Bhindi Masala

Ahh... Bhindi (okra) one of the most loved veggies out there. Bhindi like aloo (potato) is a very versatile veggie...and one of my fav's ...

So here goes one of my fav recipes with Bhindi.

Ingredients:

3 Pounds Bhindi ( approx 1 1/2 kgs)
2 medium onions - chopped
1 large tomato - chopped
1 ' cube Ginger - Chopped
4 cloves Garlic - Chopped
3 medium Green Chilles - Chopped
1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
2/3 teaspoon Red Chilli pwd
Pinch of Turmeric
Oil to Saute
Corriander leaves for garnish

Method:

Quater the Bhindi 4 ways
Heat some Oil in the pan and saute the Bhindi will sides are golden brown, and set aside
Heat the remaining oil. Once Hot add in the Cumin and wait for it to splutter
Add in the Ginger, Garlic and Green Chillies, stir till the garlic turns golden brown
Add in the Onion and saute till the Onions turn transculent
Add in the tomatoes and saute for 3 more minutes.
Add all the Masalas, cook for a high flame for 2 mins and then cover and cook on a low flame till Bhindi cooks completely
Garnish with Corriander before serving...


yummm!

Hope you enjoy it ....as much as we did :)

5 Mins Chocolate Pie

This one literally takes just 5 mins, and turns out yummy!! Everytime I have made this one, people rave about it...and think it takes a lot of time to make :)

So here goes

1 Pack Instant Pudding (I Devil's food...even plain chocolate will do)
2 cups Milk
1 pre-packed pie base
1 pack sweet Whipped cream (yummmm)
Chocolate shavings 1/4 cup (Optional)

Method:

1. Empty the Pack of Pudding into the Milk and whip till it sets

2. Pour Immediately into the Pie Base

3. Refrigerate for a couple of Hrs

4. Top with Whipped cream (enough to cover the pie :))

5. Sprinkle a few chocolate shavings

6. Cut and Serve!

How easy is that??? Hopefully U stumble across this recipe!! Let me know how it works out !!

Intro to food :)

Now this makes me real Happy! Food...

I have a so called degree in Food and its prep..but my fascination with food started a really long time back

I still remember watching Sanjeev Kapoor cooking show as a child, and trying out his recipes.

The latest development in the area of food as been my recently acquired love for vegetarian food....this is a world that I chose to ignore when I was young. With age they say comes maturity...as I age what is coming is the love for vegetables...hahahahahaha..

Well here is to the new discoveries and less disasters in the kitchen......GO Veggie !!!

Countdown

Comfortable with Strangers – Part II

On the professional side things are no different.

Not long ago, there was a time when people actually met each other in an official setting and got to know each other as a person. People were warm in their reception extended to the new entrant in the office.

A number of people if not all in the department, including the dept head would actually take time out and talk to the new member. They would take them out for lunch, take them on the tour of the office, get them introduced to the people around, and all in all give them a decent chance and time to settle in.

But in today’s day and age the very thought of something like this happening is absurd. With the environment of Hire and Fire, relocations, work at homes, consultants and many many other modern concepts, it is rare for a new person to get the time to get acquainted.

Typically the new person meets the manager, who shows them the designated work area, the Cubicle, settles them down with a word ‘Welcome!’ and then hands them a bunch of documentation to read. By the end of the day the new person has a bunch of meeting invitations on his/ her calendar, from people that he/she has no idea about.

In the meeting itself, the newbie is bombarded about who is who and where they are located, (coz people in the same department are now spread across the world). There have been times that I have spoken to a person on a almost daily basis on the least for a year or so, and have never seen who they are, all I know is what they sound like.

People in big organizations, talk to each other either with emails, or thru some kind of instant messaging. Forget meeting the person, there is a certain reluctance now to even pick up the phone and call someone. There are no more ‘How are yous’ and “How you doings’, all that remains in the name of conversation is ‘Hi, can you send/give/forward to me this&that’

I must confess that though, this kind of working is now something I am totally comfortable with, I still look forward to the 15 mins everyday that I have to STEAL away from my desk and meet my buddies for lunch with my colleagues.

On the other hand I have become friends with people sitting halfway across the world. The daily Hellos and the interaction sometimes extend into conversations about weekend activities, movies, food and drink. There have been moments when you can message this person and talk for 5-10 mins and unload if something is bothering you, without the risk of the person judging you…Hell they don’t even know what you look like

The long distance and the online environment have created something that helps a person work and connect with people in all corners of the world, without having to REALLY connect with them…

Comfortable with Strangers - Part 1

The Introduction :-

This world at this time is a strange place indeed....we are now more than ever interacting with people online and looking towards strangers for love for friendship.

No its not what u are thinking...I am talking about strangers we have never seen never met....strangers we meet online...we seek online....

This morning I saw something on a online news channel, about how boys from rural areas, get all dressed up on weekends and drive to the nearest town, where they get on these internet public chat room and are actively looking for love, looking to meet women from far away, looking for something that they are supposedly not finding in their physical world around them.

These are the same guys that are considered shy and have no real contact with a woman, let alone go out and date women, these boys havent even had a chance to have a decent conversation with the opposite sex...but this might be more a rural setting situation right?

Wrong!...for the most part whoever reads this entry or this blog is a complete stranger to me as I am to them, barring some of my buddies from a review site (u got here mostly thru there)...and u are still here relating to the blog in some way or the other.

Talking about the review site. I hold that place very dear, because of the people I have met there, the poeple I have interacted with and the admiration we have developed for one another, not only reviewers but also as exceptionally wonderful Human beings.

Infact the reviews, the comments and the mails have stemmed of this whole new camaraderie....we now have regular interactions, find joy in sharing news, tell the other person how wonderful a review they have written, look forward to everyones comments on our review, discuss shopping and anything else under the sun, create groups on Orkut and other site...network!

Orkut...another boon for the virtual world....How many of us, go in and see how our friends are doing? find new friends and see if someone is trying to connect with you. Orkut is great for connecting with existing friends too right....scrap each other, send messages, create and join groups? Extend ur hand in friendship to other people on the site, ask them to come and join a group, send them a scrap, and reply if they send you one....pleasant or otherwise.....

Long story short.....I find myself online constantly....not only has all my professional life gone online...looks like most of my personal one is going there too...

to be continued!

The Day of the Tornado

For many a days now I have been racking my brain to come up with something to write about…..coz the truth is no one wants to put down stuff that sounds totally idiotic…even if the Blog is really supposed to be a virtual diary……yeah! But everyone reads it!

Irrelevant…now…what is relevant atleast to me is what happened yesterday on the 8th of August 2007. The day the rain gods and the tornado gods decided to pay a visit to NY.

The night before we were issued a minor warning that there will be thunderstorms in the area, nothing major. In the morning though around 6:00 there was terrible thunder and lighting….and it was pouring cats and dogs!

But that lasted like an hour and then it was all quite. Commute was a different story altogether. As soon as I got to the Subway, I was told that all the trains were shut down. When I looked up, I saw thousands of people, stranded! Waiting for the bus that refused to come, trying to get into work!

I managed to get on into an Express bus, the driver of which was way more grumpier than the weather that had just passed by. He kept screaming at the top of his voice that there were only 5 seats on the bus!....yeah right! Like that message was going to get across to the thousands waiting to storm the bus.

Anyway as soon as I sat down, a very heavily pregnant woman got on and was standing in the Aisle. Not one person had the courtesy to get up and offer the poor lady a seat. I figured, that she needed to sit more than I did, and asked her if she wanted to. The relief on her face was unbelievable! So I got up ad let her sit.

The journey on that bus lasted for around 2 hrs during which I kept standing, during which time, a man kept making clicks, coz I was standing too near his seat. I was literally at a point where I would have gotten right near his face and screamed “Shut up u moron, atleast u are sitting.! This aisle is hardly 2 feet wide, a little inconvenience is not gonna kill you!...and stop making that noise…if it bothers u so much…leave the seat…and go upfront and stand’’ Idiot!

Oh well….the journey lasted a long time….infact it lasted 3 ½ hrs….it usually takes me like an hour and a half to get to work!...but at the end I was proud of myself of never loosing my temper, inspite of all the annoyed and annoying people around me, and more so for doing atleast one good deed on a day when it would have been much easier to turn a blind eye to the inconvenience of another

So from now on, I am going to do atleast one good deed a day…and everyday there are many such opportunities…it is just that many of us choose to ignore them….but not anymore…not me!

So my good deed for yesterday was giving up my seat to a pregnant lady…who needed it more than me….lets see what today has in strore!