Why I shouldn't shop for jeans with J...

Its party time at home as my sister is getting engaged tomorrow and I am having a nightmare getting myself organised for the function. First there was this fiasco with my blouse, I have now developed a phobia of tailors, come on these guys cut things for a living, they are very very dangerous people and  the one I had the misfortune of meeting has affirmed my worst suspicion. To add to it the mehendi applied to my hands looked hell bent of spreading all over the place as it dried, I have attached a photo of how it looked when the mehendi was applied, I really have no heart to inflict the photo of the finished product i.e. how my hands now look post the mehendi being removed... hideous comes to mind... Now I'm thinking of ways to hide the damn thing tomorrow, probably will have to wear a couple of dozen of bangles on each hand by the look of it!!!

First things first, let me tell you the story of how I learnt that I shouldn't shop for jeans with J. Every time there is an occasion that demands for a saree I land up at my tailor and beg, plead and threaten him to please make me a decent blouse (by which I mean something that I can wear in functions teeming with assorted aunties, uncles, grannies, grandpas, without giving any of the aforementioned a coronary, you get my drift), because my tailor feels "If you have it, flaunt it" and he is the kind that just won't listen to what I have to say, he will make the blouse the way he wants to. Also this time I went a little OTT and bought myself a really exquisite saree and decided that I needed to go to a really good tailor who would do justice to my saree by stitching a blouse that would complement it perfectly. Accordingly I spoke to P, she lives at Ghatkopar which is teeming with gujjus who are connoisseurs where sarees and blouses are concerned. She enthusiastically agreed to bring me to a couple of tailors in her locality. Accordingly I arrived at the tailor and told her what I wanted, since my saree is made of Georgette, I decided to have transparent cap sleeves, decent length in front and a good fitting (as the Princess Cut is a tricky piece of work)  if you aren't very careful the thingies that were burnt by the liberated woman in the 60's would show like no body's business. The allowance I made was that she could keep it a little deep at the back, but since I wasn't going for a very deep back I wouldn't need a doori (I'm very allergic to anything too girlie) and made it abundantly clear that under no circumstance was she to put a doori at the back. A doori is nothing but strings attached to either sides of the blouse at the back, which are tied once worn and it helps to keep the blouse in place where the neck is too deep, thereby avoiding chances of costume malfunction with the blouse falling off your shoulders. She charged me a bomb to stitch the blouse Rs.775 plus Rs.30 for the lining cloth and asked for an advance of Rs.500 which I promptly paid her. This is where I made the first mistake, she looked dodgy and she pocketed the money but didn't mention anything on the receipt about the advance paid. Instead of getting her to rectify the mistake I told P about it, but she also said I needn't worry too much, this was my second mistake I should have listened to my gut feel and got the amount updated on the receipt. P offered to collect the blouse for me as Ghatkopar is on the other side of town and would be a huge hassle if I had to travel all the way just to collect a blouse. As it is I had spent over Rs.300 to and fro get to Ghatkopar for stitching, so the blouse was actually costing me Rs.1,000 already. Then the ordeal began...

P went to the shop to collect the blouse on the agreed day and was told that the blouse was just on it way, she could settle the bill while she waited for it. She agreed and accordingly fished out Rs.305, the lady demanded Rs.500 more, to which P told her of the advance, the lady's demeanour underwent a drastic change and she flatly refused to acknowledge the advance, no amount explanation worked and at that point she said the blouse was not ready, P could come in the evening to collect it. A teary P called and narrated this incident to me...given the situation it was now of utmost importance to get the blouse, whatever condition it was in, from the tailor. I called the lady and tried to reason, finally when it was abundantly clear that she would not budge, I told her to keep the blouse ready and that I would pay her the full amount. I left work a little early and after spending half an hour somehow managed to find a rickshaw willing to go to Ghatkopar (the round trip to Ghatkopar cost me Rs.250). The blouse now costs Rs.1,750 plus mental stress that I cannot put a price on. When I arrived at the shop the blouse wasn't ready, I waited patiently and after a good 30 minutes...the grand piece of work arrived, she had ignore each and every one of my instructions. I now have a blouse that had lining in the sleeves, the neck is so deep that it went any deeper it would be a backless, the hooks that are needed to keep the blouse in place at the shoulders are missing, it is so short that it looks more like a bikini top with sleeves and the piece de resistance....she put a DOORI at the back. When I pointed out that I had specifically asked for a blouse without a doori, she pulled out a scissor and snipped the doori OFF...more like "off with your head".That's when I lost it... I paid her the money, gave her a piece of my mind and told her that she had lost business of close to Rs.50,000 thanks to her behaviour (I planned to bring my sister here and refer her to other relatives for the wedding clothes) on hearing this bit of info, she seemed to have something of an epiphany with regards to the Rs.500, but it was too late...

I narrated my sorry tale to my colleagues at office and said I learnt that it is better to stick to the known devil, at least I know what to expect, A shot it down with "Don't be an Ass, the lesson to be learnt is that you need to learn from the experiences of others, go to tried and tested places and better still use the experts, who asked you to go blouse stitching with P, would you go shopping for jeans with J ?". A little background, my friend P is mostly in jeans and the only blouse she has owned in her entire life is the one she stitched for her wedding and J doesn't like jeans very much and is almost always in salwar suits or the most exquisite sarees.

My Inspiration...

This Copper Pod Tree which grows right opposite my flat is a semi-evergreen tree and it was, is and will always remain my inspiration. It has been an indelible part of my childhood as its flowering period (It starts flowering in late February and is in full bloom in end March) coincided with the summer vacations which meant three months of utter bliss...

The assorted kids in my housing complex also provide much entertainment when the tree is abloom. The tiny yellow flowers fall off the tree and there is a perpetual carpet of yellow flowers under the tree, but the kids are connoisseurs, they will not pick the flowers that have fallen down, they will stand under the tree and wait for fresh flowers to fall and then run to catch it before it touches the ground, the way in which they catch the flowers makes for some interesting watching, given that the flowers are about half an inch in size, you would expect them stand like a fielder on the green with his eyes on the ball, ready to catch, but noooo, they have their hands spread wide apart like they are expecting a jackfruit to fall into their arms as you can very well see in the pictures I have included in this post.

I say its my inspiration because during the winter months it sheds its leaves and is absolutely bare save for the pods and is a very depressing sight to behold but come January it starts putting out new leaves and is as good as new acting as a reminder of "This too shall pass and better days are just round the corner". I always look at the tree when I'm depressed and it never fails to gives me the will to live and fight another day!!!

Macaroni a la Sen...

This dish began as Mac and Cheese and after a process of elimination (we did not have flour at home) ended as it is... tasted quite good...

Ingredients:
2 cups of boiled macaroni
1 large capsicum (roughly chopped)
1 tomato (grated)
tomato ketchup
jalapeno peppers (chopped and pickled ones)
olives (the kind that are chopped and pickled, I am quite lazy)
2 cubes of cheese (grated)
2 cloves of garlic (grated)
Olive oil

Method:
1) Mix Olive oil, capsicum and olives in a pan and cook on medium heat(I have been told never to heat olive oil all by itself)
2) Add the grated garlic ( adding the garlic at this point, ensures that it doesn't burn and also lends a nice sweet taste to the dish).
3) Once the garlic is nicely cooked and the raw smell dissapears add the grated tomato and cook for about 2 mins.
4) Add the tomato ketchup and jalapeno peppers.
5) Cook for a couple of minutes and add the macaroni and mix well.
6) Add the grated cheese and mix well till the cheese blends with the sauce.
7) Serve hot.

Cricket Mania...

Image sourced from here : http://www.prlog.org/10344187-worlds-first-free-online-cricket-game-howzatcom.html

Its quite surprising that the Cricket World Cup hasn't affected my sensibilities this time round, I guess I have matured enough to realise that its just a game and there isn't any need for me to get excited about twenty two men, six stumps, four bails, two bats and a ball. Though I must add that yours truly had once been a die-hard cricket fan, who burned the mid-night oil to watch matches being played in weird time-zones, my mom maintains that if I had that level of dedication towards my exams I might have ended up differently, but I digress. Cricket has been a source of euphoria, heartache and amusement,  I say amusement because of the things people do to ensure their side wins which can range from the hilarious to the downright stupid!!!

Case Study 1:

My friend's husband is a die hard cricket fan to such an extent that when his side is losing or being walloped by the opposition he just can't watch it...but ask him to switch the TV off and he will give you a look as though you just asked him to commit harakiri. Instead he keeps the TV on in the living room, paces around in the Study and every now and then tip toes back to the living room to see if the situation has improved.

Then there is also the superstition that kicks in around all important matches, take for instance the latest India-Australia match in the World Cup 2011. He fixed himself a drink declaring "This is too stressful... I need a drink". After a while he noticed that every time he kept the drink on the coffee table India lost a wicket, so the brave soldier did what every true son of the soil would do in a crisis situation, he put the country's needs above his own and kept holding the glass in his hand... the only hiccup to the soldiering arose when the liquid that he had ingested decided "twas time to leave"...will leave the rest to your imagination...

Case Study 2:

My friend's uncle is one of the biggest cricket fans you can find on the sub-continent. At the workplace he is a force to be reckoned with, but as a cricket fan he quite hopeless and as superstitious as the next bloke. Way back in 1999 when she was visiting them during the annual summer vacations and the seventh edition of the World Cup was being hosted by England. She recounts being entertained by a fine display of near child-like behaviour in a sensible grown man. If during a match he sat in a particular pose and the batsman hit a six the pose was maintained at the risk of having to visit a chiropractor!!!

Also if by chance her aunt came into the room and a wicket was lost, her aunt was banned entry to the living room till the end of the match!!!

Holiga or Puran Polis

This is my all time favourite sweet dish, melt in your mouth Holigas (as it is called in my village) served with melted ghee... absolutely divine..

Ingredients:
For the dough:
2 cup maida
1/2 cup oil or pure ghee
Salt to taste

For Puran:
2 cups chana dal
1 cup grated jaggery (or as per taste)
5 cardamoms (powdered)

Method:
1) Make a soft dough, cover and keep aside.
2) Pressure cook the chana dal for 10 mins or until soft.
3) Remove from heat and throw away the excess water, if any and mash it.
4) Add in the jaggery and cook till all the water evaporates.
5) Remove from heat, cool and add the cardamom powder.
6) Make 20 portions of the dough and puran.
7) Flatten the dough and place the puran portion inside it, cover and roll carefully into thin polis.
8) Fry on a hot tawa, apply ghee on each side.
9) Remove from heat and serve with a side dish of melted ghee.

Note: You made add a bit of turmeric powder to the dough to give the holiga a slightly yellow colour, though I haven't added it.

Instant Rava Dhokla

Thank you Archana for the recipe!!

Ingredients

1 Cup roasted Rava (semolina)
3/4 cup butter milk
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp chopped corriander leaves
1 tbsp oil
1//4 tsp soda
1 pinch asafotida

Method:
1) Mix the ingredients to make a smooth batter and keep aside for 10 mins.
2) After 10 mins add little water to loosen the batter.
3) Steam dhokla for 10-15 mins.
For the seasoning, heat a little oil and add mustard seeds, once the mustard seeds pop, add the cumin seeds and curry leaves.
4) Pour the seasoning on the dhokla.
5) Garnish with chopped corriader leaves and serve.

Gajar ka halwa!!!

Ingredients:

1kg carrots (grated)
1/4 ltr milk
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp ghee
1 cup chopped dry fruits (cashews, almond, raisins)

Method:

1) Mix the grated carrots and milk and bring to a boil.
2) Simmer and cook till the carrots are well done.
3) Add in the sugar and ghee and cook till the moisture evaporates.
4) Add the dry fruits and cook for five minutes.