A Three Letter Word and Moghlai Paratha

Hop was a three letter word that I learnt to spell with nonchalant ease very early in life. 

I imagined I was the master of the word – until - it decided to challenge me.

 It made me puff, pant and stumble as it showed its true colours. I was compelled to retire an entire foot, in some foolish games and convert my easy amble into an uncomfortable jump in others.

The scornful disdain I harboured, for the easily spelt word was replaced with disgust, for the action it implied.

Fortunately, successive birthdays added years to my life and saved me. They liberated me from the silly games and that hateful word. Relieved, I lived the next several years unburdened by the intolerable word - or so I thought.

Then in college, this most hated word in my vocabulary acquired extremely likeable connotations. Hopping stopped associating itself with uncomfortable balancing and began to imply moving from one happy place to another and having a whale of a time.

There was pub hopping and party hopping and I hopped uncomplainingly.

Then I discovered I had been hopping all along.

 Every year in the Autumn months I had hopped until my feet were bruised and bleeding - as I moved from one Durga Puja Pandal to another. The much detested word in my vocabulary had been my most favourite annual event all the while!

Now I hop with a vengeance. As I hop, I also pop (food into my mouth) and shop till I drop.

De- addicting Moghlai Parathas

The day after Dashami is invariably haunted by the ghosts of Moghlai Parathas, Kathi rolls and Egg Devils. Plump well fed faces, wince visibly as Dal Chawal is placed in front of them. Urgent de-addiction is required and this is my recipe for it.

1.    Make a  large roti (with whole-wheat or multigrain atta) or use a left over roti

2.    Place a tawa on the gas. I like to use the Dosa tawa.

3.    Heat a tablespoon of oil on it.

4.    Beat an egg with a little salt and pour it on the tawa.

5.    Scramble the egg until it is cooked and then take it off the tawa.

6.    Beat another egg for the next roti in another bowl and keep it aside.

7.    Spread a tablespoon of oil on the tawa and place a roti on it. Keep the flame low. Brush the surface of the roti facing you with the beaten egg.

8.    Place the scrambled egg in the center of the roti and then fold the roti from all four sides as if you are wrapping the scrambled egg in the roti.

9.    Since the roti has been brushed with egg the folds will stick easily.

10.                       Once you have a parcel turn it over and cook the other side. Add oil if required.

11.                       Press the parcel so that any liquid egg comes out and solidifies on the surface of the parcel as it cooks.

You get scrambled egg parcelled in a whole-wheat roti coated with a crisp layer of egg.

No maida or ghee like the original Moghlai Paratha - but Hey! this is de-addiction!

This is how it appeared

And then disappeared.......

Korean Kimchi and Chocolate Pudding

It was easy to dislike the new Korean neighbours.

He was an engineer with two adorable children on a yearlong deputation to the Tata Motors factory in Jamshedpur – and his wife was far too slim and stunning.

Inexcusably – they did not socialize. So what if they spoke only Korean.

Impertinently – they were managing without maids as the rest of us were held to ransom by our household helps.

And worst of all – they had dug up the smooth green carpet grass on their front lawn.

Heads were shaken collectively – grim and unforgiving.

Until – Korean brisk walks slowed into leisurely strolls preceded and succeeded by  pakoda and puri parties at the neighbour’s houses; slender faces became round,  maids were employed who proceeded to victimise them and their front lawn started sprouting napa cabbage that promised to turn into Kimchi.

Dreams of tasting the delectable Mainland China Kimchi (which also turned out to be the national dish of Korea) in the rigid confines of the Steel city dominated minds and everything was forgiven and forgotten.

Salivation threatened to create a mini flood on the Sunday that the jar of Kimchi was finally brought forth.

 Apparently dainty fingers (used to stuffing pakodas by the dozens into their respective mouths) lifted the first bits of Kimchi in a show of restraint and popped them into their mouths.

An almost collective scream followed.

Kimchi was supposed to tickle our taste buds with its mildly sweet flavour and lull us into complacently polishing off the whole jar - but the Korean version was spicy enough to call for the fire brigade.

Coughing, spitting, gulping water and fighting over the sugar jar erupted, much to the bewildered unhappiness of Thong-Mei who thought that Indians were the lords of spicy food and so had spiced her Kimchi to please us.

Chocolate Pudding

Today’s recipe is a dessert designed to end spice feasts on a sweet note. It is incredibly easy, is ready in jiffy and allows you to bask in the glory of the hard work that you must certainly have put in (never let the people at the table in on kitchen secrets). Try it instantly.

1.     Take 1 ½  glasses of milk. Pour it into a bowl.

2.     Beat two eggs in another bowl and then mix it into the milk.

3.     Add 2 tablespoons of sugar to the mixture.

4.     Add 2 tablespoons of Cocoa powder to the mixture. I like my pudding to be intensely chocolatey so I add more and more cocoa until the mixture becomes dark brown. Add cocoa as per your preference of chocolatiness.

5.     Taste the mixture. Add more sugar or cocoa if you like.

6.     Pour the mixture into a steel tiffin box which has a tight lid. Put on the lid.

7.     In a pressure cooker fill water to the depth of about 2 cms. Actually the depth of water would vary depending on the steel box you are using. Basically the water level should be below the level of the rim of the lid.

8.     Close the cooker (without the whistle) and heat the water. When steam starts coming out lower the flame and steam for another 15 minutes.

9.     Turn off the flame cool the cooker and open the box.

10.                        Chill the pudding in the refrigerator and dig in.

Mmmmmmmm..........

On the Whypoll blog again - Part II

This time its about public transport.
After living in several cities and towns all over India - this is my verdict -

India: Moving, shaking

and its on the Whypoll trust blog
This is the link-
http://whypoll.blogspot.in/search?updated-min=2012-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2013-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=5#!/2012/09/india-moving-shaking.html

About the recipe - yes I haven't uploaded one in the previous post but here is a fabulous Cabbage recipe.
It takes no time at all - is effortless and a sure shot winner.
My husband is CRAZY about it.

Sweet and sour cabbage

1. Chop up some cabbage. I like to do long shreds but squares are ok as well. In fact just lunge at the vegetable with a knife and whatever emerges out of it is fine really.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a kadhai.
3. Add 1 tsp of garlic paste to it. Be careful not to burn it.
4. Then add  the shredded cabbage to it.
5. Cook it for a while tossing it around in the kadhai so that the whole mass gets cooked and you dont end up with bottom burnt special.
6. Allow the cabbage to wilt a little in the heat so that it attains its final volume which is going to be much less than the original volume.
7. Now add a tablespoon of soya sauce, a tablespoon of honey, a tablespoon of vinegar and 1/4 tablespoon of chilli sauce.
8. Mix well
9. Add some salt. be careful here because Soya sauce is already salty.
10. Mix well and cook until all the water in the kadhai has evaporated and the vegetable looks glossy.
11. Serve hot (or cold). I sometimes wrap it in a paratha and make it into a quick tiffin box special.

ENJOY!!

I am on the Whypoll Trust Blog!

Hi everybody
I am writing a guest blog for The Whypoll Trust which is India's only open government platform that strives to link citizens and government using technology

The post is called "Whats in a Garment?" and this is the link
http://whypoll.wordpress.com/2012/09/14/whats-in-a-garment/

Check it out!!!

"The Liberals" - with a cup of coffee

On a dark rainy Mumbai evening, dishevelled and dripping after a two hour commute, we were pushing open the doors to Kitaab Khana to attend the launch of “The Liberals” when suddenly - the question popped into my head.

What was I doing at the launch of a book on the post liberalisation era?

 I am numerically challenged! And since numbers make no sense to me I have never understood economics and do not relish politics.

Then what was I doing here?

The question had no answer and I sat cowering in the last row, anticipating a barrage of unfamiliar technical terms.

To my amazement however, the discussion emerged as a nostalgic trip into the past two decades, and excitement rapidly replaced trepidation.

 I started reading - on the commute home.  

I loved the book from the very first chapter.

It read like a heart to heart with an old friend who had led an exotic life in the world of fashion, television and politics.

 With his hilarious irreverence, candid admissions, insightful introspection and amazing ability to refrain from sounding condescending, Hindol Sengupta in his book, comes across as the boy next door.

In his story of growing up and finding his identity in a changing liberal India, he splits open middle class life in Calcutta, Delhi and Mumbai and lays bare desires and fears without sparking animosity or shame.

Objective, compassionate and most importantly relatable this is a fabulous book after reading which I found myself revelling once more in the joys of liberalisation with the brief look at the gloomy past that this book afforded me.

In the book, I found a confidant.

It made my weekend!

Choca Mocha

This recipe today is just like “The Liberals”. The name sounds intimidating – but the recipe is extremely simple.

1.     In a small bowl (katori)  mix together 1 heaped tablespoon of drinking chocolate with ½ a teaspoon of coffee powder and 1 tsp of sugar.

2.     Add a few drops of hot water to this and mix.

3.     Put the mixture in a glass and top it up with hot or cold milk mixing all the while.

4.     Taste it and add more sugar if you like.

5.     Sprinkle cinnamon powder before serving.

I always like to drink this cold and my husband likes it hot. It is easy enough to make both simultaneously. The hot milk dissolves the mixture instantly. Cold milk is sometimes problematic. If you think you may not be able to dissolve the mixture in cold milk – add a quarter glass of hot milk initially. Mix well to dissolve and then add chilled milk followed by ice.

The "Just Married - Please Excuse" Contest

In the year 2001 we were impoverished newlyweds. We had just squandered whatever little wealth we had amassed as singles on our wedding and honey moon and in our attempt at lavishing away the little that still remained in our banks, we were holidaying in Mumbai.

Riding high on romance, we decided to travel the length and breadth of the city by local trains. My newly acquired husband was a little wary but I overthrew his doubts with my enthusiasm.

My travel apparel drew a hesitant murmured protest from Mr Tactful as my white T-shirt and blue jeans clashed violently with my glittering chuda, excessive sindoor and bright red lipstick, but I breezed past him.

The crowd in the train allowed us to stand at a decorous distance when we boarded. In a few stations time we were romantically close and then we were claustrophobically wedged. I was on the verge of breathing my last when a considerate co-passenger announced that we were near our destination and we began inching our way towards the door.

As I moved, I was thrown forward by a sudden jerk.  As fellow passengers steadied me, I was horrified to see my lips imprinted in stark red on a sparkling white shirt. Time stood still and luckily the train stopped as well.

Sandwiched between the glares of the new legal claimant of my kiss and its latest inadvertent recipient – I sheepishly stumbled out onto the platform. A steady stream of our hurried apologies followed the receding train and we then burst into laughter. 

 Wordlessly -I retired my bridal facade that day in deference to the uncomfortable questions my victim may have had to endure.

http://www.yashodharalal.com/2012/08/the-just-married-please-excuse-contest.html

Cold coffee with ice cream

This can also be called the life saver shake. When I was the shy young bride who managed to successfully burn dinner beyond recognition – this drink would double up as dinner and save the day.

1.     Pour a glass of chilled water and a glass of chilled milk into the blender jar of the mixie.

2.     Add 2 teaspoons full of coffee powder and 2 tablespoons of sugar to it.

3.     Blend well. If you don’t have a mixie just go for the blending with your bare hands. It works just as well.

4.     Taste once and add more coffee or sugar as required. Blend again.

5.     Take 2 tall glasses and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to each.

6.     Pour the blended cold coffee to the glasses.

7.     Serve with a stirrer or spoon

ENJOY!!!

Speechlessly in love : My entry for the get published contest

The idea - Introducing the protagonists, the theme and a bit about the story

Eleven years into marriage and I am still unsure whether love really exists. I am happily married yes – but I do wonder sometimes if I am in love. Was I ever in love? What is love anyway?

If love is the giddy feeling that smothered me several times before I decided to get married – then I am certainly not in love with this man. If however, it is the feeling that even though I may detest the sight of this fellow human being at times, I just cannot imagine life without him – then I would say I have been in love ever since I ran into this awkward man eleven years ago.

Ours is the most unlikely combination. He is reticent and prosaic. I am vivacious and romantic. If love stories are about communicating – ours was one where despite the profusion of communicating devices, we had nothing to say. In retrospect it was probably just as well - considering how little my husband has to say (at least we had something to talk about after we were married).

Ours is a love story that needs to be told - if only to dissuade the love struck from hankering after fairytale romances. An arranged marriage, a mini swayamvar, a fauji who shocked everyone with his inane practicality, a girl who insisted on a fairytale wedding and a comedy of errors that ended in - happily ever after.

What makes the story real

It is a story that convinces you that marriages are scripted in heaven and do work even though they look slightly unreal when they are played out in 3-D on earth.

I am inspired to strike the keys on my keyboard - by my beautiful marriage, my comical wedding and the desire to dispel the myth of the much hyped fairytale romances.

This is my entry for the Harper Collins Indiblogger Get Published Contest which is run with inputs from Yashodhara Lal and Harper Collins India