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Showing posts from October, 2013

Pachai Sundikkai ( Thabatu or berries ) Kozhambhu

I chanced to see berries or Thubatu or Pachai Sundaikai in the market yesterday. Just bought it because I wanted to make cook something interesting out of it. Did some quick asking around from elders and made this Kozhambhu. Kozhambhu is what the Tamilians mix with rice and eat. It is soupy or gravy in general. Here is your recipe for making Sundaikai Kozhambhu. Ingredients : Green Sundaikai - 10 or 15 Tamarind Paste - one cup if made from old tamarind ( dark in color usually) or two cups if made from new tamarind ( beautifully brown colored) Sambhar powder - 1 table spoon Salt to taste. Powdered Jagerry - one spoon. Turmeric powder - 1 pinch Seasoning : Curry leaves, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, gram dal, asafoetida, red chilly, Gingelly oil for best results. If not available use refined oil. Here is how you make Pachai Sundaikkai Kozhambhu: Slit the berries into two and soak them in tamarind water ( soak some tamarind in water and use the extract) for five to te

Apple Tomato Soup

Ingredients : Apple - 1 Ripe Tomato - 1 if very sour  ( usually the smaller types with lot of seeds taste very sour) and 2 if ripe but moderately sour. Salt and pepper to taste. Coriander if possible and if you are trying soups to reduce your sugar levels. Here is how you make it : Cut the apple into two and remove the seeds. Cut the tomatoes into two. Pressure-cook the cut apple and tomatoes with 3/4th cup of water.. It should take you five minutes at the most. Remove the cooked pieces from the pan and grind in your mixer.  Add the paste back into the cooker.  Now measure the contents with a cup. Chances are you would have three cups of the soup. Add one cup of water, salt and pepper to the mixture. Bring the mixture to boil. Add chopped coriander leaves. Important : Serve this soup warm or cold.Chances are that you wont be able to enjoy the taste of the sweet and sourness blended in this soup if you serve this steaming hot. The cooked apple renders the soupy c

Wonder Why?

Wonder why Floods and famines have less importance than the election rallies? Bomb blasts and terrorism are discussed more than the rights and duties? Next door man doesn't behave like a friendly neighbor anymore? Sending kids to school has become a scary thought? In whatever we do there is a sense of caution? Amassing wealth for self and family has become more important than amassing love and relationship? Easy money and lotteries and game shows are taken more serious than 'just-a-game'? Tomorrow seems more important than the lovely today? We waste a lot of time doing nothing other than worrying about life at large be it personal, professional, social,economical, or political? Man doesn't realize that he has better sense than animals and is supposed to behave like a human being? Love and friendship have less importance than money and material comfort? Living has become so tough than it was before, given that we live in a more advanced society with better

What is Moon?

Its the most important question according to me today... My one plus little girl now knows that the white crescent on the blue-black sky is called the Moon. She still does not get that the round ball of white on the full-moon lit night sky is the same Moon that she knows about.. I went on to explain the Moon to myself leaving alone the science. What would I call it?? A bright dome of white light in the night sky??... Just a light close to the kind of white light in our living room?? In the City of Lights as I would like to call Muscat as, sometimes this white ball of light seems to fade in the background for my daughter's eyes as she watches out of the car window.. So these two explanations didn't seem okay to me. I finally decided on this: Moon is the light given by God for us to see in the darkness of the nights.  Not that she will follow this right away, but to think about it, in the olden days when transport didn't exist, people depended on the Moon to show

Will the News channels listen?

Of late, my views on news channels have changed.. They keep changing often though. The current state of mind is this : News is not only about what is happening in the world around us but also about how much the news channel hypes up each news item. There is all day coverage of whatever news item the channels decide to mark as KEY. I simply dont understand the meaning and relevance of statements like ...." So and So has left his residence at 11:00 A.M for the trial in such and such a court.. "... " So and So didn't answer any queries from the news correspondents prior to the hearing "... " So and So did not offer any opinion"... And all these for some news item that is just not too important in an otherwise chaotic world. All day we get to see some news items getting repeated. This I agree, because it probably is important for anyone who switches on the TV at that hour. In such instances statements like the aforementioned don't really m

Apple Raita

Here is a very simple side dish for Rotis and variety rice. My  father's idea and it came out very well. It is every one's favorite in my house. I make it when apples remain in the fridge untouched for more than three days.. According to me, if you have not eaten them in three days time then it is time for Apple Raita. Here is how you make Apple Raita. Cut an apple into small pieces. ( You might want to remove the skin if you are serving old people and children under the age of two.This is quite a bit of work.) Add three table spoons of yogurt, half a tea spoon of salt. Add pepper or chat masala ( a north indian masala powder ) if you like. Garnish with finely chopped coriander, if possible. To avoid the apple pieces changing color as soon as you cut them, add salt immediately, or another option would to be to put the apple pieces straight into salted yogurt. Experience will teach you what works best for you. In any case, the change in color wont hamper the taste.