2012 Oscars vs. Filmfare

The much awaited Oscar night is done..not that I am a huge fan of it but yes there is so much to learn. Oscar night is hosted with so much dignity that I feel that Indian awards have a long way to go.

Take for instance, Filmfare awards, supposed to be the baap of Indian awards...what has happened to its quality?

This time these awards were hosted in such a cheap and vulgar way. I could not believe that the SRK could get so bad, his jokes were atrocious.Ranbir was equally bad. Just couldn't watch the entire show. The best part is the way Indian actors and actresses laugh out on such bad jokes, there are so fake!!!They just convince you that at the end of the day there are just mere "Jokers". So for all those jokers, please learn something from the Oscars, behave yourselves!!!

Well there was one common thing in both awards and thankfully that was quite dignified. None other than AR Rehman...its so good when a person like ARR is representing India...he definitely makes India proud :)

Getting idli/dosa basics right

My dearest cousin has just shifted to Aussie land. She just asked me the recipe for idli dosa batter. So this is for you madam

Ingredients :
Rice- 2 cups
Urad dal/Uzzhunu-1 cup
Fenugreek seeds/ Uluva seeds - 1 tsp

Soak rice and urad dal separately for at-least 3-4 hrs. Add fenugreek seeds to Urad dal.

After 4 hrs, pour the water out

In the mixie jar, grind both rice and urad dal separately.
Grind rice to a fine coarse consistency adding water if required. Don't add much water
(You can also add 1/2 cup of cooked rice or leftover boiled rice)
While grinding urad dal, use minimum water, As you grind, it will be come very soft and you will see traces of bubbles on top, the more the bubbles, its always better for the batter, as you will have soft idlis. Mix both and keep it for fermentation,overnight.
(Remember that the batter should be thick)

In the morning, take the batter out, it would have increased in volume.
Now divide the batter into two vessels
In one set, add salt and then prepare idlis
In the other set, add salt and water to get batter consistency for dosas
You will be able to make crispy dosas

Kitchen secret : Adding 2 teaspoons of rava flour in dosa batter makes dosas very crispy :)

Above was a shortcut batter to make both, idlis and dosa
However, if you want to make only dosa, you can follow the above process making a slight tweek to the measurements
You can take 3 cups of rice and 1 cup of urad dal. This is only for dosas, you will not be able to make soft idlis with this proportion

Quick Jhatpat Khana

I was busy yesterday morning, had couple of meetings and conference calls
By the time all got over, it was 2 PM...poor my little "K", even though I was giving him nuts and bread in between, I knew that it was time to give him rice and he was longing for it
So here's what I made in a jiff..."K"loved it, guess he was hungry as well

Jeera Rice-1 cup
Onion -1 medium sized, slice it well
Cabbage-1 cup
Carrot- Grated 1/2 cup
Garlic 3 pods
Capsicum- 1/2 capsicum which is well chopped
Green chillies- 2 : make a slit
Pepper to taste
Garam Masala : 1/2 tsp: lightly roasted
Mixed herbs-a pinch
Flaxseeds powder-a pinch
Lemon juice
Salt to Taste
Water - 1+3/4 cup
Oil- 1 tsp

Garam Masala: Combination of Fennel seeds, Star Anise, Cinnamon, Cloves and Cardamoms
The proportion may vary depending on the taste
My proportions are 1/2 cup fennel,5 cinnamon sticks of 2 inches,3 Star Anise, 12 cloves and 6 cardamoms
I grind them in the mixie and before using I slightly dry roast them for 3 minutes

Fist take a glass bowl. Add 1 tsp of olive oil or oil of your choice. Add sliced onions and place it in the microwave in high for 1 minute. Add chopped ginger,garlic,green chillies and chopped capsicum onto the bowl and microwave in high for 50 secs. Add pinch of homemade garam masala, and microwave in high for 30 secs.Now add cabbage, carrot.salt, flaxseeds powder,mixed herbs and pepper to the mix and microwave in high for 2 mins. Add rice and water to the same bowl.Squeeze lemon juice, Mix it well and microwave in high for 21 mins.Add remaining garam masala and garnish with coriander.
Serve it with pappad and raita
Since I was running late. For raita, I took curd, added grated cucumber,salt and pepper

Thankfully "K" loved this simple dish

Funny side of "Theeyal"

"Theeyal" : well this dish in my life has a funny background...I have to share with you those details before coming to the recipe

Well I come from North Kerala and hubby from South Kerala...these two places in Kerala are like India and Pakistan. It always surprises me as there could be such differences in the same state
When I told my parents that I was in love, they were quite ok with it, coz they always  knew that I never understood the concept of arranged marriages (I still don't!)...but drama began when they came to know that he is from South Kerala...oh my god, they said it would have been better if you had brought a north indian or a foreigner...can you beat that?here I got them a nice sweet malu nair boy and this is what I had to hear...life is funny!
But then thanks to god grace, families met and finally we tied the knot
Today my parents love "A" more than me and he is the star of our family. My grandparents adore him. Touch wood, I was lucky and so was he!
In "A's" case also the same thing happened, not that they wanted any north indian or foreigner but yes they preferred someone from South Kerala
However lady luck kissed us and we are together

I never used to cook before my wedding..well I used to but was not into regular cooking
So in our initial days of marriage when "A" told me that he felt like having theeyal...I was in my wit's end
I had never heard of this dish (its a south Kerala dish)
That time I did not have a laptop and after coming from office, when "A" said this, I kept pronouncing Theeyal Theeyal...and then I thought to myself, "well it sounds like a dry sabzi! So I asked him kiska theeyal, and he said ladies finger..well I thought oh he wants okhra sabzi, maybe thats what they call in Thekku (South Kerala)
I made the sabzi in a jiff and had other dishes like Rice, Sambar etc
So "A" sits in the dining table and I serve Rice, Sambar and then he says where is theeyil, I tell him its next to him, he looks at bhindi ki sabzi and says that I dont have theeyal, its some sabzi...I asked him, doesnt theeyal look like this? and then he laughs, laughs and laughs...this is one of the incidents which he and his family still pulls my legs with :)
When my amma (mother in law) visited us for the first time, first thing she taught me was theeyil. But somehow I never liked this dish and because of that even after preparing for so many times, I never got it right and so avoided this dish for a long time
Only when amma (my mil) used to visit our place, was this dish prepared at home
Well this year, since I have stopped going to office and am working from home...I have started spending more time in the kitchen and to me cooking is a stress buster, especially when I have loads of projects to complete.After living with "A" for six years, I have started liking dishes from South Kerala
This year for a change I prepared theeyal once in a week and waited for "A's" reaction, he would have and saw Wow but last week he gave the best compliment. he said I can safely say that your theeyal has reached Mavelikara and immediatly called up amma. She was very happy to hear that
Phew...I was soooo happy...Finally I have done it...it took me so many years but better late than never!
So here I am sharing with you this dish named Theeyal!
Special thanks to Amma for teaching me this recipe

Ingredients :
Grated Coconut-1 cup
Coriander-1 tsp
Red chilly powder-1tsp
Turmeric Powder-1tsp
Fenugreek Powder- 1pinch
Vegetable Pieces or Kashnams could be Shallots//Cherriya ulli sliced- 10-12 or or Ladies finger-1/2 cup or Beans- cut into long pieces, 1/ 2 cup
You could choose any one of the above, my personal fav is small onions :)
Tamarind - Small lemon sized, place it in 2 cups of water
Oil as required
Salt to taste

Methodology
Take a dry pan and roast grated coconut for sometime, till it turns brown. and very crisp
Keep the stove in minimum so that you don't burn the coconut
Add all masalas, namely, turmeric, coriander and red chilly powder and keep dry roasting until the raw smell of masala goes off
Then take a dry mixer, please make sure that the mixer doesn't even have a drop of water
Blend the above in the mixer.
The paste will become thick and pasty and would be blackish browin in colour...you wont get this texture if there is even a drop in the mixie
Now taken a kadai, add 2 tsp of oil
Add the vegetables, fry them in low heat
If you are using shallots, then wait till it turns transparent
Add tamarind water to this. If you are using any other vegetable, wait for the vegetable to be done
Add salt and then a pinch of fenugreek powder
Now add the ground paste which you had prepared sometime back
After add the paste mix it well and simmer for 5 mins. You will see the gravy thickens
Switch off and serve it with hot Rice :)

I have got feedback that I should add photos of the dishes, as that helps so I promise, I will post the snaps of this recipe for sure in sometime :)

Cookies Mama!

Well just read out a Bruno series story to my little one...he loved it and then he asked," Mama, Bruno had cookies, even I want cookies"...so now that he is sleeping , I am checking out for the quickest and tastiest cookie recipe :)
Any recommendations?

Kerala : Some great facts

Hmm now that I am done with the irritating facts, let me jot down some great facts of Kerala!


Temples of Kerala : Superneat and Superbest
Go to any part of India, you will not get the same feeling of visiting temples as, in Kerala. They are the best, you know that the poojaari are the neatest. Something which is not prevalent in a Tamil Nadu or Karnataka.
Unnikrishnan is definitely there and watching us in these temples :)

Water of Kerala : Wow purity at its best
One bath and you feel that you have lived you life completely. The water is so pure here and so fresh. You need not worry of hair falling, as its purest water, you can drink water, straight from the well, I so love it

Having an early shower and visiting the temple here just makes the day. This is a feeling which I crave for and absolutely enjoy it, when I am at home :)

Green Green Greenery
As you travel through towns of Kerala, the sight of fields and farms are so wonderful and you just feel to Thank God immensely for his generosity!!!

Wonderful cuisine
Oh yes, as a state, Kerala is home to a variety of dishes and some of them are heaven :)

Weekend getaways:
If you live in Kerala, the are loads and loads of places to visit, so if one ignores the Kallan part, then this place is wonderful for weekends!

Autos
The autos are very cute in Kerala, it looks different, and I crave for the auto ride, and yes the autowalas are also very honest, unlike Bangalore and Chennai!!!!

Movies: Much better that Hindi or Tamil ones!
Though they dont make wonderful movies every now and then, but yes atleast there are few movies in a year which are masterpieces! Even though old movies were made beautifully but cannot write off the new directors. Movies like Salt and Pepper, Pranayam, Thanmatra are sooooo beautiful...can watch them zillions of times!


Yes Jewellary would be everyone's favourite but since I am not much into it, its not in my list!

Well I am thinking hard hard and hard, but am unable to find any more great facts :( Me bad!!!

Thank you Ladies!

There are some women who have unknowingly helped me so much and I really want to thank them today
I believe in saying it than just keeping it in my heart
Well biggest thanks, without any doubt goes to my mom and mom-in-law, they have always been supportive...they are smart, independent and  level headed. I have so much to learn from them..ahem at times they are stubborn but I just ignore that part of theirs :)
Thank you Mummy for bringing me up in such a wonderful way, we do have our share of arguments and love our spaces, but at the end of the day you are the best!...and amma (my mil)- you are so perfect, thanks for accepting me and sharing with me your kitchen secrets and signatory recipes such as theeyil, pulliserry etc. Both of these ladies makes friends so easily..something I am so bad at! After marriage, whenever amma visited us, she used to make friendship with our neighbors and that's how me and "A" used to get introduced to them..thank you amma!
I want to thank Sudha Murthy who is such a wonderful person..she helps people in simple ways and her books are so nice and honest. I just adore her and would love to meet her once in this lifetime...she is the only celebrity I would ever like to meet. I want to thank her because she makes me realize that one can do so much good in their lifetime!
I want to thank Kitchen Mishmash blog (http://kitchenmishmash.blogspot.com/) : well does she know that whenever I want to try out some new Malu cuisine, its her blog that I scrutinize...I have tried most of her recipes, and most of them have turned out supergood. Thank you!
I also want to thank aayisrecipes site (http://www.aayisrecipes.com/), again I have kept my family happy with her snacks. Thank you :)
I want to thank Oprah Winfreys show. I always thought that my family was one dysfunctional one...well the show allows me to sneak a peek into different kinds of people/lifestyles across the world and each time I realize that I am in heaven :)
I want to thank my new readers and thank you-Rhonda Byrne, your "The Secret" keeps me sane :)
And needless to say all my girlfriends, we may not meet or talk on a daily basis but just to know that I can call them in times of crisis, make me feel glad :):)
Special thanks to my Aunt Usha..she is my inspiration and hats off to her achievements!!!
Also thanks to my dear Ammamma..she is my inspiration of being a wonderful wife :)
Also thanks to my sister and cousins..you guys make me realize my age! :)
There is always so much to learn from all of you

Kerala : Some irritating facts

I am in Kerala now, and yes let me jot what I like and hate about Kerala land...Let me first jot down what I hate, so that I am out of those yucky feelings!Will give you examples for each

1.   Invasion of Privacy,Invasion of Privacy,Invasion of Privacy!

Hate it to the core, why are everyone bothered about everyone else's life???

In my in-laws place, one of their family person is worried about my second cousin who is not married yet! Hulo??? Go get a life!

Marriages and Funerals are wonderful to them, as they can meet long lost friends and find out if that cousin of theirs got married!

2.   Fair vs Dark

Oh yes being fair, both for men and women. Someone being fair is equivalent to beautiful. I have seen so many dark people here who are so beautiful, but nah for junta is fairness which counts!!! 

3.   Serialaaya Namah

People adjust their work from their 7 to 10 slot. During these times, unlike other part of India, where we go out or meet friends, in Kerala, majority of people are shut behind doors to watch SERIALS...Serials which represents men domination and women stupid!In fact there was a discussion at my friends place yesterday

Friends grandma : Do you think she will commit suicide?

Friends Grandpa : Hope not, afterall she has always made decisions with her mind

I am clueless and my friends sheepishly says, "Well, they are talking about a serial"

By the way even kids have no choice in such cases, they also watch those serials with terrible and dirty language. There are no parks in Kerala and hence they don't have this concept of going for walks in the evening, the excuse they give is arre, the roads arent good and there are so many thieves...its unsafe. Poor kids they are always glued to Television,laptops and play stations and the perception is Kids in metros are addicted to Television!!!

4.   Thieves,thieves and Thieves

This concept is exclusive to Kerala.....people stay in huge houses, whether they can afford or not and then never go for vacation as there are kalamaars uff thieves everywhere!!!

Dont sleep near the window, your necklace will be snatched!

Dont go for early walks you necklace will be snatched!

Dont keep the terrace door open, things will be snatched!

Even if they go for a trip they will make sure to come back in a day or two, so going out during weekends is a strict no-no

5.   Lack of kids : well innocent kids

I fail to speak to kids who are innocent in Kerala. Cant blame them, since they are exposed to violent movies and serials, they speak the same language! They say a Poda and shit frequently and when they say such sick stuff, instead of getting a slap, everyone in the family smiles, as though he has achieved something!

And yes these kids are very very indisciplined!miss innocence in kids!

Kids : Taking care is a burden

You will see kids on their own, they grow up on their own. During holidays, they will be in front of tv or laptops. They will be placed in some school for some hours as at home, elders don't have the strength, mum,if she is a housewife, she has to cook and if its a working women, then its just not possible, so who is going to take care of them. By the way if the house has a fulltime maid then the reason given is lady cant cook and look after  kids na!

6.   Only secrets can make/break a relation!
My cousin knows a secret about her friend...so whats the big deal, she wants to share with me. I told her that I dont care and dont want to know but she still spilled the beans, it was a silly thing which cannot even be called a secret. Now she doesn't want me to share with anyone...hahaha, why doesnt she understand that I really dont care about that friend, she is not anything in my life!When I told her that she said but my friend stayed in your place for a day...so what whats the big deal, they are many acquaintances who have stayed in our place, that doesnt mean each of them is my bumchum!!!And then she says what if you meet her somewhere in life...why doesnt she understand she is just an acquaintance to me!!!"Grrr"

7.   Sex deprived?

Most of the ladies, I meet, seems to be sex deprived, or why would would they tell me about their sex life and their fascination towards manly and hairy men..ugh...please remember, I would not even had broached the subject. "Poor me..Sigh". 

8.   Men dominating : Ladies please stay @home!

Yes men in this part are theee MAN of the house. Heights is when there is a family, husband has gone to Australia for an onsite project, Wife is working and they have a son, say who is 9 years old. Typical remark of elders are Thank God they have a son to look after her. Its hilarious, is he the one buying veggies or submitting bills, he has no clue about all that, then on what account are such remarks made!Yes because of his gender.

In a typical family life, man can leave the house and come back anytime, but a lady cannot walk after 7...well it is scary, in Bangalore, I would go for shopping at 7 but in Kerala even when I go for a walk with my hubby, it give me jitters, as you see people drunk and staring at you and all you can think is, "tere ghar me maa behen nahi hai kya?"

9.   "Status" is the word!
Even if the child has no clue of M.B.B.S, he or she has to get this degree, not because of a noble career but for the status of parents. There are only two kinds of career recognized in Kerala : Engineer and Doctor. Only a handful thinks of a career beyond them. By the way, the maximum nurses are because they could not make it through M.B.B.S degrees. Those who have opted for other professions would have faced criticism from people atleast once.
A huge house, a grand wedding, even a microwave oven is bought for the status of the family.Poor microwave, it will be lying in one corner of the kitchen, and if its used, its used only for warming stuff...hahaha
By the way, even doing something for the poor is marketed here, I have never understood as to why an elephant in gold is donated to a temple, and when its given the family makes sure that eveyone around knows it...well what will the gods do with it!No clue
Even if they are giving something to the poor, they make sure that everyone is told so..you see thats their STATUS!!!

10.   Finally the worst : CRIB,CRIB AND CRIB

Typical scene in Kerala : son is a doctor, daughter is an engineer, daughter is getting married to a doctor,they live in a big independent house...but the family is cribbing, as they don't have enough money. Excuses they provide are they bought the MBBS seat for 40 lakhs, engineering seat for 30 lakhs and now have to give dowry to the doctor son-in-law!

Oh by the way, in Kerala there is nothing beyond doctor and engineer, you will get a match if you are one of them, no matter how you look and whether you are employed

Any house you visit is cribbing either about the past or about future!!! I am talking from a day to day life!

Yes in special occasions, like a marriage in the house, there is enjoyment, nahi tho they are just blaming their life!!!I pity them!

This factor is the most irritating part of a typical Kerala family, very few of them have feelings of gratitude in life!!!

10.   Other irritating facts:

• When they meet a NRK kid, first thing they will ask is Malayalam ariyo? If he/she knows, then the parents are safe, if not thenm tho gaya, you will get all sorts of lectures to learn mother tongue and the funny part is these lectures will be given by people who would have forced one to get out of Kerala!!!
• Its a perception in Kerala that NRK's are enjoying their life, well they have their weekends off but they don't see the hard work which goes behind a NRK life. Well what I see is attitudewise,  NRKs are better off
• They distinguish NRK of India and NRKs outside India :) hahaha...for them being a NRK outside India are more distinguished 
• If you are living in places like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka,they may not tell you  on your face, but they feel that Kerala is a class higher then these places, though they may have put their children for MBBS/Engineering in these places, afterall you can buy seats in these places na...oh by the way Chennai and Bangalore is an exception to this perception
• And they crib crib and crib!!!

P.S-When we come to visit Kerala, first two days, my hubby would say its too hot, then third day he would say, lets shift to Kerala, say Cochin, it isnt that bad, and after 5 days he says, lets go back to Bengaluru and I say a silent prayer of Thanks to someone up there :)

Chauvinism : To be or not?

I have been toying of writing this entry for quite sometime...its on the species from Mars
But until, it doesn't go out of my system, I will not be in peace, so finally decided to pen down my thoughts

This is not for all men in this world but most of them I have seen come across in this genre

These thoughts are based on true events...any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely intentional :)

I have never understood real meaning on male chauvinism :

Wikipedia defines it as a term used to describe the belief that men are superior to women. It is often used interchangeably with "sexism" and is closely associated with misogyny and perceptions of women as inferior to men, especially intellectually

Well what I don't understand is Indian or South Indian male chauvinism behaves in a different way
If one is a chauvinist, then one should be a chauvinist always and should never change their chauvinism according to their convenience
My best friend was telling me the other day, that she was in a rush in morning hours to go to office, as usual she told her hubby, if he could iron her clothes, he had never said No before this day, but that day he said a stern No, she was surprised by his reaction and guess what was the reason, because his friend was at home and he did not want to show that he irons his wives clothes!
Gosh I really wanted to know what was he trying to prove
I have come across many men of this sort,its  they will shamelessly accept dowry, car,salary etc from their wives, but still they try to show that they are superior...lets be honest, do they really feel superior?I doubt!
Its ridiculous, how can you be superior after accepting all materialistic gains from your wife?
I think men should come out of this ego...that is when the world will be a better place to live

Things like keeping the plate in the dinner table,they cannot think of cleaning it...its a small thing, but this doesn't express love for a woman, all these tactical stuff keeps proving that women are indeed treated badly in India!
Its funny that even if a women is well educated, inside the four walls of a house, she succumbs to such treatment...sometimes I wonder, will such a house ever be a home?

At time I feel all this is due to the species from Venus only
When one has a son, if he is treated similar to a daughter, then he would never have an ego, but I have always seen that boys at a young age itself is treated like gods by their mothers, and that's how they develop their superior ego..sad very sad...What a waste of Education to such women!!!

I know things are changing and I have seen men who treat women very well, they do not believe in keeping the plates in the dining table or do not accept dowry...but they still make a smaller pie...Hats off to them...YOU GUYS ROCK!Let your tribe grow!
But the other segment : Well all I can say is SHAME ON YOU!!!GROW UP :)
It sad when the latter segment (chauvinist) meets someone of former segment (non or less chauvinist), do you know how do they perceive?...they call them spineless...sad they are never ready to embrace goodness in life!

P.S : Please "men" who belong to the latter segment, don't take it personally, its just that someone should tell you guys, what a lady feels...and women who succumb to this segment, same goes to you...Shame on you!