Egg Curry – Kerala style

This is a traditional Kerala egg curry preperation. It goes well with rice, string hoppers and puttu.

Ingredients:

3 Eggs : Boiled, shelled and halved

1 Onion: Medium, finely sliced

1 tomato: Small, finely sliced

1 inch Ginger : juilliened

4 pods of Garlic: julliened

4 Green Chillies: Slit length wise 

Curry Leaves: A few sprigs

1/2 tsp Saunf: For tempering

Spice Powders:

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

2 tsp Red chilly powder

2 tsp Coriander powder

1/2 tsp Garam masala powder (optional)

lime juice – 1 tsp

salt to taste

thin coconut milk –  1/2 cup

thick coconut milk – 1/2 cup

3tsp – oil

Method of preperation:

Step 1: Take a wok/kadai. Place it on heat. Add oil. Once oil is hot add saunf, curry leaves, ginger, garlic, green chillies and saute.

Step 2: Add onions and fry till golden brown. Add tomatoes, salt, spice powders except garam masala and fry well till the spices are cooked well. Add the lime juice and mix well.

Step 3: Add the thin coconut milk and mix well. close the lid and let it cook for 5 mins.

Step 4: Add the thick coconut milk, mix well, add the eggs, sprinkle garam masala powder on top, cover the lid and cook for a few more mins.

Yummy Egg Curry is ready to be served.

Chicken Curry & Chicken Fry

This is one of my favourite recipes. Just finger licking good !!!

Ingredients:

Chicken : 1\2 kilo , cleaned. (boneless, curry cut … your pick)

onions – 2 big, thinly sliced

Tomato – 1 big, thinly sliced

green chillies – 1 : 3 Nos slit length wise

curry leaves – few sprigs

saunf/mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp

oil  – 3 tbsp

Marinade:

Turmeric powder  –  1/2 tbsp

Red chilly powder – 3 tbsp (quantity can be reduced as per taste)(1 1/2 tsp – marination rest for gravy)

coriander powder – 1 1/2 tsp (optional)

salt                       – 1 tsp

Lime juice              – 1/2 tsp

Mix all the above with the chicken and marinade for 1/2 an hour.

Paste:

Coriander leaves – 1 whole bunch

Pudina ( Mint leaves) – a few sprigs

Green chillies  – 2:  3 Nos

Ginger – 1/2 inch peice

Garlic – 4 pods

Make a paste of the above ingredients in a blender.

Method of preperation:

Step 1: Take a pan/wok/pressure cooker and add 4 tsp of oil. Add 1 tsp of saunf, curry leaves finely chopped or crushed, green chillies – 2, slit ones, onions and saute till onions golde brown and well cooked.

Step 2: Add the paste of pudina, coriander leaves, green chillies, ginger and garlic and saute for a few mins till the paste is well cooked.

Step 3: Add the marinated chicken and saute for 5 mins till all the ingredients are finely coated onto the chicken.

Step 4: Add tomato slices, salt and cover with the lid and cook for a few minutes till the tomatoes are soft and mushy.

Step 5: Add red chiily powder 1 1/2 tsp, chicken masala powder or garam masala powder.

Step 6: Cover the lid and cook till the chicken is well done. If using a cooker then after step 5 close the lid and cook for 2 whistles.

Yummy Chicken curry is ready!!! Garnish with coriander leaves and a dash of lemon. This has a gravy of very light consistency.

For the fry:

Just reduce the above mixture to a dry consistency. This absolutely tastes yumm. I normaly convert the left over chicken curry to chicken fry the next day  😉

Enjoy !!!!!!!!!

will post the pic ASAP and don’t forget to leave in your comments

Meen Pollichathu – Fish in Banana Leaf parcels

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

 

Fish – 1 No : Pomfret, Karimeen or Pearl Spot, King Fish / Seer Fish Steak

For the Marinade:

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

1/2 tsp lime juice

salt to taste

For the Gravy:

2 1/2 tsp Chilly Powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp of Fish Masala Powder (Any available Brand)

1 1/2 tsp Coriander Powder

Amchur Powder – a pinch

Salt to taste

2 tsp of lime juice / Vinegar. ( I prefer lime juice )

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1/2 tsp coconut oil.

Mix all above ingredients into a smooth paste.

For the Tempering:

Sambar Onions – 5 Nos Crushed and finely chopped

Garlic – 2 small cloves Crushed and finely chopped

Ginger – 1″ piece finely chopped

Green chillies – 2 finely chopped

Chopped Curry leaves mixed with 2 drops of coconut oil

For the Garnish:

Garlic – 1 pod finely chopped

Garlic – small piece finely chopped

1 green chilly finely chopped

Coriander leaves

Lemon wedges

For the Wraps :

Banana Leaves coated with coconut oil

Procedure:

Clean the fish thoroughly. Make deep slits in the fish for the marination to sink in. Marinate with paste of turmeric, salt and lime juice.

Take a non stick pan. Glaze with little coconut oil. When sufficiently heated add crushed ginger, garlic, small onions, green chillies, curry leaves and fry for a few mins. Do not let the ingredients burn. Immediately add in the paste prepared for the gravy. Mix well. Check taste for any additional seasoning. Pour a little water say about 1/4 glass. Mix in thoroughly. Place the marinated fish on the now lightly thickened gravy. Scoop the gravy and pour over the fish. Let the flavours sink into the fish through the slits made across. Cover with a lid and cook for 2 mins. Uncover and turn the fish over so its uniformly cooked. Scoop the gravy and cover the fish with it. Cook for another 2 mins. When almost done. cook with the lid uncovered. This ensures the gravy is cooked well and is of the right consistency. The raw flavours just disappears at this step. Keep flipping the fish from time to time.

Place the Banana leaf over a large plate or a news paper. You could use 2 leaves, one on top of each other. Lightly smear coconut oil on the surface. Now scoop 1/2 of the cooked gravy on to the banana leaf. Place the fish on top. Smear the remaining gravy on top of the fish.

Garnish with chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies. Add a few drops of lime juice. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Now make parcels of the fish inside the banana leaves. You could use a tooth pick to hold the leaves in place.

This parcel can either be steamed in idly plates in a cooker/steamer or lightly heated on a hot pan.

Serve with Lime Wedges and Hot steamed rice.

Also serves as a wonderful side dish with alcohol 🙂

The Y- Factor….Concluded.

He compares me to a drum. Ouch!! Probably because he is a bean pole himself. Ha that felt good. He is Mr Insensitivity, Mr Scumbag, all combined into one. He is Mr Acid – mouth. He is magnanimous with his insults and retorts. He has pledged to give me a coronary with every conversation we have. He never ceases to shock me with his crass responses. He is my colleague and a good friend. (With friends like these who needs enemies.!!!). Every conversation with him feels like facing bouncers from Bret Lee. One thinks he might just relax his stance for a beautiful girl… Na, he is too obnoxious for that. He is supremely confident in his abilities(nasty abilities). I sometimes wonder why I entertain his call. He is Bad ass to the core. He lives by insensitivity, sarcasm and loads of pun intended. And of course I attribute all of this to testosterone… to the essence of Y – factor.

All these attributes and many more justifies my impression of men. But there is more to Y – Factor than what meets the eye. The Y – Factor is essentially what makes men so different from women. It is this difference that I have come to appreciate. Because In their own weird way men do have a knack of touching our lives and creeping into the inner folds of our heart. However insensitive, nasty and crass they maybe, they are also a source of comfort, joy and bring with them a spirit of fun that we women somehow seem to lose sight of in the journey of life. These men have  entertained even the silliest of my tantrums. They have always been steady as a rock during tumultuous times. And they almost never cease to bring a smile on my face.

This is a tribute to the spirit of everything male, from beer bottles to a naughty grin, from crappy one liners to words of comfort and not to mention the Y – Factor the source of it all.

 Men..

Can’t live with them…

Can’t live without them…

Can’t leave them by the side of the road when you are done with them…

Can’t legally shoot them either !!!

This is in memory of Dr Ashok Basavaraj, Dr Goutham Krishnan and Praful Saanketh aka Mr Scum Bag. The men who made a difference in many a lives, especially mine. May their souls rest in peace.

Attn : Mr Insenitivity and Mr Acid – mouth. You still very much are a pain in the ass.

The Y Factor : Case study 2

So far you read about Mr Insensitivity. Read along to know more of Mr. Scum bag….

A photog friend of mine  aka Mr Scum bag and I were enjoying a cup of coffee in a coffee shop. Suddenly I noticed his eyes swell. They were huge and were almost popping out of the socket. His jaw had dropped a couple of inches. He had this glazed look about him. I thought he was sick or something and I started to recall all first aid practices. No. It was not that. I thought he probably had seen someone he was not particularly pleased to see. How silly of me. I should have known better. The transformation from Mr Nasty Face to Mr Eyes – Out of socket was due to the presence of an overtly female (read well equipped ) specimen in the room. Oh how he turned up the charm. He reminded me of my doggie “Kunju” when she smells food. It was irritating as hell. He forgot all about the conversation we were having. He even forgot I existed. He was not concentrating on the topic in hand and I assume was having thoughts  nothing less than scandalous. I know men tend to exercise their eyes and neck when in front of a woman, gorgeous or otherwise. but can’t they be a little more subtle about it especially when around with an other woman.

Is there a doctor in the house?? I hoped there was none. Because I was targeting a certain area, a little above the thighs and a little below the waist for a free kick. Trust me I don’t miss a shot that easily. I settled for his foot instead and managed to get his attention. He looked at me as If I had lost my marbles. Hello!! crazy??? Me??? I was not the one who was salivating.The least he could do was wipe the drool of his face and shut his gaping mouth. To add insult to injury he actually, without saying a word, just walked out behind her. He deserted me in the middle of a hot coffee and hot topic of conversation for a woman who just new how to put on a  show. (Don’t even dare tell me that it was after all a very hot woman. You might just need insurance.)

That’s Mr. Scum Bag for you.

Want more? Mr Acid mouth coming up…..

The Y Factor

Disclaimer: The material on this post is the writer’s personal opinion and views. Characters and situations mentioned here are entirely non fictional. Any resemblance to any person living or dead, any situation from past or present is not coincidental and is intentional on the writer’s part..

Men!! Whats it about them that makes one want to start a slug-fest? Whats it about them that makes one want to throttle them at least 50 times a day? Why are they such insensitive, nasty rats? Why Why Why do they have a one track mind? Do I even have to tell you where all their thoughts lead too?? And why god dammit do they think they are god’s gift to womenkind?

There have been times when I imagined all of them lined up as targets for my firing practise. (Yes I am the violent type. Blame it on television and WWE). Don’t get me wrong. I am no man – hater. I am not a hard nosed feminist either. My only excuse – they are and always have been a pain in the … uh… rear side..

Can’t really blame them.They are blessed with sensitivity of a goat, and nastiness of a troll and they owe it all to the failings of biology, to what I call, ” The Y – Factor”. Its what makes them Unique. Uh did I just use the term unique? Scratch that. I meant WEIRD :-). The Y Factor. The male factor. I attribute its origin from the Y chromosome –  the genes that make a man. Its what makes them different from us. Its what makes them allergic to colour pink and mauve. (For the colour retards, mauve is a colour.) Its whats masculine to our feminine. Its whats makes them quintessentially male. Its what makes them a pain in the good old behind..

I support my argument with the following case studies. Can’t get more academic than this. A phD in Y – Factor maybe…Any takers???

Case study 1:

“What are those ??? Chandeliers”.. he asked and followed it up with hoots of laughter. At that minute he was no buddy of mine. It went more primitive than that. He was a man who just insulted a woman’s sense of style. The Chandellier he was referring to was my precious, intricately designed beautiful pair of earings. Can you believe the nerve of this guy. (I know, I know ladies… murder with a capital M is whats is in my mind too!!). I couldn’t believe my ears. Chandellier of all the things. I damned him to hell and back again.

I wanted to wringe his neck, kick him where it hurts the most and slug him square on his face.I wanted to wipe off that silly, smug grin into oblivion. Oh how I hated him that instant. My mind went through a series of Bruce Lee flips and moves with very very satisfying results. I could almost hear him acknowledging the beauty of my earings and how beautiful they looked on me as I performed an imaginary choke-hold on him. I could taste victory which brought a smile to my lips.

The He I am referring to here WAS my best friend..( notice the use of the past tense here 🙂 )

I was meeting him after a long time and was very excited about it. I had dressed up for the occassion and was pretty satisfied with the results. I imagined that he would pull me into a big hug and tell me how much he missed me. Instead he attacks my sense of style and drops that Sh**  on me. He didnt notice that I had styled my hair.(I spent 350 Rs for that) Didn’t notice that I had slimmed down a few notches.(I had pulled in my tummy and was almost breathless with the effort to achieve the desired effect 🙂 ). No.All that he noticed were my chandelliers.. Shit !! My earings. All I wanted to do was shove the gift I spent hours selecting, down his throat.

This is not all… There’s more..

(to be continued……)

Yes.. I’m Different…. Get over it !!!

Yes. I am Different..

I am flawed. An aberration from the normal. I am with my share of imperfections, some just about obvious and some glaringly so.

Not long ago, I was the black sheep of the family. I was the one with less than stellar academic records. A back bench-er. The one who attended most of math lessons outside of the class. The one whose parents were called in regularly to be appraised of their daughter’s less than perfect academic and social achievements. Yes I am the one showered with nasty names ranging from a fat pig to other non endearments which cannot be shared here. I am the one who was betrayed by friends who felt I fell short of certain stellar expectations and standards. I am supposed to be the one with no shape (Hey I have a shape.. round is a shape isn’t it?? Go back to school society!!) I am fat with a figure not even close to perfection.Yes I was the one who just didn’t fit in.

I was all of this and much much more..

Life hasn’t been easy. Not being normal brings in its share of pain and ridicule with a sense of void to go with it. I let life do the living for me while I was away slaying my dragons. I was taunted, teased and tormented.Their words gnawed at my heart. It made me cringe and my skin crawl. I let their words dictate my actions and course of life. I knew they weren’t worth my attention. But I just couldn’t ignore them. I let them walk all over me. I hated myself, hated not being part of their exclusive perfect virgin white world. Their advice (pearls of wisdom you say?? Ya right!!) took a realm of importance further damaging my spirit. I let them use me, abuse me and shun me, in the process squashed my own dreams and hopes for the future.

As I said I was all this and much much more. I was the one who they came running to when in trouble. I was the one who moved heaven and earth to ease a little of their pain. I went beyond my means to be nice to them, hoping that my pure intentions and love will conquer them all. Oh how I was wrong. My Dad set things in perspective for me. People don’t change he said. You have to be the change. And Change, is what I did..

And how I changed you ask?? Did I lose weight and get all slim and sexy? Did I top my class and stun everyone with my acumen? Did I dazzle my so called friends with a new and improved version of me.. No I did no so thing. This is no Cinderella story and I am no Cinderella, not even close. The pumpkin.. well thats more like it.  🙂 

I decided to focus on what truly is important to me. I now spend more time with people who make my life more meaningful. I try not to let negative thoughts, people and actions influence me. I make it a point to appreciate life’s little blessings. I try not to let others’ judgement colour my actions and decisions. I stumble every once in a while. I am not yet where I see myself to be. There is a lot more of the journey left. But at least all is not lost..for I now have hope for the future…for I believe in me.

What lies behind me and what lies in front of me matters little when compared to what lies within me.

Yes.. I am not just Different.. I am Unique. I am ME. So get over it….

My Success Story ;-)

There I was, plastered with the most obnoxious grin possible, having just won a debate with my conscience on a juicy big MC D Burger (and not to mention ” A Large Fry “) , when i saw it. A gaudy poster on the notice board asking if I was a success story. Well not exactly me silly!! You know, generally…

It went something like this…

“Are You a Success Story ” , If so we give you a chance to blow your own trumpet. (At this point my voice of reason goes trumpet = elephant = fat = diet = salad, burger and an evil Ha Ha Ha). Send in your Success stories and if we agree with you, you stand to win a surprise gift. So share your story to the world…Last Date 31st Dec 2007.

Who cared if i was a success or not. All that mattered to me at that point of time, i might add was to get that burger.

Hey am not like this all the time you know… a a a food junkie. Who am I Kidding!! Ok  most of the time.  🙂

I forgot all of it, got busy with this and that and finally decided to call it a night when suddenly there it was again …Are you a success story… Am I a success story?? Am I?? Am I?? Am I?? It nagged me, tormented me, troubled me… until finally 651 sheep put me to sleep.

But the next few days i couldn’t just get it out of my head. It nagged me so much that it got my head out of QPM (Quantitative Project Management), burgers , AB Jr and Cyrus Broacha (My dream man!! sigh). I couldn’t take it any more so i decided to do something about it.

I asked myself what success meant to me. Is it being rich?? Having fancy alphabets following my name or is it being slim (voice of reason again!!), fancy car, exotic holidays, the company I keep. Ok lets try again… Love, marriage, children.. yada yada yada. I put an end to introspection and decided to do the obvious,  google  “Success”.

According to Merriam Webster on-line Success is

1. obsolete : outcome, result
2. degree or measure of succeeding , favorable or desired outcome; the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence
3. one that succeeds.

Having this in mind following is my observation.        

I have very supportive, live your life kind of parents who love me to death, a small but good circle of friends, 3 maybe more square meals a day, enough money to live on the edge, goofy dreams for the future, share of pain and gain, reasonably attractive, a little.. ok ok more on the heavier side, decent education,  respect and appreciation at work place, wonderful job.. more of a passion than work, though not very rewarding monetarily and not so impressive sense of humour. We can’t have it all!!! Right!!

I don’t know about the rest. As i can see it … I am pretty darn lucky to have a life like i do. So here I am counting my blessings.

So is this a success story in the making????

You are pretty darn right it is *

* conditions apply 🙂