Sreesanth, Karan Johar and Telangana

Poor poor Sreesanth…always getting a dress down from his team-mates, from the crowds and the umpires. Are we being unfair here? Why do we love to hate him sometimes? After all, he only sledges and ocassionally crosses the line but who doesn’t? The Aussies do it, Proteas do it, some English players and Pakistanis too. So why is it that we do not support our own? Aren’t we tired of being the nice boys of cricket? We’ve always been the quiet ones. We take everything with a smile on our faces. Nothing wrong with showing some agression on the pitch. Sure, Sreesanth does annoy me sometimes. He comes across as being arrogant and childish. He is ready to give but not ready to take. For eg; when he said something to Bhajji and Bhajji retaliated with a tight slap, he cried and how!!! I mean, if you are ready to abuse people you should be ready to take it aswell. The most interesting part of this whole incident was Dhoni giving Sreesanth a piece of his mind in the dressing room later. Apparently, he did not appreciate Sreesanth abusing Smith’s mother and told him to control his errr tongue 😀 Poor li’l chap! I guess, silent aggression is the most productive…like Zaheer’s gaze, or a cheeky smile or a gesture but mouthing a few abusive words…I am not sure.

Karan, Karan Karan…where do I start??? I was watching SRK’s interview on Koffee with Karan this morning. Karan was curious to know how SRK manages to be happily married inspite of being in a film industry filled with gorgeous women. Apparently, Mr Johar does not believe in the institution of marriage since married people around him just do not seem to be happy. They are either divorced or are persistently faced with marital problems. Why doesn’t he just come out of the closet and accept the fact that he is Gay?? I know Indian society doesn’t provide enough support system for its gay population to come out and get married but that doesn’t mean you sit on your comfortable couch and pass judgements against the institution of marriage. I am not saying marriage is easy but if you really love someone, you over-come any number of obstacles. I know it sounds cheesy but it’s true. Mr Johar works in an industry where there is lot of money, lot of choice and less of trust. Most actors have to stay away from home due to their shooting schedules. There is a lot of scope for marital problems to arise but what matters is how you sort them out. These days, when women are more independent and make their own decisions and are not scared to walk out of an unhappy relationship, it does take a lot of effort from both the sides to have a healthy marriage but just because marriages around you (aka the posh localities of Mumbai) are crumbling, doesn’t mean the majority of the Indian public is suffering the same fate?

There were just two things I was sure of in my life and one of them was getting married to S. We have our good days and bad, ours lows and highs, but what I cherish most is the companionship we share. He is my strength when I am down and out, my sunshine on a gloomy day. I am most happiest when I am in his arms. No amount of money or jewellery can give me the same happiness. I could not have imagined my life any other way. Life is just more beautiful with him by my side.

Karan Johar reminds me of some of my friends, who in spite of having girlfriends for years and years together are simply scared to commit and instead of addressing their fears, they say marriage is a waste of time. I laugh at such poor souls.

So the Telangana verdict is out and surprise surprise…TRS is not happy because they wanted the report to agree with the ‘Telangana Vaadulu’. So what is their plan of action? More burning of public properties, more student killings (I will not call them suicides), and more masala for the NEWS channels. When will we learn to live together in peace? The Sri Krishna Committee report is out and there’s no going back. So just shut up and get on with your lives and let us get on with ours!

Peace!

Food Processor for Indian (Asian) Cooking

If you’ve read my ‘About‘ page, you must know that I am a lazy person by nature. I absolutely hate chopping veggies…esp onions and I think most of us do…and I also don’t like cooking for hours and hours together. Some people have all the patience in the world but I don’t 😀 I like it quick. So, I recently bought a Kenwood FP730 Food Processor.

My friend bought one (Kenwood FP530) some time ago and she strongly recommended that I get one too. I was doing some research on the internet to choose the best one but also one which was economical. I read a lot of reviews but not one on how food processors could help with desi cooking so I decided to write one! 🙂

I will write this in an orderly manner…starting with the attachment I use the most and so on.

• The most important attachment of all is the knife blade (5). I use this attachment for chopping onions, tomatoes, herbs and other vegetables. It is most useful when making Non-Vegetarian dishes which need large quantities of finely chopped onions. I also use this attachment for chopping cabbage, potatoes  and variety of other vegetables for a nice veggie dish. You can also use this attachment to finely mince boneless meat for burgers etc.  There’s also a smaller jar (1) with a knife blade (6) attachment for chopping smaller quantities of onions, tomatoes, herbs and veggies.
• The next attachment I use quite often is the dough tool (7) for chapathis. It takes only a few minutes for the processor to knead the dough and you can re-knead it in a bowl. Try adding as little water as possible.  Here is a very helpful video.

You can also use the dough tool for mixing ingredients for baking.

• When making Pilaus, Biriyanis, and any vegetable curries, I prefer long, thin slices of onions. For this, I use the slicing side of discs 3 (you can use disc 2 to get very fine slices). Just chop the onions into a size that fits through the opening. You can also use this if you want long thin slices of carrots, cucumbers for salads. Also use this attachment to chop Beans, Tindora (Dondakaya/Ivy Gourd), Carrots…literally any veggie you prefer in a thin, round shape (I haven’t tried Ladies Fingers yet…will let you know how it goes when I do try them). Make sure that you push in the vegetables holding them vertically with the help of the pushers for a nice round shape.
• There are some attachments which I don’t use that often but are equally useful…like the julienne style chipper (4), the whiskers, juicers and the shredding sides of discs 2 and 3 for shredding cheese and veggies.

What used to take me at least half hour now takes me just a couple of minutes. It saves time and energy. The hubby made Mutton Pulao today in literally under an hour when it used to take atleast 2 hrs.  All the chopping, the tears are gone!

The FP730 has a 1000 watts motor which is quite powerful and takes only a couple of minutes to chop. It is very quick and efficient piece of machinery. I will suggest everyone to buy one 🙂

Weekend Reflections

What a weekend it was! So much happened…so many decisions made which could change our lives forever….but for the good 🙂 I am really happy to share some good news with my readers. S’s got a wonderful job offer so we will be relocating soon!! Yayy!! <:o)

Nyways, like one of my friend pointed out to me yesterday…May was a very eventful month for us. It first started off with S’s birthday…and then follwed with all our Visa extensions…without which getting this job would have been pretty difficult but the icing on the cake was finding a place to set up our new home in Staines.

The chain of events started off on thursday…receiving the offer letter, then our visa documents, submitting his resignation letter and finding a new place….and all this happened in a span of 72 hrs. We were astonished to find a new place in just 3 hours. Now the only aspect I am nervous about is the packing and moving. I am sad when I think of leaving MK. I have made some very good friends here…I am used to the place….it is a beautiful city to live in but ocassionaly one does feel lonely.

Milton Keynes is a new city. It was designated as a new town only in 1967. It is one of the most planned city’s in UK. The best thing I like about this city is the foot paths 😀 where we go for our regular walks. You don’t have the problem of heavy traffic. It’s green, it’s beautiful. MK also has some of the best restaurants…one of our favourites being Nando’s….which I just found out is also in Staines. Double Yayyy <:o) !!!!

Staines is a very good city too. The best thing I like about the place is it’s close proximity to some of the most important cities and tourist spots in UK. Heathrow airport is just 4 miles away, Southall…famous for it’s Indian restaurants and Indian Stores is just 12 miles away…and to top it all…Windsor castle and Eton College are just 8-9 miles away. The Grand Union Canal which branches off from the River Thames flows through the city…which gives it beautiful landscape and recreational facilities with some of the best boating places and picnic spots. Laleham village, which was adjudged an ‘Outstainding Neighbourhood’ during Britain in Bloom, 2007 is just a mile away from where we live. The residents and volunteers also hold various outdoor activites…like Fairs, Carnivals, K9 walks and Village Fairs. I just hope these events are open for all and not just for Laleham village residents.

Anyhoo, I think I can confidently say that Staines is a place to be…..even before moving. Just hope I won’t be disappointed once I get there. With riverside restaurants, good shopping areas and it’s close proximity to London…S and I can have a ball 😀 We love the outdoors. Milton Keynes does have beautful lakes and parks…but we need to get our car out for almost everything. It shouldn’t be the same in Staines. I love walking, going out for drinks and with the High Street just 20 minutes on foot, I am sure to love it!!!! Hope I’ll make new friends 🙂 like I did in MK.

Wishes

Today is S’s Birthday and I am terribly busy. I baked a Banana and Walnut cake for him yesterday 😀 Yipppeeeeee. This will be just my second time…and it has turned out really good! The first time round..I baked a chocolate cake at a friend’s place…which was equally yummyy, but then she was guiding me each step of the way. I am thankful to Pras who not only helped me bake the cake but also for keeping the surprise a secret from S. He did not have a clue what was happening last night. ROFL! Somehow, I had this feeling that he knew what I was upto…but he didn’t!!!! I am sure he didn’t think I would bake a cake…I am the one who will order 😀 But the satisfaction I got after the end result was fantastic. It’s different…buying a cake and baking one. All your love, effort and hardwork goes into the one you bake…so it tastes even more delicious 🙂 I also made Vada with Coconut and Dried Red Chilli Chutney (the credit of which goes to Pras again) for breakfast, Chapala Pulusu (Smoked Salmon Fillet Curry-the credit of which goes to my mom) with Plain Rice for lunch, and probably S’s fav Peri Peri Chicken Indian Style for Dinner. Recipes will be coming up soon 🙂

Yup…the cake I baked 😀 and don’t worry…S is not 10 😀 There was no space to insert any more candles and looking at the cake…you can also say that I am not very good at decorating it either 😀

Housewives and Blogging

I blamed myself unnecessarily for not updating my blog regularly. Don’t think it’s my fault really. I was chopping vegetables today when I had one of those ‘Bodhi Tree’ moments. I realised that the reason for not being able to blog regularly was due to the amount of work at home. Not that I cook alot or do household chores daily…but the minimal work I do keeps me very much occupied…and now that spring is here…time seems to pass very quickly indeed.

I  go on walks with friends…so that keeps me occupied for the second half of the afternoon. I was telling my uni mate the other day that I founded this walking club called the Two Mile Ash South Indian Married Women’s Walking Club and I registered it with the Council and she believed me! ROFL!! 😀

This post is dedicated to all those married women…esp Asian…who do not think that the meaning of being married is just cooking, cleaning and bearing kids but also about spending time on the things we like…be it anything…blogging, photography, dancing, painting, driving etc (incidently, I happen to love the first three 😀

Some Sad NEWS: A Telugu girl was murdered last night by burglars at her University Accomodation. She was a student of Physiotherapy at Uni of Wolverhapton. If sources are to be believed, it was an attempted burglary gone wrong. She hails from Vijayawada. My heart goes out to the family. Jyothirmayi (the victim) came to the UK to study…just like I did some 7 yrs ago. Two other students who were with her at that time were seriously injured.

Okhay…gotta go! Walk time 😀