Brinjal Rice

Masala:
Red Chilli: 4 nos
Pepper Corn: 1 tsp
Urad Dal: 1 tbs
Channa Dal: 1 tbs
Dania(whole): 1tbs
Bayleaf: 1/2
Jeera: 3/4 tsp
Hing: 2 pinch

In a pan add all of the above and fry them in medium heat until the urad and channa dal are light brown. Leave it to cool and grind it to a fine powder. I usually like to grind a reasonable quantity of the powder so I can even store it for later use.

Rice preparation
Rice: 1 cup
Brinjal: 4 (baby egg plants or brinjal).
Onion: 2 (egg sized)
Urad Dal: 2 tsp
Channa Dal: 1 tsp
Curry Leaves: 4 nos
Oil: 2 tbs
Salt to taste

1. Cook 1 cup of basmati rice in a rice cooker. I like to use rice cooker since it gives the rice a light and nice texture.
2. Take a pan and add the oil and turn the heat to medium.
3. Add urad and channal dal and let it turn light brown.
4. Add Curry leaves(tearing it into pieces definitely adds more flavor to the food ;) ).
5. Saute the onions till it turns into a light golden color.
6. Add the brinjal & salt, cover the pan and let it cook for about 7 min in medium heat (turn it over every once in a while).
7. Add the 1 tbs of the prepared masala and let the brinjal cook for another couple of minutes.
8. Add the rice and blend it with the brinjal. Garnish with some coriander leaves and serve.

Bon Appetit!

Kunukku - A Tamil Nadu speciality

This is a delicious and tempting dish . I learnt this from my mother-in-law who was a wonderful cook. This is one of her speciality. Dedicating this recipe to her.

Ingredients:

Rice : 1 cup

Toor Dal / Sambar Dal : 3/4 cup

Chenna Dal : 3/4 cup

Black Urad Dal (Whole or split) - 1 cup

Red chillies - 4 to 5

Green chillies - 3 to 4

Asafoetida

Onions

Curry leaves

Cilantro / Dania
Oil for deep frying

Soak rice, toor dal, chenna dal for an hour. Grind the black urad dal dry in a mixer and keep it aside. Grind the soaked dal coarsely with green chillies, red chillies, asafoetida and salt. Mix the dry urad dal in the last churn so as to mix well with the rest. Add finely chopped onions, curry leaves and cilantro to the batter.

Take small portions and deep fry in the oil in medium heat.  The smaller the portion put in the oil, the crispier it is.  Black urad dal brings out the flavour and the crispiness. 

Extra inputs:

Very little water to be added while grinding.
If the batter is a little watery, add besan (Chenna dal powder) to thicken the consistency.
Batter can be stored in the fridge and used as and when needed.
Tastes well when the batter is fermented.
Finally, although this is a deep fry item, a perfect competitor to Pakodas and Bajjias !!!!!!!!

'I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation'- Madame Benoit

Advertisement and The Wonder Years

One of my earliest memories of a cherished TV advertisement dates back to Aamir Khan’s Pepsi ad. It was released in the early 90s (may be 1991) where he enacted the role of a typical chocolate boy trying to woo a girl in the middle of the night by running around in search of Pepsi. In true Bollywood style he dives, glides and slides to find a bottle of Pepsi. But even before he could enjoy his success he is confronted with the stunning Sanjana (Aishwarya Rai) and this is what follows,

Ash: “I’m Sanjana, Got another Pepsi??”

Aamir: Sure!!

I was 7 or 8 years old and had watched Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak over and over again in cable tv and by the time this ad came out I was already a devoted Aamir fan.

Over my years of growing up the one constant factor in my life is the unswerving loyalty to MAGGI Noodles. Maggi ads were just the perfect family ones where kids would run home hungry and the mom would say “Bas Do Minute”. Voila! in two minutes they were served a yummy bowl of vegetable noodles. 

P.S. My sister and I used to ask amma to not break the noodles so that we could slurp it one noodle at a time.

I grew up in a very hot place in northern india. Every summer amma used to stack up packets of Rasna and guess who was in charge of the preparation? MOI!! The very first step was to tie the Rasna girl ponytail high up in the middle of my head. My 10 month old niece carries forward the Chithi (aunt) tradition well, back then it was called Rasna hairstyle and now we call it Thenga Naaru (coconut husk). After several minutes of mixing sugar and water (phew) came the fun part- mix the color powder and color liquid into it. Oh, I was so proud of making the perfect Rasna for the entire family, quite a responsibility at such a young age.

I was never a milk loving person (almost lactose intolerant). Mom used to force feed me Complan. Hate to say it but I loved the Complan ads, this is what I found. When I read the video details I was amazed to find Shahid Kapoor and Ayesha Takia in it saying “I am a Complan girl and I am a Complan boy” with so much conviction. I must also mention the “Dhoodh doodh” ad (Click here). And no matter what they say “Dhood was and still is not so wonderful”.

Then there was my most favorite “Cadbury” ads. Kuch Khaas Hai Hum Sabhi Mein!! What better way to win the Indian viewers than by a Cricket ad (Click here). Mom used to find this one cute. This one is a Must see, one of the older Cadbury ads and it made me so nostalgic.

There was a wonderful Dhara ad with a small boy running with excitement among food items and a big poori following him; it just amused me to see pooris that big. When I was little older there was this very cute Dhara ad where a kid runs away from home only to be tempted back with “Garama garam jalebis” by a lovable Ramu kaka.

There were some which will stay with me forever because of their one liners,

Surf (Deepikaji ad): Agar itni saari safedi yadee kaam dam me mile to koi yeh kyun le, yeh na le.

Vicco: Vicco turmeric, nahi cosmetic, Vicco turmeric ayurvedic cream.

Narasus Coffee: Idhu dhaan naan edhar parthein.

Mango frooti: Mango frooti fresh and juicy. This was later replaced with the annoying “Digen Verma” ads.

Bajaj: Hamara Bajaj (Click here).

Vicks: Vicks ki Goli lo khich khich door karo (Click here).

Fevicol: Fevicol ka jod hai toote ga nahi (Click here).

Parle G: Swaad Bare Shakthi Bare Parle Gi (Click here).

Amul: Utterly Butterly Delicious...Amul.

Recollecting these ads brought back some memories of my wonderful childhood. It has made my day hope it makes yours!! Did I mention that I Heart YOU TUBE???

Kitchen tips to make your life easy

To avoid egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt in the water
before boiling

To get the juice efficiently from a lemon, roll them under your palm for sometime till the lemons are soft. Now, when sliced you can extract the juice better.

If you do not want the juice of one full lemon, cut the portion you want to use and leave the remaining portion covered with plastic film sheet in the fridge for future use.

If you accidentally added more salt to your dish, a few pieces of
unsalted cooked potato will set right the excess salt.

Rubbing potato on your fingers will remove off the stains.

Rubbing fresh lime on your forehead will relieve you of throbbing headache.

Almond skin can be removed easily if soaked in hot water for 15 minutes.

Put some cloves in your sugar container to keep away ants .

To avoid cut apples from turning brown, apply lime juice to the cut side.

Apply a mixture of Basil (Tulsi) leaf and salt to the bee sting area
and get relief.

Wash coconut before breaking. It breaks easily into half.

Remove the stems from green chillies and increase its shelf life.

To speeden up ripening of fruits, keep the fruits inside the rice container or a jute bag. The warmth generated will make the fruits ripe slowly.

Put a ladle in the vessel in which the milk is kept for boiling. It
does not overflow.

Adding a few drops of lemon juice to the rice while cooking brings out whiter rice.

Add a teaspoon full of ghee or oil to the rice to avoid sticking to each other.

To peel tomatoes easily, make a small slit at one end and soak it in
hot water for ten minutes. You can start peeling from the slit side.

When yoghurt goes sour, pour two glasses of water and let it hold for sometime. After a while, you can notice that yoghurt has settled on the bottom with water on the top. Drain off the water and you can get sourless yoghurt. For very sour yoghurt, repeat the process for a couple of times.

What If Tomorrow Never Comes

Do not wait for tomorrow to make a call
And say 'I care'
For you may not know,
They might not be there

Do not wait for tomorrow
To say 'Thank you' and 'Sorry' (OR)
Write a mail to your near and dear
For, it would culminate all the misunderstandings

Do not wait for tomorrow
To say 'I love you' to your beloved - &
To hold hands and walk with your partner
For those moments are eternal and not to be postponed

Do not wait for someone to be gone
to remember them
Enjoy your fullest with them today
So, you do not repent later

Do not wait for tomorrow
To dream big
You might not have enough time to fulfil them

Do not wait for tomorrow
To patch up
For it might be too late by then

For you never know
What if Tomorrow never comes

Many fine things can be done in a day if you don't always make that day tomorrow - Anonymous

(Image courtesy 123greetings.com)