Heerekai Chutney

Well, I would like to call it fibrous chutney because its made of vegetable's skin and thus very fibrous and healthy. Its called heerekai sippe chutney - more famous as samandha in south kanara.

Ingredients:

1 big bowl - Heere kai sippe (thick skin of ridge gourd)
2 spoon coconut gratings
1 spoon urad dal
1 green chilly, 1 red chilly
tamarind - 1 small lemon size
a pinch of asafoetida (ingu)
2 spoon oil
salt to taste

Method:

(1) Semi cook the skin of ridge gourd and keep it aside. (can be cooked in cooker or in a pan with closed lid).
(2) Take a pan and put 2 spoons oil. Add urad dal to it. Once it turns brownish, add green & red chilly. Add asafoetida powder. Switch off the flame and then add coconut gratings.
(3) Mix (1) and (2) in a blender/mixie to form a consistent paste. Add water as needed.
(4) For seasoning: add mustard seeds and some urad dal in oil/ghee.

And there you go! Who said "all that tastes good is not healthy and all that is healthy tastes bad!" In this case: its healthy bhi... tasty bhi!

Serving suggestions: Serve it with curd rice or Dosa/Chapati/Idli.

Now you must be wondering "I use the fibrous peeled skin. well and good. But what do I do with the vegetable!!!" No worries. It can be used in making Dose. Follow my Khara Dose recipe here which shows you how to do just that.

Spicy Spaghetti

Today has been a lazy day... lazy to cook rice, but all excited and geared up to try some experimenting with spaghetti. I searched for some good recipes in the internet, but most of them wanted chilly sauce, vinegar, multi-purpose sauce and many other varieties. In my kitchen, you can simply find 1 bottle of tomato sauce and soy sauce. I have not tried other varieties of sauces for the simple reason that we seldom cook Chinese/Italian food and the sauce will be kept unused for months together and wasted ultimately.

So the below recipe is my own version of spaghetti, more suitable for Indian taste buds. Try it out, and i bet you will enjoy the new taste.

Indian Version Spaghetti Ingredients:

1 onion - chopped

1 bowl carrot - cut into match sticks size

1 bowl shredded cabbage

1 bowl capsicum - cut into thin long slices

1 small bowl onion springs - cut diagonally

1 spoon minced ginger & garlic

1 large bowl cooked & strained Spaghetti

1 spoon soy sauce 

1 spoon tomato sauce

4-5 spoons of oil

salt and white pepper - as per your taste.

Method:

Preparing Spaghetti:

Take approx 1 litre of water for around 100gms of Spaghetti. Bring the water to boil. Add a little salt. Once you make sure that the water is boiling, add spaghetti and cook for 6-8mins, stirring occasionally. Cook uncovered. Blanch with cold water, strain & keep aside.

Actual Preparation:

- Use a thick bottomed large wok and make sure to work on a high flame. Put 4-5 spoons of olive oil (or any oil that you prefer).

- Once the oil is hot, put ginger/garlic. Saute briefly and add onion.

- Add carrots, fry for a few seconds and then cabbage & capsicum.

- After they are semi-cooked, add soya sauce and tomato sauce. Stir well.

- Add pepper as per your taste requirement & a pinch of salt if the cooked spaghetti hasn't picked enough salt.

- Put the strained spaghetti onto the wok and mix thoroughly for 2 mins. Switch off the flame and then decorate with the aromatic onion springs and finally serve with love :)

Note: You can improve its taste by adding a little multi-purpose sauce and a spoon of vinegar if you have it in your kitchen store.

Its an easy and simple recipe which will for sure make your family crave for more and more.

Nostalgia

“Wow! Matching earings, matching bangles… you look gorgeous. ಏನೇ special ಇವತ್ತು?” ಎ೦ದು ಆಕೆಯ friend ಕೇಳಿದಾಗ ಏನೋ ಒ೦ದು ರೀತಿಯ ಜ೦ಭ ಆಕೆಗೆ. ತನ್ನ೦ತ ಸು೦ದರಿ ಬೇರೆ ಯಾರು ಇಲ್ಲ ಎ೦ಬ ಕಲ್ಪನೆ.

“ಏನು ಇಲ್ವೆ – ಹಾಗೆ ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ” ಅ೦ತ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾಳೆ.

“Look she is blushing” . ಉಳಿದವರೆಲ್ಲಾ ಕಿಟಿ-ಕಿಟಿ ಎ೦ದು ನಗುತ್ತಾರೆ.

---೦---

ಇಬ್ಬರು ಹುಡುಗಿಯರ shopping ಕಥೆ ಇದು…

ಎಷ್ಟು ಈ salwar-ಗೆ.

900 madam.

500ಕ್ಕೆ ಕೊಡ್ತೀರಾ?

ಎನ್ madam? Handmade work ಇದೆ ಇದ್ರಲ್ಲಿ. 800ಕ್ಕು ಕಮ್ಮಿ ಬರಕ್ಕೆ ಆಗಲ್ಲ.

ಹೊಗ್ಲೀ 600ಗೆ ಕೊಡಿ...

ಇಲ್ಲ madam. 600 ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಬೇರೆ ಯಾವುದಾದ್ರು price ಹೇಳಿ. ಕೊಟ್ಟು ಬಿಡ್ತೀನಿ.

ಹೌದಾ, ಹಾಗಿದ್ರೆ 610ಕ್ಕೆ ಕೊಡಿ…

ಹೀಗೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಹೊತ್ತು ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತದೆ. ಕೊನೇಗೆ, ಹುಡುಗಿಯರು 700ಕ್ಕೆ salwar purchase ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಆಗ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಎನೋ ಒ೦ದು ತರಹದ satisfaction.

---೦---

ಒಹ್ ಹೊ. ಆ T.V ಗೆ 40,000 ಬೆಲೆ ಏನು! ಹಣವನ್ನು ಜೋಪಾನ ಮಾಡಿ wardwobe-ನಲ್ಲಿ ಇಡು ಮಗಳೆ. ಹೀಗಿನ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮನದಲ್ಲಿ ಏನೊ ಒ೦ದು ತರಹದ ಭಯಾ. ಎಲ್ಲಿ ಕಳ್ಳ ಬ೦ದು ಹಣವನ್ನು ದೋಚಿಕೊ೦ಡು ಹೋದಾನೋ ಎ೦ಬ ಭೀತಿ.

---೦---

ಹೊರಗಡೆ ಗುಡುಗಿನ ಸದ್ದು. ವಿಪರೀತ ಗಾಳಿ. ಮಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ತಾಯಿ ಇಬ್ಬರು terrace ಕಡೆ ಓಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಹೊತ್ತಿನ ಮು೦ಚೆ ಬಟ್ಟೆ ಒಗೆದು ಒಣಗಲು ಹಾಕಿದ್ದರು. ಗುಡುಗು-ಮಿ೦ಚು ಬರುವುದನ್ನು ನೊಡಿ ಬಟ್ಟೆ ತೆಗೆಯಲು ಓಡಿದರು. ಸಹಜವಾಗಿ ಎದೆ ಬಡಿತ ಏರಿತು. ಮಳೆ ಶುರು ಆಗುವ ಮುನ್ನ, ಬಟ್ಟೆ ತೆಗೆಯಬೇಕೆ೦ಬ ಕಾಳಜಿ ಇಬ್ಬರಿಗೂ.

---೦---

ರಾತ್ರಿ 11:58. ಹುಡುಗಿ ಇನ್ನು ನಿದ್ದೆ ಮಾಡಿಲ್ಲ. ಕಳೆದ ಒ೦ದು ತಾಸು T.V ನೊಡುತ್ತಾ ಕಳೆದಳು. ಮನದಲ್ಲಿ ಏನೋ ಸ೦ತಸ, ಹುರುಪು. T.V program ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ countdown ಶುರು ಆದವು. ಹೊಸ ವರುಷಕ್ಕೆ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ ಇಡಲು ಇನ್ನು ಉಳಿದದ್ದು ಬರೀ 60 seconds ಗಳು. ಮನೆಯ ಸಮೀಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲೋ ಕೂಗಾಟ-ಕಿರುಚಾಟ, ನಗೆ ಮತ್ತು music ಸದ್ದು. ಜಗತ್ತಿನಲ್ಲಿರುವವರೆಲ್ಲ ತಮ್ಮ loved-ones ಒಡನೆ enjoy ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾ ಇರಬಹುದೇನೊ ಎ೦ಬ ಕಲ್ಪನೆ ಈ ಹುಡುಗಿಗೆ.

ಛೇ! ನಾನು ಎಷ್ಟು ದುರಾದ್ರುಷ್ಟವ೦ತೆ. How unlucky of me. Everyone is enjoying this special moment, and I think I am the only one who is sitting between a 4 walled room and doing absolutely nothing. ಹೀಗೆ ತನ್ನನ್ನು, ಮತ್ತು ತನ್ನ ಪರಿವಾರವನ್ನು ಇನ್ನು westernized ಆಗಿಲ್ಲವೆ೦ಬ ಕಾರಣ ಹಿಡಿದುಕೊ೦ಡು ಬೇಜಾರಿನಲ್ಲಿ/disappointment-ನಲ್ಲಿ ನಿದ್ದೆ ಮಾಡಲು roomಗೆ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಾಳೆ.

---೦---

ಸ೦ಜೆ 7 ಗ೦ಟೆ. ನಾಳೆಯ ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆಗೆ ಇಬ್ಬರು ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರು group-studies ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. Phone ring ಆಯಿತು. Question Paper leak ಆಗಿದ್ದ ಸುದ್ದಿ ಕೇಳಿ ಇಬ್ಬರಿಗು ಖುಷಿ. ಕೂಡಲೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಪ್ರಷ್ನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಒ೦ದು ಕಾಗದದ ಮೇಲೆ ಗೀಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಎನೊ classಗೆ ತಾವೇ toppers ಆಗಿಬಿಡ್ತೀವೇನೋ ಎ೦ಬ excitement ಇಬ್ಬರಿಗೂ. ಮರುದಿನ ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿ question paper ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದಾಗ ಇಬ್ಬರೂ ಮುಖ-ಮುಖ ನೋಡಿ ನಗುತ್ತಾರೆ.

---೦---

ಮೇಲೆ ಕ೦ಡ೦ತಹ feelings ಬರದೆ ಸುಮಾರು 2 ವರುಷಗಳಾಗಿರಬಹುದು. ಆ ಜ೦ಭ/ satisfaction/ ಭಯಾ/ ಕಾಳಜಿ/ ಸ೦ತಸ/ disappointment/ excitement ಇವೆಲ್ಲಾ Singapore ಹವಾದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವುದಿಲ್ಲವೊ, ಅಥವಾ ಮದುವೆಯಾದ ಕಾರಣದಿ೦ದ ನನ್ನ ಮೇಲೆ ಕೋಪ ಮಾಡಿಕೊ೦ಡು ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಹೊಗಿದ್ದಾವೊ, ನಾ ಅರಿಯೆ.

ಇ೦ತಹಾ ಹಲವಾರು feelings ನನ್ನೊಡನೆ ಸುಮಾರು ೨೦ ವರುಷ ಇದ್ದವು. ಆದರೆ, ಈಗ ಬೇರೆಯೇ ತರಹದ feelings. Responsibility/ maturity/ freedom/ technology ಇವೆಲ್ಲಾ ನಮ್ಮ ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಕ್ರಮಿಸಿಕೊ೦ಡ ಕಾರಣದಿ೦ದಲೋ ಎನೊ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ, ಆ ಹಳೆಯ ಅನಿಸಿಕೆಗಳು ಬರೀ ನೆನಪಾಗಿ ಉಳಿದಿವೆ. ಸ೦ತಸ, ಸ೦ಕಟ, ನಗೆ, ಮಜ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಈಗಲೂ ಉ೦ಟು, ಆದರೆ ಬೇರೆಯೆ ತರಹದಲ್ಲಿ.

ಕೊನೆಯದಾಗಿ, ನೀವು ಏನೇ ಹೇಳಿ… ಈ Novemberಲ್ಲಿ  commercial streetಗೆ ಹೊದಾಗ bargain ಅ೦ತು ಖ೦ಡಿತಾ ಮಾಡೇ ಮಾಡ್ತೀನಿ... ... ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಕ್ಷಣಿಕವಾಗಿ ಬದಲಾದರೇನು, shopping ವಿಷಯದಲ್ಲ೦ತೂ, ನಾವು ಹುಡುಗಿಯರು ಅಷ್ಟು ಸುಲಭವಾಗಿ ಬದಲಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ!!!

I Can, I Will...

Some of you might have heard about this diet called GM Diet (General Motors Weight Loss Diet). It is a seven day diet program. It is planned in such a way, that it cleanses your internal body and flushes away the impurities within your system. This program is targeted to those who want to lose weight.

During the diet, you need to follow the plan given in their website. You will basically live on fruits, veggies, milk and water for these seven days (for vegetarians). Non-vegetarians however have other options. For more details you can refer to this link:
http://msync.org/health/GeneralMotorsDiet.html

I thought why not give it a try. I do not want to loose any weight. I am however keen on cleansing my body. I am sure it will give a feeling of well being at the end of seven days.
To keep the spirit high, I thought why not blog my experiences :)

Key Factor: Drink atleast 10 glasses of water during this diet program

Day 1: Only fruits:
Eat as much fruits as you want (anything except banana).
So we went to the market and got Apples, Pears, Lychee, Rock Melon, Watermelon & Oranges. I think this will be sufficient for today. Actually I am feeling a little tired already. May be my body is getting prepared for it. :) I will get back with more updates tomorrow.

Day 2: Only Veggies:
For breakfast, eat one large boiled potato. Rest of the day, eat any raw/cooked vegetables of your choice.
I had 1 potato for breakfast. I prepared soup for afternoon (a simple mixture of tomato gravy, onion, capsicum, cabbage, & carrot gratings - cooked with very little salt).
(Check out in the above link for recipe of GM Soup). Also had 1 hour of cardio workout at the gym.

Day 3: Fruits + Veggies (except banana & potato):
I woke up this morning and I knew something was wrong. Man! I felt so weak and dizzy. I drank a big glass of water with glucose and rested for a while. :)
Then I began my day with apple, pears & carrot. For lunch I had watermelon, peach, carrot, cabbage & tender coconut. Dinner was beans, cabbage, tomato, pears & lychee.
You know what, life becomes so boring with only raw fruits & veggies. I realised it just now. I want some junk food. But I cant quit now :P

Day 4: Eight Bananas + 3 glass milk:
Aww finally some change. I was bored of eating only fruits & vegetables. Today I can eat banana & get some calcium out of milk. Also, I will prepare the GM wonder soup for lunch. Hope this day goes on smoothly. Will be back with more updates.

Day 5: Rice + Tomato:
You should feel lucky today to enjoy a bowl full of rice. Drink extra water today to flush off the extra uric acid produced in your body.

Day 6: Rice + Vegetables:
Again today you get to eat 1 bowl of rice and any amount of cooked/uncooked veggies. It was really tough for me to eat plain rice. So I had to break the rule. I ate curd rice with pickles. Hehe. I know, during a diet, pickle sounds a little junk. Afterall, rules are made to be broken :P

Day 7: Rice + Vegetables + Fresh Fruit Juice:
This is your last day of diet, so refresh yourself with fruit juice - as many as you want. Eat one bowl rice and (un)cooked veggies.
In the morning I did not find enough time to prepare juice. So I simply ate apple and drink lots of water. hehe. Let the processing happen in my stomach :P For afternoon I will be drinking kiwi & grape juice, also a cup of brown rice. For dinner it will be some veggie salad and fruit juice again.

Anyone wants to join me, start it rightaway. Lets walk towards feeling better :)

Adi is trying to distract me with Indian sweets, snacks and other junk food. Its right in front of my eyes. But i will not give up. :P
I know I can & I will succeed. Hehe :)

My LG Contest

I have submitted few entries at the online LG Contest that is taking place currently in Singapore. Check out my entries.

Below are the links to my entries: I would be happy to receive comments/ feedback/ suggestions

http://sincere.lge.com/1001148
http://sincere.lge.com/1001171
http://sincere.lge.com/1001462
http://sincere.lge.com/1001475
http://sincere.lge.com/1002851
http://sincere.lge.com/1003943
http://sincere.lge.com/1003945
http://sincere.lge.com/1004536
http://sincere.lge.com/1004542
http://sincere.lge.com/1004590
http://sincere.lge.com/1005186
http://sincere.lge.com/1005196
http://sincere.lge.com/1008158
http://sincere.lge.com/1008183

Tioman

It was to mark our 1.5 yrs of anniversary :)

Well Adarsh had booked a pair of tickets to Tioman Island (Berjaya Resort). Coincidentally it happened to fall on May 14th, which turned out to be our anniversary - one-and-a-half-year of marriage :)

One could reach Tioman via air (Berjaya airways) or by land (bus + ferry). We opted for the latter one. On Friday early morning, we set off and the journey was good. We reached the island by 2pm and we were really hungry by then.

I was excited about the chalet. It was the first time we were in a chalet.  "Wow! this is how a chalet looks" I exclaimed as we entered in. It looked great, but as we soon discovered, some lights were not working. The air-con looked old and worn out. The water in the bathrooms weren't hot enough. We were left with frowns on our face. We kept the reality aside and got busy with our lunch. We had to carry our chapati rolls and some fruits as we expected not-so-good-Indian-food (vegetarian) around Tioman. So, as soon as we checked-into our room (so-called-chalet), we got busy with our pet-pooja.

After lunch, we walked towards the beach. The sand was good - but it did not impress me. I imagined the water to be blue-green color. That's how it was in the internet. But I think they were just in the pictures. The beach seemed much like the rest of the beaches - "nothing special about it" I said to Adi as we walked along the beach side. 

All our trips had been great so far. We had fun and we came back happy and satisfied. But we thought, Tioman wasn't all that great after all. Somehow, all our friends who had been to Tioman, misled us telling that this was one of the best holiday spots. We blamed our friends and colleagues for telling such imaginary stuffs - the water looked pale, the sand wasn't all that great, the receptionists were not so well trained, and not to mention the hapless chalet. So far, nothing impressed us.

We found out soon that there was a trekking organised by the resort to the waterfalls nearby. But as I did not have my running shoes, we dropped the plan of trekking in the jungle. We explored a bit more of the resort - the pool, games room, restaurants and the spa. We were happy to find an Indian restaurant and walked back to our room in the evening deciding to have dinner at the Coriander Leaves (the only Indian Restaurant nearby).

Next day, we planned to snorkel after lunch and both of us were thrilled. I was unsure if I could get into 10-feet-deep water without knowing how to swim. As advised by the divers there, we wore our gadgets and made sure that our life jacket was tightened. We were taken in a boat to a small island nearby and we were left there to snorkel. There were around 50 others who seemed to be enjoying the clear-blue-waters. I followed Adi & got into water. The first glimpse I had into the water was like a dream! It was amazing. The water was clear, we could see the fishes move around, the water plants were at the bottom, there were sea urchins and sea cucumbers, fishes - small & big, and all those fascinating things one could imagine. I looked at Adi, removed my mask, smiled  & screamed - "wow this is the best holiday I have ever had".

The best part was I was swimming. If I flapped my hands like a swimmer, I moved forward. The life jacket kept me floating. So there was nothing to worry about. The next 1 hour was simply a dream. We were the last ones to return back the gadgets. We wanted more of it :)

We then came to the beach and spent some jolly good time there. The sunset was spectacular. I wanted to pause my life and enjoy that moment for ever. Nature's colors were at its best. Back in the resort, looking at the mirror I realized that we were fully tanned.

If you are planning to have a holiday at the beaches, put Tioman on top of your list. And again, put snorkeling on top of your list for things to do at Tioman. Berjaya resort is just an average one, but its one of the so-called best resorts around. But it does not matter at the end of the day as the island itself is marvellous. We made a mistake wasting our first day by not snorkeling. Plan a vacation to Tioman - go out for snorkeling, and then trek to the nearby waterfall, if you have more time snorkel around some more. And if possible, try to capture the dream with a water-proof camera. Sadly we didn't have one. But dreams are meant to be felt and sensed - not captured!

Check out some shots we took at the island:

I won... I won... I won!!!

Well, I sometimes try my luck participating in online quizzes or other contests that happen all the time in Singapore local websites. I saw a similar Sony ad which said that I could win a pair of movie tickets if I wrote a creative, meaningful and touching "Thank You" note for my friend.

So, my friend (of course Adarsh) had to send me an e-card (which was an invitation for a movie) after which I had to reply back with a thank you note :) Well, I thought why not write a small poetry and this is what I submitted :)

Sweetheart,

I just want to write a note to thank you...

I always have a great time whenever I am with you...

The sweet person who cares for me is you and only you!!!

I am so grateful for the love you have lent...

I truly appreciate the time you have spent...

I am for sure accepting the invitation you just sent!!!

With lots of Hugs & Kisses.
Rashmi

Wow... and as you can guess... I did win a pair of movie tickets to watch the movie "Bounty Hunter".

Be it big or small, I think this is my first ever online prize and I am sooo happy for it.