Cooking is Fun

 Note I said cooking, not cleaning up.. that is not as much fun. But cooking gives you scope to experiment, and be creative. Of course, being spoilt by having Mom and Maids do most cooking, I never properly learnt it until I went to live abroad. Learnt by watching other Indian students and hearing from people- those were pre-Youtube days.

Some of my creations

Now I can fend for myself. Had learnt buying vegetables from my trips with Dad to the Andhra markets in childhood. So I can get veggies, can cook a decent rice, dal and chicken/veg meal. Also, eggs of two or three kinds. Dosa if I have the batter. Poha, and a couple of things more.

In short, I can survive. With Youtube, it should be far simpler.

Exploring Food Joints

 I found one called Claytopia (somebody had recommended it earlier) close to my Koramangala office yesterday. I had Bhutanese Rice with Chicken keema, that turned out very good. Right amount of spice, and a good combo, well-presented too, as you can see below- an incentive for people to visit me! 

Also, a few wisecracks come free!

Food - Stuffed Tomatoes

 I like to stuff myself with tomatoes that are stuffed. Capsicum too. You can have veg or non-veg variants. Use paneer for veg., and keema (minced meat) for the non-veg. Apart from that, similar way of making either.

Large tomatoes, green coriander, paneer (grated)

Fry onions with usual masala-ginger, garlic, jeera and dhania powder, chilli powder, turmeric, and add paneer, fry a little more

Stuff the mixture in the tomatoes as shown, and put the "lid" back on the tomatoes (these are hollowed out earlier)

Cook in a bit of oil, with the pan covered, till cooked. 

Eat. Stuff yourself. With rice and rasam, or daal.

Postcards from Bali- 2

These are pics of two volcanoes, considered sacred in Bali. We went to one called Mount Batur, in Kintamani village, (pic just above). Some fascinating vistas along the drive too, and nature has provided a wonderful green cover to most of the island. Rice fields also dotted some of these landscapes. Found that rice exists in more than one colours- brown and black, for instance.

Making Tea in a Rice Cooker

Whoever said a rice cooker is only for cooking rice? On the lookout for new ways to make tea since my only gas cylinder got exhausted and while I waited for the replacement to arrive, I focussed on 'what I have' rather than 'what I don't have' (this is deep,.... think).

And came up with the bright idea. Make chai in the cooker. So here is the recipe. Put water mixed with a little milk in the electric cooker. Put it on cook. Cover. Wait 10 mins. Take out mixture and pour over tea in a strainer into a shallow bowl so the tea can interact with the hot water/milk mixture. Pour remaining hot water in the drinking cup. After a minute of soaking, pour the red mix from the shallow bowl into the cup. Add sugar if you need it.

You have got yourself a nice cup of tea, and saved some gas-though not electricity. Helps clear some cobwebs (the tea, and in the brain).

Basmati Blues

I grew up in Andhra Pradesh, and for us, rice was a staple. Meaning, it had to be affordable, as we ate lots of it. This was not a major issue most of my life, as we obtained the 'normal' rice wherever we moved- except sometimes in Kerala, where we encountered a love for boiled rice. Did not really get used to that. In the US, there was a 'Mahatma' brand long grain rice we used to eat.

Now, I am getting used to a new normal in Delhi- Basmati. Probably named after Rani Roopmati, it is lovely, and expensive. My search for other varieties continues.

There is also an unusual Kawadiya yatra that is on right now, apparently people carrying on their shoulders two jars of water from the river Ganga at Haridwar all the way to Delhi- walking! Amazing, and a nightmare for traffic (us).