For you

I was walking back from the swimming pool in a blissfully exhausted state when suddenly the lights went off. Pitch black all around. I was transported to an age and land far away where the silence of stillness pervades the earth. You could hear the buzz of the night and nothing else. The darkness seemed an apt metaphor for the stories running in my mind…..”Just when you think everything is fine, life springs a black hole on you”. But before the despair overtook me the Hawking radiation was not too far away. A million fireflies fluttered all around taking my breath away. Dancing mischievously and showing me the spirit of all things beautiful in life. It was like Diwali in the middle of summer.
Silently I said a prayer…..For this special friend. I had no appropriate words the other day and I do not believe in temples. But I saw God in those million fireflies and may they light your way.

In search of peace...Munnar hills

Munnar…beautiful, lovely, comforting, Munnar. The silence spoke for me and I felt at home. I felt like walking and walking and walking….it was like a long happy conversation with an old friend in a coffee shop with no purpose or end point.
And the people…the helpful driver, the smiling plantation workers, the purposeful tea museum guide…all seemed like people I’ve known earlier in this life or perhaps a previous life. The cobwebs in my memories are clearing and suddenly I remember the English schoolteacher from 2nd standard and an old driver who drove our jeep through the blistering heat of the colliery mines. Funny what all you can hear if you listen hard enough…
I saw the sweetness in the smile of the plantation worker plucking a cardamom flower. His white teeth and his dark eyes glowed as he showed the fragile white flower and fledgling cardamom pod in his hands. A strange unknown fear gripped my mother and she started hastening me to leave. A few questions come to my mind….Why is it that we are so scared of strangers and unexpected kindness? Does it impose a strange sort of obligation on us to come out of our shells and be nice in turn? Or does being nice run opposite to the productive narcissistic self that we are all turning into?

Your daughter is going to be fine...

Because there are good men like you across the world.

More power to you babe!

To all the women you have touched my life....."More power to you, babes!"
And to all the men who supported these women..."More power to your souls. May you always be in touch with that- your feminine self. "

I'm tired of the questions.....

Truth and love....aren't they the same thing? And with great love comes great responsibility.......and commitment and integrity.
Somewhere there comes faith....when you don't understand....I just need to be in the moment....

Dab Chingri

Contributed by Arpitadi. Thanku! Muah Muah Muah!

I tried this out on my friend and her husband ( who is a mach loving Canadian) this weekend. They simply loved it. For those of us who entertain a lot of o-bangali and bideshi lokjon......this is an absolute hit. The dish is very delicately spiced, and has a whole lot of soft touch to it. The end effect - the spices, the aromas, the textures, the whole thing bursts inside your mouth....giving a very rich gastronomic experience!!! Try this out definitely, even we bangalis who love our food spicy and hot are bound to like it!!

Ingredients

Small Prawn - 750 gms (normally fresh prawns are the best, if not available you can use cooked frozen ones too)

Onion Paste - 100 gms

Milk - 50 ml

Coconut Milk - 75 ml

Cummin Paste - 2 tsp

Green Chilli Paste - 2 tsp

Ginger Paste - 1 tbsp

Poppy Seed Paste - 2 tsp

Cashew Paste - 2 tsp

Lemon Juice - 1 lemon

Salt - to taste

Oil - 3 to 4 tbsp

Fresh Coriander Leaves - for garnishing

1 Whole Green Coconut - (when green coconut not available - try using canned coconut water - this can be found in some Srilankan or South Indian Grocery stores - but if you find green coconut - nothing like it)

Preparation :

Completely shell and de-vein the prawns, wash in cold water. If using cooked frozen prawns, thaw properly.

Rub with lemon juice and salt and keep aside for sometime. Taken oil in a wok and add onion paste. Simmer till oil leaves the sides. Add ginger paste. Stir. Add poppy and cashew paste and simmer till it smells of roasted nut. Add cumin and green chilli paste.

Cook for 2 minutes and add milk and coconut milk. Simmer for about 15 minutes till gravy is set. Add the prawns and simmer till cooked. Add the water of green tender coconut and reduce to till the gravy is thick. You may also scrape out some of the tender coconut from the shell and keep aside for garnishing later on. Add salt to season. Cut the ends of the green coconut and preserve the shell of the head for covering.
Pour the curry into the shell and cook for 20 minutes on a water bath, immersing the stuffed green coconuts till half water level. Serve hot in the shell garnished with fresh coriander leaves and tender coconut pieces.And lo.......behold ...........what an amazing spread it looks and tastes out of the world too!!

Dhanepatawala Chicken (Chicken n Corriander)

Note: Yesterday I went to my Mejojethi's place for lunch. It is in the hallowed tradition of our family that all people residing out of Cal (i.e., lost souls) when they come to visit their friends and family in the city have to be fed to their gills by doting grandmoms, aunts, sisters, etc. and the success of their collective endeavours is measured by the gain on the weighing scales. Anything less than 5-10kgs is seen as a very mediocre effort on their part. So anyways I enjoyed the food soooo much....the least I could do is to pay my homage to her supreme spread by sharing the recipe of one of those many magnificent dishes. The subtle flavour and the simple procedure and ingredients makes this one a gem.

Ingredients

Chicken 1kg

Corriander leaves- 4 bundles (approx 250gms I think)

Green chillies- 4

Garlic paste- 2 tsp

Ginger paste- 1 tsp

Onion- 2 if big in size, 4 if small

Potatoes- 2 medium sized ones

Vinegar- 3 tbsp

Coconut milk- 1 tetrapack of Dabur Hommade one will do (approx 2 cups of thick milk)

Butter- 2tsp

Pepper- 1 tsp

Oil- 4-5tbsp

Salt and Sugar to taste

Procedure

First marinate the chicken with vinegar and salt for an hour. Wash the corriander leaves and green chillies and grind into a thick paste. Cut the onions into long slices and the potatoes into finger-chips. Fry the Onions well (should be red in colour) and the potato finger chips and keep these two aside.

We can use the oil left from the fried onions and potatoes for cooking the chicken (clean any leftover matter with your spatula). First put the garlic and the ginger paste and fry well. Then add the corriander- chilli paste and fry a little bit (not too much, as it will lose the nice green colour and become black instead). Add the coconut milk and then the marinated chicken. Mix well with the fried masala and cook over slow fire. Keep checking and stirring from time to time. When the chicken is cooked check and add the sugarand salt as required. Add the fried potatoes, onion, butter and pepper and mix well. The dish is ready to serve! Since we don't put any water separately while cooking- the dish is "makha makha" with a thick gravy. Goes well with both roti/paratha and rice. (If you like your chicken very hotttt, ;-) then try varying the quantity of green chillies to get your optimum level of spiciness. )

Total preparation time is approx 1 hour (not counting the marination time for the chicken).