Former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

This eminent personality arrived in Panaji, Goa to speak at the D.D.Kosambi Festival of Ideas at the Kala Academy! 


He was to speak at 5 pm and my friend rang up at around 4 pm to tell us that there is screen put up for general public at the Kala Academy.


 And after a mad rush we reached there only to be disappointed at the crowd that had the same smart idea and had were to return home to watch his speech on TV.


At the entrance of Kala Academy there was huge crowd all waiting for Dr. Kalam was to come in from there. We joined the crowd just for a glimpse of this great man.


And were we rewarded for the wait?
 Not only we saw him we shook hands with him, just for a fleeting moment!!


For him it must be everyday were people flock to see him and listen to him for me it was a lifetime achievement! Never will I forget the feel o those slim fingers!!
 I thank Almighty for this opportunity that I had never dreamt of !


You can read his speech here!!

Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding

 The other day I found some bread lying in the fridge and I decided to make BREAD PUDDING.  

Pudding is one sweet that my family eats without complaints. My husband is not reminded of his imaginary diabetes & daughters,” I don’t like sweets “rhetoric. In fact they many times do not wait for it to cool down!

Today I made the simple basic pudding without tweaking the recipe. I make the caramel and the soaked the bread in the morning and steamed the pudding in the evening after work. 

The pudding that i have removed from the mould did not come out as i needed it to. Some of it was still in the bowl as my kid was in a hurry !:-) I am grateful that she waited for me to click pictures before she dug in!! lol

Ingredients:

For the pudding:

4 slices bread

½ litre milk

½ cup sugar (adjust as per taste)

3 eggs

1tsp vanilla essence

For the caramel:

½ cup sugar

1/4cup water

Method:

To make the caramel:

The Caramelised Bowl

1.       I used the bowl in which I would be steaming the pudding to make the caramel. Where in I added the sugar and water and on low heat stirred the mixture till the sugar dissolves.

2.       Then I increased the flame to medium and cook stirring occasionally till the colour changes to what colour you prefer from golden brown to brown that we prefer.

3.       Then tilt the bowl running the caramel to the edges so that it coats the bowl. This has to be done when the caramel is hot else it will harden. When coating is all done let the bowl cool.

Generally this is the first thing I do.

For the pudding:

ThePudding

1.       Remove the crusts of the bread in case you want a lovely cream colour for your pudding.

2.       Heat the milk, add the sugar and bread slices and let the mixture cool.

3.       When the milk cools transfer the bread mixture to the mixed and add  eggs, vanilla essence and whip (takes about 2 rounds on low speed).

4.       Pour in the prepared bowl cover with aluminium foil or a plate and immediately transfer in the cooker and steam without the whistle for 45 minutes. (I needed to steam for 45 minutes in the prestige cooker in the anodised once you will need 30 minutes).

5.       Refrigerate before you turn in over on a plate. Shake gently to release the pudding.

6.       Serve chilled.

Baigan Bharta

Baigan Bharta (in Curds)

I have always thought Baigan/Brinjal/eggplant/baidnikai/vanga Bharta is the most common recipe found in the length and breadth of the country. I am sure each region will have a different way of making the same Baigan using local tastes and then individual tastes into a totally different bharta.

  The most common one being the one is the one which is made of fried garlic, onions and tomatoes.   

My MIL once made a lovely Baigan Bharta, I doubt I will ever be able to make it like that. She had roasted the Baigan added onion, a little tamarind pulp and thick juice of coconut. I plan to make it like this tomorrow.

Baigan Bharta (Goan way)

The Goan way, the one that I have eaten was adding coconut, onion to the roasted baigan. Tastes yummy.

Amma used to make it with onions, curds, cream and a little roasted groundnut powder. I remember eating it with chapatti and then with rice. After my stint in hostel, where I learnt to eat jowar rotis, I found that bharta tasted must better.

I tried making it initially the way Amma made it but Hubby dear does not like roasted groundnut powder, cream.  To add to my misery, I used to make it in the morning and we used to eat it in the evening, the onion used to smell bad and he used to unceremoniously dump it.  

Only now I realised that this bharta taste best when mixed and eaten immediately and omitted roasted ground-nuts completely. Hubby dear does not know that I still add a little cream. He just eats it!!

Are there any of your favourite ways to make this dish? Please let me know I would love to try it.

Pickle Masala

My friend’s MIL makes excellent Mango Pickle and we eat it everyday. Finally last year  when I purchased the mangoes I requested her for the recipe.   I followed the recipe (for once) and waded through the masala very quickly and forgot that it is almost over.

Then one day  since I had promised one of  my friend’s some pickle I found that I was running short of the masala! So, the Mad Scientist that I am, I added one more pickle masala, this time Shanta’s,  which was lying in the freezer.

To my surprise the first person who came to tell me that the pickle was suuuperbbbbbbbbb,  was my elder daughter, Apeksha. So this time I have made the masala by mixing both the masalas.

The best part of this masala is you can save in an airtight container throughout the year.

Ingredients:

½ kg chilli powder ( I used 1/2 kashmiri and 1/2 badgi chilli powder)

½ cup (heaped) red mustard

2.5 grms Shankar chaap hing/asafoetida

1 level tsp methi/fenugreek

1 ½  level tsp  pepper

A little oil  

½ tsp haldi/turmeric powder

Method:

1.       Heat the oil and fry the hing/asafoetida till you get a nice aroma. Drain well and remove from  the kadhai.

2.       Next fry the methi/fenugreek taking care that they do not turn brown. Drain and remove from the kadhai.

3.       Fry the pepper till you get an aroma, again drain and  remove.

4.        Put the mustard in the mixer and pulse.

5.        Add all the other fried ingredients  and grind with a little salt fine powder.

6.       Mix the  powder with chilli powder and haldi/turmeric.

7.       Store .

Here I have made carrot pickle where in I have grated carrots, added masala, salt, lime and a little oil  in which mustard spluttered.