If you have eyes to put, put them here...

One of the regular readers of this blog enquired about the lack of posts for a week now. When I said that I didn’t seem to have anything to write about apart from being a little busy, she said “writer’s block? That must be because of all the drishti. You just boasted about 500 posts and see it has affected you immediately.”
Of course she was joking as neither of us believe in all this kann drishti/ buri nazar/ evil eye theory and find it amusing when not being irritated by it.

While growing up in our house in Chennai, we had rented out a portion to a family and every friday evening , they had a ritual to remove the effects of evil eyes that may have been cast on the members of the family. The grandmother of the house made them all sit together and held some chillies and salt in her fist and made circles in front of them – 3 times clockwise and 3 times anti clockwise, all the time murmuring something about defusing all bad eyes . During this process no one was allowed to speak. After this, she threw the chillies and salt on some live coal kept in the backyard. While we choked over the pungent smoke that wafted from the backyard into our side of the house, she always commented , “see, so many chillies and yet no trace of any pungency. That is all the drishti (evil eye) that has made the chillies so bland.”

The funny part was that we did not understand what was attracting all these alleged evil eyes to the members of their house – they were very ordinary people in every way, nothing exceptional, no super achievers. Apart from this weekly ritual, there were extraordinary drishti removing sessions if a child was sick or had a decreased appetite or if anyone came first in class or wore something new. Basically it appeared that the whole world had its evil eye focused on that family and every event in their house was something they looked upon with jealousy. The rest of us in the house were even scared to look at them properly or compliment them on anything for fear of being accused of casting drishti on them. Among ourselves though, in our irreverent way we called it ‘eye-putting’ (as a literal translation of the term in Tamil which was ‘kann podradu’ meaning casting eye). It was all so amusing to us that while playing if anyone sneezed or fell down we would make them sit on some steps and pronounce that people have kann potufied on her. Then one of us would imitate the ‘nazar utharna’ process of that old lady and we would all go into silly giggles. We were a wicked lot!

We were chided for this by the older people in our houses too who did not completely dismiss the power of evil eye in bringing distress to the object of the negative feelings but mercifully they drew the line at putting a black dot on children’s cheek or forehead to neutralise anything negative. I considered the old lady of the neighbourhood as a bit of a freak but over the years, I have been surprised that there is a similar superstition in almost every part of the country and across all levels of society – black dots, a string of chillies, crushing a lemon, burning camphor, breaking white pumpkin, hanging a scary face drawn on a pumpkin or made of papier mache and so on.

It is interesting how people fear losing their wealth, health or happiness by becoming the object of jealousy. In all this fear and insecurity they become incapable of accepting genuine appreciation without fearing that they are about to lose whatever it is that invited the appreciation. In fact, sometimes, I am scared to offer open praise about how beautiful and healthy a child looks or even how lovely someone’s house is. I don’t want them to blame my evil eye every time the child sneezes or has loose stools or there is an air- crack on their walls. Why should people be so insecure about what they have earned or achieved? Why do they fear losing something they know they deserve? or don’t they feel they actually deserve it?

At the root of it all, there seems to be a kind of acceptance that misery is a natural state and happiness is temporary even if you have worked for it and earned it; and an inability to have pure happiness with one's successes and prosperity without a tinge of guilt or fear. It seems that there is only so much supply of happiness and prosperity and you should feel guilty about having cornered a big chunk of it! So one fears losing one’s good fortune by flaunting it openly and attracting the evil eye through jealous thoughts. Perhaps these customs evolved to temper overt exhibition of wealth and conspicuous consumption so one did not increase the misery of the have-nots through comparison. It also became a convenient excuse to explain away failures and losses and sudden fluctuations in one's fortunes – ‘it is sombody else’s doing, not mine’.

When my son was about 4 months old he had a severe attack of bronchitis and he suffered from acute wheezing trouble. So his health had its waxing and waning phases every month. And my neighbours invariably advised me to do something to remove the effect of evil eyes. It was tough to resist when the issue in question was my child’s health but I refused to comply. He was cured by homeopathy and I don’t think the medicine had anything to do with defusing the drishti. But my good friends and colleagues often argued why I was so adamant about something so harmless which might, just might, do some good. This is why it is tough to get rid of superstitions because most of them seem totally harmless and if they worked, it was fine; if they didn’t, nothing lost. May be. But I wasn’t going to be party to something that cast a doubt on the rest of humanity as having an evil eye.

So there, I have told you, I do not have any problem about acceptance of your open praises and eulogies. So in case you have been holding them back for fear of being mistaken for kannu pottufying, please pull all stops and bring them on.

shhhh ...

Lekhni
desires that I reveal 10 secrets about myself. I wish I had so many secrets - that would make me so mysterious and intriguing. But given my penchant to talk about everything in the open, I wonder if I can even dig up 2 or 3. But a tag MUST be respected - it is an unwritten code of blogging culture, an integral part of good blogging behaviour so I would rather invent some secrets about me than break the tag.
So some of the following are true and some aren't. Let us see if you figure out the false ones.

With all my bitchy posts about Karan Joker and Shahrukh Khkhkhan, I watch every program hosted by them.(the slime!)

I actually bought a tube of fair and lovely cream once to see if it would help get rid of the black patches on my arms! ( so sue me)

I lick the cake box clean before throwing it in the trashcan and the foil that covers the cornetto? mmm yum... Now of course I give it to Munni. Can't bear to see such good chocolate or cream go waste. (even the birds have a word for me. cheep, cheep!)

I am not comfortable eating with a knife and fork. I usually come back hungry after such parties. (Junglee, country bumpkin -ya,that's me alright. But then why do you think nature gave you fingers? and seriously, have you ever tried licking a finger after curd rice? losers!)

I was offered a role in a film once. ( well, I thought Sridevi needed it more than me. I could always find another career. Poor Shri!)

I never learnt to swim because I could not bear to be seen in a swim suit. (I was ashamed of my 36-24-35 figure. go figure!)

I feel bad to give an honest opinion when people ask for my honest opinion on some personal issue. I would sooner kill myself than say something to hurt them. (but tell me when people want your honest opinion on what I think of their fiance/e, how they look, how good is the glass painting they made etc. do they really want you to be honest?)

I always look at the prices on the menu before ordering in a restaurant. I can never buy something simply because I want it unless I know the price and know it is worth so much for me. Even if someone else who can well afford it is buying it for me.
(I know, totally middle class saar. what to do, we are like this only.)

I can't sleep without a blanket and my ears should be covered.(If I cant hear them monsters they can't hear me also right, that's the idea I suppose!)

I cannot count up to 10. I always say 10 after 8. So that is ten now!

This was tough. So I am not naming anyone to take it up. But if any of you like it, please feel free and do it secretly.

Piyush


When I was small, Dad use to take me to walk from FC Road to Laxmi-road every thursday. I use to love those walks just because at the end of walk on Laxmi-road in Janata Dugdha Mandir he use to give me 'Piyush' for drink. I love this drink so much so that whenever I go to pune I end up drinking this too much :) Then last couple of years back mom started preparing this at home with exact taste and bhooom.. Yesterday I wanted to do same thing and here I got it.

Piyush
Ingredients
5 Cup Curd
1 Lemon
8 Spoon Sugar
A Pinch of Nutmeg powder
A Pinch of Lemon Yellow Colour
Salt to taste

Method
  • Mix curd, sugar, nutmeg powder, salt, lemon yello colour and lemon juice
  • Mix around 2-3 cups of water to get the flowing consitency for the mixture
  • Beat this mixture for a while till sugar mixes completely
  • Serve chilled

Notes
Use thick milk to prepare the curd, and don't make curd sour. The lemon gives the enough sourness for the perfect taste.
PS: Sometimes because of lemon's bitterness this turns out little bitter, So today, I tried using 1/2 spoon of vinegar instead and it gave amazing effect, no bitterness at all and perfect taste.

Wiener Works

5207 Madison Ave, Sacramento, CA 95841. (916) 334-8711

Growing up the daughter of a Brooklynite, all I've ever heard about is the days of Ebbet's Field, the infamous Brooklyn Dodgers, and the greatness of NY hot dogs ("none better in the world, honey!"). For nearly a century, NY has been famous for its delicious street-carters hawking it's tasty dogs and it's given us legendary wiener establishments such as Nathan's of Coney Island and Manhattan's Gray's Papaya. So it was much to my dad's surprise when we found a place in Sac that serves up tasty hot dogs, old school style--not those fancy pants Euro-dogs. Afterall, who doesn't love a great hot dog? Taking a big bite and hearing that snap of the casing...it's a throwback to a simpler time.

Wiener Works is inconspicuously tucked away in a strip mall off of Madison alongside a donut shop and Brazilian restaurant...it's your typical cash only hole-in-the-wall. Fancy-schmancy, WW is not. It's a family owned joint that's been around Sacramento for quite a number of years. It's decorated with crayola green tables and fire-engine red chairs, buzzing beer lights and a tile floor (for quick cleaning). The walls are adorned with various beverage signs, oddball dog prints and cute sayings. No need to gussy up and do your hair...if you're wearing a pair of jeans and a ball cap, you'll fit right in with most of the clientele. Although, lately I've seen quite a bit of suits during the lunch rush as word about this gem has gotten out.

What's on the menu, you ask? Plump, juicy beer-steamed beef hot dogs! Starting at around $4 for the basic, you can satisfy your hot dog fix with any number of preparations. WW offers up all your favorite condiments (ketchup, mustard, spicy mustard, relish, onions) along with a tangy kraut, healthy red cabbage and a grubbin' chili (with or without cheese). Your wish is their command! They also serve up corn dogs, bagel dogs, sausages and burgers. For those who just can't get enough, WW also touts a 14 inch dog for about $6. In addition to their mouthwatering dogs, WW has the best French fries in town, hands down. No frozen fries for these guys! Like an Army private on KP duty, there's somebody administering to transforming those piles of taters into some shoestring goodness. Now be aware that the fries come in three sizes: Tiny ($2.69), Small ($3.49) and large ($4.39). Those in the know, know that a Tiny is MORE than enough for two adult people. The serving size is crazy and you can get them sans salt if you wish. Lastly, WW is quite kid friendly and has a children's menu that includes a corndog, chips and a soda...sure to make the frazzled parent happy. BTW, drink refills are 1/2 off and there's a terrific assortment of beers to choose from.

If you decide to visit, you'll probably see me hunkered over with a ball cap lowered over my eyes and going in for a giant bite of my ketchup and chunky onion dog (hey no flack, that's what I like). Be sure to say hi, but keep your fingers out of my fries!

Restoration of virginity

There was a time when the word Virgin was only used in the feminine. It referred to ‘a woman who has had no carnal knowledge of a man' as answers.com nicely puts it. But in fact it refers to ‘a person who has never had sexual intercourse’ as Merriam –Webster clearly enunciates. In many cultures especially in Africa, Asia and middle-east, a woman’s virginity is a matter of societal concern whereas it is a matter of individual choice in the case of a man. Most societies do not worry about the virgin status of a man before his marriage whereas for a woman it is a matter of honour – not only hers, but her family’s and the whole community’s; hence the practice of ‘honor killings’ among certain sects even today when a woman has sexual relations before being married.

While virginity has lost most of its sheen in the western world, even today there are communities where they look for blood on the nuptial bedsheet as a proof of the bride’s virginity. Many African communities go one step backward and insist on a certificate of virginity from their family doctor before the wedding. Since the revelation of not being certified a virgin could lead to dishonour, shame and in extreme cases ‘honor killing’ many young muslim women resort to surgical restoration of their hymens to pass the virginity test.
This article in NYtimes quotes a doctor saying that he performs this procedure 2 to 4 times a week. Such is the kind of demand.

‘So is virginity about abstinence or is it about having the hymen intact?” I asked a young man. He was outraged and said that one meant the other in his culture and so this was a silly question. I gently reminded him of the story of Madhavi, daughter of yayati from Hindu mythology.
Munikumar Galav, a student of Rishi Viswamitra was arrogant enough to ask his guru to name the gurudakshina he wanted. So the rishi named the impossible and asked for 800 white aswamedha worthy horses with black ears. There were 600 horses but in the possession of 3 different kings. Galav sought the help of king Yayati who was spending his life in an asram. Yayati’s daughter Madhavi was extremely beautiful and had been blessed with the ability to renew her virginity and youth when she wanted. She had also been blessed that every son she bears would be a powerful one, a Chakravarthy. Yayati gave her to Galav who then sent her in turn to all the 3 kings to get the horses in return for spending a year with each of them and bearing them a son. The last 200 horses were with Viswamitra himself and she had to spend a year with him. After helping him fulfil his promise, Madhavi goes back to Galav who rejects her as she has lived with his guru and hence cannot become his wife. *

I suppose the renewal of virginity referred to in the story is nothing but the restoration of hymen. What else could it mean? (Incidentally Guinea pigs are supposed to have this characteristic too – their hymen dissolves during their mating season and grows back when not in heat). So then virginity was not about abstinence but just about a mucous membrane forming the external lining of the vagina.
The young friend was agitated. “no, this was different. She did it for a noble purpose. She did not do it for her enjoyment.”
Now this was even more confusing. Was he saying that it was ok to have intercourse as long as the woman did not enjoy it? Did that somehow make her a “good” woman as compared to someone who indulged in sex for pleasure? So how were these vestal virgins who abhorred sex become active sexual partners the minute they were married? Would that explain questions in "ask your doc" columns: "dear doc, my wife is not very co-operative in bed. She performs mechanically. She refuses to try new stuff. My sex life is nearly non-existent" etc...

I remember a conversation many years ago with some male classmates on why they would like to marry a virgin. These were some of their reasons::
-I want someone who keeps her virginity intact for me as a special gift.
- A woman who has let her desires get the better of her cannot be a ‘good’ woman, a ‘chaste’ woman who can be depended upon to be a ‘good’ wife and bear ‘good’ children.
- A woman who has sexually experimented may be promiscuous even after marriage which isn’t good for the family.
- I cannot handle an “out of control” woman.

Well, it is a matter of personal preference and I know a lot of women who agree on the virtue of being a virgin (almost 99% of all women I know in fact). Sex is a very personal matter and how and when they want to have it and whether they want to have it at all should be nobody else’s concern. The only thing I find difficult to comprehend in all these arguments is that somehow it is supposed to make a person morally better than a person who is not a virgin. Why is a person’s goodness judged by their sexual life?
In my family, I have heard about some virgin widows spewing venom on the other women of the family. I wrote about one such in this post. Even psychologists agree that repression can be a source of frustration and anger and such people may be expected to be more hurtful towards others.

To me it seems that virginity is just a physical state which has no correlation with the person being good or bad, moral or amoral especially in today’s context where men and women marry late. It is perfectly alright if someone prefers a virgin as a partner but there is absolutely no reason to stigmatise people who are not virgins as bad, immoral, sinful, dishonourable, shameful or out of control. And the converse is true too - being a virgin doesn't automatically qualify one to be classified as a better human. It is just a matter of individual preference and should be their own business and nobody else’s.



* Read a wonderful review of the play "Madhavi " here. Story of every woman indeed!

Crispy Mung Daal


I love this all time snacks and when I saw the packet in the Grocerry Store I thought of trying this at home. And Then realised its so easy and quick to prepare. You must try this out.

Crispy Mung Daal
Ingredients
1 Cup Mung Daal
A pinch of Eating Soda
Salt to taste
Oil

Method
  • Wash the mung daal and soak it in 4-5 cup of water with eating soda
  • Keep it overnight
  • In the morning wash the mung daal again and drain it over a cotton cloth
  • Heat the oil in a pan
  • Fry the mung daal in it over medium heat and again drain the oil from the mung daal on the paper napkin
  • Mix salt to taste and serve when it comes to normal temperature

Notes
I fried the mung daal keeping the stainless steel strainer in the oil and putting mung daal in it. That helped me in easy picking of the mung daal, otherwise it gets little difficult to get the mung daal out of oil.
When the mung daal is put into the oil, there would be lot of big bubbles coming out from the oil. Gradually these bubble will reduce in size. When they are almost on zero size mung daal is ready to be removed from the oil.

Masale Bhaat


This one is maharashtrian dish, special in any wedding or any other function. The best part of the dish is its simplicity and easy preparation.

Masale Bhaat
Ingredients
1 cup Basamati Rice
1/4 cup Curd
1/2 cup Gherkins
1/2 Potato
1/4 cup Muttor
1/2 cup Corriander leaves
1/2 cup grated Coconut
1/2 spoon Red chilli powder
1/2 spoon Garam Masala
8-9 Cashews
A pinch of Cardamom powder
2 Cloves
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 Bay Leaf
1/4 spoon Mustard Seeds
A pinch of Asafoetida
1 spoon Ghee
Salt to taste

Method
  • Wash basamati rice and let the water strain properly
  • Add red chilli powder, garam masala, cardamom powder, curd to this rice and keep aside for 10 minutes
  • In a cooker, heat the ghee and let the mustards sputter in it
  • Add asafoetida, bay leaf, cloves, Cinnamon stick and cashews and fry for a minute or two
  • Add the sliced gherkins and cubed potatoes and fry for another couple of minutes
  • Add the basamati rice, muttor and salt in it and fry for another couple of minutes
  • Add 2 cup of water and put a lid and let it cook with 4 whistles.
  • Before serving garnish with coconut, corriander leaves and ghee

Notes
You can use even gobi or bringal instead of potato or gherkins.
Coconut and corriander garnishing gives it really different flavour than the normal pulav

Rasgulla


The first time I had prepared this, I had messed up with the dish, then I did little R&D and found out where I went wrong. After that when I tried this on weekend, It came out well.

Rasgulla
Ingredients
1 Liter Milk
2 Spoon White Vinegar
2.5 Cup Sugar
2 drops of Rose essence

Method
  • Heat milk in a vessel
  • Mix the white vinegar in a spoon of water and keep ready
  • When milk starts boiling, add 1/2 spoon vinegar-water mixture
  • Keep flame on high and stir the milk continuously
  • Add remaining mixture too 1/2 spoon at a time
  • When last dose of the vinegar-water mixture is added the milk will cuddle completely to form very soft paneer.
  • Immediately take out from the heat and strain the water
  • Run through the cold water so that vinegar smell and colour goes away
  • Put it in a cloth and remove all excess water from paneer using this cloth
  • Mean while, In a cooker, mix sugar and 6 cups of water and heat on high flame
  • Knead the paneer to form soft dough. It takes around 2-5 minutes of effort to actually get the soft nice dough
  • Prepare 10 small balls out of it
  • By this time the sugar-water syrup will be boiling. Add the balls in it and boil for 5 minutes
  • Put a lid on the cooker (without whistle) and boil for another 5 minutes
  • Add 1/4 cup of water in the syrup and again boil for 5 minutes without lid
  • Let the mixture cool down, do not keep a lid till it cools down
  • Add rose essence and refrigerate it

Notes
When the balls are added to the sugar syrup they should float otherwise they are not kneaded well.
Also knead the mixture when it is little warm only to get softer balls.

Random Quotes

A-kay tags me. This is so different from the tags I have done which are usually about me, myself.
So what are the rules of this one?
"Pick up the nearest book." - Yes, ma'm . here, what's this? Being Indian by Pavan Varma. (nice book)
"Open to page 123." - Okiee ( wonder where this is going...)
"Find the fifth sentence." - That's easy, I can count up to 10!
"Post the next three sentences."

In James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a young man, the character Stephen Daedalus expresses the anguish of an Irishman at having to speak English: '
The language in which we`are speaking is his (the Englishman's) before it is mine. How different are the words home, Christ, ale, master on his lips and on mine! I cannot speak or write these words without unrest of spirit. His language, so familiar and so foreign, will always be for me an acquired speech. I have not made or accepted its words. My voice holds them at bay. My soul frets in the shadow of his language.'
Indians have fretted too in trying to learn English, but their souls do not appear to have been in much anguish.

(I know that is more than three. There was a reason: Three sentences would have made no sense. So I posted the whole paragraph. Nice food for thought there, no?)

Now what?
"Tag five people, and acknowledge the person who tagged you."

I know Altoid would like this and Dotthoughts? I know I can always depend on JLT. Two more? Ok, where are you Padma, come to my rescue. I am sure you are reading something interesting. Itchingtowrite, I know you read a lot. Come on, take it up.

And as I was just about to press the publish button, Laksh tagged me for the same. Word has gone out about my expertise in tag posts and I am in great demand for tags as you can see. hm........the price you pay for fame. hehehe

P.s: Noticed that Fluff_n_stuff has tagged me too for this one.

Chicken Lollipop


I had prepared this long time back, around 20 days back and just forgot to post this recipe in my hectic schedule. The recipe is simple and tasty :)

Chicken Lollipop
Ingredients
8 pieces of Chicken Lollipops
1/2 cup Maida
1/4 cup Corn Flour
1/2 spoon Ginger Paste
1/2 spoon Garlic Paste
1/2 cup Corriander leaves
1 Spoon Red chilli powder
1/4 spoon Turmeric powder
1/4 spoon Garam Masala
1 Egg
A pinch of Edible Red Colour
Salt to taste
Oil

Method
  • Marinate the lolipops with salt, ginger and garlic paste and keep for 5 minutes
  • Add finely chopped corriander leaves, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, red colour, maida and corn flour and mix well
  • Add the egg and again mix well
  • Keep aside for 1 hour with marination.
  • Heat oil in a pan and fry the lollipops on medium heat

Notes
You can add curry leaves powder a pinch to get a different taste.
Also can wrap the bony side of the lollipop with aluminium foil, I was out of stock when i prepared this.