Apple Pie (with egg)

Pastry Base:-

250 gms of Flour (Maida); 125 gms Nutralite (you can use butter if you prefer.. but nutralite works well too) - cut into tiny cubes & chilled; 1 & 1/2 tbsp Powdered Sugar; A small pinch of baking powder; 1 Egg; 1 Tbsp Milk

Apple Filling:-

8 Apples - peeled & thinly sliced; 1 tsp lime juice; 1 tsp powdered cinnamon; 1/3 cup sugar

Egg Mix:-

1 Egg yolk 1 Tbsp Milk

Beat together to make the egg mix.

Process:-

1. For the apple filling, mix apples, cinnamon powder, sugar & lime juice & cook on medium flame. Cook till the mixture becomes pulpy & dry.

2. For base & top of pastry - Sift powdered sugar, baking powder & flour. Mix the cold cubes of nutralite & mix together till crumbly.

3. Break the egg in the mix. Bring it together with little milk to form dough. Do not knead much.

4. Wrap in a damp cloth & put in fridge for 15 mins.

5. Divide the dough into 2 parts. Keep one half back in fridge. Roll out the second half, into a 10-11 inch diameter round shape - the base of the pie needs to be bigger than the pie-dish size, so as to cover the sides of the dish.

6. Grease the pie dish with oil & little flour.. and roll over the pie base on to it. cover all the sides, & remove the extra dough falling out of the dish. Poke the pie base with a fork.

7. Bake the base of pie in a pre-heated oven at 180C for 17-18 mins till lightly golden.

8. Once done, remove the base & fill-in the apple mixture.

9. Roll-out the remaining dough to a 10 inch diameter round shape. Cover the pie, by rolling it gently, using the belan as support. Once covered, tug in at sides, & remove the excess dough falling out of the dish.

10. Brush the pie lightly with the egg mix well.

11. Make an X at center of the pie cover using a knife. Poke rest of the cover using a fork spoon.

12. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30 mins at 200C. You can bake for 5 mins more, to get the right browned/goldish look on the pie cover.

13. Serve warm with vanilla ice-cream. Enjoy :-)

Home-made Apple Pie (Egg-less)

Thanks to a dear friend's encouragement, finally managed Apple Pie. This is an egg-less recipe. Here's what you need:-

Pastry Base & Cover

2 Cups of Flour (Maida); 100 gms Nutralite (you can use butter if you prefer.. but nutralite works well too) - cut into tiny cubes & chilled; 1 & 1/2 tbsp Powdered Sugar; A small pinch of baking powder; Little cold water to bind

Apple Filling

5-6 Large Apples - peeled & thinly sliced; 1 tsp lime juice; 1/2 tsp powdered cinnamon; 1/3 cup sugar

Process:-

1. For the apple filling, mix apples, cinnamon powder, sugar & lime juice & cook on medium flame. Cook till the mixture becomes pulpy & dry.

2. For base & top of pastry - Sift powdered sugar, baking powder & flour. Mix the cold cubes of nutralite & mix together till crumbly.

3. Gather lightly with ice cold water to form dough. Do not knead much.

4. Wrap in a damp cloth & put in fridge for 15 mins.

5. Divide the dough into 2 parts. Roll out the base into a 10-11 inch diameter round shape - the base of the pie needs to be bigger than the pie-dish size, so as to cover the sides of the dish.

6. Grease the pie dish with oil & little flour.. and roll over the pie base on to it. cover all the sides, & remove the extra dough falling out of the dish. Poke the pie base with a fork.

7. Bake the base of pie in a pre-heated oven at 180C for 17-18 mins till lightly golden.

8. Once done, remove the base & fill-in the apple mixture.

9. Roll-out the remaining dough to a 10 inch diameter round shape. Cover the pie, by rolling it gently, using the belan as support. Once covered, tug in at sides, & remove the excess dough falling out of the dish.

10. Make an X at center of the pie cover using a knife. Poke rest of the cover using a fork spoon.

11. Brush lightly with little nurtralite (optional)

12. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30 mins at 200C. You can bake for 5-10 mins more, to get the right browned/goldish look on the pie cover.

13. Serve warm with vanilla ice-cream. Enjoy :-)

NOTE: Use the low rack in your convection oven while baking, in both the stages.

Baked Mackerel. a healthy alternative (no oil used )

You need:-

3 Medium Mackerel - cleaned, kept whole; Salt & pepper for seasoning; 2 Lime - Sliced thin; Rosemary - 2 Tbsp; Garlic, cleaned - 1 Bulb; Apple Cider Vinegar - 3 Tbsp; Baking Paper - enough to wrap each fish separately; Seasoning - Light Soy Sauce

Process:-

1. Pre-heat the oven (I use convection oven) at 200C for 10 mins

2. Clean the fish & make a diagonal cut. Also, give 3 small cuts on each side of the fish

3. Place each fish on separate Baking paper

4. Season well with salt & pepper

5. Stuff the fish with lime wedges & slightly crushed, whole garlics

6. Sprinkle Rosemary - 1 tbsp each on each fish

7. Pour Apple Cider Vinegar - 1 Tbsp on each fish

8. Wrap the baking paper loosely to make a closed pouch for the fish

9. Place in Baking dish, & bake for 40 mins at 220C.

10. Sreve hot by sprinkling slightly with light soy sauce..

Enjoy :-)

Poached Eggs for Breakfast

Hi... poaching eggs seemed like the most challenging things to me for very long. Turns out it is really easy & one of the most healthy ways of cooking the egg. Poached eggs, with bread & crispy potato & tomato make a fab breakfast

In fact poaching in whole is the best way to cook fish, poultry to get well flavored & low cal dishes.

I follwed the method for poaching eggs given by Zac in "Cooking for Students" on Youtube, & it was really simple - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIvpbSEboYI

This guy is really good & recipe's put by him are fantastic.. so do check it out :-) You can easily find him on Facebook or Youtube by searching for "Cooking for Students"

Enjoy !!

Banana Walnut Cake - Healthy recipe

A healthy recipe for Banana & Walnut cake.. you can eat it in the morning with breakfast, or with tea... just awesome combination.

What you need:-

3/4 Wheat Flour (atta)

3/4 Plain Flour

2 Tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp soda-bi-card (mitha soda)

3 Ripe Bananas, peeled

1/2 cup Oil

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

3 Large Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

1/4 tsp nutmeg powder

3 tbsp chopped walnut (you can substitute it with peccan nuts)

METHOD:

1. Sieve together wheat & plain flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon & nutmeg powder. Keep aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mash the banana with back of a fork.

3. Add Oil, Sugar & mix.

4. Add eggs, one at a time & mix well. Beat well with fork spoon itself.

5. Mix the vanilla essence & beat the mixture well.

6. Fold in the shifted flour.

7. Roast the walnuts/ peccan on a pan till slightly brown. Mix in the flour mixture.

8. Pour the mixture into a greased 9"X9" baking pan & bake in preheated convection oven for 40 mins at 180C.

9. Allow the cake to cool for 10 mins, before removing from pan.

Enjoy :-)

Carrot Cake

This recipe is from Nita Mehta's Cake & Cookies recipe book. Honestly, her recipes are simply awesome & I vouch for them with full heart.

So here it is.. you need:-

1 1/2 cup grated carrots

2 eggs

85 gms flour

1 tsp baking powder

A pinch of soda-bi-carb (mitha soda)

100 gms (3/4 cup) powdered sugar

1/2 cup Oil

1/2 tsp powdered cinnamon

1. Sieve flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder & soda. keep aside.

2. In a medium pan, beat egges & powdered sugar till frothy (double the original volume)

3. Add Oil & beat again.

4. Add grated carrots to the flour. Mix lightly, coating the carrots well.

5. Add carrot mixture to the egg mixture & mix gently or beat at low if using electric egg beater.

6. Pour in a greased pan of 7"X4" OR 6" bake dish & bake in preheated oven at 150C for 1 hour or till cake is done. (if using convection oven, bake at 160C for 1 hour 5 mins)

7. Let the cake cool for 10 mins before removing from the dish.

Easy Lemongrass Chicken - Ga Xao Sa Ot (recipe courtesy GoodFood India Sept issue)

A very easy recipe which I found in this month's India issue of GoodFood.

You need:-

Chicken Breast Piece - 5 to 6 (I use 2 small packs of Zorabian)

Fish Sauce - 2 1/2 Tbsp

Black Pepper - 1 Tsp

Caster Sugar - 1 Tsp ( I use regular if I am out of caster sugar)

Lemongrass - 2 Stems, white part only, finely chopped OR 7-8 dried sticks of Lemongrass

Red Chilli flakes - 1 Tbsp OR Fresh Red Chilli - 1 finely chopped

Garlic Cloves - 2, roughly chopped

Water - 90 ml

Spring Onions - 10, sliced

Coriander leaves - handful, chopped

LIME, CHILLI & SALT MIX

Sea Salt - 1 tsp (You can substitute it with rock salt)

Black Pepper Powder - 2 tsp

Lime Wedges - 2

1. To make the mix, place salt & pepper in a small dish. Add lime juice & stir well together. Keep aside.

2. Cut chicken fillet into small pieces (6 for each breast piece) and marinate in fish sauce, caster sugar & pepper for 30 mins.

3. Heat oil in a wok OR Kadhai over medium heat & add lemongrass, chilli & garlic. Stir for 1-2 minutes till fragrant. Now add the chicken & toss well. Cook by tossing till chicken is lightly browned.

4. Add water & turn the heat up. Cook till chicken is done. Add spring onions & coriander leaves.

5. Pour the mix before serving with steamed rice.

Chicken Kathi Roll made at home :-)

Hello... today I wanted to share a quick recipe of Chicken Kathi Roll to be made at home.

Below recipe is for making 4 chicken kathi rolls -

For the Chicken Filling -

2 pieces chicken breast, cut in small cubes

1 Tablespoon Oil

1 Tea-spoon Jeera

1 Cup Sliced Onions

1 Table-spoon Ginger-garlic paste

1 Cup chopped tomatoes

1 tea-spoon turmeric powder

1 tea-spoon garam-masala powder

1 tea-spoon coriander powder

1 tea-spoon jeera powder

Salt for taste

1/2-1 cup water

1. Heat Oil in a deep pan. Once hot, add jeera.

2. Add sliced onions as jeera starts spluttering. Fry till translucent.

3. Add ginger garlic paste and fry till oil separates from mixture.

4. Add tomatoes and all the spices, salt and fry till masala is cooked, and oil starts separating from the mixture.

5. Add chicken and cook covered on medium flame.

6. If mixture sticks to bottom of pan, add 1/2 cup water and cook till chicken is done.

7. Ensure the chicken mixture is not runny.. but dryish..

To Make the Square Paratha -

Use the same wheat flour (atta) dough, leveraged for making roti's.

Make 4 round-balls of the dough with approx, 4-5 cms diameter

Roll out the dough, as you would for roti. To make square paratha's follow the below steps -

1. Once you have made a round roti.. add little oil from one corner of roti to another, running from center

2. Fold opposite sides of the roti towards the center

3. Apply little oil on the folded section, and fold the other two sides of the roti towards the center.

4. Dab the square with loose atta, and roll it out into a larger square.

5. Ensure, the dough is not rolled out too thin..keep it a little thick.

Now, on a hot tawa, put the rolled out square dough. Once, you see small bubbles popping out, flip the paratha. Flip after 3-4 minutes.. you will see the surface has brown small dots. Apply a little oil on this side, and spread all over. Flip the side, and apply a oil on the other side as well. Fry till both sides are dark brownish..

Keep aside on Kitchen tissue to soak out excess Oil.

To make the Egg Paratha -

1. Beat 3 eggs in a bowl with little salt.

2. Heat pan and sprinkle little Oil.

3. Pour in little mixture of egg, and on the wet surface itself, put the paratha prepared above.

4. Let it cook for a while..till the mixture is soaked and cooked and remove the paratha from the pan.

5. Repeat the process for the other 3 parthas.

To Assemble the Chicken Kathi Roll -

Apart from the egg paratha, chicken pripared above, you'll need -

Non-stick Baking Paper

1 cup sliced Onion

Green Chutney/ Tomato Sauce

Lime juice

1/2 cup sliced green capsicum

1. Lay out a square inch of baking paper.

2. Put the Paratha on top.

3.Spread Green-chutney/ tomato sauce

4. Put chicken in center of the paratha

5. top it with onion, capsicum and little lime juice

6. Roll the paratha and wrap ti in the baking paper..

Enjoy with chutney.. :-)

Weekend Breakfast Idea....

Don't you just love weekend... I bet it would be practically impossible to find someone who doesn't enjoys waking up to a lazy weekend..full of one golden promise..a relaxing no pressure day. In making the morning of such a lovely day more treasured, a wonderful lay of breakfast plays a critical role.

I am sharing here one of the weekend breakfast ideas, which I love to dabble with..it isn't that difficult..so you sure will enjoy it...

Pancakes...with Spanish Omelette and bread with Rasberry Jam...

For the Pancake -

I use Betty Crocker mix...easily available in all super markets.

100 gms of pancake mix

150 ml of milk

45 ml of water

1 egg

Oil to fry

1. Mix all the ingredients into a smooth batter

2. Heat oil in a small non-stick pan

3. add 1-2 serving spoon amount of batter and let it cook on medium/ low flame.

4. Once the top is not runny any more, flip the pancake and cook the other side.

5. Cook each side till they have a brownish/ dark-brownish tinge as on cover of Betty crocker pancake mix.

Above measurements - make 8 pancakes...half it if you'r cooking for just two..

For the Spanish Omelette -

Okay..now here, what you put into your omelette is totally your call.. I mean, from Mushrooms, to colorful capsicum, onion, boiled potato, chicken salami, tomato, cheese.. you can choose your filling and go with it.

In recipe below, I will be using filling of colored capsicum (coz I so love them), mushrooms, chicken salami and cheese..

3 Eggs

1/2 cup finely chopped yellow & red capsicum

4-5 small mushrooms chopped finely

3-4 chicken salami ( I use Zorabian brand)

1 small cube of cheese (go by your desire for cheese)

Salt

Pepper

1. Mix all the above ingredients with the eggs.

2. heat Oil in a small span and pour in the mixture.

3. Let the mixture cook for 4-5 minutes in low to medium flame.

4. Use a flat spoon to release the omelette sticking to the pan.

5. Once yo see the base of the omelette is firm.. use a plate to cover the pan.

6. Keeping the plate firmly on top of the pan.. flip the pan on the plate.

7. Slide the omelette back to the pan..with the gooey side now down and firm side up.

8. Cook for 5-10 minutes more..or till down.

Remove from pan..

You can check this flipping the omelette trick on the web.. it's really helpful..search for how to make perfect spanish omelette and you'll get many links..

Toast the bread and serve with your favorite jam.. enjoy :-)

Sunday Lunch Idea...Grilled Fish...

Well considering my roots...and the awesome benefits of Fish..somehow it's not a surprise for me that I am so in love with Fish. Below is a Sunday Lunch menu..which works well for Mr. B & me.... easy to make , yum to eat.

Grilled King Mackerel with Vegs' in Black Pepper Sauce

3 Fillet of King Mackerel (Surmai)

For Marination

9-10 Garlic peeled and sliced.

7-8 Fresh Basil Leaves chopped

7 - 8 Fresh Oregano Leaves chopped (you can also used the Oregano available in market, coarser one, not fine powdered)

Cilantro Leaves chopped

50 ml White Wine

2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tsp Chilli Flakes

1 Tbsp Fish Sauce

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tsp Paprika Powder

Salt as per taste

Pepper as per taste

1. Clean the Fish well and pat dry with Kitchen Towel

2. Marinate the Fish in the above ingredients for 30 mins

3. Grill the Fish using an Electric Grill. Sprinkle Olive Oil on the grill before placing the Fish. In interim, apply the marinade liquid while grilling the fish and turning it

4. Use the remaining marinade as sauce. For same, heat the marinade in a small plan, and reduce by 50%

5. Remove the Fish and place on a plate of serving and pour the reduced sauce on top before serving. Serve and enjoy without much wait (don't let the fish cool :-) )

NOTE: If you don't have an electric grill, you can fry the Fish on a pan, with little Olive Oil.

For the Vegetable Side Dish

1 Cup chopped Cabbage

1/2 Cup Chopped Spinach

1 Tomato de-seeded and sliced in long thin strips

1/2 Yellow & 1/2 Red Capsicum sliced in long thin strips

1/2 Cup Carrot sliced in long thin strips

7-8 Button Mushrooms sliced

Add the vegetables that you like.... it's your take.

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Salt as per taste

Pepper as per taste

1-2 Tbsp Black Pepper Sauce

1. Heat Olive Oil in a large Pan

2. First add Cabbage to same, followed by Spinach and sprinkle a little Salt

3. Once they soften, add the mushroom and cook till half done

4. Add the carrot, Capsicum and Tomato's and cook for a while. Sprinkle Salt and pepper as required

5. Once you can see the vegetables are almost done, add the Black pepper sauce and mix well

6. Close the heat and transfer the vegetables on plate

For Bread...I usually pick Olive or Garlic bread...choose as per your taste, and enjoy the meal with a glass of white wine with your loved ones.

Black & White...if only

Damn if only things were black and white

Not the facades and not the masks strewn aside

Why messy them have so conflicting personas

Immoral and disturbed..vouching for rules & order

I sometimes find enactments so surreal

Pinching myself to feel was that really real..

If only Atlas Shrugged was just a book

If only it could be really made to come up to boot

The great Lady sure did talk some sense

For back then too people disturbing crawled to no end

And you wondered...why what is right and wrong

Where does one draws the line and says I am so done

I'll tell you what...maybe she did find it out

Maybe there is John Galt...

Recipe: Chicken in home-made Funky Sauce

Hello Again... now Chicken is something which most of us love to eat..and boy there sure are tons of ways to make same. I kinda mixed matched different recipes to come up with one that I sure love and enjoy a lot. It's the ideal thing to go with Port wine or white wine on a Friday evening party with Mr. B. Below is the recipe of same for same...try it, it's kinda good :-)

Chicken in Home-made Funky Sauce

500 gms Chicken Breast

1 Bulb Garlic ..peeled and cut in thin slices

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 tbsp Cedar Vinegar

1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce

1 Tsp Fish Sauce

1 Tbsp Honey

2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

2 tbsp Ketchup

1 Cup Water

1 tsp Paprika Powder

Salt & Pepper for seasoning

1. Wash the Chicken breasts and cut into small pieces. Season salt & pepper for Marination in a bowl.

2. Heat Olive Oil in a non-stick sauce pan

3. Add Garlic and fry till golden brown

4. Add all the Sauces and water. Bring to Boil

5. Boil the Sauce mixture for 1 min.

6. Pour the mixture onto the marinated chicken.

7. Seal the bowl with plastic film and let it rest for 30-45 mins.

8. After 45 mins...heat a non-stick pan and pour the chicken and sauce mixture into it.

9. cook in slow flame till 20-30 mins...till chicken is done. In between, if the sauce dries..add a little water.

Chicken in funky sauce is ready to be served.... enjoy

Basic Chocolate Cake... :-)

It has been claimed that the scent of fresh baked goods lifts the mood and makes people nicer.

Well not to overlook such a strong motivator..I believe investing in baking goes beyond just making you nice... it kinda makes me happy..feeding yummy food to loved one's & seeing the joy in their faces sure makes my day. Below is my recipe for Basic Chocolate Cake. You would need a Microwave with Convection mode facility for same..and off you go..

Basic Chocolate Cake

4 Eggs

1 Cup Flour (Maida..ensure you keep it in Sun for some time so that it looses all moisture)

2 tsp Banking Powder

4 tbsp Cocoa Powder

1 Cup & 4 Tbsp Powdered Sugar (this is important, if you don't have powdered sugar, just grind regular sugar to make some)

1/2 Cup Milk

1 Cup Oil

2 Tsp Vanilla Essence

Handful of Cashews (broken) and Raisins

1. Sift Flour with Baking Powder and Cocoa powder and keep aside (Use a sieve/channi for same)

2. Beak eggs & sugar till the eggs turn fluffy and more than double of their initial volume. Add essence. (Ensure you don't beat the the mixture too much either...if using an electric hand mixer..usually 2-3 minutes is enough)

3. Add Oil tot he beaten mixture and mix well (beat for 30 seconds with the electric hand mixer)

4. Now gently fold in the flour gradually till all flour has been used (You would need to be careful at the this step...for folding, put a little flour i the mixture and always move the spatula only in circular motion clock-wise till it is dissolved..continue the process till all is mixed)

5. Once mixed..add Milk to the mixture to get a slightly thinner consistency.

6. Pre-heat the oven at this time by keeping your Microwave in Convection mode at 200 degrees Celsius.

7. Grease a deep bowl (I use Borosil's baking dish) by spraying/ spreading a little oil in it and coat it lightly with loose Flour. Ensure you don't let excess Flour stick to the baking dish.

8. Pour the mixture into the bowl and top it with the cashews and raisin.

9. Now bake it in Convection mode for 45 Minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Ensure you place the dish on a low rise grill inside the oven so that heat reaches the center of the dish as well.

10. After cooking and 15 minutes cooling inside the oven..remove the cake from the Microwave using baker gloves.

11. To remove the cake from the dish..place a plate on-top of the dish and invert it. The cake with fall onto the plate upside down. Move away the baking dish and by using another plate at bottom of the cake, invert the cake upside.

Easy chocolate cake is ready to be served... enjoy with family and friends :-)

Suji Kakara Pitha - Odiya Delicacy for Puja Days

Whenever I think about my childhood and the festive occasions gone by...what strongly comes to my mind is the amazing food that Ma would cook for us. I would hang around the Kitchen to steal from the first batch of food cooked, and gobble it down the minute it was out..all pipping hot..tears flowing from my eye, but a big smile beaming across my face.... the food Ma cooked was heavenly.

Job..marriage..all happened and I moved out of my parents home...what I miss most is my Mom's food.. whatever she would make was always soooo good, that it would just make your day. I remember my Mom cooked some of the best dishes when she cooked in a hurry..juggling work...running around in mayhem..and then emerge with a platter full of heavenly bites...ohhh boy old days :-)

I think the passion I have for cooking comes from her...from Ma's family..well I'll spill the beans on them some other time.. Today I am going to share a fantastic recipe of one of my Mom's chosen festive dish - Suji Kakara Pitha

Recipe -

500 gms Suji

6 Tablespoons sugar

Salt to Taste

1 Shredded Coconut

1 Tsp Cardamom Powder

Oil to Fry

2 Tablespoon Ghee

1. Boil 1 Litre water (as a rule: boil water equal to double the amount of Suji taken)in a deep pan (Kadhai)

2. Once water is boiling add 3 Tablespoons of Sugar and Salt and mix well.

3. Reduce the flame, and add the Suji slowly..mixing with other hand through-out. Ensure no lumps are made.

4. Once the mixture is ready..close the flame and let it cool.

5. In another pan, heat the shredded coconut but mixing it with 3 Tablespoons of Sugar and Cardamom powder. Once mixed, close the flame and keep it aside to cool.

6. Once the Suji dough is cooled...kneed the dough with Ghee to make it softer.

7. Make small round balls from the dough. Flatten them and fill the coconut mixture in them. Close it to make a ball again and flatten a bit by pressing from both sides.

8. Keep some flattened balls plain..with no filling.

9. Heat Oil in a deep pan (Kadhai) and fry the flattened balls till they turn golden brown on both sides.

10. Enjoy once done :-)

Kosha Mangsho..Bengali Style..Diwali Special

I know Diwali is all about Laxmi Puja in majority of India....for Bengali's who do Shakti Puja, Diwali marks the day for worshipping Ma Kali (the angry version of Durga Ma). Traditionally Bengali's keep fast the whole day..and do the Puja at night followed by the feast....

Well..I didn't keep fast...but I cooked the dish of the day for family - Kosha Mangsho. for those interested..below's the recipe for same -

Ingredients:-

1 Kg Mutton

3 Tablespoon Mustard Oil

Ginger-Garlic Paste - 3 Big Pieces of Ginger and 2 Big Bulb of Garlic or 15-20 big cloves of garlic

4 Big Onions Chopped

4 Big Tomato's Chopped

2 Potato's - Peeled and Halved

2 Tsp's Turmeric

Salt as per taste

1 Tsp Lal Mirch ( you can add more if you like it Tikha)

1 Tsp Black Pepper

1 Tsp White Pepper

2 Tsp Garam Masala

1. Wash and clean the Mutton well. Marinate it in half of the Ginger-garlic paste, turmeric and salt for 1 hour.

2. Heat Mustard Oil in a Cooker..once it leaves fumes, add rest of the ginger-garlic paste & onions

3. Once the mixture turns light brown, add Tomoato's and cook it, ensuring it doesn't stick to the bottom.

4. Once it is reduced to pulp and oil starts leaving the mixture, add Lal Mirch, White & Black Pepper and a little salt and cook well.

5. Add the Mutton once the masala is cooked and mix it well. Keep turing the mutton on regular period so as to ensure it doesn't stick to the bottom. Let the mutton cook in it's own water released for 1 hour over small flame.

6. After an hour add the potato's and cook for 20 more mins or till meat is tender and potato's cooked.

7. Garnish with Garam masala and check for salt...

8. Serve hot with Luchi or Rice

To cook it early...you can after adding the Meat to the Masala cook it on slow-to-medium flame for 45 mins, followed by adding Potato and cooking for 15 mins. Then, add a little water and close the lid of cooker and give it two Whistles to tenderize the mutton.

Skyfall...!!!

Loved it...just Loved it... five words to sum the movie:-

1. Sleek 2. Raw 3. A little Filmi 4. Machoism 5. Loads of action

From all Bond movies I have seen till date...to be honest (not that I am not usually)..Daniel Craig as Bond are the best one's. The movie is a fantastic tribute to Mr. Bond, exemplifying some of his very good traits..loyalty, perfect Gentleman, resurrection, human...ohh yes, Unlike our dearest Agent from Bourne series...Bond post his resurrection is strong and quite ready for action.

Not much of womanizing nature, however another trait of "man", spoken of much in all genres takes precedence in this movie:- Loyalty and the Protector.

The vulnerability shown along with the strong resolution, makes this Bond my favorite...putting him in the "strong epitome Hero" category..you know like Russell Crowe from Galdiator kinds. And the action sequence is quite nice...not as gadgetie as Mission Impossible..but damn good and in a genre of it's own

In between..the movie does become a bit stretched..and some action sequences timing are questionable...however in all, quite a good movie and a very good watch

Crying therapy !!

Recently I was watching one of the episodes from Everybody loves Raymond, where Debra in her me time sits and cries out...to get a cathartic feeling....well Ray sure doesn't gets it and makes fun of her, leading to yet another hilarious episode of Everybody Loves Raymond.

It got me thinking..if crying really can be as helpful as proclaimed by a character on a show...and come to think of it, I think I am going to agree with the overworked housewife of the Barone clan.

For someone with repressed emotions and pent-up anger...an outlet in form of crying might actually do good, by way of a vent out session. Instead of taking out the mis-placed emotions (as termed by society) on honest citizens...this mechanism sure can be a controller.

I thought about doing a dig up to see if my supposition had any basis...and not to much surprise I got About 2,420,000 results (0.31 seconds) on Google (what will one do without it).

Turns out biochemist William Frey said something on similar lines and proclaimed this much earlier, with a theory that crying is important to overall health. In his book Crying. The Mystery of Tears (Winston Press, 1985), he explains his research and points out that people feel better after crying because the shedding of tears removes "chemicals that build up as a result of emotional stress." (source:http://control-your-emotions.blogspot.in/2007/10/crying.html)

One study analyzed 140 years of popular articles about crying and found that more than 9 in 10 found tears to be a good way to release pent-up feelings. An international sample of men and women from 30 countries found that most reported feeling relief after a good cry. And about 70 percent of therapists say they believe crying is good for their patients. (source: http://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/is-crying-healthy.aspx)

On the contrary...a school of thought is of the opinion..that crying is more or less influenced by our society and general expectations as well. Also...it is said that too much crying can be very counter-active and rather than playing the cathartic role, can actually be damaging and damn the spirit and soul of an individual.

Ohhh..boy..everything said and done...I guess..crying is like everything else in life. In moderation it is a blessing (I mean helpful)..and in excess and in deprivation..quite harmful..

So taking Debra's view..well give a good cry a shot sometime..may be helpful in getting rid of all the pent up emotions that we carry in today's hectic crazy world and kept it locked away in our quest to be prim and proper :-)

Dreams and Thoughts...

Knock knock knock, away it goes
Silently it knocks on the doors
Hush one says, for who wants to hear
It isn’t the time, it isn’t the year...

Knock knock knock, away it goes
One window shut, one door left out-turned
Maybe it can dawn now, maybe one can spare a thought...
For who would have guessed, it’s just the pale shadow of a dream once lost...

Lingering, knocking it goes around
Musing thinking, one goes on and on
What is that, the right moment as they say
Ahh, the blissful hour when thou shan’t question the grace...

Would it not knock upon us, would it not shout loud
Will I not hear that, which once I had echoed among the many laughs...

Fear ....

I have feared to express what I believe,
But have learned to respect what I want..

I have feared to lose those I love,
But have learned that what belongs to me would remain so for long..

I have feared making the choices,
But have learned that its hard to please all..

I have feared the dead,
But have learned it’s the undead who can hurt without cause..

I have feared to travel the un trodden path,
But have learned to live without regret for the turn..

I have feared the change and coming tomorrow,
But have learned that He cares for me who has made it all..

Super-heroes and Us……

Super-heroes and Us……

Upon watching Iron Man 2, I would disagree with the critics who termed it as just a high drama sequence with no heart. To be frank, it sure was quite more entertaining than the first part itself, with more action and stunts and the ever larger-than life figure of Tony Stark. The impressive and stalwart image of Iron Man, depicted with a pinch of humor and satire on human race, in fact was quite a refreshing change.

Iron-man is a far-cry from the other human super-hero’s such as Batman or Spiderman or Hulk. Now one has to give liberty here to the fact that the genesis of Iron man was the necessity of Tony Stark’s survival. For Peter Parker it was a curse or a boon, gifted without choice. For Bruce Banner it was an accident. On the other hand, for Bruce Wayne, Batman was a mask, a get-away from the harsh reality of his parents’ death. What unites them all is their desire to fight for justice and upholding the same. But it stops right there as the four choose different approaches there-on.

In the lone battles of Spiderman or Hulk or Batman, the fragility of human nature is often made visible. Their constant battle with own desires, own fears and defeats is very akin and close to our everyday battles with ourselves. Who amongst us has not felt the burden of responsibilities, the urge to drop everything and completely shun the barriers and codes of conduct imposed on us by society? They are the bleeding heroes.

Now, here is where, Tony Stark stands out. The man is not only narcissistic but also arrogant and loud, largely due to the fact that his other-self, i.e., that Iron Man is not a get-away or an accident. It is a choice, made in order to live, survive which is valued by him immensely. His grand presentation of self, is nothing but a representation of his strong belief in himself and his decisions.
Iron Man personifies those among us who stick by their choice with all strength, knowing and understanding well why they are doing what are doing. They are not slaves to co-incidence or fate, but are the fate-makers, the real heroes. To quote the antagonist in Iron Man 2, Ian Vanko, “You make the God’s bleed, and people will not believe in them’, aptly captures it all. People can sympathize with their likes but they admire and hate at the same breathe those who are larger-than life.