Medley of Many Things

What can I say? I have egg burji or some form of egg more or less every day. If I don't have egg on a particular day, I feel like I have no energy left. Crazy haan? Anyways, this is the simplest of all the recipes, it takes barely 2 minutes to make & in fact it takes lesser time than cooking Maggi Noodles!!! I call it, 'simplicity personified burji', hmm.. weird! Ingredients : 1)Egg - 1 2)Pepper - 1/2 tsp 3)Oil - 1/2 tsp 4)Salt - to taste Preparation : 1)Heat oil in a pan. 2)Break the egg on the pan. 3)Let it cook for less than a minute & then start scrambling the egg for a minute. 4)Add pepper & salt, saute for less than a minute. Here you go, its ready!

This is one of my staple foods & even amateurs can cook this. I use very little oil & limited spice to satiate my hunger. So, here you go! Ingredients : 1)Potato - 1(big, chopped) 2)Oil - 1 tsp 3)Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp 4)Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp 5)Shakti Sambar Powder - 1 tsp ( Yes, this is very much required. But you can use any brand of your choice ) 6)Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp 7)Salt - to taste Preparation : 1)Add oil & mustard seeds to a pan & let the seeds splutter. 2)Add turmeric powder, tilt the pan so that it mixes with the oil or use a spatula to blend well. 3)Add the cut potatoes & make sure the oil & turmeric mix coats the potato pieces. 4)Keep sauteing for a minutes & leave it to cook by itself for another minute. 5)Add salt & keep sauteing for another 2 minutes. You can see the crispiness in the corners of potato by now. 6)Add red chilli & sambar powder & keep stirring until the raw smell goes off(for about 2 minutes). Leave it f...

There are a lot of times in your life, you feel like you did not do something right only because you lack the courage or strength to think big. You are not alone! There are times when you just want to shove your head in a pillow & cry out loud. People try to come out of such anxious time by overreacting, emotional eating, complaining, making others life a living hell, writing about it & so on. In our day-to-day life, we would have seen people who are highly enthusiastic & confident 24/7, we have also seen some who are timid & needs help even to speak out & there are the rest, whose confidence graph goes up & down depending on the situation they are in. So as to improve our confidence level, all you need is a secret mantra & a little push. Well, the secret mantra is "Positive Thinking" & to get the little push read further down. Dress up right : I do not believe in the phrase -'Appearance is everything', but first time you meet a person ...

I'm devastated!! "Zero Dark Thrity"(ZDT) did not receive "Best Picture" award in this year's Oscar. What a shame! Not just that, "Jessica Chastain" did not receive "Best Actress" award either. Adding fuel to the fire, "Kathryn Bigelow" was not even nominated for "Best Director" category. I cannot believe any of these. This only makes me wonder, is the brand Oscar really worthy of its adulation? "Zero dark thirty" - nailed the truth about the truth! Just because it rubbed the nose of some dude in the wrong way does not mean that it should not get its due. Argo got "Best Picture" award for this year. I watched the movie, it is a good movie( no doubt about that & I respect the effort), but it is no better than ZDT. Argo is a safe movie to say the least, while ZDT is a daredevil movie which talks about the uncomfortable truth. Well, end of the day, it is the truth! I strongly believe that injustice ...

A killer title & a well known author 'Robin Sharma' who is also a Leadership Guru of sorts - Is this not good enough marketing to sell this book? Well, his book sells like crazy. But is this book worthy of your penny? Read through my personal review to get to know. This book falls under the genre of motivational & leadership guides. The price is Rs.175, hmm.. fair enough. The author Robin Sharma has written quite a lot of books. His kinda books usually contain multiple chapters(1 to 3 pages each). He never tries to use his language prowess to invite or woo the literary brains( If any of you have read "Midnight's children" you will exactly know what i'm talking about ) to read his book and his target audience is not those people either. Instead he sticks to simple language usage & his main aim is to make ordinary people understand his point of view, which is ideal & I'm sure people would appreciate it. But this book in particular is not a gr...

For years, I never liked Dal Makhani - until I tasted this recipe in a mini North Indian Restaurant in Whitefield. From then on, this has become my staple food. Ingredients : 1)Black lentil(Whole black gram with skin) - 3/4 cup 2)Kidney beans - 1/4 cup 3)Onion - 1 (big sized, chopped) 4)Tomato - 2 (bright red, medium sized, chopped) 5)Green chillies - 2(chopped) 6)Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp 7)Turmeric powder 8)Red chilli powder 9)Cumin seeds - 1 tsp 10)Salt - to taste 11)Oil or Ghee - 2 tsp 12)Cream or milk - 2 or 3 tsp(according to taste) 13)Water - 1 cup 14)Garam masala - 1/2 tsp 15)Cilantro, Butter - (very much optional) Preparation : 1)Soak the lentil & kidney beans overnight in separate vessels. Cook both lentil & beans together in a pressure cooker until they are done. Mash them a little. Keep aside. 2)Heat oil/ghee in a pan & add cumin seeds, let it splutter 3)Add chopped onions, green chillies, salt and saute them until onion turns translucent 4)Add ginger garlic p...

Okie, it may sound weird but I like to make Paneer & Capsicum Masala in a dry form and have it along with rice instead of roti. So here comes the recipe, Ingredients : 1)Paneer - cut into medium sized cubes. 2)Oil - 3 spoons 3)Green Peas - a handful(I got frozen peas) 4)Capsicum - 1(I used Yellow, you can add red or green as well) 5)Tomato - 2 medium sized cut into small pieces 6)Onion - 1 medium sized cut into small pieces 7)Green chilli -  1 medium sized cut into small pieces 8)Red chilli powder - 1 tsp 9)Coriander powder - 1 tsp 10)Cumin powder - 1 tsp 11)Turmeric powder - 1/4th of a tsp 12)Salt - to taste 13)Curd - 2 tsp 14)Garam masala powder- a pinch 15)Ginger & Garlic paste - 1 tsp 16)Cumin seeds - 1 tsp 17)Lemon juice - 1 tsp 18)Coriander leaves - 2 sprigs Preparation : 1)Take a frying pan, add 1 tsp of oil & tilt the pan so that it spreads all over the pan, now add the cut paneer cubes & saute until the corners turn brown or (in the way you need). Keep...

I went to a convenient store nearby to buy regular items for the week, I happened to see a tiny box of cookies with no name or brand on it. The storekeeper Ajay, was actually giving away cookie pieces to all the parties who seem to be interested (for free). So had a tiny piece & it was just out of the world - fresh, crispy on the outside & soft on the inside, smells like it is just out of the oven. So I bought one box for me & my room mate. The size of the cookie was small & just right for a mini dessert after lunch or a snack along with a cup of tea in the evening. The sweetness was perfect(not too much or not too little either). It costed me 45 bucks for 10 pieces. I thought, it is a decent value for money. Then I started thinking about what could have been the ingredient of this simple but tasty recipe. So here is the picture of the cookie & I jotted down some items that might have gone into making this cookie. The cookie box : A better picture...

You know people say - when you are sad or angry, all you have to do is go to an empty room, lock the door & vent it out in the form of crying, yelling & blah blah blah. That was so 20th century!! You know what people say now?? See the picture below, here "How I met your mother" TV series's funny guy 'Barney Stinson' says "When I'm sad I stop being sad and be awesome instead", This is so 21st century. Isn't it true that we all have our bad days(or Off days) where we just do not know how to fix a problem or arrive at a solution to a persisting issue it could be at work, it could be personal - but we all know that we have no clue as to how to come out of that mire. Well, all we have to do is follow the steps, Relaxation Phase : 1) Take a break and get some me-me time. Say at office:  go to cafeteria, go out for a walk, get a coffee or listen to your IPod. Do not think about the problem. Do this for 10 to 15 minutes. This clears you anger mom...

My roommate & I went to "Outback Restaurant" in Park Square Mall(Whitefield) for lunch last weekend. It is a  sizzler & steak  joint located in the ground floor of the mall.  You may like their sizzler, steak, pasta,  burgers, cocktails ,mocktails , wine   & what not in their menu.  But please do not forget to taste their pizzas -  it is divine , melting and alluring.  They are too generous with cheese.  We ordered spinach & corn pizza.  It is a thin crust pizza with big servings. We both being 2 thin girls with a tummy capacity of a peanut, we could only gobble 2 slices each , so we packed the rest for dinner.  Also we ordered a veggie sizzler with rice instead of mash, it was nice as well. We initially thought one sizzler would be suffice for both of us, but guess what - we were wrong, it was just for one and i'm sure guys with big gorging capacity will be unhappy with the size of the sizzler. ...

Any given day simple & staple food are the best, because they never make you feel heavy & also they are easy to cook. Here, I have jotted down my simple comfort food. If you have cooked rice ready, it takes just 5 minutes to belt this recipe. Ingredients : 1)Cooked Basmati(long grain) Rice - 1 cup 2)Green chilli - 2 nos 3)Jeera seeds(Cumin) - 2 tsps 4)Ghee(Clarified butter) - 3 tsps 5)Salt - to taste 6)Onion - 1/2(cut length-wise) 7)Curry leaves - 2 sprigs 8)Hing(Asafetida) - a pinch 9)Coriander leaves - 2 sprigs Preparation : 1)Add 3 spoons of ghee and hing in a frying pan. 2)Add cumin seeds, let it splutter(make sure it does not get burnt). 3)Add curry leaves , let it splutter 4)Add split green chillies & fry for 10 seconds. 5)Add onion & salt. Saute until onion becomes translucent. 6)Add the cooked rice, mix well. 7)Throw in the coriander leaves and stir once. Add a dollop of ghee at the end, if required.

I love this recipe. This tastes good with dal, rasam or even with curd rice. In fact, my cousin Sharan eats this like a snack. Also this recipe is healthy, owing to the fact that we are using only 1.5 spoons of oil & strictly no deep frying required and it is undeniably a rich side dish which is damn easy to make. Make this quick fry, your guests are gonna go gaga over this for sure. Ingredients : 1)Raw banana - 1 2)Gram flour(Besan) - 4 tsps 3)Asafetida - a pinch 4)Curry leaves - a bunch(or 5 sprigs) 5)Red chilli powder - 1 tsp 6)Coriander powder - 1 tsp 7)Salt - to taste 8)Oil - 1.5 tsps 9)Water - 3 tsps 10)Turmeric powder - a pinch 11)Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Preparation : 1)Cook the raw banana in pressure cooker for 1 whistle. Peel the skin & cut the banana into half-moon shaped pieces. 2)Add Gram flour, Turmeric powder, Asafetida, Red chilli powder, Coriander powder, Salt, Water in a bowl & make a flowy mixture. Now add the cut & cooked bananas int...

Back in 2010, "Inception" was the movie, I was so intrigued to watch and to beat the sh*t out of the directional marvel called "Inception", we have "Zero Dark Thirty" in theaters now. This is an out and out director's movie, where she(Kathryn Bigelow) spins the movie characters with true grit in the typical American panache. The positives : 1)Second half - (I bet, you will be either sitting on the edge of your seat or biting your nails away - such a riveting narration and story line. You are sure to get lost into the world of Maya(literally), at any point in the movie you can feel that you are in Abottabad area under your purview) 2)The scene where Edgar Ramirez(Larry) & co tries to locate Abu Ahmed in a crowded Pakistani market area with the help of mobile call tracing(or sensing) facility is piping hot. You, yourself will be doing the job of searching Abu Ahmed in the crowd. 3)In the first half, there is a scene where Maya & Jessica sits in M...

The title(above) is not a question that i'm asking the readers to help me with, but I had a friend who was into big time smoking, but never had the courage or intention to let the habit find its doomsday. So I did some research and I have jotted down the most effective ones that would help people quit smoking eventually. If you are looking ways to make your friend or beloved quit this deadly habit EVENTUALLY, you are in the correct place. Why do I keep re-iterating on the word "EVENTUALLY" - is because no habit in the world is easy to quit. If somebody asks me to stop taking coffee or tea, I would literally die or I would be in a mire of depression- so is smoking, hence let us keep a reasonable turn-around time. 1) Will Power : Make sure the smoker friend you are trying to help is willing to(try to) quit the habit. If there is no 'will' then there is no 'way' you can help him/her out. 2) Monitor the count : See, how many cigarettes a day he/she takes. See,...

Here is a question - how many of us wanted to become a doctor? I'm sure one in every 5 kids at least would have dreamt of becoming one during their school days, but in reality we would have settled down with whatever came our way or the choice would have been according to our percentile that we scored in our board examinations. I'm sure Indian parents provide only 2 choices to their kids, either you become a doctor or an engineer.(Period) So in a world with less choices we all studied our heart out, attended umpteen number of tuitions, special classes & scored some good mark & got into say engineering(in my case & many others). I have always been thinking about that one thing, "what it takes to be a doctor -- how many lives would we be playing with, how many lives would we have saved, how many times would we have seen somebody dying in our own hands.....wow. The very thought of being a doctor makes me think, they are one of a kind who gets the pleasure of treat...

"The Dewarists" is a TV musical - where musicians, stalwarts, bands from all over the world come together to make fusion music & experiment with instruments & voices. And trust me, it is one of its kind. Although I liked all of them, I have a special attachment to this particular one named "Minds without Fear" composed & sung by our very one Vishal Dadlani(I'm a huge fan) &  Imogen Heap(a famous British songstress). The music, lyrics - the blend of Hindi & English makes it for a heavenly song. We all know about Vishal, he being one of those gifted singers with no formal training but with a commanding voice, has aced this song. The unique voice of Imogen is one of the highlights, especially the way she pronounces hindi lyrics, it is kinda mesmerizing in its own way. Even the visuals are tranquil & up to date. Do watch the following clip for the song, I'm one hundred percent sure that you will like it & will not...

I have always been an admirer of Barack Obama's speeches, interviews, way of articulation, subject matter expertise, pronunciation & even the personality per se. But after reading the following article in Times Of India, my respect for him doubled. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/No-surrender-Obama-was-ready-to-rain-hell-on-Pakistan-during-bin-Laden-raid/articleshow/18472050.cms Well you know what, being in India & having a Prime Minister who is well educated, non-corrupt, composed but not so strong(in taking quick decisions) will ultimately make anyone look for an excuse to admire the stronger & the determined one & i'm not an exception. The following is a excerpt from the article(link given above) - which describes Obama's reply to Navy SEAL who took down Bin Laden when asked about what if the Navy SEALs were captured by Pakistani troops during or after the operation - i.e. whether to surrender or to show them 'Navy's might'? But Pr...

One look at the interior of HRC, Classic!! Rock memorabilia punched all over the wall! Bangalore has got some of the best restaurants, joints, coffee shops, hangouts, shopping malls, cine outlets & pubs. I have always wanted to go to HRC because of the mere feel-good factor, where you can watch Rockers(Amateurs, Stalwarts, Debutantes & sometimes not-so-good ones ..etc) play & sing music/song from an elevated platform. It is always a pleasure to be here, HRC also has a restaurant which serves continental food(yummy). They have lots of neoclassic items saved from Elvis Presley, Bob Marley time. They also have a vintage shop, where you can buy HRC merchandise(yep, a tad costly - ohh come on, it is HRC!!). Also, if you are a smoker - they do have a smoking area at the very back - where you can have food with your smoker friends(no offence intended ;-)). I being a teetotaler, I have always wondered, what the heck will I do there - except for lis...

Hmm., even if we are pencil thin, we would still find a way to lose weight or at least the very nightmare of gaining weight would make us watch what we eat, do some exercise or at least think about losing weight (yep, I'm talking about the "Positive Thinking" phenomenon), it goes like this - keep thinking positive( i.e. about loosing weight, of course ) & someday you will loose the muffin top. Will it work that way?? - well, NO!! "Positive Thinking" helps only when we take the "Positive Action" towards realizing the "Positive Thought". So for the ones who would like to lose weight & also for the ones who would like to maintain what they got, if you do not have kids to run around with & lose your weight, then tada ...here is the mantra "Suryanamaskar" - yep, very effective. Just 12 simple steps & you got yourself a treat. You can start the exercise with 3 reps & continue till 50 reps(if you want). It works the ent...

Has anyone seen this BBC series "Sherlock"(a modern take on Sherlock Holmes)? If the answer to the above question is "NO" , you are seriously missing out a really wonderful piece of art in the form of TV series. Mind-blowing is the one word which aptly articulates this series. The main protagonist Benedict Cumberbatch is awesome as Sherlock. I have read books on Sherlock Holmes, watched Robert Downy Jr's version of the Movie as well. But nothing can beat this series out. For the ones, who love thrillers , action , dark comedy , detective work , espionage - then 4 words to you - "Go watch the series". Yep , you will not regret. There are 2 seasons with 3 episodes each. Waiting for the 3rd season to start. Image courtesy: Internet.

"Kothu Paratha"( or 'parotta' as they call it in streets ) is a famous street food. Take 25 bucks, walk straight to the corner of a Kerala or Tamil Nadu street and you are gonna see a tiny shop which digs out this recipe in split seconds. It is always a pleasure to see the cook making those thumping sound on a really big Tawa(flat pan) over fire wood with 2 big spatulas. It is my childhood memory, going to these shops for Sunday dinner. Of course there is no place to sit and eat, hence we usually get a parcel(take out). My mom always worries about the quality & the hygiene of the food from places like these road side shops. So that is when I decided to deconstruct the recipe & make it at home. The only difference is that, the road side shops used to add chicken stock or gravy(from chicken curry) to the scrambled parathas, which actually gives the extra punch. But even if you don't add the gravy, it is still mouth-watering. I...