Rain musings

Sanja speaks but it might sound as if she is singing. Here is a conversation that took place today morning. Try imagining her singing it in slow dragging voice. We had made vadai because it was the starting of the Aadi month. Sanja got a small kara-kara (crisp) piece. She finished it off and asked for some more in the following way. Venum ma venum ma   Inn one venum ma Vadai venum ma kara kara vadai venum ma Translated for ppl who dont know Tamil I want ma i want ma one more i want ma vadai want ma crispy crispy vada want ma So she got the extra vada purely for her singing ;P.

Ingredients:-  1 kothamali bunch (Coriander)  3-4 green chillies  1 lemon-sized tamarind ball.  little bit of jaggery (2 small balls size of pepper)  pinch of perungayam (Asafoetida )  salt for taste 2 table spoon cooking oil. Preparation:- Take the coriander bunch (remove the root portions) and clean it with water. Put it in the mixer and crush it. Add the tamarind, green chillies to the mixer and make it into a paste.If needed add some water so that we get a thick paste.  Now heat the kadhai and add cooking 1 tablespoon of oil to it. When it heats up , add the mustard seeds and pinch of asafoetida. Then add the paste to it. Add the jaggery and salt and stir the mixture. The remaining 1 tablespoon ofcooking oil can be added little by little till as required. Keep stirring and remove it from the flame when the chutney doesn't stick to the kadhai when stirred.   This chutney stays for a week when stored in refrigerator.It can mixed with...

Sanja turns into mother hen !! Yesterday night we (S, mil, fil , sil , sanja , kicha ( sil's almost 2 month old son)) were having some discussion in the hall. S went to get the fruits for the night-banana. Sanja doesn't eat them, she is in borderline of whether to taste it or not and mostly gives up the banana. So yesterday she took mine, peeled the skin and was feeding me :P. She was asking me to take bites like I tell her to eat food. The other baby didn't want to be left out. He found that his akka was having something interesting and was rearing to get it to his mouth. Watching the 2 kids , we were laughing at the attics. Sanja then reminded me again - Amma aah( a-um) vangiko ma.. sappidhu ma. It sent us into another peals of laughter. Finally she got fed up with my slow eating and herself made pieces out of it and fed them into my mouth. Blessed me !!! I was all smiles. How much of a mother she is to me? She then proceeded to put the skin in the dustbin and wa...

If you are familiar with Dora, you know Swiper is the wily fox that sets out to trouble Dora in her adventures. The ardent fan that Sanja is , she associates any animal that is a bad character with Swiper ( Kulla nari ). So here are the list of animals that she has told us are friends of Kulla nari .  *Hyenas ( the hyenas that come in the Lion king).  *Saber tooth tiger. Yesterday we were watching a program on Mammoths and the pre -historic animals in Discovery. The program showed the Saber-tooth tiger attacking a mammoth calf. Sanja at once said - Amma , that is a kulla nari friendu . * the shunda Elli ( mice) that is making noises in our backyard. It is amazing how such a small kid is able to categorize things based on good or bad act it does.

Ingredients: -1 medium cup - grated dry coconut (copra's). -7-8 garlic pods. -1/2 medium cup -Bengal gram ( kadalai parupu ) -1/4 medium cup - Black gram Dal ( ulutham parupu ) -5-6 red chillies - tamarind - take 2 small strip of tamarind (approx size of lemon when rolled into a ball) - teaspoon of cooking oil. Preparation: Put a deep pan on flame and first add the grated coconut and saute it till it turns a little golden brown in color. Then put aside the coconut in a plate, add the garlic pods and saute till they turn a golden yellow. Remove this as well. Then add a teaspoon of cooking oil , add the Bengal gram, red chillies, tamarind, urud Dal to it and roast them till the Dal change in colour to orangish red colour.   First ground the fried Dal, chili and tamarind in the mixer/blender. Add salt as required, then add the coconut and blend them. Finally add the garlic and grind the whole thing. Remove the contents of mixer and mix it well in a b...

Rating: 4/5  I watched this movie long back in April I guess. Bon Appetit , bon appetit !! A movie based on women and cooking. How the old and the new generation find the common thread? Merilyn streep makes you wish you had the character she portrays. I saw glimpses of my maternal grandmother in her. I don't want to talk about the blogging about Julie. But the story connects with each women in some way be it the cooking or the family life. How the new generation has lost the understanding , patience and such qualities of the old gen ladies? We feel as if we are the one making the world move whereas they( the old ones) always thought they were a part of it. The enthusiasm of Merilyn streep just makes you wish everything works out for her while publishing the book. It also shows how today the media is behind people rather than the olden days when Julia had to search for a publisher.    It also inspired me to start preserving the food recipes of our traditional pract...

The carrot-cabbage-onion mixed rice Serves : 2 Ingredients : 1 cup of grated cabbage 1 medium sized carrot - grated 1 medium sized onion - grated Jeera Salt 1 medium-sized tumbler rice Pepper pow der Ghee Optional: 1-2 Green chilli 2-3 garlic pods. Method:  Soak the rice for at least 10 minutes before cooking . Put the pressure cooker on the flame. Add some teaspoons of ghee and put jeera in it. When you get the aroma of jeera , add the grated vegetables and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the rice to the cooker. Pour 2 glasses of water using the same tumbler you used to measure the rice. Mix the ingredients well and allow it to come to a boil. Add the required quantity of salt. Then close the lid and place the whistle.Allow 2 whistles and then set the flame to small for 5 minutes and then stop it. Now after you are able to open the cooker, add the pepper powder( depending on the level of spiciness you need). Mix it up well and now the rice is ready to be serv...