train, travel and tickets!

I just love my daily travel in the electric train. Initially, I thought of listening to music / reading books while travelling, but later, I stopped all that and now, I just enjoy looking at things around me...

What I have noticed many times is, people getting into a First Class compartment in a hurry and then they would rush to the next compartment in the next station.

There was this couple who once boarded the FC compartment, without looking at the board. Then a person standing near the door told the man, "Sir, ithu first class." The lady was just getting ready to get down. The man told her to wait. He said, unless someone comes for checking, we wont have any problem. Now, the guy who warned them, got angry.... actually, he was the person who was checking tickets and they had to pay heavy fine...

Ithu romba thevaiya?

Excuse me...

Hi...
Needless to say, I ve been a terrible blogger of late... but let me start now... better late than never.

I saw the movie 2012... after a big struggle to get tickets... I enjoyed the movie.
Dont know how far it is true... but if something like that happened, how would it be???

Anyways, it just set me thinking (pls dont laugh yaar, I THINK OK?)
So here s my list of what I would want to do in case someone gives a guarantee that world IS going to end..

1. Visit / call, all my friends and relatives
2. Venice.... I want to see this place just once... :)
3. Watch some movies which have been pending since long

And... well, cant think of much at the moment.

Do comment with what you ll do... (I know this is a very pessimistic idea... but it s ok...what say?)

And then, lot of updates here.
As some of you would know, I am crazy with this Farmville. (though now I am not as addicted as I used to be).
I guess this may be one of the reasons for less blogging!

And I went to some new restaurants (as usual) I just love going to new places and trying out the food there
I went to Crimson Chakra (Adyar), Blur cafe (Satyam), Tandoori Tadka (T Nagar), Flamingo (Velachery), Centre Point (OMR).... etc
Guess, I should start writing reviews in a separate blog (haa haa)

And with this year coming to an end, I (again) been lamenting about how fast time flies... but every new year has another happiness tagged to it.. My Birthday in Jan... I am still crazy about my birthday... Dont know why... I still love the excitement attached to it.

Well, I guess enough of a "nothing-much-to-write-about" blog! Will try to post something "proper" next time. I said "try to" OK? :)

B Bye,
Prabha.

Perfect Morning...

I, usually, get up by 6.30 AM... Yesterday night I decided to take a break and sleep for a bit longer

But I woke up at the usual time... There was nothing much to be done at home at this time... The rain had made me lazy...:)
I made a nice cup of tea... took some biscuits... and settled in my balcony... spent about half an hour gazing at the raindrops... enjoying every bit of it!

Rain + Tea + Biscuits... Wah! kya combintion hai...

Diwali = FUN!

I really enjoy this time of the year...
Diwali, to me, is lots of shopping, making sweets, meeting friends & relatives and having lots of fun.
So, my Diwali shopping started with a designer Saree followed by shopping for my parents, in laws and Prabu.
Didn't buy many crackers this year... just some sparklers, flower pot and ground wheel.
I distributed Diwali sweets in my colony a bit early this year... It was so nice to meet so many people... I made couple of good friends in the process! :)

And today I will be making one sweet and one other snack. Will post on that after successful completion of the task...

Am waiting for tomorrow as I ll be going to my cousins place for a biiiiig family get together and after visiting some more relatives, will be back home for Diwali celebrations.

Do write about your pre Diwali and Diwali experiences!

Have a happy and safe diwali...
my friends who know tamil, click here!

Movie season!

Well, looks like it s raining movies here!

I saw two more ... Ninaithale inikkum and Unnaipol Ourvan (UPO)...

The first one was ok... not very impressive. But it was definitely ok after Kandasamy.
Only the last fifteen minutes of the first half were gripping, which made us stay till the end (we had planned to walk out in the interval). The songs are catchy. I liked Shakti's character and his performance. Could not accept Prithviraj as a college student (even though it was final year).
Overall... Not bad

UPO was good one... Had just seen "A wednesday" last week... So, no big suspense factor. But for the "K" factor (you know, the usual "peter" stuff from Kamal),the movie was nice with neat performances by all. Thouroughly enjoyed the movie as it was short and sweet... just for 2 hrs.
I guess a detailed review will spoil the "suspense" element, if you have not seen the movie... So, I will stop with this :)

Ok... I will take a break from my movie reviews in my next post.
:)

Kandasamy.. Nondhasamy... Venthasamy

Ya... you must have guessed from the title... I DIDNT like the movie...

Heard from some people that the movie is sick.. but didnt have much choice as we wanted to go for "some" movie.. this was the only one available (well, atleast THAT should have made me think!)

Let me first list down what all I didnt like in the movie (though the other way would be shorter!)
1. This is about a "super hero"... He sings, dances, and "cock-a-doodle-do"s before hitting the bad guy
2. The heroine is the villian s daughter (no points for guessing this) who hardly wears anything... She really spoilt the songs and some scenes because of her dresses , voice (which didnt suit her at all) and her bad lip sync.
3. The songs were a big disappointment... I liked the audio of some of them ... the visuals were sick...also, the dance for "Allegra" was pathetic...
4. The plot itself is a big minus... Though the director claims that the story was written before Anniyan...we cant help feeling that we are watching a "jugalbandi" of all (or most of) Shankar s movies. There is nothing new..
5. The length of the movie... the second half just keeps going on and on and on and on...
6. Though the script didnt have anything very interesting, the first half was tolerable... in the second half of the story, the director seemed to be lost. He brought in himself as an "important" character and bugged us to death...
7. Everyone in the movie... (except Prabu and the villian) is helping the hero... very bugging beyond a point...
8. Vadivelu's comedy... very pathetic.

Ok... stop calling me a pessimist... I also liked somethings in the movie..
1. Songs (but not all..just 3... there s this song dedicated for PIZZA... how cool na?grrrrr !!!!)
2. Music
3. Background score
aaaaaa ok... ya, I mean in other words... Music only.

I know this is a high budget movie made with a good intention... adopting villages stuff. They could have adopted some more villages if they didnt waste so much money on this movie

If you have seen this movie, hope you will understand my feelings (sob!)
If you are going to watch it... dont tell me I didnt warn you.


Keep smiling :)

It s my life!

Ever noticed how priorities keep changing for all of us?

I have noticed that...

Well, when I was in school, I had no priorities.... probably, I didnt think much.... used to live life "Just like that"... no tension... no worries... My friends J & B will know ... It was FUN.

In college, things started changing... esp in the 3rd and 4th year... exams... placements... etc etc

End of college, when my parents started the Great Groom Search (ok... I AM exaggerating), things started changing again... Who, where, what , how etc etc.

The D Day came soon when I met Prabu... Liked his family so much... And when we were talking.... Took a glance at him....ya, maybe, that s him!!! And so it was....

Since then my life has been revolving around him...

So many changes... But life is just getting better each time...(of course with its roller coaster ups and downs).

But over all, when I take a look at my life...I feel that everything s for good... I have always wanted to be in a family like this... and I feel sometimes, that I have always got more than what I wanted / asked for....

Maybe that s why (and that s when), God gave me a push...
probably to remind myself that Life is a mixture of everything...
probably to make me understand how strong I am...
probably for making me understand how nice and supportive people are around me...
whatever, I still have no regrets... I still am happy to be where I am... God has His own plans for me... I will accept whatever He gives... Smiling as always... :)
Because when He gave me good things (more than I expected), I never complained... So, now, when He s showing me the other side, I think it is my duty to accept this also.
What say friends? :)

Nothing Much to say....

Dont ask me why I am blogging when I have nothing much to say....

Blogging has always been like a vent... a place for me to write about my feelings... But I have never blogged about my problems... and I dont want to write about negative stuff in my life...

But this month has been very bad... so bad that words just fail to fall in place.

I just want to say that may God give us all enough strength to face the problems... however big they may be.

I was not blogging for sometime because I was feeling shattered and hopeless. It has taken some time for me to be myself... I have not recovered completely.

Ya, I know... things will be better soon.... Dont worry.... etc etc... Cos I ve been listening to lots of advises...

I guess I will be fine in about a month or so....

God bless everyone.

New York!

Saw this movie last week.

I expected a romantic comedy stuff... as I had not read any reviews... But this one was totally different.

A view of 9/11.. A totally different view of the tragedy.

The movie was very serious... with some timing comedy from Irfan (needless to say... great perfomance).
The characterisation was good. Neil fit the bill of an innocent, goody goody person.
John also lives as his character of a fighter / bully. But I felt Katrina Kaif was looking very old.. esp in the college track.

The story begins with an innocent Neil, being trapped by FBI. While we are wondering... "what s happening???", the story moves to the flashback... to the college days of these 3 people... and the friendship btwn them...

Just after Neil proposes to Katrina,there comes the attack of 9/11... and our hero, Neil, who realises that Katrina loves John, leaves their lives...

The flashback ends here.

Now, the FBI suspects John to be a terrorist... and they want Neil to help them for this.

The story then follows lots of twist and turns... With a "not-so-happy" ending.

The songs just come as a part of the movie... they are not shot separately in exotic locales, but just come along with the story... This is a good relief!

The picturisation is lovely...

Overall, Nice movie!

Tamil blog

Hi friends...

Have created a Tamil blog address...
http://prabhavinpathivu.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the idea Sam... :)

Q n A. Chain Blog - English Version.

Got this from my friend SAM...

Here s my attempt...

This is a very rough translation for some of my friends who cant read Tamil (Ash and Vix).
:)

1. What s the reason behind your name? Do you like it?
My mom told me... Prabha means light from the Sun. I was born in the evening, when the sunlight is very beautiful.
And after I met my life partner, I started to like my name more.. cos his name is almost the same. (Prabakar).

2. When was the last time you cried?
I used to cry very frequently. But have changed nowadays. Don't remember when I cried last.

3. Do you like your handwriting?
Well, to some extent.

4. Fav lunch?
Chappati

5. Do you make new friends?
Depends on how they are... I like talking to people and making friends...

6. Which one do you like... bathing in sea or falls?
None

7. When you look at a person for first time, what do you notice?
Eyes.

8. What do you like and dislike about yourself?
I like the way I try to be happy always.
I don't like (some of) my mokkais...(cant help it!)

9. What do you like and dislike about your spouse?

I like the way he treats me (he is very caring).
Nothing in particular that I dislike.

10. Whose presence do you miss?
Some friends...

11. What color dress are you wearing now?
Orange

12. Which song are you listening to now?
None

13. If you were a color pen, what color would you choose?
Yellow.

14. Fav smell?
Petrol, jasmine, rose, rain etc etc.

15. Why do you choose to read you fav blogs?
I read the blogs which are close to normal / natural stuff... Rather than poetry / fiction...
I prefer simple blogs ... just to the point, without much exaggeration...
Fav blogs.... Vicky, Sam, Jegu, Jaya, Betsy

16. Fav sport?
Cricket

17. Do you wear glasses?
No. Only contact lens.

18. What kind of movie do you like?
Nothing specific. Am a Kamal fan.

19. Which was the movie you saw recently?
Masilamani... Total junk.

20 Fav Season?
Nothing specific.

21. Which book are you reading now?
I read magazines

22. How often do you change your desktop pic?
Not very frequently.

23. Which sound do you like and dislike?
Like - Music... beats..
Dislike - Horn sounds

24. Which is the farthest place from your home where you have gone?
America

25. Any talent?
I Sing and dance to some extent
I cook well
Am good at making friends!

26. Things you cant digest?
Lots... about life

27. The devil in you?
Very angry

28. Fav tourist spot?
Venice

29.How do you like to be?
Juts want to be the same.

30. What do you like to do when your husband is not around?
Nothing specific. I don't like it when he s not near..

31. About life?
Song from Vaaranam Aayiram.. Anjaley...
It says life is like a Giant Wheel... with Ups and Downs...

தொடர் / சங்கிலி பதிவு

என் நண்பர் சாம் எழுதிய பதிவு http://samuel-sammy.blogspot.com/2009/07/blog-post.html
அதன் தொடர் இதோ ...

1.உங்களுக்கு ஏன் இப்பெயர் வந்தது? உங்களுக்கு உங்க பெயர் பிடிக்குமா?

என் பெயர் மிகவும் பிடிக்கும். பெயர் காரணம் ... நான் பிறந்தது மாலை வேளையில். அப்போது சூரியனின் கதிர்கள் மிகவும் அழகாக இருக்கும்.பிரபா என்றால் சூரியனின் கதிர்கள் (அல்லது ஒளி ) என்று பொருள். இது அம்மா எனக்கு சொன்னது.

என் கணவரின் பெயரும் என் பெயரும் ஒரே மாதிரி இருப்பதால், இன்னும் பிடித்து போனது ! (அவர் பெயர் பிரபாகர்)

2.கடைசியாக அழுதது எப்போது..?
முன்பெல்லாம் ரொம்ப எளிதாக அழுபவள் , ஆனால் இப்போது மிகவும் குறைந்து விட்டது. கடைசியாக அழுதது ... நினைவில்லை

3.உங்களோட கையெழுத்து உஙகளுக்குப் பிடிக்குமா?
ஓரளவுக்கு

4.பிடித்த மதிய உணவு ?
சப்பாத்தி

5.நீங்கள் வேறுயாருடனாவது உங்களோட நட்பை உடனே வச்சுக்குவீங்களா?
அவர்கள் என்னுடன் பழகும் விதத்தை பொறுத்தது .

6.கடலில் குளிக்கப் பிடிக்குமா? அருவியில் குளிக்கப் பிடிக்குமா?
இரண்டும் பிடிக்காது

7.முதலில் ஒருவரைப் பார்க்கும் போது எதைக் கவனிப்பீர்கள்?
கண்கள். அதிலிருந்து அவர்களின் எண்ணம் ஓரளவிற்கு தெரிந்துவிடும்


8.உங்க கிட்ட உங்களுக்கு..பிடித்த விஷயம் என்ன..பிடிக்காத விஷயம் என்ன?
பிடித்த விஷயம்... எப்போவும் சந்தோஷமாக இருக்க முயற்சி செய்வேன்
பிடிக்காத விஷயம்..ரொம்ப ஓவர் மொக்கை போடுவது


9.உங்க சரிபாதி கிட்ட உங்களுக்கு பிடித்த,பிடிக்காத விஷயம்..
பிடித்தது, என்னிடம் அவர் பழகும் விதம். பிடிக்காதது என்று ஏதும் இல்லை.


10.யார் பக்கத்தில் இல்லாம இருக்கறதுக்கு வருந்துகிறீர்கள்?
சில நண்பர்கள்.


11.இதை எழுதும்போது என்ன வர்ணn உடை அணிந்துள்ளீர்கள்?
நீலம்

12.என்ன பாட்டு கேட்டுக் கொண்டிருக்கிறீங்க?
ஒன்றும் இல்லை

13.வர்ணப் பேனாவாக உங்களை மாற்றினால், என்ன நிறப் பேனாவாக மாற ஆசை?
மஞ்சள்

14.பிடித்த மணம்? petrol, மல்லிகை, மழை, ரோஜா, என்று நிறையா ...

15.நீங்க அழைக்க விரும்பும் பதிவரிடம்..உங்களுக்கு பிடித்த விஷயம்..அவரை அழைக்கக் காரணம்?

அவர் எழுதும் விதம். பதிவுகள் மிகவும் அறிவுபூர்வமாக இருப்பதை விட, சாதாரணமாய், ஒருவர் வாழ்க்கையில் நடப்பது, அவர்களின் விருப்பு வெறுப்புகள் பற்றி இருந்தால் பிடிக்கும். அதாவது, யதார்த்தம்.

மற்றபடி, கவிதை / கட்டுரைகளில் நாட்டம் இல்லை.

பிடித்த பதிவுகள் - விக்கி, சாம், ஜக்கு, ஜெயா, பெட்சி போன்றவர்கள்.

16. பிடித்த விளையாட்டு?...
கிரிக்கெட்

17. கண்ணாடி அணிபவரா?
இல்லை. contact lens.

18.எப்படிப்பட்ட திரைப்படம் பிடிக்கும்?...
குறிப்பாக ஒன்றும் இல்லை. கமல் ரசிகை.

19.கடைசியாக பார்த்த படம்?
மாசிலாமணி என்ற தலைவலி.

20.பிடித்த பருவ காலம் ?...
குறிப்பாக ஒன்றும் இல்லை

21.இப்போது படித்துக் கொண்டிருக்கும் புத்தகம்?
நாளிதழ்கள் மற்றும் வார இதழ்கள் தான் படிப்பேன்.

22.உங்க டெஸ்க் டாப்பில் இருக்கும் படத்தை எத்தனை நாளைக்கு ஒரு முறை மாற்றுவீர்கள்?
அடிக்கடி மாற்ற மாட்டேன். இப்போ இருப்பது ஒரு திருமணத்தில் எங்கள் இருவரை எடுத்த படம்.

23.பிடித்த சத்தம்? பிடிக்காத சத்தம்?
பிடித்த சத்தம்.... இசை...ஏதாவது ஒரு தாளம்... மேஜையில் அடிக்கடி தாளம் போடுவேன்.
பிடிக்காத சத்தம்..ஹோர்ன்

24. வீட்டை விட்டு நீங்கள் சென்ற அதிக தொலைவு?
அமெரிக்கா

25.உங்களுக்கு ஏதேனும் தனித்திறமை இருக்கிறதா?
சுமாராக பாடுவேன் ஆடுவேன்
நன்றாக சமைப்பேன்
மிக நன்றாக பேசுவேன் (சரி... இது கொஞ்சம் ஓவர்!!)

26.உங்களால் ஏற்றுக் கொள்ளமுடியா ஒரு விஷயம்..?
பல விஷயங்கள் ... வாழ்கையை பற்றி

27. உங்களுக்கு உள்ளே இருக்கும் சாத்தான்?
கோபம் அதிகம்

28.உங்களுக்குப் பிடித்த சுற்றுலாத் தலம்?
venice

29.எப்படிஇருக்கணும்னு ஆசை ??.
இப்படியே!

30. கணவன் இல்லாம செய்ய விரும்பும் காரியம் ?
அப்படி குறிப்பிட்டு ஒன்றும் இல்லை...அவர் இல்லாமல் இருப்பதற்கு விருப்பம் இல்லை.

31. வாழ்வு பற்றி ஒரு வரியில் சொல்லுங்க?
வாழ்க்கை ராட்டினம் தான் டா
தினம் சுத்துது ஜோரா
அது மேல கீழ மேல கீழ
காட்டுது தோடா.

இந்த "அஞ்சல" பாடல் வரிகள் மிகவும் பிடிக்கும்

Zest for fun!

Hiiiiiiiiiii


I ve just returned after a 4 days stay in Zest resort at Pondicherry...

The stay was very nice... Really enjoyed the time we spent there...

Anyways, I will get back to blogging now... Just let me think... Is anything interesting cooking around me? Well, not a lot in my life... But I would say lot of things are "happening" for people around me... like about half a dozen people are pregnant and couple of people got married just now and couple of people are "looking" for marriage sometime this year.

Now, knowing about me (non stop nonsense type), I dont wonder that I have so many friends. Also, I have lots of cousins and the family tree (obviously) increased after wedding. So, no wonder I know so many people.

But frankly, I am not very close to many people... cos, I think some people are so busy with their life... they even find it difficult to reply to a mail that we sent long back.

Now, I certainly am very very "ego"ish in this aspect.
Like, when I put in something in a relationship / friendship, I expect atleast the same amount back...if not more!
Ya, I know I sound like a bad person. Cos we are not "supposed" to expect anything from friends. But that s me! I am not a person who will always be the first one to call you.. ya, may be once / twice ... but not all the time...

Me and my hubby often discuss about people... something strange or funny happening around us... I just happened to think... what would people think about me? From what people have told me I ve got totally different answers... here are some

Sensitive
Sensible
Insensible
Funny
Idiotic (yes... people HAVE told me that! LOL...)

And lot of people have told me "Before we became friends, I thought you had a lot of "head-weight"... But once we became friends, I changed my opinion"

Well, imagine if we all had a website or something where we could see what this person thinks about me... Would be so cool na!

Anyways, I m always trying to improve from what I ve been... I take a look at people around me and try to follow things that I like about them... I guess that is personality development for me...

And... what would I like to change in myself?

Hmmmmm

• I laugh at tiniest of jokes... Sometimes, it is very embarassing (my sister has experienced it a lot) So, I would like to control it.
• I am very very sensitive. Trust me, I am the most sensitive person I have ever seen!
• I expect a lot from people who are close to me.

Cant think of more at the moment... I am sure there are some more things left out...

Do share your thoughts on this :)

And ya.. I will share my positive side (ahhhhem.. cough cough) in my next post

Till then

B Bye...

IPL T20

Recipe for IPL T20

Take a huge bowl full of money
Add a dash of glamour
Garnish with (chopped) cricket
Serve LIVE...

Anyways, last IPL season had our family glued in front of our TV and this time, we are not much interested... No idea why...

Whatever happens, It s all about MONEY HONEY!

Courses...

Summer Camp... Seems to be the "happening thing".

Lot of newspaper ads/ articles ... lot of flyers about these courses...

I was just thinking how much money these people make in this 2 months period. :)

Some go for cheap and best option... Just one or two hours a day... Some "less investment stuff" like arts / craft / drawing... classes at their house....and they get good income...

For those couples who go to office, they prefer full day camp to keep their kid occupied (summer camp cum day care)... Obviously, due to double income, the cost of the camp is immaterial!

All this reminds me of the class that I went to... During my 11th std holidays...

My uncle told my mom about this 5 days (10 to 5) classes in Madras Management Association about personality development.

So, we (me and 2 of my friends... J & B), decided to go for this.

Those 5 days were really so nice... I mean, I used to think these "personality development" courses were just waste of time... But after this class, I could feel the difference... It made me a very very confident person.

We were divided into groups and had some contest everyday. I remember one, in which we had to do a play and the topic for our team was "Mental hospital on a full moon day". All of us scripted it and I was also one among the four patients. We had so much fun while acting and our play was judged the best. The funny part was, one of the judges pointed at me and told, "She acted so well, that we almost believed that she is a patient!"

Also, we had a public speaking contest in the final day....

FLASHBACK......................About a month before this, I had gone for a debate in my school (inter- house competition). The topic was something like "Men in kitchen and women at work." I had to talk against it and one of the teachers gave me the material to talk. It was so dumb... I had to talk something which someone else had written... I went to the mike. I started with the speech and after I completed one line, I could feel my heartbeat "Thump Thump" I stopped and was blinking at the crowd. Then I left the stage feeling bad. I had participated in lot of singing competitions and even won some of them. So, it was just not about stage fear. I had to talk from MY mind. Not what some teacher had written on the paper...

So, when I had to talk about "My favourite Heroine", I decided to do my best (as I remembered how bad I felt after my school competition). So, I chose to talk about Kiran Bedi, a person, whom I truly admire. I searched a lot about her and noted the information which made sense to me as the speech had to be small. Then I made a "Q" card (they had given the idea about this in class), with 5 / 6 headers. I spoke making eye contact with people and following other things they taught at the class.... I won the competition!

It was then that I realised, these classes DO make a difference. I mean, not just that one contest, this class made me a very confident person altogether!

Well, I dont know you found this post interesting, but just wanted to share some old memories...

Anyways, will try to blog more regularly!

:)

"Ad" world

Saw the latest Airtel Ad?
The cute little boy calling up his dad from toy cellphone...
So cute... I like the last part when he jumps with joy!

It s nice to see such ads when there are a whole lot of stupid ones.

Another nice one is from Max New York Life Insurance. The boy walking on the platform yearning for a bike... the man in bike, for a girl and so on and the ad again comes to the first boy.

I cant think of many nice ads... There are so less.

I just hate the kurkure ads. They make no sense with punchlines like "konala irundhaalum yennodadhu"

Not to forget the "fairness creams" ads which show that people who are anything short of looking fair are just worthless... If you are fair, you can win a boy's heart, you can get a chance as a cricket commentator and voila, you can even win a dance competition.. Isn't the idea just marvellous??? Since when did fairness become a confidence booster?

And lots of ads which show kids as "over brilliant" and some which have cine stars just because they could afford it. (Remember, Big B in some cement ad where he sneezes and the walls fall?)

Well, Give me a break!! :)

Simple sabjis - Dal & a quick recipe!

Dal

Requirements

Dal

Oil (about 1 and a half tsp)

Cumin Seeds (Jeera - 1 tsp)

One mediun size onion - chopped

One tomato - Chopped

One green chilly - slit

Turmeric powder (1/4 tsp)

chilly powder (1/2) tsp

Procedure

1. Soak any dal (toor dal / moong dal / gram dal) (in tamil...thuvaram paruppu / payaththam paruppu / kadalai paruppu) for 15 mts. For two people, 3/4 th cup of dal should be sufficient.

2.Heat Oil

3.Add cumin seeds.
When they change color, add onions and green chillies and Bring the heat to "sim".

4.Fry for 2 minutes and add Turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt

5. Fry for a minute and add tomatoes

6. Wait for 2 minutes till tomatoes are cooked and add dal. Cook in cooker for 2 whistles.

7. Finally, add chopped coriander and serve hot with rotis.

General Recipe

A standard gravy for north Indian side dishes which can be made very easily
(Roughly for two people)

oil ( 2 tsp)
cumin seeds
Onion - medium size 1 (made into paste)
Tomato - medium size 1 (made into paste)
turmeric powder(1/4 tsp)
chilly powder(1/2 tsp)
coriander powder (1 tsp)
Jeera powder ( 1/2 tsp)
Salt

1. Heat Oil
2. Add cumin Seeds
3. When they change color, add onion paste.
4. Fry for 2 minutes
5. Add turmeric powder , chilly powder, coriander powder and jeera powder
6. Fry for 1 minute
7. Add tomato paste and salt
8. Wait for 2 - 3 minutes. (time till the RAW smell of tomatoes goes off)

This is the basic gravy.
To this, we can add Potatoes and peas and call it aaloo mutter
add beans, carrot, potatoes, capsicum and call it mixed vegetable
Add potatoes and baby corn
And so on....

*You can either add these cut vegetables raw and put in cooker for 2 whistles or cook the vegetables separately (microwave / cooker) and then add to this gravy and bring to a boil.

**To bring some change in taste, you can always keep a stock of garam masala / sabji masala / kitchen king (from the brand EVEREST). Adding just 1/4 spoon of any of these masala s to the side dish as the last step while cooking will give different taste. Can use this for a change.

Finally, garnish with chopped coriander.

Hope this helps me friends who are learning to cook / trying to cook!
Happy cooking! :)

Temple trip... again!

While the koftas ( I was talking about in the previous post) came out well, I just recollected the items I cooked this month..
Chutney wale aaloo
Veg kofta
Chinese noodles and veg manchurian (for the gravy I used knorr)
Shahi Paneer

I think I am becoming more and more confident of experimentation with cooking!
(I ll post the recipes shortly)

And here I m... Just reached home after a two day trip to our native and couple of other temples.
Well, always,the trip planning always starts with "just couple of" temples and we end up planning to see about half a dozen... which was the case again... And each temple has it s own story and own speciality.

But anyways, enjoyed every bit of it... Happened to see 2 new temples this time... One was just amazing.. It was in Mayiladudurai... Govindaraja Perumal Temple. The architecture of this temple was really superb... It was such a huge one.. But, like many temples here, not well maintained. Also, they have an idol of Lord krishna, which u can hold in hand and pray for whatever u want, while the priest will be doing some chanting.

Our first temple was Thiruvalliangudi...
It is believed that if we visit this temple, it is equivalent to have visited all the (108) divya desams. (This is a huge list of temples of Lord Vishnu which lot of people visit and keep marking off the list... )

Then we went to Tittai (Near Thanjavur). Here there are two temples... One for Lord Krishna and the other one for Lord Shiva (this place is Gurusthalam.. meaning one of the navagrahas). The Krishna temple has this special Lord Anjaneya to whom u can pray for something and write it in a paper and tie it in the temple along with a coconut... U should treasure the receipt number u get and come back after ur wish is fulfilled and remove the coconut followed by an "archana" to God.

Then, Uppiliappan Temple (near kumbakonam) is the "usual" temple. And this time it was more special because they had done a special pooja (Sambrokshanai) and it is supposed to be very good to visit this place within 48 days of this spl pooja. The unique thing here is the "prasadam" is made without salt. The reason is a story in which Lord Vishnu had to marry the Goddess who had taken the form of a small girl. The girl's father told the Lord that she does not even know how much salt to put while cooking, for which the Lord agreed to eat without salt.

Then we also went to Ragusthalam nearby. Here the special thing is "ragu kaala poojai" in which milk is poured over the deity during raagukaalam.

After taking rest in the night, we started our way in the morning and went to two temples...
One was Govindaraja Perumal Temple and the other one was kethu sthalam. In this Kethu sthalam (near poompukar), we can light 7 diyas and pray.

Had a hectic and nice and peaceful trip....

Oh! look at me... talking of cooking... and temples... Looks like I am growing old!
:)
I dont mind... cos I believe that we need to keep changing... for good :)

Bye,
Prabha

Chutney Wale Aaloo

So, here I m back to display my ability to cook!

Ya, these 3 years have made me a (well, I shud not say expert) fairly decent cook... And here I m sharing one of my favourite Sabji.... Chutney Wale Aaloo... This is a nice change from the usual gravies that we make with onion and tomato

See, I dont take the ownership for inventing these.... Some are from books / websites and some passed on from mom / sis / MIL / SIL etc etc...

Word of caution...this is not for people who dont like the smell of pudina / coriander.

RECIPE

Serves 3 - 4 people

Requirements :

*Baby potatoes (say about 15 pieces ) - in case not available, can take equivalent amount of normal potatoes cut into small pieces.
Boiled and peeled.
* 2 medium sized onions - made into a paste (can add a bit of ginger to this)
*2 small tomatoes - cut into medium size pieces.
*2 tbsp curd - beaten well
*3 cashewnuts - soaked for 15 minutes and made into a paste
* Jeera (cumin) - 1 Tsp
*chilly powder - 1 Tsp
*Garam Masala - 1/2 Tsp
*Salt - as per taste
*Oil - About 4 Tbsp

For chutney
*Amchur powder (or raw mango powder) - 1/2 Tsp
*Sugar - 1/2 Tsp
*Fresh coriander (one measuring cup) - chopped
*Fresh Pudina (mint) leaves (half cup) - chopped
*Salt - 1/2 Tsp

Blend together into a paste and keep aside.

Procedure

1. Heat 3 Tbsp oil and add the boiled potatoes and cook. Keep aside

2. Heat 1 Tbsp Oil. Add Jeera and when they become brown, add the onion paste and cook for 2 - 3 minutes on low heat.

3. Add curd and cashew paste and cook for 1 - 2 minutes on low heat.

4. Add the green chutney and chilly powder. Cook till the mixture turns dry.

5. Add a cup of water and wait till it comes to boil.

6. Add the cooked potatoes an salt. Cook on low heat (uncovered) for about 5 minutes.

7. Add tomatoes and Garam Masala. Stir for 2 minutes.

IT IS DONE!

Serve hot with Phulka!

Well, I am experimenting with Kofta today... Will post the recipe, if it turns out well!

Bye,

Prabha

Satyam????

Most of you must have read / heard about what all is happening.

Imagine... the big numbers he is talking about... How did he have courage to take up all this? His letter is just terrific. Talking about such things so casually.

Just see this

"The gap in the balance sheet has arisen purely on account of inflated profits over a period of last several years "

"What started as a marginal gap between actual operating profit and the one reflected in the books of accounts continued to grow over the years. It has attained unmanageable proportions as the size of the company operations grew significantly "

"That in the last two years a net amount of Rs 1,230 crore was arranged to Satyam (not reflected in the books of Satyam) to keep the operations going by resorting to pledging all the promoter shares and raising funds from know sources by giving all kinds of assurances"

And everyone's favourite
"It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten. "

Giving a wrong figure of some crores in Deposit and then taking account of interest on these deposits which don't exist. Oh! How could he do so much?

Talk about guts!

Pity people who are affected cos of trusting a company which existed for over 2 decades and is the top 4 IT company with such a huge workforce.

Like the comedian Vadivelu says, "Puthusu puthusa yosikkaraanga..."