.

3) Add the eggs one by one and mix well. Ensure that you fold the mixture in one direction only.

4) Add vanilla essence.

5) Gently fold the maida into the butter-egg mixture. Mix gently and ensure that there are no lumps.

6) Grease a bowl and pour the batter.

7) Place the bowl in a microwave oven at medium for about 5 minutes.

8) Beat the cream till it is thick and mix in the sugar and chocolate.

9) Cut the cake into two layers.

10) Soak each layer in sugar water.

11) Place a layer of cake and cover it well with chocolate cream, place the other layer on top and pour the remaining chocolate cream on it.

12) I have garnished this cake with grated dark chocoalate.

What I have been upto...

Not that anyone is dying to have an account of where-I-have-been-what-I-have-been-upto, I still intend to unleash it on the unsuspecting blog reader who in moment of madness happens to stop by my space.

So here goes...

Finally went to Esselworld last Sunday. I am pleased to finally scratch off "Sr. No. 123 Visit Esselworld" off my place-to-visit-things-to-do-before-I-die list. I can say with some conviction that this was my first and last visit to Esselworld. To put matter in perspective let me venture a spot of explanation, I suffer from vertigo and cannot go on any of the rides, so P(a fellow afflictee)and I had to follow the rest of the gang all day. The only rides we could go on was Dashing Cars and all I got for my pains was a sprained back. To make matters worse as evening set in, the starving mosquitoes at Esselworld pounced on me and I was left with legs (wearing Capris...bbbbaaaadddd idea) looking like I was suffering from measles. Monday morning found me so sore, I could barely drag myself out of bed. Somehow I managed to get to office and sleepwalk through the day. A who sits next to me at work was all set to wheel me to the nearest doctors clinic after putting up with my "oohs and aahs" all day. The next day I decided to spare A, the rest of the public and myself the torture and spent the day curled up in bed.

I missed a wedding cause I forgot the date. As a rule I hate wedding, but I was particularly looking forward to this one as a close friend had invited me. This Thursday found me getting all decked up for the wedding and when I open the invite to check the venue details, what do I find ...the wedding took place last Thursday.

What can I say, age sure is catching up with me...

Chilli Chicken (Dry)

Ingredients

250 gms boneless chicken (cut in strips)
1 egg
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
Soya sauce
10 cloves of garlic ( chopped finely)
1 capsicum (deseeded and cut in strips)
1 small onion (chopped)
1 springs onion ( use only the leaves)
oil for frying

Method:

1) Marinate the chicken strips in ginger-garlic paste, egg and soya sauce mixture for 15-20 mins.
2) Heat oil and fry the marinated chicken.
3) Heat a little oil in a pan.
4) Add onions, garlics and the spring onions. Fry for a couple of minutes till the raw smell dissapears.
5) Add the capsicum and cook till half done.
6) Add the fried chicken and the soya sauce and stir well.
7) Serve hot.

Note: I have not used salt at all as soya sauce normally contains a lot of salt.

Pasta in White Sauce

They say necessity is the mother of invention, I for one am a firm believer especially when cooking. I believe cooking is for the adventurous, "substitute and substitute some more is my mantra". This was supposed to be Mac and Cheese, but I was out of Macaroni and Flour, so true to form I substituted them with this multicoloured (spinach and tomato flavoured) penne and cornflour respectively, the result was the most amazing pasta in white sauce!!!

Ingredients

175 gms penne
1 1/2 tbsp cornflour
1 1/2 cup milk
20 gms of butter
grated cheese
salt to taste
chilly flakes

Method

1) Cook the pasta and set aside in a dish.

2) To make the white sauce, heat butter and add the cornflour.

3) Fry the cornflour for a while and add milk to it, stirring continously to avoid lumps ( add more milk if the sauce gets too thick).

4) When the sauce is nice and creamy, add salt and chilly flakes and remove from flame.

5) Pour the white sauce over the pasta.

6) Cover with grated cheese and microwave on high for a couple of minutes till the cheese has melted and a slightly brown crust is formed.

7) Serve hot.

Classic Tomato Soup

Tomato soup is the ultimate comfort food, making this tomato soup from scratch was fun, intend to keep improvising till I achieve the perfect tomato soup!!!

Watch out this space for more...

Ingredients

6 medium sized ripe tomatoes (quartered)
1 small carrot (chopped)
1 small onion (chopped)
5-6 cloves of garlic (chopped) (I used the small variety, incase you are using the large one reduce the numbers accordingly)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
pepper for seasoning

Method:

1) Heat olive oil in a thick bottomed pan.

2) Add onions and garlics and fry till brown.

3) Add carrots and fry till it changes colour.

4) Once the carrots are done add the tomatoes, salt and pepper.

5) Cook the tomatoes till they turn mushy.

6) Cool this mixture and put in a blender.

7) Remove from the blender, add water and bring it to a boil.

8) Add sugar and simmer for a while.

9) Serve hot with a blob of butter.

Note: You may add milk or cream to make this soup richer.

Chocolate Burfee

Ingredients

250 gms mawa
3 tbsp sugar
25 gms of melted dark chocolate
1 tbsp of ghee

Method:

1) Heat ghee in a thick bottom pan.

2) Crumble the mawa and divide it into two portions. Add one portion to the ghee.

3) Keep stirring till the mawa melts to a sauce like consistency. Add two tbsp of sugar and stir till the sugar completely dissolves and the mawa is well cooked. Remove to a greased dish(this is to ensure that the burfee does not stick to the dish).

4) Now transfer the second portion of mawa into pan and cook till it reaches a sauce like consistency, add the remaining sugar and the melted chocolate.

5) When the mawa is well cooked pour this sauce over the earlier layer.

6) Cut the burfee into square once it has cooled.

Technological Vacation!

Taking a break from anything related to technology... no computers and mobiles for me for the next few months...

See ya when I see ya!!

Cheers

The Ugly Truth...Movie Review

The ugly truth about this movie is that it is a total waste of time and money... ask me I spent (rather my sister did) two hundred bucks per ticket to go see this utterly and stupendously unimaginative film.

The film reminded me of a whole host of other hollywood movies ranging from When Harry met Sally (the hotel scene) to Cassanova (the Hot air balloon scene).

I dont think this movie will ever be telecast on HBO or Star Movie or any movie channel in India because every other word seems to a swear word or some kind of word which is beeped out on Indian television. Imagine watching a movie on TV where the dialogues go like this "You (Beep) want to (Beep) (Beep)". This was only for representation and not actually a dialogue from the movie, for I seem to have been too stunned by what I saw on screen for the dialogues to register on my brain.

This outing was jinxed from the start. We arrived ten minutes late and then since it was pitch dark, I sat on the wrong seat and yes, it was occupied. Pandemonium and embarrassment reigned for the next ten minutes. After a while I forgot my woes as what the actors were being put through was far worse than what just happenned to me.

Please donate the money you were planning to spend on the tickets of this movie.

Random thought!!!

If life be a movie, in an ideal world I would like to be a good trailer and good movie !!!

However since we do not live in Utopia, I would like to be a good movie with a bad trailer than otherwise!!!

- Sen

Love Aaj Kal...as I saw it...a layman movie review

As I have already clarified this is a review of the movie and what I felt while watching it, if you want a comment on the kind of movies that Bollywood is making or a monologue on the finer points of good cinema, this is the point where you should leave this space and start surfing again.

Yesterday I finally...finally got myself to go watch Love Aaj Kal. Nice movie... what made it more special was the company of a very handsome and personable young man. Before your one track mind (naughty, naughty) goes off in a tangent, let me clarify, I went to the movies with my three year old nephew (Sidhu) and his mother (my cousin) who were visiting us for the weekend.

We arrived just in time to catch the National Anthem being played. After that we were escorted to our seats and were just settling in when for some reason the screen went blank. For a few seconds we were just sat there in pitch darkness. Suddenly the silence was pierced by Sidhu, who bawls (loudly)for all to hear "Iddu yeendu kannan illa" which means 'I cannot see anything' in Malayalam and my cousin and I burst into laughter. As if by divine intervention the screen erupted with images and we settle down for an eventful film.

Fifteen minutes into the film Sidhu decides this film is not up to his high standards and starts shifting and shuffling in his seat and my cousin tries to divert his attention by pointing out to Saif (Superb performance in this film, he potrays both Jai the cool dude as well as Veer Singh, the romantic sardar with equal elan). Sidhu decides Saif or Deepika for that matter are not worth his time of day and continues with the seat-jig. By now Sidhu's eyes had adjusted to the darkness and he began peering around, trying to figure out who else(other than his party and he ofcourse) were wasting their time watching the film. I mean, come on, according to him it is a criminal waste of time, when he could jolly well be using this precious time to watch Chota Bheem save the world or Mr. Bean do some antic or other which is calculated to make the decent law-abiding man shudder to the very core. Just when things seemed to be on the verge of rebellion my cousin uttered the magic words "Sidhu, would you like some 'POPCORN"". That was it, Sidhu was the very soul of propriety after the popcorn was handed over to him, he contently ate the popcorn and promptly went off to sleep.. this is where the movie review actually begins...

Movie : Love Aaj Kal
Star Cast : Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rishi Kapoor and Giselle Monterio.

The movie starts off in London circa 2009 with the pair breaking off very cordially, practically and logically when they find that their career will eventually take them to diferent continents (Saif wanting to move to San Francisco and Deepika to India). This seems to be the best approach as they both agree that long distance relationships do not work out. They even going to the extent of throwing a party to celebrate their break-up. This causes some discomfort to their friends as they are unable to figure out what gifts to bring to the party to celebrate?? this occasion or how exactly are they to greet the happy/sad?? couple.

From there the scene shifts to how Love used to be Kal through Veer Singh's (Rishi Kapoor - an absolutely stellar performance) love story that is set in 1965 in Dilli and Calcutta between the protagonists, Veer Singh (The young Rishi Kapoor played by Saif Ali Khan) and Harleen (Giselle Monterio). A sweet love story complete with the hero following the heroine's rickshaw on a cycle, coy glances and "pratigyaas" that Harleen Kaur or whatever her names may be in future births would be his wife for all eternity. When Harleen's family shift base to Calcutta our punjab da puttar even travel the thousand miles from Delhi to Calcutta just to to see his lady love.

The banter between the practical Jai and the emotional Veer speaks volumes about the eras they belong to. Somewhere along the line we realise that though the relationship have changed with the passage of time, Love have actually remained the same. This film has a feel good end with Love conquering all odds and emerging victorious. If you are a person who is in love with the concept of love, this is a must watch. I for one absolutely loved it and as Saif comments in the film "We are the 'Aam junta' the mango people" this film is made for the masses. It may not have a great plot but the way the story is woven with the fluid moves between the two eras, great locations, soulful music and excellent performances, you just can't help falling in love with this movie.

What are you waiting for, go watch the movie...

I Believe...

I wrote this for a friend last year...

It is darkest before the dawn,
This is known to every doe and fawn,
Hang in there, for god has a plan
For the whole universe and above all for man!
This I believe in for his love is true...
My wish is, may all your dreams come true!!!

- sen

Vegetable Kadhai

I got this recipe at Jaishree's blog, as usual I managed to bungle on the steps but the outcome was not too bad :)...very edible!!!...incase you want the correct recipe click here. My camera needs to be replaced, the dish actually looks better in real life :p

I have listed below the recipe with steps as I made it :)

Ingredients

15-20 French beans

1 medium sized carrots

2 medium sized capsicums

1/4 medium sized cauliflower

2 large sized tomatoes

1 medium sized onions

10-12 bite size cubes of paneer

1/4 cup shelled green peas

3 red chillies (whole)

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

12-15 cloves garlic

2 one inch pieces of ginger

3-4 green chillies

A few sprigs of fresh coriander leaves

4 tbsps oil

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp coriander powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste

1 tsp garam masala powder

Method:

1.String and wash French beans. Peel and wash carrots. Wash, halve, and deseed capsicums. Cut all the vegetables into ¼ th inch cubes. Separate cauliflower into small florets and wash. Wash tomatoes and chop roughly. Peel, wash, and slice onion. Wash and drain green peas. Remove stems and break red chillies into two.

2.Grind coarsely three of the red chillies with coriander and cumin seeds. Peel and wash ginger and garlic. Remove stems and wash green chillies. Clean, wash, and chop coriander leaves.

3.Grind half of the ginger with garlic and green chillies. Make julienne of the rest of the ginger.

4.Heat oil in a pan. Add the coarsely ground masala (coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and red chillies). Add ginger-garlic-green chilli paste and sauté till the water evaporates.

5.In a seperate pan fry the sliced onions till golden brown. Once brown add this to the paste (Per the original recipe we were to put in the onions once the ground masala was nice and brown, followed by the ginger-garlic-green chilli paste, I forgot and put the ginger-garlic-green chilli paste, so this extra step).

6.Add the vegetables except capsicums and tomatoes and stir. Cook covered on low heat till carrots are almost done. Sprinkle a little water if necessary.

7.Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, and red chilli powder. Stir continuously. Add tomatoes, paneer cubes, salt, and half cup of water. Cook till the vegetables are cooked and water dries up.

8.Add capsicums and cook for 4-5 minutes on low heat. Sprinkle garam masala powder.

8.Serve hot garnished with ginger julienne and coriander leaves.

Excess Baggage

An article in yesterday's newspaper has me rolling on the floor laughing. "AI faces criminal action for carrying extra passengers" the headline screamed. I was intrigued; this was definitely a first for air travel. I read further, apparently the AI aircraft flying the Mumbai-Mangalore sector that lost a door on May 5 was having more trouble because allegedly it had three extra passengers. Two sitting on the foldable chairs actually meant for the cabin crew during landing and takeoff and a lady was accommodated in the cockpit no less!!!

This got me thinking about the time when air travel was crazily expensive (this was the time before Capt. Gopinath changed the way the common man travelled), train travel was for the lucky few who had contacts among touts and private buses ruled. Buses used to invariably be fully booked and there were still passengers who were willing to shell extra bucks to get from A to B. Such passengers were accommodated if they were willing to sit on cans, foldable chairs or next to the driver. AI sure seems to proud of our heritage and history. No doubt the powers that be were of the opinion that taking a page out history would help them tide over the financial crunch they find themselves in!!!

Jut had an afterthought, did the door really fall of because the aircraft started moving while still attached to an aerobridge or was it because the chairless cabin crew strapped themselves to it during take off ??

Random Thoughts that flit through my mind!!!

It is raining...
I want to eat a Subway sandwich...
I really need to start driving...
Thank god, I got my eyebrows done...
We didn't start the fire...
Why did the fellow have to die in Bones, he was rather cute...
Whats all this fuss about Hangover or Kambakt Ishq for that matter...
Would the film Matrix have been just 30 mins long if Neo ate the Blue Pill...
One more day to go...before the weekend...
Raindrops keep falling on my head...
Can I just beat the crap out of someone...pls, I even asked nicely...
Do I need to read about Amar Singh going to Singapore to get his kidney fixed and who all in his entourage are going with him on the front page...
Eeeeeeeewwwwwww...
I really should not have ate the Chilli Cheese Sandwich...
I need to clean out my drawer...
I will be glad when it is all over (I, aint telling you what, no siree)...
For lands sakes how long does it take to respond to an email...
Do I care who Rakhi Sawant marries...

Use Diaper at Night!!!

If you ever feel down and out or are at a loose end on a weekend, hop into your car and go for a drive and feast your eyes on the entertaining messages painted on the back of trucks.

The usual tame ones

1) Horn OK Please!!!

2) Keep Safe Distance!!!

The Patriotic:

1) Mera Bharat Mahan!!!

2) Sau mein assi baiman...phir bhi mera Bharat mahan!!!

3) Jai Hind!!!

4) Jai Maharashtra!!!

The Religious type

1) Jai Mata Di!!!

2) Mata Vaishnodevi ke krupa se!!!

The "I-love-my-family" type

1) Maa Ki Dua!!!

2) Maa ka Aashirwad!!!

3) Paapu aur Tinnu ki gaddi!!!, etc

The ward-of-the-black-eye types

1) Buri Nazar waale tera muah kaala!!!

2) Meri Chali to teri kyon Jaali!!!

The Family Planning types:

1) Hum Do Hamare Do!!!...Of late these ones read "Hum Do Hamara Ek"!!!.

I was on my way to office last Friday when I came across the one that takes the cake, it went something like this "USE DIAPER AT NIGHT". If this is a new ploy by the Family planning department, they sure have a winner on their hands!!!

I have done some research on "DIPPERS" courtesy Wikipedia, for people who did not get the joke :)

"Modern headlamps are electrically operated, positioned in pairs, one or two on each side of the front of a vehicle. A headlamp system is required to produce a low and a high beam, which may be achieved either by an individual lamp for each function or by a single multifunction lamp. High beams (called "main beams" or "full beams" or "driving beams" in some countries) cast most of their light straight ahead, maximizing seeing distance, but producing too much glare for safe use when other vehicles are present on the road. Because there is no special control of upward light, high beams also cause backdazzle from fog, rain and snow due to the retroreflection of the water droplets. Low beams (called "dipped beams" in some countries) have stricter control of upward light, and direct most of their light downward and either rightward (in right-traffic countries) or leftward (in left-traffic countries), to provide safe forward visibility without excessive glare or backdazzle".

Oh no, its Paausing again!!!

The Maglish speaker strikes again!!!

Yesterday a friend and I decided to do a bit of shopping (both actual and window). After shopping for a while we decided to get some lunch, accordingly we arrived at Oasis, Andheri. I love the ambience here and food is also awesome (My personal favourite is the Chicken Angara, guaranteed to set your innards on fire).

It was past three and only three other tables were occupied with the occupants just whiling time over coffee.

One group vacated the table and the doorman held the door open for them. Here I would like to mention that it was raining pretty hard when we arrived at the restaurant. The Oasis lives up to its name and the people who are on the inside do not have any inkling of what happens on the outside. The group stepped out and one of them wails " Oh No!!!, its Paausing again!!!!"

Needless to say my friend and I burst out laughing!!!

I guess a bit of explanation is required for my non Marathi speaking audience. Manglish is when you introduce Marathi words into English. Rain is called "Paaus" in Marathi, hence my protagonists remark :))

Chota Bheem nahi darta!!!

This one is dedicated to my nephew Siddharth aka Sidhu.. kind of like... Pyaar se log mujhe Sidhu bulate hai ... he is an absolute sweetheart and a legend amongst those who know him...he is an absolute rockstar in the making...Sidhu Rocks!!!

The first incident that I would like to narrate is rather cute. This one needs loads of background. If there are kids in your house I am sure you are aware of the new cartoon series which revolves around the legendary Bheema, jog your memory people,"Bheema", "Pandavas", "Mahabharat" got it...Rather I believe it is based on Bheema but the stories presented are new and unrelated, the central character is called "Chota Bheem" and the other characters of note are "Chutki" and "Kalia". Now Kalia is the trouble maker and every episode begins with him creating new problems for Chota Bheem and ends with Bheem solving it and all is well with the world and all that. Now in his mind, Sidhu has created a star cast of his own, his father is "Kalia", his mom(my cousin) is "Chutki" and he Ofcourse is "Chota Bheem", the hero and saviour of all. Recently when we met, Sidhu was plied with the usual cute question "Where do you live ?", "Which School do you go to?", "What is your father's name ?" etc... When asked the question, "What is your father's name ?", he came with some answer like "Pappa". Never the ones to give up, the interrogators tried new tactics, "Who is Vijay??" to which Sidhu replied "Kalia!!!".

The next episode took place yesterday, Sidhu needed a haircut and my cousin (his mom) took him to the hairdresser(note the use of the word Hairdresser, apparently they take grave umbrage if referred to as Barbers, which I noted at the time the film "Billu" starring SRK was released)... but I digress, now where was I, Ah yes, they arrived at the hairdressers' saloon or should it be Salon???...I digress again...Here I would like to mention that usually it is his father who accompanies Sidhu for these hair cutting sessions, but since he is out of town on work my cousin ventured out. Apprehensive that he might get scared, she told the hairdresser to exercise care and keep the atmosphere light. The hairdresser willingly obliged and skillfully cut most of the hair without a hitch, then came the tricky part of cutting the hair just behind the ears, so the hairdresser told Sidhu, "Darro mat, kuch nahi hoga", to which Sidhu retorted "Chota Bheem nahi darta!!!".

The third is the cutest of them all and my personal favourite. My cousin has a very interesting way of making Sidhu eat his greens. Incase Sidhu spies some veggies that he particularly dislikes on the plate, he makes his feeling known to all and sundry. In such crisis situations my cousin uses the magic words "Close you Eyes!" and feeds him all the greens and the poor lamb actually closes his eyes and eats it !!!

Rainy day memories...

The rains seem hell bent on not keeping their date with the city this season. The MET department which began forecasting this season with an upbeat "above average rains" etc, has now changed the tune to "gloom and doom" and keeps postponing the arrival of the much needed showers by a couple of days everytime one of the news scribes asks for their comments. I don't blame the poor souls, the gods sure seem upset with the MET department, as far as I can remember, whenever the MET department predict "rain and thundershowers" the sun shines in a cloudless sky in all its glory and when they say it will be a sunny day, the clouds burst like there is no tomorrow!!!

The BMC has upped the ante by declaring "20% water cuts" in the island city and suburbs and also "requested" the city hotels and clubs to stop filling their swimming pools with water as the lakes and ponds that supply water to the city only have enough to last upto 15th of July!!!

Last week as we scanned the newspaper, and came across the news item declaring that the city would have no water post 15th of July, my mum started reminiscing about the time when she was little and the city was in the throes of a similar rain problem. People were asked to go to their villages as there was no water to sustain the ever growing population.

Every community did its best to appease the rain gods, Christians went out on prayer processions, Hindus performed yagnas and bhajans and the Muslims also went out on prayer processions chanting "Ya Allah paani de, Ya Maula paani De". With all the attention that was showered on them the rain gods relented and the much awaited showers arrived in the city.

My uncles who were four and five years respectively at that time, also joined in all these activities...For days after it started raining they continued chanting "Ya Allah paani de, Kya bola, paani De ??!!!"

Box Cricket!!!

Raashi had an Inter-department Box Cricket tournament at her office. Each team has eight players (2 girls and 6 guys). A total of five over were to be bowled, of which two were to be compulsorily played out be the girls, everytime a girl got out the team earned minus two runs. The third over onwards the guys played and it was like a normal game of cricket, except for the underarm bowling, ban on sixes (if you hit a six you are out) and the fact that you played it in a ground hardly larger than a average sized room.

Raashi's Team won the toss and elected to bat and made 13 runs and set the target of 14 runs to the opponents (The lowest target set for chasing during this tournament) not a very big total to chase. Both teams played a very below average game and there was nothing great to write home about, except for the what happenned after the match. The opposite team struggled to make the 14 runs and one of the "batsmen" came up to Raashi after the match and in full view of all says, "Thank you very much!!!"

Raashi was zapped, it is true what the wise men of old used to say, if you want to judge a man, watch how he conducts himself on the sports field. Here is a "sportsman" who just barely won(they made the winning run off the last ball and if they had lost trying to chase a paltry total of 13, they would be laughing stocks), instead of being humble in victory, he was so consumed in his "victory" that he forgot basic ettiquette!!! Everybody on the field made mistakes, some gave away their wickets for free, some gave away a few runs, some dropped catches, etc, then why was Raashi singled out for this "sporting" gesture ??

Innocence is bliss!!!

Just back from my cousin's wedding, one memory that is etched on my mind is the innocence of kids when it comes to money!!!

The bridegroom arrived at the bride's(FYI- my cousin) house for lunch. All morning my nieces and nephews had been trained to keep a look out for the grooms shoes and pinch it. The shoes would obviously be returned to the groom after a couple of thousand quid changed hands. This money would then used to buy chocolates, icecream and sundry soulfoods for the main perpetrators of the crime(the children).

Back to the plan of action, there were four kids (all under the age of 10, the youngest being 4 year old) on this covert operation (A, V, S1 & S2). Accordingly S1 was given the responsibility to check out and pinch the shoes while A, V & S2 diverted the groom and his entourage with their manifold charms.

When the glad moment arrived A, V and S2 were at their charming best and successfully diverted the attention of all and sundry. Pinching the shoes was a piece of cake for S1 and the shoes were then transported with much efficiency to the designated hiding place.

When it was time to leave and the shoes were not to be found the haggling began. I have reproduced the entire conversation for your benefit. The impromptu committee put in place by the shoe-nappers for aiding in the ransom dealings consisted of the kids, their moms and other sundry uncles and aunts.

Groom: Ok, how much do you want ?
S2(loudly): Ten rupees!!!
Groom (fishing into his pocket for the money, blessing his stars): Here
Moms, Sundry uncles and aunts(proper meelee ensuing): NO, NO, NO... ...he meant Ten thousand...Nooooooo....He meant Ten lakhs...Nooooo...He meant Ten crores...
Groom & Co.: Lets sit and arrive at a number...

Finally it was decided that Two thousand rupees would be paid for the shoes. The money changed hands and each child received Five hundred rupees.

Now A is from Dubai and she has not seen Indian money and thought the groom was pullng a fast one on them. She took the note and marched to the Groom and told him what she thought of the money, you can just imagine the laughter that erupted at this declaration.

While this scene was taking place outside the house... inside the house V(who was the youngest of the lot at 4 years) was trying to get his moms attention by standing on the sofa and holding the 500 rupee note like a banner...

V(standing on sofa): Mom, Mom, Moooooooooooom...will you please tell me, how much money I got???

P.S.: The picture is off Google images and is the closest I could get for V's expression after learning he got Five hundred rupees... hope I am not infringing any copy right laws!!!

Ode to a Friend ??

Rather it should read as an obituary to a twelve year old friendship...

Dushman na kare...dost ne woh kaam kiya hai...
Umr bhaar ka gham....hame inaam diya hai..

Goodbye... you know who you are...

Live in peace!!!!

Ratatouille Ravioli with Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

For the filling

2 small brinjals
2 small tomatoes
1 medium capsicum
1 medium onion
2 large button mushrooms
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

For the ravioli

5-6 spinach leaves blanched and pureed
1 cup flour (maida)
4 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

For the Tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups tomato pulp
4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup tomato ketchup
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cheese(grated)
salt to taste

Method:

For the ratatouille filling

1) Heat the olive oil.
2) Add mushrooms, onion, garlic, capsicum and brinjals and fry for two minutes.
3) Add the tomatoes and salt and cook till the mixture is dry.
4) Add the oregano. Mix well and allow to cool.

For the ravioli

1) Mix the spinach puree, flour, olive oil and salt and make a firm but smooth dough.
2) Cover in wet cloth and keep aside for 15 minutes.
3) Divide the dough into 2 portions and roll each of them out as thinly as possible.
4) Brush one sheet with cold water and place small heaps of the filling at little regular intervals.
5) Cover with the other sheet and press around each mound.
6) Use a knife to cut around each mound.
7) Boil water in a large pot with olive oil and salt. When the water start to boil, add the ravioli, 2-3 pieces at a time and let them cook for about 3 minutes.
8) Remove the ravioli and refresh them in a pot of cold water, drain again and keep aside.

For the Tomato Sauce

1) Heat olive oil and add the garlic and onion and cook till the onions turn translucent.
2) Add the tomato pulp and tomato ketchup and cook till the sauce thickens.
3) Add organo and cheese and mix well, remove from the flame and cool the sauce.
4) Put it in a blender to make a smooth paste.
5) Transfer again to the pan, add water and bring to a boil.

Serving
1) Put a generous amount of sauce on a plate and top with the ravioli.
2) Garnish with chilli flakes and serve.

The story of Stye and I...

As the name suggests I am fairly regularly afflicted by these pain in the eye kind of boils. For the past fifteen odd years they have been my constant companions, the kind that do not differentiate between good or bad times and have given me company at all times.

It started when I was in college and I have been called various names while they last, the most famous name that I have been called is "Lalita Pawar" because once about ten years ago the stye hardened and the capsule remained for about a year and I went about with one eye smaller than the other because of this growth in the upper lid, finally we got it operated. At that time I was given to understand that I would not be afflicted by styes any more. Which was more or less the case as if we leave aside a few stray ones I did get...nothing serious ever happenned and all was well.

All good things must come to an end and so my stye-free period also seems to have run its course and in the past one month I have had three in rapid sucession and at the moment all three are present in my eye as the capsule for the two old ones have hardened. As I type this I can barely see with my right eye as it is totally swollen and to say it is painful is an understatment ( I have consumed 3 crocin tables in the past 24 hours to kill the pain). Also past experience suggest that I am well on my way to a few more (I normally have about seven once this starts).

This morning unable to take the pain anymore I decided enough is enough and went off to see my Eye Surgeon (the one who has been treating me the past 15 years), he operates from two clinic one in the East where he is available in the morning and the other one in my area where he is available in the evening, since the pain was unbearable I travelled all the way to the East clinic to see him, he saw my eye and I am sure he saw that he will finally go for that long awaited and much delayed vacation and I was going to foot the bill, for the diagnosis was operate the two hardened styes. In addition he prescribed two different ointments, two antibiotics and drops for the eye. You will ask why two different ointments, apparently one ointment was for the fresh stye and the other one for the hardened capsule. Over and above this he wanted me to undergo a blood test and that too at the lab within the facility. Normally I am a very long suffering and loyal person, but this time I decided to get a second opinion, so on my way back I went to a nearby hospital and inquired for the eye doctor. They did not have a resident eye doctor, but the consulting eye doctor was due to come in in the evening, in the mean time the on call doctor started making my fact sheet through his assistant... honest I am not lying... this actually happenned... the assistant would speak to me go inside and update the doctor and came back with a few more questions, she made about half a dozen such trips before she asked me to get a blood test done - Blood Sugar and HIV.

I went off and got the same done at their lab and was paying the bill when finally the on call doctor condescends to meet me.

He: Beta, so you are a housewife...(I am like "Duh" is my marriage certificate pasted on my face???...I for one wear no jewellery, how can you be so sure ???)
Me: No, I work in a BPO
He(apprehension written all over his face): Dont worry, I have just asked for a few tests to flag off some viral tickers because of the recurring infections, the results of which I am sure will be negative, after which you can meet the Eye Surgeon.
(He gave me and my mom a smile and patted me on the back in his best "AIDS chune se nahi failta" pat).

I was absolutely seething at all this, I mean, he is a doctor and is supposed to make the patient feel comfortable and here he is making me feel like I am already suffering from some disease you would not speak about in polite company...

I arrive in the evening at the hospital to collect the report and find that it has not arrived. The ward boy or who ever he was called the testing lab and took down the diagnosis. I have reproduced the conversation I had with him for your benefit

He: Blood or Woh test karaya tha na ?
Me: Haan Blood sugar aur HIV...
He(wincing at the sound of HIV): Haan sab normal hai aur who negative hai... hard copy report ek ghate baad aayega lab se...
he writes all this down on a down on a piece of paper and gives it to me as I need the same for my consultion with the eye surgeon.
He(as an after thought): Kya aap surgery karra rahe ho ??
Me(pointing to my eye): Nahi, main toh bas Stye dikhane aayi thi...

I then travelled to the Eye Surgoeon's clinic which is about 20 minutes away(apparently he does not come to hospital but will be available at the Poly clinic).

Here after all the trials I have had to put up with all day I meet a man who is a credit to his profession, he checks my eye and makes all sensible enquiries and prescribes medicines to tackle the infection. All the while making me feel like this is something that proper care and medicines can take care. All in all the doctor exuded so much positive energy I forgot all the pain and felt like finally I was in good hands.

Butter Garlic Pepper Crabs

Ingredients

3 Crabs ( medium sized)
12-15 cloves of garlic (coarsley ground)
1 tablespoon pepper (freshly ground)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method:

1) Clean the crabs and keep aside. Cracks the claws so that the flavours seeps into the meat in the claws.
2) Heat Pan and add the olive oil.
3) Add Butter to the olive oil and let it melt(the olive oil prevents the butter from burning).
4) Add the garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears.
5) Add the pepper powder.
6) Add the crabs and salt, keep spooning the pepper garlic mixture over the crabs.
7) Turn the crabs over and continue spooning the sauce over the crabs.
8) It takes about 7-8 minutes to cook the crabs.
9) Serve hot with Naan or chapatis.

Random 25

I have been tagged by Aniket to write 25 random things about me... in addition to the general stuff would like to use this as a platform to write about a few things that are weighing on my soul which I would like to get rid off, I will write the incident and the lesson I learnt from it wherever there is a lesson...I will not tag anyone as everyone seems to have been tagged many times over...

1) I am a left handed person...though I eat with my right hand :)

2) Tears start streaming down my eyes whenever the National Anthem or any such patriotic song is played...

3) I have a tendency to over-analyse situations... the what if scenarios I can come up with for a simple event like going for a party will put the best story writers and novelists to shame...

4) I can be as stubborn as a mule...but then thats a good thing... I guess that helped me complete CA if nothing else...

5) My siblings think I have a OCD when it comes to certain things, I like things folded in a particular way and also like to see things spic and span...they call me Monica (the character from Friends)

6) I normally am in my own world when alone and tend to be oblivious to my surroundings, so have this tendency of seeing through people that I meet, the result is that I have to live with a reputation that I am pricey :(...

7) I love the way the earth smells after the first rains...

8) I have a thing for textures, whenever I see some textures I just have to feel it...be it some design on the wall, the feel of fabric, flowers...

9) The first thing I notice in people is their eyes, to be honest, eyes are a real give away, you can know whats on a persons mind by looking at his/her eyes...

10) I love receiving and giving gifts...

11) I am a loner and prefer to keep a low profile...

12) I love reading books, especially period dramas, and whilst reading I am transported to the very place where the story is unfolding...as a rule I read any book three times...

13) I am a very lazy person to begin with but once I start working there is no stopping me till the task is finished...

14) I love to see smiles which light up peoples eyes... there is nothing purer than that...

15) I love tea...

16) I am a bad actress, whatever is in my heart is on my face... I cannot hide my emotions and mostly wear my heart on my sleeve...

17) The very thought of Marriage terrifies me...

18) I hate the formal setting of restaurants and all the niceties like using the right spoon/fork etc., Also most of the time feel like the whole world is watching me eat, so generally like to order take out and eat within the comforts of my home...

19) In class 9, during the English exams, my partner was a guy from Class 8, he was having a really tough Algebra paper and was trying hard to copy the sums off the girl in the desk next to us. I decided to help him and tried to attract the girl's attention, and all I got for my pains was having my ears boxed by the teacher as she thought I was trying to copy !!!... I wanted to die just then, the worse part was the presence of this guy in class who lived in my building- my public humiliation could not have been more complete!!! - Lesson learnt mind your own business and dont try to be a good samaritan...

20) I love twins and have this secret desire that if/when I have kids they be twins :) ... I am told that left handed persons normally start out as twins but one of them does not make it :(, this could be one of the reasons for my twin fixation...

21) I am tongue tied when in front of a crowd, I simply freeze...

22) I want to fall in love...the real thing not just infatuation...

23) My dream house would be a cottage by the sea, to be able to see the sea first thing in the morning would be absolute bliss...

24) I am allergic to papaya and groups of insects...

25) I suffer from vertigo and also from fainting spells...

Senorita Speaks Again!!!

All through life we wonder and wander...
Treading the paths pre-destined...
Sometimes the path tends to meander...
Through jungles of Happiness, Sorrow and Pain...
Leaving us either ecstatic or disillusioned...
Experiences all worth noting and so Senorita Speaks Again...

Chocolate and Coffee Mousse a la Sen...

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 200 ml packet of Amul cream
3 tsp sugar
1 tsp instant coffee
2 Dairy Milk chocolate bars
2 tbsp hot milk
Grated chocolate for garnish.

Method:

1) Break the chocolate bars in small bits and melt it in a double boiler. (which means, boil water in one vessel, place a stand in it and place the smaller vessel which contains the chocolate pieces on the stand, the heat from the boiling water will melt the chcolate without burning it.

2) Add the milk to the instant coffee and sugar.

3) Add the melted chocolate to the coffee and sugar mixture and keep aside.

4) Empty the cream packet into a vessel and beat till nice and thick.

5) Add the coffee and chocolate mixture to the cream and beat till smooth.

6) Pour into small bowls, garnish with grated chocolate and refrigerate.

Easy Pizza

1 Pizza Base
1/2 Onion (Chopped)
1 Capsisum (Chopped)
1/2 cup Tomato Sauce
Pepper Powder
1 cube cheese (grated)


Method:

1) Spread the tomato sauce on the pizza base.
2) Add a layer of chopped onions & capsicum.
3) Sprinkle the pepper powder.
4) Top it with a layer of grated cheese.
5) Microwave for three-five minutes on high.
6) Cut and serve hot.

Movie Review : The Stoneman Murders

Ok People, my first attempt at Movie Review writing, I have some large shoes to fill(Karthik being my mentor), I hope to live up to the expectations. Every now and then Bollywood takes a break from churning out meaningless and stupid movies to comeup with a superb film like The Stoneman Murders.

As a rule I am not a big movie fan, at the most I will watch the re-runs of popular movies on Star Movies or HBO. As I have said in the past to make me go to the multiplex I must either be in a near suicidal mood or the movie must strike a chord with me. On my way back from work a couple of days ago I noticed the hoardings for The Stoneman Murders. I am a sucker for conspiracy theories and whodunits and to be fair the hoarding were pretty intriguing.

So, that is how I found myself yesterday at Fun Republic, Andheri buying the tickets to have a dekho at the movie.

Here is what I have to say about the movie.

Movie: The Stoneman Murders
Cast: Kay Kay Menon, Arbaaz Khan, Vikram Ghokale & Virendra Saxena.
Director : Manish Gupta
Duration: 1 hour 45 mins.

This movie is based on the killings that started in Mumbai in 1985 and lasted for about two years(the killing, I mean, Duh). The killer crushed the heads of sleeping pavement dwellers with large stones. Somewhere around the middle of 1987 the killings stopped as mysteriously as they had started. The killer was never found.

The film is gripping and fast paced and keeps you glued to your seat. Also a movie which has Kay Kay Menon can't go wrong. He is one of the few actors (Irfan and Rahul Bose being the others) whose films are watchable and you have to forgive them a few lemons like Drona and Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam which complete their repertoire. Kay Kay is absolutely superb as the Special Unit Officer Sanjay Shelar, who is trying to solve the case. There are also fine performances from veteran actors Vikram Ghokhale as the Special Unit Chief and Sanjay's mentor and Virendra Saxena as Constable Kamble. Arbaaz Khan as Police Inspector Kedar who is Sanjay Shelar rival and intensely dislikes him is good.

The story is nicely woven into reality and you really start believing that what is being shown on the screen could infact be the truth. Sanjay who is suspended post a custodial death takes on a parallel investigation after getting the green signal from his boss and mentor (Vikram Gokhale). The further carrot is that he might get his job back if he manages to solve the Stoneman Case. Inspector Kedar who is officially incharge of the case spends more time jeering at Sanjay and eating free food off the roadside stalls.

The film plays with your mind as more than once the person Sanjay meets is the next victim. Also Sanjay is suspected to be killer as he is found in the vicinity of the scene of the crime a little too often.

On the flip side the film could have been longer with some more emphasis on why Sanjay thinks that there is a pattern in the murders and how he goes about cracking the case. Also not sure what message Manish Gupta wants to give when he has Sanjay telling his wife, "Tum Puchti ho na, kala dhan kyon ? Aaj issi kale dhan ke wajah se yeh ghar hai, jis ne bacha liya" meaning, "You always ask my why we need Black Money, today it is the black money that saved me, this house is thanks to the black money". The twist in the end is good though you begin to suspect that it is Mr.X whodunit. I am not gonna say anything more, go watch the movie!!!

True story of Valentine's day!!!

In spite of what you have been told by everyone, the truth is that Valentine's Day originated hundreds of years ago, in India , and to top it all, in the state of Gujarat !!!

In the days of the past the men, specially the Patels, continually mistreat and disrespect their wives (Patelianis). One fine day, it happened to be the 14th day of February, one brave Patelani, having had enough "torture" by her husband, finally chose to rebel by beating him up with a Velan (rolling pin to make chapattis).

Yes....the same Velan which she used daily, to make chapattis for him.... only this time, instead of the dough, it was the husband who was flattened.

This was a momentous occasion for all Gujarati women and a revolt soon spread, like wild fire, with thousands of housewives beating up their husbands with the Velan. There was an outburst of moaning "chapatti-ed" husbands all over Anand and Amdavad.

The Patel men-folk quickly learnt their lesson and started to behave more respectfully with their Patelanis.

Thereafter, on 14th February every year, the womenfolk of Gujarat would beat up their husbands, to commemorate that eventful day – the wives having the satisfaction of beating up their husbands with the Velan and the men having the supreme joy of submitting to the will of the women they loved.

Soon The Gujju men realised that in order to avoid this ordeal they need to present gifts to their wives....they brought flowers and sweets. This is how the tradition - Velan time - began.

As Gujarat fell under the influence of Western culture, the ritual soon spread to Britain and many other Western countries, specifically, the catch words 'Velan time' !!! In course of time, their foreign tongues, this got anglisized to 'Velantime' and then to 'Valentine'.

And thereafter, 14th of February, came to be known as Valentine's Day and now you know the true story of Valentine's day!!!

OK, guys, I know you want to kill me for this post, I am suffering from writers block and Kartik asked me to put up some thing for Valentine's day, so have dug out this old forwarded email :)

Enjoy.

The status quo has changed!!!

Dil to Pagal hai was on TV today, it is one of my favourite movies...Nisha is the character that I like most and I believe it is one of Karisma Kapoor’s best performances. The hero’s best friend, the one who loves him to distraction but knows she can only be his best friend. Your heart bleeds for her, you feel her pain, her helplessness as she watches her friend fall for someone else.

Very poignant few lines from the song Chand ne kuch kaha...from the same movie...

Jis pe hum mar mite, usko pata bhi nahin
Kya gila hum kare, voh bewafa bhi nahin
Humne jo sun liya usne kaha bhi nahin
Ae dil zara sochkar, Pyar kar, o ho ho pyar kar

How many times in life do we come at crossroads where we have to let go. They say,

If you love something, let it go
If it comes back it is yours
If it does not, it never was...

Why is letting go the hardest thing??

Is it because we feel that no one will be able to fill the vacuum??...But Nature abhors a vacuum, doesn’t it??

Atleast that is what the film said, Nisha meets Ajay in the end... the vacuum left by Rahul is filled by Ajay... the film ends with hope...

As a rule we resist change, the reigning feeling is don’t rock the boat... We don’t want any change in the status quo... but at times a change in status quo is just what the doctor recommended. My favourite quote is “The status quo has changed” from the movie National Treasure... it is in our hands how we make sure the status quo changes in our favour!!!

Leaving you with the below quote from Voltaire,

Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her. But once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.

To wed or not to wed is the question...

I for one hate weddings ...thing is I am really tired of going to weddings and having elderly aunties and uncles elbow me with a “You are next!!!” Honestly if it happens to me one more time, I will ensure that at the next funeral I give that person my undivided attention by repeatedly saying “You are next”...

The issue of getting me married seems to be more important than national security these days, everyone seems to be out to get me...neighbours, relatives, friends, acquaintances, all and sundry for the matter, even the neighbourhood dog seems to look askance at me whenever I cross paths with it... People seem to get into groups or huddles like the Indian cricket team to discuss the problem at hand...”GET SEN MARRIED”... is the blood curdling war cry on everyone’s lips. This brings to mind what one of my friend says whenever he is being discussed without he himself having any say in the discussion about him, he retorts ”Kya main ganga mein beheke aaya hoon ??” ...I understand a translation is needed for my international audience, it mean...”Am I like driftwood that came along the Ganges, that is the impression I get the way you are discussing me ??”

I am not anti-marriage...before you jump to conclusions let me clarify that it is not a case of sour grapes or anything...I have no illusions about myself...it is just that I like my freedom a little too much and of late I seem to be meeting guys who are more interested in either doormats or in maids who will also help pay the bills.

I have been giving it a lot of thought...rather have been made to give it a lot of thought of late... what if I end up a spinster... this is a list of positives I have managed to come up with...

1) Control the TV remote at all times!!!
2) I wear the pants in my house!!!
3) Don’t have to worry about the toilet seat!!!
4) Will positively go to heaven as I will earn loads of brownies points for sparing some poor guys life by not marrying him!!
5) Get to keep my surname!!!
6) Don’t have to worry about what to cook or how I look!!!

This is totally my point of view, it may be right, it may be wrong, I am not judging anyone... your views are welcome !!!

Weight Loss update number # 1

OK people...fifteen days have elapsed since I started on my journey towards the ideal weight...so here is update number # 1

The best part of the journey is I don't have to starve myself..."eat everything in moderation" seems to work wonders... I have also started noticing what I put in my mouth...I also allow myself to eat a few chips and chocolates every now and then ...I am loving my new diet...

I have also discovered the joys of walking... something that I have not done since my cash-starved article clerk days... these days instead of jumping into the rickshaw the minute I walk out of the house... I walk... it maybe a trip to the bank, the local vegetable market, etc... just keep walking... it really helps... not only does it burn the fat... somehow I feel great after a good hour or so of walking...I am sure there is some logical explanation about some kind of hormone or something getting activated thanks to the excercise... of late I have been getting a lot of "Your skin is glowing"..."You look refreshed"... etc, etc, etc...needless to say, I love the attention :P

I am glad to announce that I have managed to lose a little over a kilo and half which in turn translates to some heavy duty inch loss... clothes are fitting better and I am feeling great!!!

I am already looking forward to the next update that I will post after 15 days :)

Cheers

Thai Red Chicken Curry...Indian Style

I began cooking it per the recipe, but after all the substitutions for the exotic ingredients it ended like any normal south indian chicken curry ... here is my version of the curry...

Ingredients

250 gms. boneless chicken
10 Kashmiri red chillies (dry) or Bedgi red chillies (dry) (Note: both are used for colour, I used Bedgi)
4 Madras chillies (dry)
10 cloves of garlic
1 medium sized onion
10 coriander stems (the original recipe also expected me to use the roots, I said "No way, Hose")
1 inch piece of ginger (the original recipe wanted Galangal ginger, I used the Indian variety)
8 tb. sps. Coconut Milk Powder (Note: I used this many table spoons, but it turned very milky, maybe I mistook a shovel for a table spoon, use your discretion here).
2 cups of water.
Rind of 1 lemon
Oil.
Salt to taste.

Method:

1) Dissolve the coconut Milk powder in 2 cups of water and keep aside.
2) Grind the chillies, garlic, ginger, onion, coriander stems and lemon rind with a little water into a fine paste.
3) Heat oil and saute the ground paste for about 2 mins.
4) Add the chicken and salt and cook covered till the chicken is done.
5) Add the coconut milk and cook for another 5 minutes.
6) Serve hot with rice.

My three month weight loss programme begins today....

I was surfing the net and came across this gem....

I'm so fat that...

When I dance I make the band skip.
My cereal bowl comes with a lifeguard.
When I go to the zoo the elephants throw me peanuts.
My graduation picture was a aerial photograph.
My driver's license says picture continued on other side.
When I ran away they had to use all 4 sides of the milk carton.
When I get in an elevator it HAS to go DOWN!
Instead of being born with a silver spoon I was born with a silver shovel in my mouth.
They have to grease the door frames and put a Twinkie on the other side to get me through.
I could become rich and sell shade.
My belly button doesn't have lint -- it has sweaters.

And you think YOU'RE fat?

That got me thinking that it is time I did something before the aforementioned person is me...as I have mentioned in my earlier post on resolutions, weigh loss is kind of like my no-1 priority this year...

Today I began taking baby steps towards the ideal weight...

To begin with I would like to mention that I am 10 kgs above the weight recommended in the insurance charts for my height...there is no way I am mentioning my height...so you can keep guessing what I weigh at the moment...

I have stopped eating the soda rich food that they serve in the office canteen ...for evening hunger pangs I keep a packet of instant soup handy... I know... I know... pacakaged food is not good... but comeon guys I need to wean off these foods slowly... stopped eating chocolates (OK, OK...the past two days I have not had any, honest)...SOB...SOB...HIC...SOB...SOB...WAAAAAAAAAH...SOB...SOB...

I went out this morning and collected the book "French women don't get fat". I had ordered this book a couple of weeks ago, this must be a really effective book since it was out of stock when I asked for it (or another line of thinking is that no one wants the book so it is never in stock)...never mind that...

I have read a few pages and it looks promising... since it is written by a person who has battled the bulge and emerged triumphant... I am sure what she has written will help me as she can empathise with my condition ...

I have also started playing badminton every weekend (starting today)...need an iron will to play tomorrow, as I am sure every muscle (even the ones I never knew existed) will be screaming for attention...so god be with me...

SO far I have done well...all the best to me for the future...

Walk in the clouds

Well, at least the escalator is going up, my career is going nowhere, Rohan has left me and here I am at the mall with a maxed out credit card with payday two weeks away. I have absolutely no clue what I am doing here as I simply don’t have the dough for a spot of Retail Therapy.

I reach the top and who's that?? ... Oh God, it’s Rohan, my ex-boyfriend. I backtrack, miss a step and roll all the way to the bottom.

The next thing I remember is a feeling of weightlessness, a soothing calm as if nothing mattered. I am walking on clouds towards a bright light. As I near it, I hear Rohan’s voice calling me.

Surprised, I look down where I see the scene at the mall; there I am or rather my body is at the bottom of the escalator with Rohan holding it in his arms and crying.

As I start walking towards him, a chariot with angels emerges from somewhere in the bright light and approaches me. I suddenly don’t want to leave Rohan and start running, but the chariot draws alongside me and I feel myself being lifted by the angels. I plead with them to release me, but they refuse to listen and continue towards the bright light ... away from Rohan ... I struggle to free myself...

That’s when I woke up; struggling with the sheets and realised it is a brand new day with no mistakes!!!

This is a story I have written for the "Ascension" short fiction contest after Vin threatened me with dire consequences if I did not participate :P

If you haven't participated yet, then rush your entries. Contest closes on 14th of this month...looking forward to read your entries :)

The Road not taken!!!

The Road Not Taken
- Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Lovely Poem, deep insight...life is all about choices...it is the choices you make that make or break you!!

When I was doing my time as an article clerk, a colleague commented, "Sen, there will be times when you will come on crossroads, and the choice you make will determine your destiny..."

Profound words from someone who had no clue about what he wanted in life...I laughed it off at that time but, off late, this thought has come back to haunt me...

We unconciously make choices everyday, every hour, every minute, for that matter every second of our life...Every morning when we wake up...alive...we make a choice to live...get out of bed...go to school/college/work...we make a choice to see what the world has to offer outside the cosy confines of our home...we meet or avoid people...again choices...answer or avoid phone calls/ emails...choices...

Every destination has more than one approach route...when we select one we conciously choose to enrich our lives with the experience/people/memories this road has to offer...but then we also select not to experience what the other road has to offer...often we think that we will take other route some other time but, chances are we never may...cause the choices we make may take us far away and we may or may not be able to retrace our steps back...our lives may be better or worse for these choices...

Think about it...There is no one-fix-all-solution in life...the choice made may give different results to different people...even though the choice is the same...
e.g: not everyone who runs away from home to become a bollywood star achieves that kind of success...some end up in places we would not want to talk about in mixed company...Is this why wise old men say, Keep your conscience clear, if your conscience tell you that something is wrong don't do it...atleast you can face the challenges the next day has to offer with a clear heart...

All said and done the road not taken will always haunt you, by reminding you of the things that may have been if only you chose to go there...

Spaghetti in tomato sauce

I am starting this blog by listing my all time favourite recipe. It is easy to make and serves three people.

Ingredients

• 250 gms. spaghetti
• ¾ packet tomato puree (about 150 gms)
• ¾ cup tomato ketchup
• ½ capsicum (deseeded) (chopped)
• 6-8 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• ½ onion (chopped)
• 1 cube of cheese(18 gms) (grated)
• 1 cup of water
• Ground pepper to taste
• Oil

Method:

Spaghetti:

1) Boil about 6 glasses of water with a little salt and a tsp of oil in a large pan.

2) Break the Spaghetti in half and put it in the boiling water and cook till it is firm to bite (about 8 minutes).

3) Once cooked remove from the flame and drain excess water. As the spaghetti continues to cook when removed from flame, keep the spaghetti under running water to cool the spaghetti. (Tip: Use a perforated vessel while draining the spaghetti). Alternatively you can use ice, since we are using a perforated vessel the water will drain out on it own. Keep aside.

Sauce:

1) Heat oil.
2) Add chopped onion and fry till golden brown.
3) Next add the garlic and fry till slightly brown.
4) Add the Capsicum and fry for about a minute.
5) Add the tomato puree and cook for a couple of minutes.
6) Now add the tomato ketchup.
7) Mix in the ground pepper.
8) Add water and let it come to a boil.
9) Add the cooked spaghetti and grated cheese and mix well.
10) Serve hot.

Crash Course on how not to make Vegetable Au Gratin!!!!

Well I have been raving about the Vegetable Au Gratin I ate at Radhakrishna Restaurant, Andheri. It seemed like a simple recipe, boil vegetables-make white sauce-mix in the vegetables-adjust seasoning-transfer to oven proof pot-cover with grated cheese and bread crumbs-cook in microwave.

Easy peasy, piece of cake...however what was not anticipated by the Sen clan (by which I mean my sister and me) was the inherent tendency to be lazy (me) and over ambitious (my sister). My mother hates foodstuff that comes for across the borders of India (by which I mean comfort foods like pizzas, burgers, chips, continental foods etc etc) so washed her hands off the enterprise.




Sunday, 28th December

So there we were, all enthusiastic about making the dish, my sister and I went to the supermarket and bought a packet of cut vegetables(to save time) and realised that Time is indeed money, they charged about Rs.55 for less than half a kilo of cut vegetables. Then we bought some cheese, I had a major fight on my hands trying to drag my sister away from the cheese section, but she more than made up for not buying cheese by buying two buckets of Dinshaw's ice cream, I give up, you can take a donkey to the water, you can't make it drink (you see I am trying to get my sister to join my campaign to lose weight). This accomplished we returned home all set to make VEGETABLE AU GRATIN.

By the time we reached home, mum had already prepared lunch, so the dish was scheduled for dinner, in the evening I was feeling particularly lazy and decided to postpone the cooking to the next day.

Monday, 29th December

Monday being a working day, I conveniently used it as an excuse not to cook.

Tuesday, 30th December

My mum used the cut vegetables to make Pav Bhaji and as far as I am concerned the Vegetable Au Gratin enterprise died an ignoble death.

Thursday, 1st Janauary 2009

I realise that we have all the vegetables required for the dish at home, in uncut form of course (courtesy the vegetable vendor who comes everyday) and once again I see a faint glimmer of hope that the dish will see the light of day. Mum had already made lunch, so once again I decide to postpone the cooking for dinner and promptly went out to meet Vin post lunch. This is when my sister who was a mute spectator to all this decided to take matters into her own hands and set about making the dish. By the time I came home all there was to see, was a sticky mass of boiled vegetables in white viscous material that you could have used as modelling clay. I decided to stick to mums cooking for dinner!!!

Mum narrated the sorry tale of how the white sauce refused to stay liquid no matter how much milk was added to it so much so that my sister conceded defeat.



Friday, 2nd Janauary 2009

This morning I came across the dish still untouched and decided to make one last damage control attempt. I added some more vegetable stock and milk to it and cooked it on low flame till it became fairly smooth. After adjusting the seasoning, transferred it to an oven proof dish and covered the same with cheese and bread crumbs. Microwaved it for three minutes on medium. The result is for all to see. I am eating it as I type this and can assure you it tastes quite nice.

Welcome 2009...

OK, time to list out my resolutions for 2009 which I hope and pray that I am able to keep...I normally don't believe in resolutions, but this year want to make an exception and try and straighten my life a little... so this formal declaration of Resolutions for 2009...

1) Lose weight...haha...if you thought I am going to disclose what I weigh or how much I intend to lose...fat chance, I am not going to disclose that...suffice to know that I plan to lose quite a bit...someone told me this morning that I should not give Kareena competition by trying to be size zero...so I will honour the request and try not to get too competitive...

2) Learn to play the guitar proficiently...want to be able to strum it for songs not just melodies like I do just now...I strum abominably at the moment...but by the end of this year should be able to strum basic songs atleast...my dream is to play the guitar like Slash from Guns and Roses(Yeah I see, people giggling, but no harm in dreaming big right!!!)...the guitar piece in November Rain is to die for...

3) Learn a foreign language...I know about five Indian languages fluently (Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada & Tulu) and can navigate me way around most of Western and Southern India with these in my kitty...now is the time to make my foray into international languages...maybe I will learn Italian or Spanish...Italian is so that when I have my dream vacation in Italy I will be able to understand if some good looking hunk is flirting with me...and Spanish is so that I can understand the meaning of the songs sung by Enrique Iglesias, the videos dont give much of a clue..if you know what I mean, he may actually be singing about friendship or about brotherly love but the videos are strictly of a not-to-be-watched-with-parents variety.

4) Drive the car like a seasoned ace and not shivering like an aspen, which is what I am reduced to at the moment, when I see a bus bearing down on me...

5) Start Trekking again, its been a while since I went on a trek, this year I intend to trek more regularly, maybe I will go for a forest safari, it is something I always wanted to do...

So thats about that...these are the main ones...the others which are hanging off the pheriphery better take care of themselves...