Contemplations and Ruminations

The TCM (Turner Classic Movies) channel is really entertaining, love those endearing old movies... those awesome dresses, the pretty girls, the dapper looking men, the less action more story script, the clean and entertaining fun, and the captivating song and dance routines. They don't make movies like this anymore... Calamity Jane (1953) : This is one cute movie, the leading lady Doris Day (Calamity Jane) is like one of those rough and tough men, she can shoot and ride a horse better than any man, she even gets into fights with them. And her dressing is atrocious, she looks like a mean hard working cowboy... the soiled clothes, boots and the hip holster thing, not to mention her dirty blonde hair... yeah, she's quite a sight. Her friend Howard Keel, the only man in town who can outshoot her and who is allowed to make fun of her is a nice level headed guy, he is the only one who tells her to act like a girl from time to time. Jane has the biggest crush on the lie...

If you have some apples lying around, then go ahead and make this delicious cake. You'll love it! Ingredients Apples : about 3 to 4 medium sized ones Maida  : 1 and a 1/2 cup Baking Powder : 2 heaped Ts Sugar : 1 and 1/4 cup Butter : bout 80 gms Milk : 1/2 cup  Vanilla Essence : 1 Ts Eggs : 1 No. Peel and slice the apple into wedges.  Heat 2 Tbs butter on low flame, add 1/2 cup granulated sugar & stir constantly with a wooden spoon... Till the sugar melts and forms this light golden syrupy liquid... Warning : As soon as the light golden syrupy liquid forms, drop in the apples immediately. Do not delay (like I did fiddling with the camera), otherwise the syrup will crystallize and form a sticky hard chunk like toffee, and its difficult to work with that. You have to dissolve it again and use it. Drop in the apple wedges and mix it up, till the caramel coats the apple pieces. Cover and cook till the apples release their juices and become tender and everything is...

Somewhere in the 17th century, a few Portuguese merchants were caught in the midst of a raging cyclone near the coast of Bay of Bengal. Their ship got wrecked and they were starting to lose hope when they saw an apparition of the Blessed Virgin holding her divine infant in her arms... they were astounded by this sudden appearance in the middle of the ocean and as they watched she guided them safely to dry land. These merchants landed in an obscure little place called Velankanni and they learnt that the Virgin Mary had appeared two more times in the same village during the 16th century, once to a crippled boy whom she cured and this other time to a Hindu brahmin boy who was resting near a pond with a pot of milk. She asked the Hindu kid a little milk for her son and the boy complied and today this place is called Our Lady's Pond. The Portuguese merchants then proceeded to erect a shrine to the Blessed Mother out of gratitude and  devotion,   they sculpt...

Shahi means royal and Kurma refers to a dish prepared using either yogurt, cream, nuts or coconut milk. And this recipe is termed royal cause it makes use of most of the above ingredients... and it is truly worth all the effort. Its a typical north Indian dish and not something that can be made quickly... I make it when I want a change from the usual spicy curries that form the norm at my home. First step, grind cashew nuts with ginger & garlic paste, cumin seeds and coriander powder. Fry chopped onions along with cloves, cardamom and cinnamon till the onion turns translucent. That's translucent enough... (I like that word, translucent) Now add the ground cashew nut paste, chillie powder and the washed chicken pieces. Mix it up well and fry for a few minutes... Now add whisked yogurt, bout half a cup and mix it up well. Then add appropriate quantity of water, salt and pressure cook till the meat is tender (bout three whistles time). Now add a little coconut milk, bout on...

There's a new man in my life and his name is Benedict Cumberbatch... he's the new Sherlock Holmes, and I can't get enough of him. There's this new BBC series called 'Sherlock' and its truly awesome, if you revere the guy like I do... this is the best screen adaptation you'll ever find. Here Sherlock played to the hilt by Benedict Cumberbatch is accompanied by a very able Dr. Watson (played by Martin Freeman) and they go about solving crimes in modern day England. Man! I love this show... the creators have portrayed Sherlock exactly the way Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has described in the book. He has amazing powers of deduction, he knows he is amazing and he keeps reminding others bout it, he gets bored when there's no case to solve, he uses the homeless network to get information, he does weird things like placing a head in the fridge to study the coagulation of saliva (hilarious), he doesn't waste time with women cause they would hamper his powers of re...

So people have been telling me to start a food blog, my sister's (Nameeta) team at work were even discussing it during one of their meetings... how cool is that. Well, here I am with my very first recipe post and I hope you all enjoy the food that is gonna turn up here regularly.   Macaroni and Cheese This is some major comfort food, its easy to make, you can't really go wrong and it never goes to waste. So let's begin...  Boil your macaroni till it is just right (don't overcook it) and drain it in a colander. Heat bout 2 to 3 Tbs of butter on low flame. Drop in a heaped Tbs of flour (maida) and keep stirring. Add a cup and a half of milk, and keep stirring so that no lumps are formed. You gotta work fast here on low flame, cause the sauce thickens quickly. This sauce with a pinch of salt and pepper is what you call a basic white sauce.  Remove the vessel from the flame and drop in bout half a cup of shredded cheddar cheese. The cheese will melt in the hea...

A trip home is like a soothing balm that eases the flakes of corrugated dust that settles on the soul after months of living in a place congested with people, vehicles and the smoke produced by these too. I can never get used to living in a city, at least an organized city can grow on you... but a city bustling to the seams with people and vehicles, not to mention the pollution that follows is enough to make someone like me go into a funk. (yeah, heard this word on Glee). Here's why... See, that expanse of green fields and the clear air above it... isn't that soothing. Well, these fields and the western ghats near by keep my place clean and pretty. I don't have to walk around like a snob there, but in the city you'll always see me with a clean white handkerchief pressed to my face, partly suffocating partly breathing. You can't take a leisurely stroll in the city, you can't go out just because, you can't just saunter over to a friend's place.... it...