A visit to God’s own country

Being a Keralite I feel proud to know that Kerala is one of the most sought after destination in the world.  People around me become quite excited when they come to know that I am a keralite. Anyone I asked, would either want to visit Kerala at least once or have already visited it. I was recently filled with pride when one of my friend who had a german guest told her that he wanted to visit Kerala, and asked her some of the places that he can visit there.

As a child I remember travelling in Jayanthi Janatha, the only train that would travel from Mumbai to Kerala. Being the youngest I had an advantage of getting the window seat wherein I would sit hours and watch the other side of my country.  It used to be a 2 day travel in the second class compartment and we would pray to have a family sharing our compartment so we could have fun during the journey.

Although we would always visit Kerala during the summer vacation, I clearly remember one of my visits to the God’s country in the month of October – November during the Diwali vacation. It had been a very different experience, in the morning it was foggy but not cold. I was happy to travel anywhere then since it wasn’t very hot during the day. Whenever we would visit Kerala we would stay at our uncle’s house (my dad’s elder brother). Initially we used to take bath in warm water since we were not used to taking bath in cold water, but after seeing elders taking bath in the cold water, I and my sister gathered our guts and started following them. It was only after you finish your bath would you be served your breakfast.

We didn’t have lavish breakfasts or dinners but I still enjoyed my stay. Over the time, I realised that my happiness didn’t only rely on good food but with the people and my surroundings. I remember the walks on the field with my mom, sister and cousins, walking around the pepper trees, looking for bananas, violet flowers, squirrels and butterflies; talking to strangers whom we meet while walking the lane that would lead to the fields. It seemed that the villagers were curious to see people from Mumbai but most of them knew who we were, so not much introduction was needed. I was surprised to see the simplicity of the people not only in the way they dress, but also in their thoughts.

I would never forget the walk with my cousins when we went from one end of the field to the other end, of course without the knowledge of our elders. I particularly remember one evening after the rain when we went to the field and my cousin pointed out a snake to me which was moving in the water.  It was a sight to behold. It moved so beautifully that I wanted to stay and watch it for some more time, but since it was getting dark my cousin suggested that we go home.

My excuse to visit Kerala is unlimited, the beaches, food, walk on the field, visiting temples and watching temple festival  or just sitting idle on the steps watching people pass buy. But for you to visit God’s country…You don’t need to have a reason, for everybody’s welcomed there.

Simbly Sambhar

An oiled bath, clean white Mundu and Sambhar are some of things that we South Indians swear by.

Sambhar for a South Indian is what Dal is to Maharastians, Sarso Da Saag is to Punjabis or Dhansak to Parsis. It is a preparation of pulses (Tur Dal) mixed with vegetables.

There are many variations of Sambhar and each preparation would taste a bit different from the other depending on the vegetables used. You can prepare Sambhar with mixed vegetables like carrot, eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, green raw banana, drumsticks, and yam. Some also add Amaranth i.e. Chavli/Chauli or do not add elephant foot or any other vegetable depending on which vegetable is not available.

A Sambhar of mixed vegetables can be of around four to five vegetables. It can also be made up of a single vegetable, like that of ladies fingers or small red shallots (onions).

You can have Sambhar with plain rice during meals or with snacks like Dosas, Vadas and Idlis which are very popular form of breakfast in South India.

But what makes the Sambhar so special? Well, the idea of pulses and vegetables cooking together creates a magical feeling in itself. Then you add a paste of the Sambhar masala. The masala is the secret ingredient for the mouth-watering Sambhar which is revealed in the forthcoming paragraph. And of course, no Indian recipe comes to an end unless you do the final tempering of oil and spices which again adds to the flavour.

Well to start with, I will help you with the preparation of mixed vegetable Sambhar which you can try at home.

Mixed Vegetable Sambhar

Ingredients

Tur Dal 1 bowl
Carrot 1
Eggplant 1
Drumsticks 1
Potato 1
Tomato 1
Coconut 1/2
Dry Red Chillies 5
Coriander powder 2 tbsp
Chilli powder 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder 1 tbsp
Aestifodia 2 to 3 tsp
Tamarind size of a small lemon
Curry leaves 10
Fenugreek seeds 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds 1 tbsp
Oil 4 to 5 tbsp
Small red onion shallots 5

Masala Preparation

1. Roast grated coconut with fenugreek seeds (1 tbsp), asetifodia (1/2 tbsp), curry leaves (3-4), small red onions chopped (5), cumin seeds (1/2 tbsp), black pepper (1/2 tbsp) and dry red chillies (2) till it becomes brown.
2. Add oil (2 tbsp), coriander powder (2 tbsp) and chilli powder (1tbsp) to the roasted coconut and mix well for about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Remove from fire and allow it to cool.
4. Grind the above mixture into a paste by adding little water to it. The consistency of the paste should neither be thick nor watery.

Preparation

1. Cook dal with all the vegetables and turmeric.
2. Add the masala paste to it.
3. Add tamarind water accordingly (it shouldn’t be too sour).
4. Add salt to taste, mix well and let it simmer on the gas for 2 to 3 minutes.

Tempering

1. Heat 3 to 4 tablespoon of oil.
2. Add mustard seeds and let it crackle.
3. Add dry red chillies (3) and curry leaves (6) to it.
4. Put oil tempering in the Sambhar prepared, mix well and let it simmer on the gas for for 2 to 3 minutes.

Garnishing

Garnish with freshly chopped green coriander leaves.

Books of a Kind(le)

Ever tried to read an entire book on a screen? Well, then why not try it with Kindle.

What exactly is Kindle? Kindle is an e-book reader developed by Amazon. It looks like a calculator but is bigger in size. With Kindle not only can you read your favourite book but you can also listen to the text with the help of earphones when you get tired of reading.

Kindle has a screen that is large enough to make reading comfortable but compact enough to fit into your handbag. You can turn the page with the press of a button. Apart from being handy, it is lightweight and looks very classy.

If you read more than one book a day then the Kindle is the best thing to happen to you. You can carry an entire library of around 1500 books wherever you travel. You can buy and download the books from Whisperet at a cost that will range between US $2 and US $12. There is also an in-built dictionary for you to access.

The technology is eco-friendly as it saves trees from cutting down. The Kindle runs on a battery which gets used only when a page is being turned and not while displaying the text. This way, the battery lasts you for a comfortably long time.

Not all is perfect, though. Kindle does not have colour display which might become boring. You will also not feel the book physically which might lessen your joy of reading. The number of books on your wall won't increase, besides there is also a feeling of pride to have a prized collection which you may not get.

The Kindle is an expensive piece of technology for a reader but is also worth it. Plus with time, prices will naturally dip.

For anybody who loves reading and technology the Kindle is definitely worth a try.

Wonder Years of Advertisements

As I sit dazed in front of the television - bombarded by advertisements of all types - I start feeling nostalgic about the times when ads were far and few between. No - don't think I'm THAT old. I'm talking of pretty recent times. In fact, around the late eighties and early nineties which I thought were the wonder years of Indian television advertising. Many of these ads stayed with us long after they played out, changed our views about various products, made our summers cool and have made us more aware of the world around us.

As a child I loved those advertisements when they were played on Doordarshan. To my little mind, they were short films with lovely jingles which we would sing along. At times I wished if I could be in one of them.

There are many advertisements which are still fresh in my mind and I believe the same would be for lot of people who watched Doordarshan during the early 80s and the 90s. I specially remember the Rasna and Fruity ads quite common during Sunday afternoon when we watched Spiderman. Also, the Bajaj bulb ad wherein dadu would say “Ab main bilkool budda hoon” and then looks at the Bajaj bulb. Who would forget the Hamara Bajaj song which would make every Indian father, brother and husband to buy atleast one; as if without the Bajaj the family would be incomplete.

I love to have papads, now and even then when I was a kid. A very popular advertisement that would come to my mind is of Lijjat Papad with the scary bunny coming up on the screen at the end of the song. Also, all girls and bride-to-be-women would remember the Vico turmeric nahin cosmetic ad.

I particularly remember Cinkara where Javed Jaffery would jump into the office breaking the glass wall in slow motion and then hands out a paper to the peon. It was kind of funny not knowing what the ad was all about; but the view of a thin man breaking into the glass wall would bring giggles to me and my sister.

Whatever these ads may be about, but every Indian family would buy them for their necessity; be it a health drink for kids, cream, scooter, bulb or toothpaste. People would buy what they see but then, that was what was available. Not only the products were branded but people had faith in what they bought.

I wish we could see those ads again on our television. The good old days when we would know the jingles by heart; when we would believe that even if get old the lights won’t let us down; pappads are still fun to have and dad would still be safe in his Bajaj.