UBC day 26 Red rice idly...

It's over to my food blog today. I learn't this from a neighbour who is from Kerala. It turned out really well and tasty too. Turning over the recipe to you.

Red rice might not look as appetizing as its delicate, polished counterpart, basmati, but it can do wonders. Red rice has a nutty flavor, and a high nutritional value, thanks to the fact that the germ of the rice is left intact.

Here's a recipe with red  rice. It is a double cook method, but quite simple and tasty !

Ingredients-

red rice 1 cup washed and ground to a fine powder 

grated coconut- a small cup

onions chopped fine

 

                                                            

 other ingredients-
green chillies
curry leaves
groundnut
1 tsp each gram dal, urad dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
3 tsp oil
salt to taste

Method-

In a kadai heat 3 tsp of oil. splutter mustard seeds, add 1 tsp each of urad dal and gram dal and a handful of groundnuts and fry till starts to turn crisp.

Add in the green chillies, curry leaves and onion and fry till the onion is cooked or turns light pink. Add the grated coconut and salt as per taste and mix well.

Add 1 1/2 cup of water for every cup of rice powder. Bring water to a boil, and as the water bubbles, add the powdered red rice and stir well so that no lumps are formed.

The method is similar to making upma. Keep on flame till the mixture looks dry enough to be patted into a tikki.

Place small tikkis on the idly stand and steam cook it for 15 minutes without whistle.

Serve hot with chutney.

the tadka

Nutritional benefits-  (courtesy: http://www.livestrong.com)

Red rice contains proanthocyanidins, which is an antioxidant,may reduce high cholesterol and hyperglycemia in type-1 and type-2 diabetes.

Consuming red rice may help lower cholesterol levels.

A one-quarter cup serving of red rice supplements iron intake by providing 2 percent of the daily recommended intake. The iron in red rice contributes to the production of myoglobin and hemoglobin.

Including red rice in your diet helps increase fiber intake. You need 25 to 38 grams of fiber each day, and a serving of red rice provides 2 grams.

Similar food posts can be found at my cookery blog... A pinch of spice and all things nice.

UBC Day 25 - The prank.

Neeti and Nayan, the best of friends from school, were on cloud nine. Both of them had landed a job with a TV channel and were selected to host a laughter gag series with it. They were given the job of luring gullible people to their pranks and make a fool out of them. They loved their job because that is what they were good at since their school days.

Today they had assembled at an outdoor location out of their city. The director explained the scene to them. Neeti and Nayan were to pose as newlyweds and ask the “victim” to click their photograph from the other side of the road. Just as the photo was taken, the crew SUV would pass by slowly between them. In a split second, the door would open and Neeti and Nayan would exchange places with an identically dressed but much older couple seated inside. The SUV would pass and the ‘victim-photographer’ would be in shock to see an old couple in place of the young. And to add to his shock the instant print out coming out of the camera would be that of the old couple, which would already be set in place. That would freak the victim out. The entire act would be filmed for the TV audience.

‘Oh! This was going to be so much fun’.

They had managed to fool eight passerby’s so far when Neeti spotted the next victim.

“Nayan, look our next bakra”, she shouted excitedly.

The victim was fast approaching and they called up their crew to be ready. They spoke their rehearsed lines and the victim agreed to photograph them. They posed for the photo, and Neeti could feel Nayan’s hand on her hips.

‘Strange’, she thought , ‘she and Nayan were close friends but not lovers. And he had never touched her like that, not even for a photograph.’ She made a mental note to reprimand him after the shoot. As the SUV approached they got into it and the older couple alighted from it.

Nayan looked at the victim again from the tinted glass and remarked, “ Doesn't he look like Karan?”

“Don’t ever mention his name, Nayan, not even for fun. I hate him.”

Neeti had herself thought so too, but chose not to say it aloud. She did not want to remember Karan, the college romeo who had proposed to her a million times. The guy she hated the most, and had set up a prank with Nayan to make fun of, in front of the whole college. Nayan had persuaded him for a snap with her on the last day of college. He had purposefully dropped a banana peel near Karan’s shoes. Karan had skid and fallen down and they had a hearty laugh at his expense. Someone told them that Karan had to be hospitalized after that incident.

‘Served him right’, she thought, ‘that will teach him to be more respectful of women.’

As she was lost in her thoughts she saw the older couple approach the crew.

“Hey guys, the prank didn’t work this time. Who swapped our photo with this one?” the elderly man was screaming.

The entire crew rushed to see what had gone wrong.

Neeti’s blood froze when she saw the photograph.

It was Neeti’s picture with Karan standing with his hands on her hips, exactly like he had stood that day!

UBC day 24- Weak in the knees and a flutter in my heart!

“'ea?” I croaked. The 'T' lost in transition. 

Hubby dearest looked at me like I had just landed from Mars and he was hearing an alien speak.

“See, that’s what happens when you don’t know when to stop.”

He was obviously taking a pot shot at last night’s ‘mehfil-e-khas’ at a friend’s house. We had gathered at Anil’s house for a weekend night out and Anil brought out his brand new karaoke system and plugged it all together. After we had all oooh’d , and aaah’d at the piece, we got together for the mike testing and singing. Friends took turns singing and the mike finally landed in my hands. I flipped through the list of songs as if I was a pro.

 It will be imperative here, to tell you that singing is my passion, but unfortunately my vocal cords went on strike when I was born and never returned. All they left behind was their poor cousin who at best makes me sound like I’ve swallowed a frog! Nevertheless, I saw a long listing of Kishore Kumar’s songs and they brought an instant rapture, a feeling I cannot describe! I picked up the mike and cleared my voice, all set to give the Indian idols a run for their money. The lyrics ran amok on the TV screen and I broke into a full throttled performance as if it was my last day on earth! The song ended and I was so mighty pleased with myself that I couldn’t bring myself to part with the mike.

‘Can I sing just one more song’, I pleaded.

‘Of course go ahead’, they chorused.

They must have probably kicked themselves right after they said those four beautiful words! Because, right away I got to demonstrating my non- existent singing skills, belting out one number after another!

I must confess I am a self-proclaimed, obsessive fan of Kishore da. I have listened to his songs umpteen times .I listen to him every waking hour, irrespective of whether I am cooking, cleaning, eating, reading, blah blah. I sing along, not just the lyrics but the music too! From the first note to the last...so much that with the first note of music I know which song it is! When I hear the master sing, my mind just wafts to him like the smoke from an incense stick. And stays there. His voice makes me go weak in my knees. That is the effect his music holds over me. Mesmerizing and enchanting! He transports me to different world where there is just me and his voice (and in the background swaying trees and gentle breeze, fragrant flowers and gurgling streams, chirping birds and dancing butterflies!) Yes, magical is the word!

So how could I just let go of the opportunuity to sing his songs here? 

As for the others, they had given up all hopes of karaoke-ing and had resigned themselves to hear me croak.

I went on and on till I could go on no more. It was almost three in the morning and I was sounding like I had swallowed a hundred frogs! But I must confess, I had thoroughly enjoyed myself! My poor friends looked like the pale, flat green leaves which serve as landing pads for frogs and hubby dearest looked plain embarrassed!

“Let’s go home and get a power nap”, said hubby dearest with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

 “Sooo..ee….Di’ I  o’ ova’bod’?”  

“Well you did go overboard, but this wasn’t the first time,eh? Remember the last time at the office party?”

 I smiled sheepishly. Of course I did remember. I had sung ‘Pal pal dil ke paas’ and the team broke into a thunderous applause after I finished the first stanza. Motivated, I sang the entire song! There were claps at the end of each stanza and I wondered why the claps died down by the time I finished. Hubby dearest told me later that the first applause itself was meant for me to stop.....! stop singing!

“ ‘e mays ‘e ‘o ow o’ co’to’ ”  I tried reasoning, meaning ‘he makes me go out of control’, the “he”  referring to Kishore da.

“Poor guy must be turning in his grave!” he smirked, “May he rest in peace.”                                             

UBC day 23- Stepping stones!

That's the school I went to..... Mount Carmel Girls' High School, Nagpur! I had planned on a different post today, but someone sent me this picture of the school that she recently clicked. And my heart was suddenly so alive with excitement!

The big hall that you see under the school name board (just above the two V shaped pillars) is the library. I have spent hours and hours pouring over books in this very space! Any free period and I would be off to the library. We had a compulsory library period once a week, but how could just one book suffice for the whole week? Before the next library period, I would have exchanged at least 4 books with my friends and read it all!

That big ground (only a part of it is visible here) was where our assembly would be held in the morning. A round of prayers followed by the national anthem, and reading out the headlines from the newspaper, the thought for the day and then queue up in a single line, hands at the back and walk to the class in silence. Wow! Those were the times!

Just looking at this picture took to my mind racing to the principal's room, the staff room, the teachers',  the various classrooms over the years, the garden behind the left wing, the playground beyond the visible part of the ground, the primary section just opposite to this building, the auditorium near the right wing, and so much more!

morals and values

 stages of growing up

It was a girls' school and so after the 7th standard, Sisters' (nuns, being a catholic school) were assigned to every group of 10 students. We used to have a session every 15 days, when she would discuss our growing up stages with us and where we could talk to her about our problems, our confusions, ask questions, just about anything. After the one to one session was over, Sister would place a ceramic urn in the middle of our group and give us chits of paper. We had to write our problems on it and put it in the urn. We would pray and then she would strike a match and throw it in the urn. Our problems would supposedly burn away! It was as simple as that! But it would be infinitely therapeutic. I still have the diary in which I have taken notes on puberty and growing up. (did you notice the date on the diary?!!)


This page here talks about Adolescence, age 13 -21, the challenges and how to handle them. I might now need to consult this as my own kids pass through the various stages!!





Hitting the children was strictly forbidden, but I don't remember having come across badly behaved children in our school ever. Following the rules and being disciplined was like an unwritten rule. I still have the slam book that is filled with best wishes from my teachers. Reading this today felt so good, it carried me back to those innocent days when the word of the teacher was final and binding!

 This reminds me of not just these words of hope and encouragement but also the heart to heart chat that I had with the teachers as they filled the book for me.

Teachers are like the potter, who molds wet clay into whatever shapes they desire. They shape the way we think, the way we behave, and what kind of persons we grow into. It is said, that "In teaching, you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years!" How true!






I look back with appreciation for those brilliant teachers who touched our hearts. The curriculum is necessary but more than that is warmth which is much more vital to the growth of the child.





My closest friend today, is the still the same one I had at school !   She is my first and best friend and we have been friends for almost 30 years now! We met when we were in class 1 and we continue to be best friends forever!!

I have a Pandora's box full of such memories and as I opened it to search for the slam book and diary, I stumbled across a host of other things too! The school badge, the souvenir book, old pictures....all memories, holding a testimonial of the times gone by, a reminder of what I was as a child, of the hopes and dreams I had......  I have spent the better part of the day rummaging through my collectibles, and reminiscing about the old times and smiling through moist eyes! Ah! What a day this has been!

UBC day 22- Look who's playing hide and seek..

I found this little froggie hiding under the lily leaf in a pond. Wonder if he could have been Prince Charming  waiting for the "kiss" to be restored back to his original form? But I already have mine, so who cares if he indeed was one? :)