Weekend Khana

Or should I say saappadu… with work and everything I simply don’t get enough time to cook an elaborate meal on weekdays… therefore when a weekend comes along, it’s time to put my culinary skills to test!!!

And last weekend was no different... Since it was long weekend (Friday was also off since it was a local festival celebrated here in Bangalore), I started my arrangements to cook my best stuff a little ahead itself. Usually during weekends I prefer to start with some South Indian stuff – for obvious reasons (Iyer connection) and I did the same last weekend as well...

The Menu included– Arachutta vengaya sambhar, Beans poriyal, kosumbari, Parrupu saadam, rice, curds and some vadaams to munch... I took about 3 hours to do this all… I know this is an elaborate one but when you have a hardcore tambram in your family, you’ve got to sweat it out. :-)

Hope the Iyer boy liked it as much as I enjoyed cooking for him – after all “the way to a man’s heart is though his stomach” which I am totally getting the hang of it by now…

Some pics following the cooking…

Chai ya Coffee?

A typical north Indian Marwari community girl will go with the former any day while I choose the latter. This is quite contrary to my husband (an Iyer) who is an out and out Chai person while I am a total coffee gal!!!

I am obsessed with coffee and that’s probably why I am writing a post dedicated to one of the most important components in my day-to-day life… I cannot start my day without a fresh cup of coffee, preferably filtered (south Indian style) and since I don’t know how to make it, it is often prepared by Sundru every morning. And days when he is not around then I am forced to make my own using Nescafe instant coffee (that’s the only instant powder I use – can’t stand the others).

My obsession to try the best coffees has made me wander to the ends of Bangalore just to find that perfect blend of coffee and chicory… now mind you if you are resident of Bangalore then you’ll definitely vouch for the pain of travel… well not that I drive so I have nothing to complain ;-) it’s the poor husband’s headache – not mine :-)

Coffee or filter coffee (which is most predominant in the southern part of India) uses coffee beans of Arabica, Robusta, Malabar and pea berry. There could be many more but these are the ones I know. They are sold in abundance in this part of the world under many brands like Bru, Cothas, to name a few which comes to my mind. I usually prefer locally sold bags which I frequently buy in bulk each time I visit places like Coorg, where they are abundantly produced.

My quest for good coffee has made me a frequenter to the following coffee bars in Bangalore:-
I am writing in the order of importance or favorites ranging from the most to the least…
1. Sundru’s :-) (obvious choice otherwise I will be deprived of the morning nirvana)
2. Brahmins (along with hot Idlis and the famous chutney)
3. CTR (again incomplete without benne masala dosa)
4. Adigas
5. Airlines (along with yummy Channa Bhatura)
6. Java city – Mysore coffee
7. Kalmane coffee
8. Brio
9. Barista (now owned by Lavazza)
10. Café coffee day

Missing in my list are perhaps international brands like Star Bucks or Costa ones – just to experience what the flavor is all about, that makes it crazy worldwide. It is yet to step into India.

I shall leave you’ll with a nice picture of my coffee along with some tatted creations of mine.

Change

Are we ready for it? I am not sure whether I am. Not when we cut down our precious trees to make way for the ingenious automotives all over the place. Where have the long speeches of global warming/ campaigns of a green world gone?

I am not sure whether I like living in Bangalore any more - the once so ever green Bangalore is suddenly transpiring into a concrete jungle day after day. Every road I take is undertaking some structural changes, am not denying that this could possibly result in a better infrastructural undertaking but why torture the greenery around?

One thing that I have noticed is that due to the average tree cuts there has been a direct impact on the climatic condition. While a few years back we would refrain from using fans even on a normal summer day/night we are now resolving to install air conditioning in our respective homes and thus resulting in larger energy consumption and obstruct the green world. It is a full cycle if you ask me.

Even before we would feel the pinch of the sun, we would be stormed by rains but alas...now we just wait for the rains and yet no sign of it. thankfully owing to the occasional depression in Bay of Bengal helps us now and then - at least sending us strong pleasant winds these days, making me just sit by my window sill or my balcony - but then again i hear from the met dept to be short lives and we can expect soaring temps in coming days. *sigh*

I am surprised that no one condemned these or acted against it, but then I don’t know why I am even waiting for them to do it. I think as good citizens we should all take a pledge to plant 10 trees for every single tree cut. Only that can save us now.

Here are some snapshots that I took shocking and disapprovingly the heartbreaking infrastructural changes on Sheshadri road, an on-route to my work place, while some are from the web and some others I happen to take from my Phone. They sure look disturbing now.

Can you clone yourself?

Coz, I could do with one right now. I am completely lost in life, mental and frustrated to the d.

The reason for the sudden emotional outburst is that, I have been really busy these days with absolutely no time to spare… my mornings is lost in cooking both bfast/ lunch, rest of the day finishes juggling btw some stupid forced work training alongside my official work, finally I drag myself out of the beastly place and reach home by 8.30 – 9pm and it literally takes me an effort to cook dinner and by the end of all this I am pooped out!

I wish I had a way in to another Sapna… otherwise I might just break myself into two very soon (figuratively though).

I am done for the day – I am finally going to hit the sack now and wishing tomorrow never comes.

Holi Hai!

The ever so colorful festival this year has come but does not knock our door.

We have decided to refrain from colors this year in view of the two recent painful deaths in the family. This is our way of paying tribute to my late uncle and grandfather.

Usually Holi for me is a very dull festival, as I have long forgotten to play with colors – last being the year 2004… I guess one thing is age and the other the pain to clear the color off your face. Also I have become conscious of the chemicals that go into puccka (real) colors… now that coming from a Marwari is surprising as we are considered very jubilant when it comes to such festivities.

And while I am sitting here in office (since I don’t have a holiday today and Sundru has one) scripting this entry he is spending his day at home watching movies and lazing around (sigh! Don’t we all want to do that?) . Being an Iyer he is celebrating the festival in true sense than I…

I still remember my first official holi after wedding in 2007, Sundru & I did play little holi in our bathroom just for shagun:-0 (Yes we did). He quotes me in saying that he too doesn’t like it for the same obvious reasons but secretly I think he wants to just that I don’t give him that much required company, needless to say along with chilling thandai with a little bhaang in it ;)

As far as this year goes, I did go to my sister’s place (playing my part of the daughter of my family and filling in for my mom who is away on a holy business). For shagun I did put a little gulaal (pink color) to all her family members carrying along some savories for the occasion.

So here’s wishing everyone a very happy and a colorful holi…

Soaring temperatures in recession

That’s a very heating subject. Bangalore is getting hotter and hotter day by day.

Latest temperature shows that Bangalore has hit the 35°C mark already and it is just the beginning of March. We have a long way to go through the summer. No relief in terms of rains as well, I see clear blue skies forever.

Sigh and with the recession, companies have altered their cost structure to cut off Air-conditioning after a certain timeline during the day!

All I can say is we are being hit left right and centre. :-(

We need rain…

Another attack

And this time in Pak itself targeting the cricketers. They have me guessing the motive behind these attacks and I hope they have made their point clear in contemplation to why they have planned these for.

It’s atrocious, instead of moving forward the world is moving backwards with talibanising and terrorizing the globe! Thank God the players are safe and that too at the cost of 5 other lives…

God please save us for we are desperately in need of you and your support!

Book reviews

I recently read two books back to back by Indu Sundaresan – The twentieth wife and a feast of roses. I had wanted to read the Twentieth wife for a very long time now but never found the book here in India; finally I managed to catch hold of it along with its sequel a feast of roses.

The story revolves around Mehrunnisa (Nur Jahan) who was the Twentieth wife of Emperor Jahangir – more so with Mehrunissa. The writer knows the history well as well as is very much aware of the extravagance the Mughals lived in at their rein and that’s just what I loved in this book.

The lushness is intricately described taking you way back in time with virtual hallucinations. Both the book in captivate you knowing that the end is predictable but what makes the read worthwhile is the journey of Mehrunissa from birth till death.

Surely a must read, they are one of the best I have come across esp. if you like history…well not too much of it also. The love binds us all and that’s the theme behind the book.

Mamta's Wedding

With all the bad news following us around from the beginning of this year, we were literally thinking of postponing my sister's wedding to later in the year – but like the saying goes, God’s will cannot be altered. And so it was that we decided to carry on the wedding.

Though a very low key affair, the wedding took place on 20th February 2009 and with great effort we managed to put on a big smile and made the event successful, after all my sister’s wedding doesn’t happen every other day, does it?

Thanks to my elder sis Mukti, who ran around so much that I have no words to thank her or praise her enough. She is definitely one of a kind and next to my mother to me… though just a couple of years older to me, she definitely acts like my mother at times :-)… and on top of everything she gave my family the best beautiful gift we ever asked – my sweet nephews Anuj and Darsh.

Well as far as my sister Mamta goes, we call her chotu at home – all I can say is she is no longer a chotu anymore…it was a bit weird to see her going away to a different house. I guess that felling is always there when every daughter gets wedded.

I hope the best for her in her new and the next phase in life.

Shraddhanjali

To my grandfather… we lost him on the 14th of Feb 2009. I guess god loved him so much that he decided to spend his valentines with him.

It has been a very tough year on our family, first we lost our Uncle on 31st Dec 2008 and then just after a month and a half we lost my grandpa. Two closest people ever in my mother’s life!

I leave a snapshot of him at my wedding ceremony.