My wish list

Progress in science and technology is conquering nature  and who else, but we humans are responsible for vanquishing nature by misusing and  overpowering it with our wasteful and materialstic lifestyle . We can’t do much about the damage that we have already done but we can control the damages by changing our lifestyle to a sustainable  one by backtracking from consumerism and materialism. One of the benefits of such lifestyle apart from reviving nature is,  it improves our quality of life and well being, after all isn’t that why we all rush daily to earn money,  to live a quality life. We can do this  by leading a healthy life just the way our ancestors lived harmoniously with nature.

It is on my wishlist that….

1)   I live in a place with natural surroundings  and practice organic sustainable farming using absolutely no chemicals and live harmoniously with nature and impress my surroundings to practice such farming. 

2)  With the surplus organic produce, I would like to start a small eatery which promotes and  serves healthy locavore food and just like pizzas, burgers, coke and cola  invading every little corner of india, I would promote healthy foods like   Idli, dosa, paratha, herbal juices  and other millet based Indian foods open their kiosks all around the world. 

3)    Also, I wish to open a holistic learning center for children especially where there is no structured syllabi , competition, exams  and the children learn through exploring and gain knowledge just like this favorite and my oft quoted  poem of William Martin.

“Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is the way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.”

William Martin

With my present  commitments it is not possible for me to do all the above three now in fullfledged manner ( I am practicing at a small level though) , but it is on my wishlist and have putoff for future, but given a chance would definitely do right now.

“This post is a part of the #SecondChance activity at BlogAdda in association with MaxLife Insurance”.

When I was caught and bowled

Whenever my son goes to washroom, he is never back soon. He sometimes is lost there for more than 15 minutes. On repeated knocks on the door, he emerges with my mobile in his hand. And now with half a day school sessions and IPL time, my mobile and even my laptop/ tab is never under my control. while my daughter is glued to the laptop in her room, my son is with my mobile happily watching the football matches and IPL. Now i am no cricket fan and so it irks me at times when the two war over their favorite teams and to top, I find both my gadgets in their hands. Thanks to Starsports.com ( My TVcable operator does not beam starsports anymore). But I try to keep calm.

Everytime, the IPL fever starts, they come up to me to ask whom would i support? My son a dhoni loyalist would say "Amma, support CSK, remember you were born in chennai" and my daughter would say"ma, don't forget you were raised and your family lives in Bangalore. Now don't be unpatriotic, Support RCB"

I say to them, " I care less and am not interested who wins or loses".

Yesterday's RCB loss over KKR triggered a verbal duel between my CSK supporter son and My daughter an RCB fan. Sad with the loss of RCB and her bro's taunt at RCB, my daughter was cribbing and ranting. And i could'nt keep my calm, I yelled "Stop being crazy and don't fight over a sport. The teams are having fun playing and making money, while you are wasting your time and energy".

That was then my daughter caught me and I was totally bowled over by her statement. "Amma, you don't understand this now and find it crazy. But you were a teen once and how many times have you recollected your cricketing stories of how you made scrap book and bunked school to watch cricket".

I could now relate to what she said. Once upon a time, I was a huge cricket fan and have done some crazy things. One of them is to maintain a scrap book. The scrap book contained photos of cricketers, their bio and other cricketing stats. It was a red diary which my dad had gifted to me . I would cut photos of all those cricketers whose interviews appeared in sportstar and other magazines like Illustrated weekly, Femina etc. Not just cricketing stats, I would even stick photos of their family and have extra stats. Like Vengsarkar's wife was Manali, Gavaskars wife was Marshneil, named after a variety of rose, Sandeep patils first wife was archana, binny's wife was cynthia, kirmani's wife was habiba and so many more like Kapil dev's hotel in chandigarh , who were the knighted cricketers etc. Infact , my parents would say, I did everything short of doing "aarti".

The craziest I have done was when i bunked school to watch "The prudential cup" in 1983. My school worked second shift from 11.30-5.15 and so i could'nt wait for the school to finish. I wanted to watch the match from the toss to the uncorking of champagne and so I and my friends bunked half a day school to reach home. Each one of us cited an excuse but it was only the next day our friendly teacher told us she knew about our plan.

Another crazy thing was when I studied in class VIII B. The whole class created lots of noise because the school did not declare holiday for a 5 dayer held at chinnaswamy stadium. The principal who walked by our class, found the reason for the noise and made us stand in the hot sun for the whole period.

All those memories I have narrated at some point of time to my children and sometimes even I wonder how cricket crazy I was as a teen. I then smiled at my daughter and thought to myself " Yes, crazy and cricket go hand in glove in our country and now with starsports.com IPL is at its craziest."

While I bunked school to catch the match, today's fans can catch it on action recap , courtesy starsports.com Recently, my housing society organized a gully cricket match called Force 4X4, 4 members in each team playing for 4 overs. My family participated and so could not catch IPL. They came home and caught it on starsports.com( action recap) and people at workstations can be connected parallely to the scoreboard through fastest score board of Starsports.com . As for me, i am no cricket fan,  but i love the starsports.com song " Kanna, keep calm and watch Pepsi IPL on starsports.com"

This post is a part of Starsports.com Cricket just got better! by starsports.com in association with BlogAdda.com.

Bread balls - an easy to make nutrilicious eat

Bread balls are a sure to satiate food when hunger strikes you. No heating, no sauteing, no grilling ,baking or cooking . You just have to mix and  assemble the ingredients and in a jiffy, your food is ready!

 My children often made  this during their  childhood years to drive not just  hunger pangs but to keep them occupied creatively during holiday times. It has all the tastes, the sweetness and salty taste of the bread, the sourness of the curd, the spicy chilli,and the goodness of coconut milk from the freshly grated coconut. 

An any time eat - Bread Balls

This is  the foodle (doodled food) and handwritten recipe

Here goes the list of what makes it how to make it in detail.

Ingredients: ( to make one)

1.  A slice of milk bread
2. Freshly grated coconut - 2 tablespoons
3. Finely chopped chilli - 1/2 teaspoon
4. Thick curd -  2 tablespoon
5. chopped coriander for garnishing

Steps to make

1. In  a bowl, combine finely chopped chilli,  grated coconut and keep aside.
2. Knife out the crumbs from the bread slice, Soak  the slice of bread in water for less than 10 seconds, squeeze out excess water by gently pressing between the palms.
3. Put the coconut-chilli mixture on the flattened bread, wrap the mixture from all sides with the bread  and shape it into a ball. Ensure the filling is completely covered. 
4. In another bowl, Whisk the curd and keep it aside.

Serving tip:

Place the coconut bread ball on a plate or a cup. Pour the whisked curd over the bread ball and sprinkle a few chopped coriander and you are ready to relish.

If you have time and ingredients to variate, you can

* substitute milk bread with brown bread or multigrain bread

* spice it with imli -date chutney or mint chutney over the curd.

* add roasted jeera powder and a little red chilli powder for garnishing

* top it with finely extruded sev or finely chopped onions.

Chef's advice:

Milk bread would be ideal since it has some sweetness in it.

Freshly grated coconut, preferable( than refridgerated)since the mild sweetness of the coconut milk adds to the flavour. 

An easy to prepare and sure to satiate any time food. 

Recipe courtesy: the creative junior master chef at home( my daughter)

My doodle recipe is a part of  Easy Doodle Recipe contest  at Blogadda in association with 
Tastykhana.com

Catch'em young to do those little acts that make a big difference

We attended a family wedding in Chennai last June. On the day of departure, when we were all set to return, farewell pleasantries like thanks, compliments, namaskarams( falling at the elders feet)   were exchanged. My SIL's co-sister, who is of my age, came up to us and  she said  " My husband often cites you guys as example for being the best parents. Both your children have been raised beautifully. They are kind and know how to respect elders and for the past two days,  I observed how they walked elders to the dining hall and respected elders by wishing them". Needless, to say our hearts swelled with pride.

As a parent, For us, the most proudest moment  is not  just when our children goes to receive the "best student", "Topper" or  "All rounder award" on a podium but the proudest moments  are when we are told  Our children are instilled good values like respecting fellow humans, loving, trusting, being kind, compassionate and being humble. And, I have received such compliments on many occasions. 

Little acts of kindness and showing respect to fellow humans by fetching a glass of water, wishing them "Good morning",  "Hello aunty", picking up their bags or groceries for the elderly,  helping a mom carry her baby stroller into the lift or holding open the lift door, saying magical words like "Thank you", " Please", "Sorry", giving away good old clothes to the needy when they get a new one, parting away with  extra gifts , teaching the underpriveleged, feeding the children of lesser god,  are some of the simple things we have shown them and taught to them since they were little kids. They have absorbed and display little acts like these.   

It also makes us happy to see them bond with the elders in the family and respect them.  Elders love being shown respect and their views being considered . It is an ageing process and not ego. What the elders need is respect and the need for it increases as they age.  Infact, even when there is a disagreement over ideas with the elders, my children never rebel or negate their ideas.  They put it down so beautifully and convince them without hurting them and disrespecting them. The elders eventually agree my children were right and adapt themselves saying  times are changing.

One of the greatest source of human happiness is being respected. Irrespective of age, caste, creed or social position, every single human being, right from the  President to the peon, needs it. Infact, it could be the only reason to live for many so much so that it sometimes takes precedence even over our survival. We hear of many people taking lives or taking another's life over this matter.

Respect, like love, has to be consciously expressed in such a manner that the other person sees it. That is why perhaps in our culture, we bow our heads, or join hands, or fall at our elders feet or touch their feet, wish people etc.

Not Big, but little acts like these were effortlessly inculcated from the very young age in our children. Today, they have a great bonding with many of our relatives, friends and well wishers. 

Infact they have even overtaken me  in this aspect. The other day, while coming up in the elevator, i was checking the mails on my mobile. Manu, the Grade X boy who lives on the 6th  floor wished me "Hello Aunty". Without looking up at him,  i just nodded my head and was busy reading the mail. My son who was with me observed this.  When we landed on our floor and walked out, my son said,  " Ma, when even a child wishes you, please reciprocate ma. It feels bad, when we wish elders and they simply ignore and don't even smile and wish back". That moment was an eyeopener. 

A moment I realized like elders, we have to respect even the children. Even they have lot of self-esteem. From that day, i make it a point to reciprocate and wish every child too. 

Now, they have surpassed me, it is a great pleasure to see them respect fellow beings with ease, finesse, poise and sophistication and much more greater is the pride and pleasure when we hear compliments saying " They are raised with good values". 

I am sharing my Do RIght Stories at BlogAdda.com in association with Tata Capital.

A value learnt at a street corner

Be it @ a party, @ a wedding, @ an hotel or @ my home, I never waste food, not even a grain.  I fill my plate with the required portions when i self serve or when it is being served i always ensure i block my plate with my right hand so that the serving host never fills my plate beyond my eating capacity. When done i might go for a second helping but, never will you find me wasting food. Even the leftover food at home like roti, rice or veggies will be recycled to make a new dish or passed on to the needy.  Although, this is a value which my parents and grandparents have tried to ingrain into me. A disturbing sight at a street corner was an eye opener for me.

   

This incident happened when i was in the high school and  may be I was around 13,  i don't remember exactly. 

  I was walking on a street, past a  wedding hall. The street corner had an overflowing bin with leftover food and plaintain leaves. The plaintain leaves, it was clear came from the wedding hall where guests were served the feast. What unfolded next was the most disturbing scene that taught me the value of a grain. 

 An old man in tattered clothes and overgrown beard was vying with the dogs for the left overs. It was such a heart tugging sight  to see an old man fighting for leftovers with animals. That was the day,  the fact that, Not all are blessed with good food to eat dawned on me. While some wine and dine in silver plates and spoons, there are many who have to eat the leftovers or even go hungry.

 After this whenever Appa said  " Saadam sindhadhay" ("don't spill rice"),  or kai eriyaday( don't waste vegetables), it fell on my ears and I  followed his words religiously.Ever since then i ensure i don't spill even a grain of rice or waste a piece of vegetable. 

That is why it disturbs me when at a wedding feast, exhibition, hotels, people load their plates beyond their capacity  or waste food because they don't like the taste. Finally the extra food ends in the trash. In a country, where  every third Indian is undernourished, food wastage, even a grain is a criminal waste. The extra food in good condition could be passed to the needy - humans or animals.  A value i learnt at a street  corner and have also ingrained in my children.

I am sharing what "I Saw and I learnt" at The best community of Indian bloggers  Blogadda. in association with 'Do Right'

Today, All that matters is........

During my childhood years, anything about the US charmed me.  I was besotted by the photos of my aunt’s house( mom’s cousin) and all the goodies she brought to India.  It was my dream to earn in dollars  and   own a huge villa with swimming pool and orange orchards in the backyard just like the one my mom’s cousin owned. To buy the beautiful stone studded  satin or netted  gowns that my cousin wore or that beautiful  gold rose studs that my aunt had, the various designer nail polish bottles that I was gifted …….and I still cherish and value  that beautiful  peacock blue and green butterfly pendant gold chain that I was gifted by my  aunt - these material gifts were what i cared and dreamt for as a little girl.  

All those products with ‘Made in US or assembled in US ’ labels made me think that US is the ultimate destination for all things beautiful. I was obsessed with anything and everything that came with the US of A tag. As if this was not enough another of my mom’s uncle who had just returned from The US showed us the video of Universal studios, Disney land etc.  This was enough motivation for the little girl in me to  have dollar dreams.

So, when people asked me then,  what is your ambition?  I would say - An MS in micro electronics  and to work in NASA or in a US blue chip company . That  was my teenage ambition.

Many years later, Today, I have  a US visa stamped on my passport, but  it is no more my dream to earn in dollars.  I don’t dream of owning a ranch house, island villa, visit to Disney land, swanky cars, private yachts, satin gowns etc.,. No grand desires like  US brand or foreign branded clothes like DK, tommy Hilfiger, Versace or even our own Sabyasachi (though I follow him) or  any expensive brand or things don’t  attract  me any more. I heart all things simple and  buy economical ethnic  products today.  Like many things that change around, my dreams  and priorities too have changed.

My thoughts, ideas and beliefs are all about Simple needs,  calm frame of mind, peace, sound health,  the affection , welfare and love of my near and dear ones is all I dream of.  Contentment is all that matters to me. If i ran the competitive race, i might miss all these fortunes.

From his childhood, man has been made to believe that he could get whatever he wants with money. Sure enough, many of us  run  the competitive race to  reach the top, amass money and power  by pledging family happiness,  health, personal expressions, sweat, toil and sometimes even blood for the success we get in return. All these money could get us the best of cots and beds but not sleep; Swanky villas and designer homes but not peace; the best of food but not digestive powers or good health; admission in premium universities but not education;  pleasure trips to exotic  Islands of the world but not happiness;  big fat extravagant wedding but not a harmonious marriage.

Ironically, the greatest of life’s experiences are available free, in fact  without any price tags or conditions  attached.  Irrespective of our materialistic or economic status, life can be a series of costless luxuries. 

 I am not so young  anymore and the recent  years behind me have  taught me costless luxuries bring contentment than costly luxuries.

 I know money acts as a means to my experience. Marvelling at the sunrise from the balcony of my house with a cup of tea or looking at the star spangled night is a costless luxury. It could turn into a costly luxury if I were to watch the sunrise from the southernmost point of india or sit in a gondola on a venetian canal .  It does cost money to live in this world, but it is costless to feel  the contentment,peace and make yourself feel on “Top of the world”.

Today, All that matters to me is Contentment, happiness-  a blissful life :)  

This post is written as a part of 'All that Matters' contest at BlogAdda.com in association with INK Talks 2013.

"BE BOLD, STAY REAL" - to reach your dreams and goals

All parents instill good values in their children. Along with good values,  they teach some life skills too.  Like many parents, my parents too have instilled good values  and skills in us.  Like for instance, anytime we face a tough situation, my parents have said in my mother tongue” Idhuvum kadandu pogum” which translates to ’’this too shall pass” meaning that the tough situation too shall pass.  Similarly, whenever I have feared something,  my parents would say  “You have to fear only when you have done something wrong, else stay fearless  and be genuine”. When I lose any contest, they would encourage me with " failure is the stepping stone" and so on.

These and many such values and skills   like “Be bold, be real”  and others are ingrained into me . They  come handy for me in life whenever I face tough situations.

I recall here an incident especially this has been refreshed in my memory eversince I saw the movie “ 3 idiots”.

The year 1991,  I had cleared one of the central government competitive examination.  It was time for the personal interview.  The venue was Cauvery Bhavan, 4^th floor in Bangalore’s KG road.  There were a few more candidates with me in the waiting room who had cleared the examination and each one of us were called by turns.

 I was in the midst of Jeffrey Archer’s “Shall we tell the President?” when my name was called for the interview. The loud second call walked  me towards the interview cabin. 

Whenever I  have faced an important interview , unlike many I am not nervous or don’t bite my nails. My parents mantra “ If god be with you, who can be against you” comes to my aid.

With those words ringing in my ears, I entered the cabin . Inside were seated not one, two or three but 5 senior officers of Intelligence Bureau.

 I  faced the many questions that were posed to me ranging from my hometown, politics,  educational background, my field of specialization etc.,  all with a genuine smile on my face. I replied to some and for some I boldly told them with a broad smile that I did not know the answer. But one question on politics which I gave a genuine answer was cross examined by all the five one after the other.  And I replied boldly  without giving up my stand and genuinely  cited the reasons.   After the interview I walked out of the room with a  smile and confidence. The confidence that I would not get the job for being adamant on my stand.I was sure they would have read my strong belief as audacity or arrogance.

But guess what?

Two weeks later,  I got a  call letter asking me to join the training camp at Shivpuri  in Madhyapradesh as “ Trainee Assistant Central Intelligence officer”. I was surprised but proud i made into a prestigious Indian government organization.

It is an other story that I did not accept the offer since I was not keen on a Government job. My passion those days was electronics. But the reason,  I believe why I got the job was because I followed my parents mantra “Be Bold, stay real”.

I am also glad like many parents they did not push me to accept the offer and respected my passion.  I have passed on these baton of values to my children. Hope they and I follow them till our end.

The incident where Sharman joshi faces the interview board in the climax of ‘3 idiots” refreshed this incident and many such incidents makes me strongly believe that values like “ Be bold, stay real”  in any arena like politics, arts,  science, society, health or in real life will help you reach your dreams and goals.  

I am writing on Be Bold Stay real at Blogadda

A healthy signature recipe @ home - Hara bhara kabab

Come summer and my kitchen in Hyderabad is like a pre-heated oven. I do most of my kitchen work before 8.30 in the morning and then only in the late evening. I  light the gas burner only when the sun goes down. So, the tea time snacks are generally from the oven or something which does not require putting things on the stove.

One of our favourite signature recipe is Hara Bhara Kabab which is a from a old  Savvy cook book of 96, I treasure. A very healthy and tasty  recipe which is made from some of the fresh summer greens which i source from my weekend grocery outing. I  de-stem them and store it  for the weeks use, as and when the recipe demands I use them liberally. Fresh Pudina( mint), methi leaves(fenugreek), Dhania( green coriander) and Palak leaves. And i also have loads of Green peas which i source during winter @rs12/kg, deshell and stock it for a few months use, sometimes it even lasts a whole year. Shallots, the small sambar onions are very good coolants so this is also stocked in the refridgerator and  I use it for  garnishing salads, raithas, curd rice and whenever the recipe demands usage of onions.

The above ingredients ground and spiced with a few ingredients make a healthy food. I generally grill this kebabs. But for the first time decided to shallow fry with Fortune Rice Bran healthy oil. You can also deep fry them.


Now for the recipe of HARA BHARA KABAB

A patty made with greens like Spinach, coriander leaf, fenugreek leaves and green peas. A healthy snack/starter which can be grilled, shallow fried or deep fried. Tastes good when served with mint-yogurt chutney.
Ingredients:

For the kebabs
Chopped spinach---- 1 cup
Chopped coriander leaves --- 1 cup
Methi leaves chopped ---- ¼ cup
Shelled peas ----1/2 cup
Chopped onions ( i used shallots this time)--- ½ cup
Bread slices dipped in water and sqeezed well --- 4 nos( I use multigrain/whole wheat bread)
Green chillies – 3 nos
Ginger piece – 1”
Maida - 2-3 tbsp
Halved cashew nuts - 2 tbsp
Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
Amchoor powder --- ½ tsp( i also substitute with amla juice/lemon juice)
Red chilli powder --- ¼ tsp
Fortune Rice Bran oil for frying

For the chutney
Thick curd --- ½ cup
Coriander leaves ---- ½ cup
Mint leaves --- ½ cup
Green chillies --- 2
Salt to taste
Lemon juice --- 2 tsp

To serve
1 onion cut into rings
juice of half a lemon
A few mint leaves, chopped finely

Method:

• Grind spinach, coriander, methi,peas,chillies and ginger into a fine paste.
• Add crumbled bread, chopped onions,salt and other spices. Mix well to make the mixture of right consistency, neither too tight or soggy.
• Make small balls of this mixture and pat them into flat, circular shapes about half inch thick. Gently press a piece of cashewnut in the centre of each kebab.
• Roll in maida and shallow fry them in Fortune Rice Bran healthy oil  till golden brown. You can even deep fry them if you like it deep fried.

                                   
                                                             Grind them in  a mixer

                                                 Mix the ground paste with the spices and bread

  Add fortune rice bran healthy oil on a non stick tawa and shallow fry the patties after dusting them with maida

                                                   Press a cashew nut in the middle and allow them to shallow fry, when done on one side

                                               Flip them and fry on the other side, when done serve them on a bed of onion rings

 Grind coriander, mint and green chillies. Mix the ground paste with thick curd, season and serve as a dip . Enjoy the nutrition loaded cool kabab.

 This post is a part of Healthy & Tasty Recipe Contest with Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil& BlogAdda.com