Tuli Bistro

Tuli Bistro

2031 S St, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 451-8854

On a recent cold and wet Sacramento night, exhausted from dealing with the holiday crowds, a friend and I braved the elements and made our way to the Tuli Bistro. Upon entering, we were greeted by warm wafts of pizza from the wood-fire oven tucked behind the counter and a cheery staff member. We were given a choice of dining at one of the bistro tables or on the enclosed veranda. The restaurant itself is long and narrow and care was taken to accent the small space with tasteful decorations. Although the outdoor seating was equipped with heat lamps, we opted to dine in the cozy dining area.

Our waitress Jennifer (?) came by and brought us the night's menu and wine list. She explained that as a new establishment they were still fiddling with the menu and experimenting as to which dishes to keep. The wine list had a decent selection, with a potpourri of choices. Unfortunately, they were out of both of our first two selections but Jennifer suggested an alternative that she thought we might enjoy and offered to bring us a taste. With our beverage orders placed, we turned our attention to the night's menu. The menu was short but sweet, reflecting a smattering of salads, pizzas and small entrees. As my dinner companion had never experienced beets before, I voted that we go for the beet salad. The salad was perfect--fresh with a hint of subtle sweetness. And the beet virgin became an immediate beet convert. For our main courses, my fellow Yelper went with a piping hot personal sized pizza called the Humboldt and I elected to try the ahi puttanesca. The ahi was a bit on the salty side and I felt that the kalamata olives lended an odd aftertaste to the sauce; somehow the two just didn't jive together well. Overall, the dish was satisfactory but nothing to write home about. My friend's pizza on the other hand was quite tasty. The Humboldt's thin crust was crisp without being overdry and the toppings (herb pesto, mozzarella, oven-dried tomatoes, and feta) intermingled harmoniously. Although I'm lactose intolerant, the pizza looked so damn good that I threw caution to the wind and danced with the devil I call dairy.

Throughout our meal, Jennifer routinely stopped by to check in on us as did the other waitress working the floor. We were well cared for from start to finish- plates were cleared smoothly, water glasses were kept filled and there was never a feeling of being rushed. The staff members seemed to relish working there and were eager to assist. My dining companion and I were having such a great time chatting that we decided to stay a bit longer and indulge in splitting a dessert. I'm not sure if Tuli makes their desserts in house but the lemon creme brulee that night was divine. As someone who's prepared many a brulee in her lifetime (all those years waiting tables), I know how easy it is to overtorch. Our brulee was crispy perfection.

As a resident of Midtown, it's great to see more and more independently owned neighborhood restaurants open up. Adam Pechal's done a great job converting the small quarters into a warm, inviting eating establishment. I've heard they do a bustling lunchtime business but I think Tuli is better enjoyed on a quiet, weeknight. You get attentive service and can indulge in a relaxing meal. The entree prices are a bit high but as they are using fresh, local ingredients and are a small business, I can see how they need to charge a little more to cover their overhead. Hopefully in time, they'll expand their dinner menu as I'd like add Tuli into my regular rotation of Midtown eateries. I do have to admit though that I raised an eyebrow when a well-meaning coworker advised me that the term "tuli" refers to a ritual circumsion in the Phillipines. Ouch!

Dudhi(Bottle gourd) Dosa

Dudhi(Bottle gourd) Dosa

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

In the search of eating some different vegetables than the usual routine we get every week we got bottle gourd.. Which turned out to be too huge for both of us to finish, so we had variety of items out of it.. This one is one of the fastest bfast out of it..


Ingredients
1 cup grated dudhi(Bottle gourd)
1 cup rice powder
1/2 cup bason
1 spoon jeera
2 spoon saunf
1/2 spoon methi
2-3 green chillies
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
Salt to taste

Method

• Crush jeera, saunfm methi to get powder
• Mix it with rice powder, bason, and grated dudhi(Bottle gourd)
• Add finely chopped chillies, salt, milk and water
• Heat tawa (preferably non stick tawa) and pour this prepared batter on it and spread it quickly

Notes
These dosas are little thicker than normal dosas and taste best when served with pickle

Egg Pattice

Egg Pattice

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

I had taken a short break (couple of weeks) as i wasn't feeling that enthusiasm to cook inside myself. After a Pune trip i did feel like cooking again :) And this was the break fast item i tried.. I had tried egg pattice earlier also but it had been really oily and had caused throat problem for both of us.. so i was little bit worried when i attempted it again but it really turned out well and so far no throat problems :D


Ingredients
1/2 cup Maida
1/2 cup wheat flour
2 eggs
1 onion finely chopped
1/2 spoon red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Oil

Method

• Make dough out of maida, wheat flour and salt to taste and keep aside for 10 to 15 minutes
• Beat eggs and mix finely chopped onion, red chilli powder and salt
• Make small balls out of dough and roll small fulka type rotis
• Preapre sticking mixture by mixing little maida and water
• On each roti, add around a spoon for 2 full of mixture of egg and quickly close all four sides of the roti by folding and sticking the sides of the roti
• Fry on low heat on a pan

Notes
Ajoy suggested of having cut green chillies instead of red chilli powder for that extra punch, but since yesterday i had already cooked khichadi with too much of chilli i wanted to avoid it. But i guess it would taste better (i remember i had made it with green chillies earlier.
Earlier i had prepared the pattice by deep frying them in the pan but it had turned out too oily, especially because the egg mixture comes out from pattice and soaks too much of oil. So this time i tried it on tawa and it turned out less oily but then less crispier as well. I would like to try cooking it for some time on tawa till internal mixture is well set and then deep frying it in pan for crispier pattice.
I would also want to try to use grated boiled eggs mixted with chillies, salt, corriander leaves instead of egg mixture, but that would be completely different taste i suppose so might turn out to be some different recipe

Teaching 'em to fly

Teaching 'em to fly

During my visit to the U.S. this year, I noticed that my cousin always made sure that she left a generous tip wherever a tip was due, never ate messily or with her fingers publicly and did not do anything that is classified as "desi" behaviour. It is partly that she has been there for nearly 2 decades but I noticed that there was a conscious effort. When I mentioned this to her she said that when someone ridicules desis for these, she feels offended and hence the effort to make sure to avoid behaviour that left a negative impression about Indians as a whole.
Predictably this led to a heated argument between us on why it was bad to be different and why whatever American was better than anything Indian etc. But I do appreciate her desire not to be ridiculed, not to do anything that marked you out as different particularly when you have chosen to live there and make it your home.

We all make these kind of adjustments and consciously avoid certain kind of behaviour the moment we are in public or in the company of outsiders - like not belching or eating noisily. We have been told it is not polite and we do it out of respect for the sensibilities of others. We do it as much for fear of being judged or ridiculed behind our backs. Some of us, particularly the menfolk, shed this politeness at the doorstep along with their shoes when they enter their house and as long as there are no outsiders around they feel fine to let go and belch and fart freely. But there is a general understanding and respect for accepted public behaviour.

So why do some people feel offended when we talk about insufferable behaviour of Indians on flights from Singapore, Malaysia, Srilanka, and the Gulf countries - Pestering the attendants for free stuff, grabbing as much alcohol as possible, stuffing airline cutlery into their baggage and leaving the toilet in a mess? Criticism of their behaviour is considered class snobbery towards the poor labouring masses who want to get the maximum value for the fare they have paid for through their hard earned money.

I agree that the burden of the fare is more on them than the business traveller or holidayer. But why is it snooty to expect them to rise above that kind of behaviour? Is it bad to let them know that the other passengers have spent money on their tickets too and hence it is important to be considerate toward their fellow passengers by not shoving and shouting or by observing better toilet manners? I see that these very same people are capable of better behaviour when there are fines and punishments deterring these. Why is it bad to teach them to use freedom more responsibly and with consideration for fellow humans? I don't agree with this attitude that education and money has to be constantly apologetic and bend over backwards toward those who are uneducated or poorer. I can understand if they advocated patience - in stead they seem to justify that kind of behaviour and even seem to suggest that they have earned the right to it by virtue of having paid for the ticket. Should not the self appointed champions of the masses be happy if they learnt more civilised behaviour rather than being laughed at? And moneyed or non-moneyed, educated or not, class or mass - aren't we all seen as Indians the moment we are in a foreign airliner or foreign land? At least for that, should we not bring them up rather than going down to their level? There are times when we dont have to be like this only.

filial obligations

filial obligations

On one of the Television shows on the lives of celebrities, Cricketer Yuvraj Singh was the guest. Initially I got the impression that here was another rich spoilt kid who had it all tailor made for him until I heard him say that as a child he wanted to be a skater and he even won the National championship. But when he took the medal to his father he threw it out of the window and said he wanted to see his son play cricket and not a girl's game and for good measure he also threated Yuvraj that he would break his leg if he played any sport other than cricket.
And then they played a recorded footage where the father (Punjabi actor and former cricketer Yograj Singh) told his son that he had to play cricket and be the best for no reason except for the sake of his father. Apparently he was pained when his son played other sports without any special interest in Cricket and so one day he told him:

"Son, how do you want me to live in this world with the same face if you don't complete my dream? I want you to play cricket for the country and complete my unfulfilled dream."

And then followed years of rigorous training - six hours on the ground and four hours at home in the nights - and the rest as they say is history.

For those of you who do not know the saga of Yograj Singh, here it is in his words:

Years ago somebody snatched my right to play for the country. I lived this game all my life and then someone who was afraid that I would take his place in the team snatched it from me. These so-called living legends took the life out of my soul. the hurt they have caused will go with me to my grave.

If you are interested, you can read the rest of his words in this interview here where he says he breathes through his son. In fact you can read any interview with Yograj Singh. This is all he says over and over again.

I do not understand this whole business of sons fulfilling fathers' dreams - what about the son's own dreams? Why the hell is he made to live his father's life by proxy? And what kind of a father uses his child to have his revenge on people who were unfair to him? Of course our mythology has examples of this - for example Drupad who observed severe penance to please the Gods so as to have a son who would kill Drona and a daughter who would marry Arjuna through whom Drona caused his disgrace. That is all their purpose in life was to be - tools to help their father avenge the shame he suffered.

In the case of Yuvraj it all ended happily but what if he did not possess the talent or perseverance required? Imagine putting a child through this kind of torture if all he wanted was to skate or to play tennis. It seems like a classic case of child abuse to me. I know a boy who took to drugs in college to escape his sense of failure at not being able to live up to parental expectations - a very bright boy, only he did not enjoy doing what his parents wanted him to pursue. Left to himself, he might have been successful following his own passion.

Speaking of child abuse, I think the same of parents who put the child through similar torture in academics. For every Yuvraj tortured into cricket there are a thousand boys who are kept forcibly away from taking sport as a career. The arguments are too familiar to repeat.

I know some parents who start their day by taking the child to some tuition or other and then feed them breakfast and drop them in the school. In the evening they are waiting outside the school with snacks and a change of clothing after which the child is taken to some coaching class or other. They feel proud of their superior parenting skills. I say "Please let the child be." It is one thing to be supportive and encouraging. This is pushing, stifling, suffocating, imposing parental ego on the child killing his desires and passions. But they tell me that the child will thank them for all this when he gets into IIT or REC or one of the top engineering colleges. The child does not even know what he wants to do with his life. He is not allowed to think - the parents have already done it all for him. And I have heard many parents say that they wanted to be something but could not so they hope that their child would do it and "fulfill their dream."

Time we realised that we have the right to dream only for ourselves . Let the children have their own dreams. Too bad if we did not achieve ours in our lifetime - we have no business to dump it on someone else, even if we gave birth to that someone. Whatever else we can give them is of no use, if we snatch their dreams away from them.

Palak-Methi-Vada

Palak-Methi-Vada

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Mom dad arrived yesterday and I wanted to cook something different.. And i also wanted to finish off all the green vegies i had so came up with this vada.. It tasted pretty well..


Ingredients
2 cup palak(spinach) leaves
1 cup methi leaves
1/2 cup corriander leaves
3 cup bason
3 spoon rice powder
1 green chilli
1 spoon red chilli powder
1/2 spoon jeera powder
1/2 spoon corriander powder
Salt to taste
Oil

Method

• Chop all the green vegies - palak, methi and corriander finely
• Mix them well and add finely chopped green chillies
• Add bason, rice powder, red chilli powder, jeera powder, corriander powder, salt and mix well
• Add little water and form thick vada dough
• heat oil in a pan
• Add 2 spoon of heated oil to the vada batter and mix well
• Make small flat vadas out of this dough and fry them in oil on medium heat

Notes
Add salt to the chopped vegies and keep aside for some time that way there will be some water because of salt that can be accomodated while making dough itself otherwise batter might become sticky and loose after some time.
Make vadas flat so that they are crispy and fried inside out

Posts that weren't

Posts that weren't

This is a post on thoughts that lost their way and never got converted into blogposts. In the early days of blogging, I was eager to post everyday and kept my antennae up for bloggable ideas and that was a phase when posts rolled out even without many ideas. Over the years, after reading so many good bloggers, a kind of self regulation has developed and I don't rush to post just about every idea that springs in my mind. Sometimes I find other bloggers have developed the idea better and hence no need to repeat the same, sometimes I lose interest in the idea but most often I forget the idea. I would have liked to give the impression that my brilliant ideas have been lost to blog readers because of my forgetfulness and leave it at that but no, Eve had to expose me. She wants to know all these ideas that never got converted into posts. So here are some:

Often, I get ideas for posts from certain interesting comments on some of my posts.
For example Souvik commented on a recent post about the tedium of long marriage ceremonies. He said:
3 hours... & not even a single jhatka song to break the monotony...its worse than a Karan Johar multistarer

I thought of the possibilities if marriages were to be given over to event managers with sponsorships of the various events: kashi yatra sponsored by amity university offering the best options for higher studies
oonjal ceremony sponsored by "Swingers" dealers in best quality traditional oonjals and modern swings
Saptapadi sponsored by some jewellery/ sari shop or better still a foot cream product?

Then there was this comment by Raj on the post on child labour:
I am intrigued by how our collective consciousness suddenly gets raised. 10-15 years back, child labour was accepted, as normal. There was no hue and cry over Sivakasi's child labour. Now, we find it abhorrent, and rightly so.

What are the other practices that we accept as normal today but we will realise as completely wrong, when someone raises the consciousness?

I am sure there are some. Many changes that have taken place in traditional gender role stereotypes are examples of this. Younger woman do not seem to take to the idea of cooking as natural or normal feminine role . And younger men do not seem to expect it either. This is a minor example but I am sure that quite a few other practices will become obsolete when we realise how absurd or wrong they are. I need to give this some thought and do a post. Raj has touched upon the issue here in his post.

I saw the film Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal and came back thinking of our recent obsession with being victims of racism in other countries - how much of it is true and how much of it is just perception and shilpaesque manipulations? Rather than an effort to integrate more with the culture of the country of choice, these experiences seem to be breeding a reverse racism from the immigrant communities towards one another as well as the natural citizens of the country. And how practical it is to expect people from different cultures to understand and accept one another without any value judgements? Who is to make the first move? And is all this possible at all especially in today's context dominated by terrorism on religious, ethnic and ideological grounds?

After a spate of "entertainers" from bollywood and Tamil filmworld, I was wondering about the willingness with which we allow assault on our commonsense and intelligence in the name of entertainment. While sensible entertainers seem to break even , the biggest blockbusters are those that dish out massive amounts of trash amidst expensive settings and spectacular special effects by super heroes . I can understand poorer sections of population being attracted towards these glamorous dreams but what is in these that the educated and informed find so entertaining? And how come they are willing to accept racist, sexist remarks and vulgar double- entendres as entertainment and not be outraged by them?

While on the subject of Indian films I also wanted to do a post on male menopause - you know the kind of symptoms and behaviour displayed by the big Bachchan's roles in films like KANK and Nishabd ?

I visited a friend last week - she is 62 and her husband died last year leaving her with lots of happy memories of their 30 years of life together. She cannot speak three complete sentences without bringing him up - I can see how tough it is for her. The children live abroad. People say that one of the reasons for marrying is to have someone for you in old age. It seems that married or single, we are all ultimately alone in old age. I had so many thoughts on old age and loneliness on the day I returned from her house that I will convert into a post when I have confronted the issues mentally and consolidated them.

I also had an interesting discussion with asha on tolerance being a virtue or a dirty word. her take was:
Mere tolerance is a negative thing - it has such shallow roots and can be destroyed or swayed by any provocation. Its base is so fragile - it is just something we have told ourselves to do to avoid conflict, it is not based on any deep conviction.

When we take the trouble to know and appreciate another religion, to fathom its rich depths, to find out the reasons why they behave differently or have customs we do not approve of, the roots go in deeper.
If we have not done this, perhaps our secularism is based on indifference, and therefore extremely fragile?

My take was that tolerance is not a dirty word because even when we have tried to "understand" differences with another culture, religion, belief and failed in it, we owe it to others to tolerate the differences and live in harmony. For example I do not "understand" homosexuality but I still owe it to someone with such a preference to share any public space with me . This is tolerance because I know he/ she has as much rights as I do. When I can extend this courtesy even when I cannot understand, it is a higher virtue and NOT to be equated with indifference.


I bet there are a few more that I have forgotten. But as you may have seen from the list above, there hasn't been any serious loss to blogsphere. I bet someone else has already written about them and written much better than I could have. (Well, that is your cue to protest and push me to write.)
Lavs, Please take up the tag. I thought you had done the tag on 7 weird things. If you have not, Please take it up too!

Kachori

Kachori

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

After many days i decided to cook something different.. And then this came to my mind.. I read the recipe in one of the cook book i have and tried it and it really turned up well...


Ingredients
1 cup mung daal
2 cup maida
2 spoon rava
2 tea spoons red chilli powder
1 spoon amchur(dry mango) powder
1 spoon garam masala
1 spoon saunf
1 spoon mustard
1 spoon jeera
Salt to taste
sugar to taste
Oil

Method

• Soak mung daal in water overnight
• In the morning grind mung daal without water in the mixie to form a coarse mixture
• Heat a 4-5 spoons of the oil and sputter mustard and jeera
• Add mung daal to it and cook with cover
• Once the mixture is little dry, add red chilli powder, masala, amchur powder, saunf, sugar and salt and stir well
• Cook for some more time till mixture is completely dry
• In a plate mix maida, rava and salt and add 1/2 cup of heated oil to it
• Mix little water and prepare loose dough
• Prepare lemon sized balls out of this dough
• Press the ball with thumb and finger to form a cup shape
• Add a spoon full of above cooked mung daal mixture to it and close the ball to form bigger ball
• Press the ball with both hand to form thick plate kind of shape
• Fry in oil on low-medium heat

Notes
Mung daal mixture should be coarse and not too watery so remove as much water as possible from mung daal before grinding it

Weird tags

Weird tags

Sumana tagged me to say Seven Random and / or Weird Things about Me. I thought I had done this some months ago but for some strange reason I cannot find the post. That may be taken as the first weird thing about me. I have distinct memories of certain events but I cannot for the life of me remember the details. The other day I met a friend from college who was recounting many funny and fun things we did and I had absolutely no recollections of those. It was like certain parts of my memory were dead. :(

2. I have mentioned my love for dusting, cleaning, mopping, washing in this space before. Think Danny Tanner from that television show "full House". He is my idea of a complete man - a man who finds it spiritually elevating to dust and clean has to be all good. Just imagine the possibilities on a romantic date - we could find the cleanest table ina dust free restaurant and discuss our favourite detergents and sprays! Even on trips abroad I love to shop in supermarkets for cleaning products, wipes and polishes. And those I cannot carry home I look at them lovingly and longingly. The day I found Mr Muscle in my supermarket, I grinned so much that my husband thought I had found my favourite perfume in the discount section.If ever I migrate to another country, this may be my top reason - the availability of a variety of cleaning products and equipment!

3. I do not cry at funerals - even of very dear ones. I feel very sad but I cannot cry with people around. But the instant I am alone I break down and cry in private for a long time.

4. I only know the left side of the road when I am driving. So when I come back on the same road I do not recognise it. So you can imagine my plight when roads become one way streets or they change routes. I feel I am in a new city.I keep going around the same streets in circles not knowing how to get out!

5. I enjoy humour, I love jokes but cannot tell a joke. I either laugh too much while narrating or forget the punchline or completely forget the joke midway making a joke of myself. I wrote a post about this handicap a while ago.

6. I have admirable self control in resisting sweets, fried snacks and chips until you force me to taste "just a little bit." And then I cannot stop until the entire exposed supply is finished. Now you know how my weight hit that awful number 70. It is all these loving friends trying to make me take "just a little bit" " for taste".

7. we do not realise some of our weirdness until someone points them out to us. On the last day in Delhi I was very hassled that I did not have an envelope to put the money I wanted to leave as a tip for the guest house caretaker. Somehow it seemed inappropriate to just press the note in his hand. My sister kept insisting that it was the same whether given in an envelope or openly but I was uncomfortable and we kept arguing and she finally said that she would do it. I still cannot understand why I was so fussy about the whole issue. I guess I am weird, that is why.

Now I have another pending tag -Eve's about 5 topics I wanted to blog about but could not/ did not and the why and wherefores of it. Now This one is difficult as I don't remember the beginning of my sentences by the time I reach their end. But I intend to sit down and make this list as it might serve as my to-do list for the future posts. very soon, Eve!

Child labour

Child labour

I am against child labour and would never employ someone less that 18 years old. Whenever my domestic help needed leave and sent her daughter to do the day's work, I have sent her back and managed on my own or if it is for a long period, I have borrowed the services of my neighbours' help for the temporary period. And for 6 years I have paid the tuition fee and examination fee for my help's daughter and also paid for extra tuitions when she failed in English and math in the 9th twice. At 18 now, the girl is just a 9th standard pass and is working in two other houses like her mother. She will be married soon and if her husband turns out to be another of those useless guys in their village, she is doomed for a house help's life and misery for the rest of her life.

I used to be appalled at my friend when she had her domestic help's 13 year old daughter staying with her to help her ageing mother. This girl used to help the ageing aunty make chai, cut vegetables, make chappatis, clean the table, dust their furniture etc. She went to school during the day and spent the rest of the time with them. They are Sindhis and she learnt to speak hindi and English fluently. She can lay the table like a lady, serve tea like an English woman, answer phone calls and has grown into an elegant young lady. She tried sending her to college and when she failed her degree course, she tried sending her to computer classes. That did not work either and the girl now works in one of the upmarket stores as a saleswoman and earns a good salary. My friend and her mother put up a fight with the girl's mother when she tried to get her married at 16 when she got into "boy troubles". Now she is 22, independent and confident. And aunty, when she died, has willed her 1 lakh in fixed deposit.

Saravanan is the head of security guards in the institution where husband works. I have seen him when he first came to work in the colony as a 14 year old boy doing odd jobs around the office. he had failed 8th standard, had no interest in studies and ran away to his uncle's house in bangalore to escape his father's wrath after his results. His uncle who worked as a driver in the office got him the temporary odd jobs in the office and gradually he got a job as a temporary security guard and after 12 years he grew to become a permanent security guard and now he is the head. His children go to English medium schools like the other children from the colony.

Sadiq used to drive my scooter like a professional when he was just 14. He was the nephew of my mechanic Basha. One day I went to collect my scooter after service and as I was about to start it there was a rattling noise. Basha flew into a rage and so did his spanner - at Sadiq. He had not fitted the screws of the wheel properly after service. I was angry with basha for treating the little boy like that but I also knew that he treated Sadiq like his son and loved him dearly. he told me "amma, this is how he will learn. Tomorrow when he has his shop he will never make this mistake. In this line we all learn like this. " I asked Sadiq if he would like to go to school. Sadiq grinned and said " I tried studying aunty but I don't have the brains. I like scooters and cars. When I am big I want to have a car repair shop." 15 years later, he now manages his uncle's garage and does good business. His daughter goes to a good school.

I can see for a fact which of us has done better by children - me and the government who talk about how wrong it is to employ children or these three above. I am not so judgemental about people who employ 13 and 14 year olds anymore.
I suppose the constitution makers were aware of the ground realities in this country and that is why they did not completely rule out child employment but made a qualified statement:
Article 24 of the Indian constitution states that "No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or employed in any hazardous employment".
Article 39 (e) directs State policy such "that the health and strength of workers . . . and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength"

Of course Children should not be employed in industries demanding hard labour or under hazardous conditions nor should they be exploited. But if they are treated well , fed and paid well and also given educational opportunities if they want them?
I am quite certain that if geeta ( aunty's protégé) had been left in her family she would have been married at 16 and would have had at least two kids by now and been entirely at the mercy of her husband and Saravanan could have turned into anything from an unskilled worker in a factory to a criminal. And Sadiq could not have learnt the intricacies of his profession better in any school.

Would they have had a wider choice had they been in school longer even against their will? Would they have been better human beings? Would they have a better standard of life than what they now have? I can say it is open to debate and they should have stayed in school but in my heart my answer is a definite 'no". I still cannot bring myself to employ anyone less than 18 but I could perhaps try giving someone a chance at a better life by employing one like aunty.
Another area which is not just black and white. What is your take on this?

Pre-Flite Lounge

Pre-Flite Lounge

547 L St, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 441-7963

"Where the $%^*#@ is this place?" I think were the words that I muttered under my breathe last Thursday when my friend Lacy and I began our trek from the Downtown Plaza parking garage in search of the Pre-Flite. Ever since a fellow friend mentioned it in passing once, I've had a desire to visit this mysterious subterranean watering hole that used to be the spot for airport travelers waiting to catch the shuttle. (I know, I'm a bit odd) Luckily, for us we ran into some friends of Lacy's on the street that were just leaving the lounge. I think they took pity on us and that's why they offered to show us where this place was squirreled away.

Walking into the Pre-Flite is like taking a step back in history. Ever see that show "Quantum Leap?" Yep, a step back like that---far back in history. The bar is small but divided into two levels, the walls are adorned with fun, kitschy memorabilia and the lounge has that dim lighting that only those who have visited Vegas can relate to... lighting that makes it difficult to ascertain whether it's 8am or 8pm while knocking back a few. Additionally, the bartender immediately won my heart over when I requested my standard -Jack on the Rocks. Instead of giving me a quizzical "But you're a girl!" look that my order usually elicits, the barkeep gave me a friendly smile and remarked, "You're my type of girl." Between him, the feisty Jack Russell (Lou) that was bounding about and the cocktail waitress that was an absolute doll, I felt immediately at home.

Pre-Flite will never be the hot spot in the grid nor will it ever be the latest meatmarket locationand for that I'm thankful for. The obscure little bar in the midst of the concrete jungle is the perfect spot to duck into for some tasty grog and good conversation when you just "need to get away."

Pudina chutney

Pudina chutney

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

I always relished the pudina chutney served with tandoori chicken or kababs. This is my try and it turned out quite well..


Ingredients
1 cup punina leaves
2 spoon corriander leaves
2 cup curd
salt to taste

Method

• Grind the pundina leaves and corriander leaves in mixer
• It will form watery paste, filter to get the pudina water
• In a pot mix curd and salt
• Now mix the pudina water spoon full at a time till completely mixed

Notes
Use thickest possible curd as we are anyway adding pudina water so it will be little thinner anyways

naughty munnis and not munnis

naughty munnis and not munnis

Just the other day I dedicated one whole post to the resident terrorist in our house. Two evenings ago she broke a nice torch and was in the process of swallowing the contents of the battery when we managed to catch her and make her spit out what was still in the mouth. But obviously she had swallowed some which she spent the next day throwing up.Trouble is that she thinks that if anything can go into her mouth, it should!

We have experience with about 4 dogs now and the only other dog who was equally out of control was also called Munni. In our family, we have the tradition of naming children after people in the family and society who have been a good example, in the hope that these kids will also live up to the name.
After all, there are many people who believe that a child's name is the most important decision affecting her/his personality and future prospects.For example there are these people who say:"A balanced baby name will create intelligent mental qualities such as being expressive, happy, generous, outgoing, giving, responsible, reliable, stable, intellectual, and peaceful - to name just a few." Imagine what I could have achieved if only my parents had the sense to call me Sonia Gandhi or Sunita Williams or Indira Nooyi? It is all their fault that I am a mere Usha sitting and writing useless blogs while I ought to be running countries or corporates or floating in space. hmf..

Applying the same (il)logic, we wondered if a change of name might help. But then there are problems: having got used to her name by now, it is possible that she may not respond to a new name like lolita ( remember the demure, sweet tempered, patient and obedient girl from "parineeta"?) And lalita is the name of my sister and I have no intention of facing her rage. So Siddharth declared that we should call her "Not Munni".This is not new to us as we already have a "not Unni" in our lives.

This is how it happened. Siddhartha was about 5 or 6 then.We knew that appu nair, our friend who lived a street away from us, had a cook whom he referred to in conversations as Unni. Many times we had seen a person emerging from appu nair's house on a bicycle and we had concluded he was Unni. He always smiled at us while passing by our house. on a onam day, appu insisted we join him for lunch. Imagine our shock when he called out for Unni and the guy who emerged from the Kitchen was someone totally different. Not the one we had assumed to be Unni. So who was he, the smiling cyclist? We asked appu and he was not sure so he said "not Unni." So six year old siddhu started calling him "notunni" and we began to enjoy it so much we did not bother to find out his name.For instance he would say "Notunni gave me a ride on the bicycle today", "notunni was riding with a big jackfruit" and it worked just fine and I knew exactly who this man was. This has become such an inside joke that if we know the name of one of the two brothers in a house we promptly name the other NOtX as in Sachin and Notsachin.

And that's how we have a notmunni in the house now but I am not too hopeful that it is going to work in this case. True to being a Munni, she will defy all rules and all I will have is a munni in notmunni's clothing.

Tomato Corn Omelette

Tomato Corn Omelette

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

This item is a quick and delicious recipe.. Mom use to cook tomato omlette and i modified it little to get this new one :)


Ingredients
4 Tomatoes
1 cup sweet corn
1 cup bason
1 spoonful Rice powder
1/2 tea spoon Garlic paste
4 green chillies
1 spoon jeera
Salt to taste
Oil

Method

• Mix bason, rice powder and salt and keep aside
• Crush the jeera slightly and add it to the above mixture
• In a mixer add tomatoes, half cup corn, chillies and garlic paste and grind them to form puree
• Add the puree to the mixture and mix well to form the uniform batter. Use little water if required
• Add remaining corn to it and mix
• Heat the tawa and take spread the mixture on it to form omelette
• Cook it till the side on tawa is crispy, and cook on the other side till it turns brown
• Serve with chutney or sauce

Notes
you can optionally add 1-2 spoons of corriander leaves in the tomato while crushing, but i served it with chutney which has corriander so i avoided it. But while serving with tomato ketchup it would taste good

Muttor Paneer

Muttor Paneer

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

I just love paneer and with paneer its even more delicious.. I have quite a few recipes of paneer (for curries) but this one is my fav...


Ingredients
200g Paneer
1 cup muttor
4 tomatoes
2 onions
1/2 spoon garlic paste
1/4 spoon ginger paste
1/2 spoon turmeric powder
1.5 spoon red chilli powder
1.5 spoon jeera powder
1 spoon corriander powder
1/2 spoon garam masala
Corriander leaves to garnish
Salt to taste
Oil

Method

• Deep fry cubed paneer on medium flame
• Fry finely chopped onions till golden brown and keep aside for cooling
• Cook the muttor on steam and keep aside
• In a mixer grind tomatoes, fried onions
• Heat little oil in a pan and add this grinded mixture to it
• Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, jeera powder, corriander powder, garam masala, garlic and ginger paste and mix well
• Let the mixture cook well (atleast for 5 min), add water if required
• Add paneer cubes, muttor and salt to it and again cook well
• Garnish with finely chopped corriander

Notes
For making paneer pieces soft, add the fried paneer pieces to boiled water and let the pieces settle down the bottom

Choco Chip Brownie

Choco Chip Brownie

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Two days back when I had brownie in office i deciced that this is the item that i want to try at home.. Then i searched a lot on net for perfect (or so it sounded to me) and then combined all my results and made up mine one.. Here it is..


Ingredients
80 gm Dark Chocolate bar
40 gm Milk Chocolate bar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1.5 cups maida
3 spoon coca powder
1/2 cup castor sugar
1 spoon baking powder
Salt to taste

Method

• Put a pot with little water on heat
• Put another pot in it such that it does not touch the bottom of the pot with water.
• Add butter, dark chocolate bar and half of milk chocolate bar to the pot
• Let the butter and chocolate melt compeltely and then mix them well to form chocolate syrup. Keep aside to cool down a bit
• Beat eggs in a pot and mix the castor sugar in it. Mix well
• Add prepared chocolate syrup to this mixture and again mix well
• Sieve maida, baking powder and coca powder together around 8-10 times to form properly mixed flour
• Add this flour to the mixture prepared earlier spoon by spoon with stirring and mixing it well
• Cut remaining milk chocolate pieces into small pieces and add them to the mixture
• Preheat the oven at 180C
• Grease the baking tray with butter and put a butter paper
• Add the mixture to this baking tray and level out the surface
• Bake for around 30-35 minutes in oven (convection mode) at 180C
• While serving reheat the brownie in microwave and serve with ice-cream and chocolate sauce if you like

Notes
Maida and coca mixing together took longer time.. i had to sieve it 10 times to get the properly mixed flour.
You can add walnut pieces to the same mixture and get walnut brownie

Bread Rolls

Bread Rolls

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Bread roll is one of the simplest and yet tasties item one can have in snacks.. And yesterday when piyush visited us I thought this would be the best breakfast recipe i can serve with no preparation from my side at all... Here is how i prepared it...


Ingredients
2 Potatoes
6 slices of bread
1 spoon jeera powder
1 spoon red chilli powder
1 spoon corriander powder
2 spoon Amchur Powder(Dry Mango)
Salt to taste
Oil to fry

Method

• Cook potatoes in cooker or boil them till they are soft
• Mash the potatoes and add jeera powder, red chilli powder, corriander powder, amchur powder and salt and mix well
• Take slice of the bread and remove its thick edges using knife
• In a pot fill in drinking water and put the bread slice on top of the water for few moments
• Press the bread slice with both the palms and remove the water
• Put a cylindrical ball of the potato mixture prepared earlier in the middle of the slice and close the bread slice to cover the mixture fully
• Deep fry the rolls on medium heat and serve hot with tomato ketchup

Notes
You can try other fillings too.. I would be trying using lemon instead of amchur powder.

Chimizh

Chimizh

I like to keep my gifts simple and practical but I notice that there are too many creative ideas floating around for gifts and sometimes I need a user manual before I can start using them.
For example a cousin gave me this beautiful piece. A cute little thing which looked like a container for kumkum called a Kumkuma Chimizh in Tamil. (I love this word and hence the title of this post!!) In my opinion Ganesha's image is the cutest among the Hindu Pantheon and I loved the six mice around the central Ganesha with images of ganesha emobossed on their back.
Trouble began when I realised that the Ganesha in the middle was not welded and could actually be unscrewed to open the mice top to make this piece into something like this:
This was not an accident - so there was certainly a design idea. As everyone knows the 6th rule of commonsense is that if anything can be unscrewed, there is a purpose behind it. So now I had to find a purpose for what I had assumed to be an innocuous chimizh. So what was it?

Perhaps a portable Puja with a figurine of Ganesha and small sections to hold puja essentials like chandan, kumkum, haldi, flower and may be a little prasad like sugar crystals.I know people who like to carry prayer things while travelling.



And then you could close the box and lock it with the Ganesha and put it back in the luggage. (Might be very useful in case of hijacking - oops I am blaspheming.)









Or perhaps, you could use it as a total Puja Solution in today's context of small flats and if you'd like to keep your faith private. You could just have a niche in your room and have your god, Rangoli and lamp rolled in one in a hole in the wall, i mean, a niche in the wall. Voila, your pooja room personalised and ready for use!


















As readers of this space know, I am a simple person and definitely no Sherlock Holmes or Edward de Bono. It looked pretty as a lamp and that is how I decided to use it.
Recently another cousin explained to me what its original intention was supposed to be and I was stunned.


Any guesses on what this artistic piece was used for among the royals of yore? The beautiful exterior was meant to distract attention from something sinister that it contained. If there was a war and if the conquering enemy advanced upto the royal household, they used the contents to die with honour! Yea, this was the equivalent of poison rings and cyanide amulets containing enough dosage for a family of six. ("one family pack please!" they must have said!!)
It is understandable considering the humiliation that awaited them if they were caught alive by the enemy.

Pursuit of imperfection

Pursuit of imperfection

Dasara (dussera) is a special time at my cousin's place as my cousin and her daughter are very skilled and everything on display is made with their own hands. And some of them cannot be made in advance like the dolls she made with vegetables this year (Pictures - previous post) and are created on the day of the display.This year I took a friend along - she is from the North-east and is visiting Bangalore and I thought she might enjoy this new experience.
Everything went well - we went, we saw, we admired; got our share of sundal and haldi, kumkum and some goodies.On our way back I received a call from my cousin telling me to come back as I had left my spectacles behind. Now without my spectacles I cannot read anything that is less than font size 20 but I keep removing them all the time and leaving them everywhere and about 25% of my day is spent looking for them. And since my cousin lives 25 km away and this takes a 25 minutes drive plus 50 minutes wait through jams,( yes, welcome to Bangalore!) I decided to return and reclaim the glasses.
I planned to get the glasses and start immediately so I left the keys in the car. But in a series of unplanned actions,we found ourselves locked out of the car. It was a Sunday afternoon and a festival day to boot and not any festival but Vijaya Dasami and hence it was daft even trying to look for a garage or a mechanic. We borrowed keys from other Santro owners in the neighbourhood and tried to force it open. No luck. Luckily the duplicate key was in my house and my son was in the house. So we decided to wait until the duplicate arrived. Meantime regretful self-reproach commenced among others: "oh if only I had not..." "No, I should have.." "No, no, it is totally my fault."
And there I was , totally detached from this guilt trip - calm, happy in the thought that we have a solution in sight. And I was telling them: "These things happen. Look at it this way, it could have been worse. I could have carried the duplicate and they could be in the bag inside the car right now. Or Siddhu could have been at work and we would have had no one to get the duplicate." (Husband was already out of town.) And the best part was that I was not doing this out of politeness or just to relieve their guilt. I honestly felt this way and I thought we were actually in the best possible scenario under the circumstances.And I surprised myself.

I do not know when I became like this because a few years ago,I would have been the first person to start fretting in such a situation. I would have thought of everything I should have, could have, ought to have done to prevent this and blamed me for not doing each of those. There would have been anger at myself and a sense of shame. Shame because in our circle all such goofs became legends with your byline by being narrated at every family gathering, in excruciating detail. One was surrounded by people who prided themselves on their perfection and lapses and mistakes were frowned upon with the contempt reserved for the incompetent.
For a while, when I was young it was important for me to be considered competent and infallible. But then one fine morning I woke up and said:"it is alright to make mistakes as long as they do not hurt anyone, are not harmful and can be corrected." I think that was the day I became an adult!

Things can go wrong despite the best intentions and meticulous care. And when they do, what can be worse than to obsess about them and flog yourself? How do you learn if you never make a mistake? I may be wrong but I believe that people who believe that things can go wrong are better at crisis management. Until a few years ago, I have noticed that in India the government owned airline was super efficient at handling delays while the new and naive private airlines staff were clueless if anything went wrong.
Additionally acceptance of what is less than perfect allows you to experiment and try out the untried and untested. As they say, a man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault. The good thing about life is that it in most cases, it offers you second chances and everyday need not be planned or executed with the precision required for a space flight.

I sometimes think that my obsession with lists and memo pads might have its roots in trying to ensure nothing goes wrong or nothing is forgotten or overlooked - basically trying to ensure that there are no mistakes from my side. But things can and do go wrong sometimes like they did on Sunday and it was nobody's fault. In the bargain we got to spend an hour more together chatting as there was nothing to do but wait. And if nobody makes mistakes, why are there duplicate keys?
Nowadays I don't mind being laughed at for my mistakes - if mistakes make my life colourful and enrich my experience, I'd rather choose a more colourful and enriching life than a boring perfect one.

Pursuit of perfection

Pursuit of perfection

These are pictures of Golu or the display of dolls during Navaratri at my cousin's place.
The theme this year is dress and everything on display has been made by my niece and my cousin.They have amazing talent and patience and above all the enthusiasm to do something totally different each year.

Overview








The bird that came out of this EGG (plant)
And that's the healthiest ice cream cone - large doses recommended for dieting!





sLIMEy smileys.









you know what to do if you want to release the prince(of capsicum)from his curse!






Notice something fishy about the aubergine?





alu-chicken and monster alus.




Pasta,rice and dal in a delicious....kolam



And my niece makes the prettiest ponchos and cutest booties and sweater sets for kids. Let me know if you have ideas on how to market them.

Marleys and Munnis

Marleys and Munnis

You are in the commercial centre of the city for a film and while you are in the vicinity you decide to drop into the bookstore and also squeeze in some long pending shopping. On the way back you are caught in the traffic and finally you are happy to be back in the 'comfort' of your own home after 5 hours of crowd and noise.
And your heart melts when a bouncy dog greets you at the gate and receives you with manic display of affection. Isn't it wonderful to know someone missed you so much? Life seems so beautiful.
Your want to slip your tired feet into the pair of comfortable slippers you use indoors and where are they?
"Munni, chappal?" and the maniac happily bounds off leading you to the back of the house. On the lawn are an assortment of slippers and socks along with your hairbrush and the dupatta you had worn that morning.
And the garden itself looks as if a`wild elephant just passed through it - plants pulled out of the ground and pots, lawn dug up in four places and the garden hose chewed up in several bits.
You try to catch the culprit and she runs all around the garden thinking it is playtime and she is all set to play "catch me if you can."

What about the other inmates of the house? How did she get up to this? what were they doing?
As expected,you find the son at the computer table and the husband behind a pile of newspapers - positions from which they might reluctantly budge if the roof falls on their heads. The acorn didn't fall too far from the tree - well that would have been too much of an effort for those genes.
"Hello, do you know what Munni has been up to?"
"Oh, she has been very quiet all this while. No problem at all."

The battle can wait. A cup of tea first. So you head toward the kitchen or what used to be the kitchen for now it resembles TV pictures of a scene after a natural disaster. The garbage bin has been carelessly left open for Munni to sneak in and play with its contents.And while sweeping the floor you pick up a long piece of black pasta which you would recognise later to be the remnants of your mobile phone charger!

Welcome to a "normal' day in the life of the owner of a thoroughly spoilt dog.

The scene could be straight from that charming tale of Marley, the world's worst dog - Marley & Me. Some of us are blessed with special kind of dogs. They never obey a rule, they never learn a trick and even if they learn, they will make you lose face by ignoring the command when you are proudly trying to show off. These are dogs that are deluded that they are humans and that they are so special that they can get away with their worst.And they usually do because they have the extra ordinary gift of making their home with hopeless dog lovers like me and John Grogon, the author of the book 'Marley & Me'

If you love animals for what they are and not for what they can do, you will love Marley & Me. The book is full of amusing anecdotes involving the huge, dumb, disobedient and yet totally adorable Marley - but every dog owner knows how 'amusing' these must have been at the time they happened. It takes unconditional love and unending supply of patience to put up with some of their childish shenanigans and it is a lot of extra hard work but worth every bit of it if you can draw up the balance sheet and see what they give you in return. As John Grogon says in the book:

"Was it possible for a dog - any dog, but especially a nutty, uncontrollable one like ours - to point humans to the things that really matter in life? I believed it was. Loyalty. Courage. Devotion. Simplicity. Joy. And the things that did not matter, too. A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbols mean nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside.A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It was really quite simple,and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not."

He might tear a wall down when left alone in a thunder storm or ruin a handwoven Persian carpet but then he would also follow his master everywhere,climbing stairs not minding the ache in his legs and knees ravaged by arthritis till his last days. That kind of devotion is something you cannot buy for any amount of cash.
For everything else, as we know, there is master card.

Marleys and Munnis - they make us see the essential aspects of life and try to make us better human beings.

Ella Dining Room and Bar

Ella Dining Room and Bar

1131 K St, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 443-3772

I may be the lone voice of dissent on this restaurant, but here it goes...After all the hype, all I can say about Ella is that it failed to deliver & I walked away quite disappointed with the experience. Upon setting foot in the door, I wasn't sure if I had walked into Selland's new venture or the discarded set of an Alice in Wonderland filming. It appeared that the proprietor decided to go with an eclectic hodge podge design of white wrap-around billowing curtains that went from floor to ceiling lending an institutional look to the establishment, along with a multitude of shutters covering the ceiling...yes, the ceiling. Appearances aside, the initial impression of the service left a lot to be desired. There were two ladies working the front desk & neither bothered to look up & offer a greeting to our party of three. It wasn't until one of my dining companions finally took a step forward & advised that we had a reservation that we were acknowledged. And by acknowledged, it was a brisk , "Follow me," no "Hello, "Welcome," or "Thanks for waiting." Now granted the place was busy for a Wednesday night, I still believe when one takes the time out beforehand to make a reservation; it should merit a decent table. Instead, we were unceremoniously plopped down at a high-traffic area table that was also just a few mere feet away from the hostess stand & bar. In addition, the restaurant has a cavernous, echoic feel. My friend was sitting just on the other side of the table & I couldn't hear a single word she said during the evening without one or the other of us shouting. A lot of the conversation during the night amongst the three of us went like, "What?" "Did you say something?" "Were you talking to me?" It also probably didn't help matters, that there was a very intoxicated woman in the bar that kept yelling & clomping down her stiletto like a braying mule.

Our server, Darren, was the one of the few bright spots of the night. He was attentive, friendly & offered recommendations. We started off requesting the citrus poached prawns; however, the expeditor brought out the grilled prawns with creole barbeque sauce instead. When we pointed out the error, he smoothly advised us to keep the wrong order on the house & he would have the correct dish brought out shortly...he followed through & the citrus prawns were quite tasty. They were served cold with a sauce that appeared to have a "bite" at the finish. The Creole BBQ prawns, on the other hand, were quite lackluster and made me glad that we weren't shelling out the $13 for it. Next, we moved on to the baked oysters. Word of advice? Don't. I think we're still kicking ourselves that we didn't opt for the raw oysters in the half shell. The baked oyster starter reminded me of one of those heavy cheese covered dishes at TGI Friday's. There was so much cheese slathered on there that one had no idea what kind of mystery seafood he/she was ingesting. The lackluster oysters were followed by the heirloom tomato & burrata cheese salad...now I have no problem throwing down for a good meal but $9.50 for half a tomato? Are you kidding me? That tomato better do magic tricks.

At this point in the meal, all three of us were a bit glum that we had chosen Ella's for our night out. So far it had amounted to mediocre food at NYC prices. Maybe our fairy godmothers felt sorry for us because at this point, Darren brought out a scrumptious plate of baby beets. This was my favorite dish of the night. I was seriously thinking of ditching my dinner order and just ordering another round of the delectable beets. But as they say hindsight is 20/20. My friends both went for the NY strip & were quite content with their choices. I chose the road less traveled...but unlike Browning, I came to regret my decision. Prior to placing our entree orders I vacillated between the duck & the rack of lamb. Both sounded divine. The server assured me both dishes were wonderful, he even noted that normally he did not enjoy duck but he liked Ella's version of the quacker. So I went with the fowl. Bad choice... the most common mistake with duck is that it's overcooked and dry. Well, Ella's version was quite moist...but the dish lacked any flavor whatsoever. Our conscientious server came by & inquired about our dinners. When he got a sad shrug from me he immediately offered to replace the dish with another entree. I declined as I had eaten most of the swiss chard and figs by then and my dining companions were almost done. Moments later the mgr/sommelier came by making the same gracious offer. When I declined again, he politely advised that dessert would be on the house. Although not needed, it was a thoughtful gesture on his part. At our waiter's urging we split a chocolate & macadamia nut cake. Overall, our server did a great job of trying to iron out the wrinkles of the evening, but even his super service could not convince me that Ella's fare justifies its upscale pricing.

8/2012- Update

An update. we went to Ella's Saturday night for dinner with some friends. Setting my opinions from 10/07 aside, I really wanted to like it this go round. I love Selland's and The Kitchen, plus Ella had recently hired a new head chef so I was going in with an open mind. To avoid being seated in a high traffic area under an air vent like last time, I made reservations and requested a nice table near a window or a booth. When we arrived the hostess sat us at a nice booth in the rear of the restaurant, where it was quiet. For our starter, Mr.S. and I split the steak tartare which was delicious-it was finely minced, had a nice subtle hint of french mustard and was paired with a fresh egg and a few torn garlic popovers. Both of us liked it. For our main courses, Mr.S went with the pan seared tuna and caponata (a cooked vegetable salad made of roasted eggplants, squash, tomato and raisin caper puree). He commented that the tuna was seared perfectly (rare) but was quite a small portion for nearly $30. I had opted for  the salmon which came served over a helping of succotash. The salmon was tender but the succotash was slightly mushy. Overall, we both liked our meals although they weren't anything exceptional. The disappointment for the evening was mainly concerning the service. We had three different servers that night and it was like a page from Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Our first waitress (a very tall redhead) seemed annoyed that we were even seated at her table and treated us like we were an awful hindrance to her evening. She appeared to be one step away from rolling her eyes every time we ordered anything. At one point, she stepped on Mr.S.'s foot extremely hard and didn't say anything. Not a pleasant dining experience. Luckily for us, her shift ended or something to that like because we were handed off to a friendly waiter (young, African-American gentleman with glasses), he was absolutely wonderful. Super personable and on top of everything. As we edged towards the end of our meal, he checked back with us a few times but we were mainly assisted by a petite brunette waitress who was friendly. She took care of our after dinner drink orders and our check.

Later that evening, Mr.S. and I had a conversation about the dinner at Ella's and decided we probably won't go back, although we'll still continue to dine at Selland's and The Kitchen. For a $220+ meal for four, it just wasn't up to standards, we would rather spend the money at Mulvaney's or Waterboy.

कोथिंबीर वडी (Corriander Tikki)

कोथिंबीर वडी (Corriander Tikki)

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Today when Ajoy returned back, i wanted to cook something with kothimbir considering he loves kothimbir and here i cooked a mom's recipe.. It tastes awesome and very very easy to prepare.. It goes well in starters and can be a hit item in the parties...


Ingredients
2 cup corriander leaves
1/2 cup Besan
1/4 cup rice powder
1 spoon red chilli powder
Oil
Salt to taste

Method

• Wash and chop the corriander leaves very fine
• Mix besan, rice powder, chilli powder, salt and a spoon of oil with these finely chopped corriander leaves.
• Add little water if required and form a cylindrical ball with this mixture
• Grease it a little bit and cook it on vapour in pressure cooker for 15 - 20 min till the knife comes out of this ball without mixture sticked to it
• Let the ball cool down and then cut it into thin pieces
• Deep fry the tikkis and serve with sauce

Notes
If by any chance you happen to add little extra water add more besan so that it forms tight ball
Add salt with care as this mixture tends to get salty even with little salt

Gajar Halwa

Gajar Halwa

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

This recipe is something very easy to cook and i had been cooking this very often lately.. mainly because it is delicious, it has lots of milk and carrot which is good for health and plus very easy to cook.. esp in microwave.. Even for stove recipes i tried diffierent methods and here is the one that tastes most delicious...


Ingredients
5 cup grated carrots
4 cup milk
1 cup sugar
5 spoon dry fruits
4 spoon ghee

Method

• Heat a pan and add 1 spoon of ghee
• Add the grated carrots and let them fry a little for couple of minutes on lowest possible flame
• Add a cup of milk to this and let the carrots cook on medium flame with constant stirring
• Once the mixture starts drying out add another cup and keep on cooking, follow this till complete milk is added and carrots cook well
• Once mixture dries out, add the sugar and again keep on stiring and let the mixture mix well and dry well
• Add 3 spoons of ghee from side and fry the halwa on it
• In another pan add remaining ghee and fry the dry fruits well and then add them to the halwa

Notes
Frying halwa on the ghee at end makes it nice and delicious.
Adding frying fruits add to the taste.
You can optionally add everest milk masala into the halwa for better taste

Sol Kadhi

Sol Kadhi

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

This is very famous item from konkani cuisine and it tastes awesome.. And above all its very digestive and also helps a lot in acidity.. You can drink it like it or can eat it with rice.. in all combinations it tastes awesome :) So here is the recipe


Ingredients
8 kokams
1 coconut
1-2 cloves of garlic
salt to taste
corriander for garnishing

Method

• Soak the kokams in 1/4 cup of water
• Preapare milk from coconut, while preparing it add garlic cloves as well so that only its falvour is in coconut milk and not the pieces
• Add this coconut milk to the soaked kokam water
• Add salt to taste and garnish with the corriander

Notes
If you do not like garlic taste you can prepare coconut milk without garlics, but garlic gives it nice taste
You get very good kokams in goa, they are red and sour which give nice red colour to the kadhi
You need to customize number of kokams according to their sourness. I have very old kokams so i need to add them in little extra quantity and even then it doesnot give the colour to the curry though it tastes good. you might need 1-2 kokams less if your kokams are red, sour and new.

Stuffed Tomato

Stuffed Tomato

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

I was not sure how this will turn out when i decided to try this out.. Its kind of own recipe when i wanted to prepare something totally different with paneer. I had seen stuffed tomatoes in a cooker adv when i was kid and since then i had that facination towards stuffed tomato.. Though i never told mom.. so this is first time i was trying stuffed tomato and i wanted something very different as stuffing.. something without potato :D So here is the recipe...


Ingredients
4 mid sized tomatoes
1 small onion
1.5 cup grated paneer
handful of corriander leaves
1 tea spoon jeera
1/4 spoon black pepper
2 spoon butter
salt to taste

Method

• Cut the small round portion from the tomatoes head and save them
• Take out the inner portion of the tomato and store it in a cup
• Heat pan and add butter to it
• Fry finely hopped onion on it till its done
• Add tomatoes inner portion that we stored earlier
• Once the mixture is dry take it out in a dish
• Add the grated paneer, finely chopped corriander leaves, jeera, black pepper, salt to taste
• Now add this mixture to the hollow tomatoes and cover them with their head that are stored
• Grease the tomatoes a little and bake them or cook on vapour in a cooker

Notes
You might want to add mushroom to this while we fry onions to get a different taste
Baked tomatoes taste nice but the ones in cooker give it nice colour as well as taste

The way things are done

The way things are done

I grew up in a family in which the women especially indulged in some blind practices without ever questioning them; they just followed what was handed down to them from their mothers and mothers-in-law. Grandmothers were a powerful force in the families and one saw a docile mother implicitly obeying her - no questions. There could be disagreements at the personality level but when it came to traditions they were hand in glove.
Some of them were pretty elaborate like those relating to birth, marriage and death. Some seemed more like habits of someone with OCD like the way one had to clean one's hands before and after touching several things. The concepts of "Madi" and "Pathu" in a Tambrahm household needed the skills of a rocket scientist to unravel. For the uninitiated, Madi is when you had to be clean and pure to do certain things like cooking and pooja. This involved having a bath, often wetting your hair too and wearing clothes that have not been touched by anyone who is not practising Madi. Pathu is an extreme form of hygiene which meant not mixing cooked things with uncooked things. But it is not all that simple as it seems - the finer intricacies are mind boggling. Suffice it to say I always did something wrong and incurred the wrath of my grandmother whose madi and pathu I polluted.

As a teenager, I used to be fascinated by some of these practices and angry about the discriminatory ones. But whenever I questioned a tradition or a ritual the answer was the same:
"This is the way we have always done it in this family." If I persisted more I was told that I was going to make the Gods angry and they would pierce my eyes.
That was a powerful threat.And when I got married one of the important and repeated advices I received from my aunts and grandmother was:
"Don't be impertinent. Learn the practices in their house and follow them. Else it is your children who will suffer."
What?

The best part was that even though I married another TamBrahm there were so many subtle variations in the practices in their family and deviations were not tolerated. And when I asked my m-i-l for the rationale I got the answer:
"This is how we have always done it in this family." How enlightening!

And that is exactly how traditions and rituals get perpetuated - unquestioning obedience, irrational fear and blind faith. Once the ground is fertile with these nutrients it is easy for those wielding power to use these effectively to reap their benefit. So many practices still thrive around the world on the only excuse:
"We have always done it this way and we do not have to change." Remember the recent cases in Haryana where the Panchayat separated a couple and took away their children for they married within the same gotra? Remember our discussion here on the power of Horoscopes and defects in natal charts?


Female circumcision a.k.a female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been in practice in many African countries for over 2000 years. It is still practiced in over 40 countries.It involves some very crude and dangerous methods done without medical assistance in many villages. This summer 2 girls died in Egypt after they were subjected to the procedure and there was an angry furore over this. The Egyptian health ministry banned the practice but the public reaction was that the ministry had no right to question a cultural tradition:

Osama Mohamed el-Moaseri, imam of a mosque in Basyoun, the city near where the 13-year-old girl lived, and died. “This practice has been passed down generation after generation, so it is natural that every person circumcises his daughter,” he said. “When Ali Gomaa says it is haram, he is criticizing the practice of our fathers and forefathers.”

Most parents fear that no man will marry an uncircumcised girl as it is a symbol of a woman's honour and chastity! You can read what WHO has to say on FGM here.
Such a dangerous and barbaric practice and yet people defend it on the grounds that this is how we have always done it in our community.

How come we abandon all reason, judgement and humanity when it comes to tradition and faith? Why is there a reluctance even to question it and understand it even from people who suffer under the weight of it?
Reminds me of a story a friend forwarded:

A group of scientists placed 5 monkeys in a cage and in the middle, a ladder with bananas on the top.Every time a monkey went up the ladder, the scientists soaked the rest of the monkeys with cold water. After a while, every time a monkey went up the ladder, the others beat up the one on the ladder.
After some time, no monkey dare to go up the ladder regardless of the temptation.

The scientists then decided to substitute one of the monkeys. The first thing that this new monkey did was to go up the ladder. Immediately the other monkeys beat him up.
After several beatings, the new member learned not to climb the ladder even though he never knew why.

A second monkey was substituted and the same occurred. the first monkey participated in beating the second. Soon all the monkeys were replaced.What was left was a group of 5 monkeys that even though never received a cold shower, continued to beat up any monkey who attempted to climb the ladder.

If it was possible to ask the monkeys why they would beat up all those who attempted to go up the ladder…..
I bet you the answer would be….
“I don’t know – that’s how things are done around here”
Does it sound familiar?

I agree that every culture has its own peculiar traditions but it is necessary for successive generations to evaluate them against external changes and see their relevance and usefulness. While I am all for preserving our culture and best traditions, it is important to throw out those that have outlived their purpose, those that have been proved unscientific and those that are repressive and barbaric. That things have "always" been that way is no excuse. Now is always a good time to throw them out and become a more humanistic society.