Jack of all trades

Flavor Fiesta

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:15:04 +0530

Summer is here. The heat brings with it some cool produce to beat it with . Green mangoes, fiery chillies and little pink and white berries that are just as sour and tangy as the mangoes.
No prizes for guessing that sour is the main flavor in both the chutneys in these pics. Hot and sour followed by sweet and sour. After I got done making these and taking the pics I had a ball, switching between the two and with no miracle berry around, I could feel all the flavors.
So , how did I make these.
Well, for the hot and sour, all I had to do was temper some ghee with a little bit of cumin and add to it, shredded unripe mango, halved chillies and saute them for a bit . After they softened up, I added the peeled and topped tomatoes. All I had to do was to let all this simmer till everything came together in a creamy concoction.
While the mangoes simmered, I added a cup each of sugar and water to another pot, brought it to a boil and added the halved berries to it. They had softened up after a little simmering and I then proceeded to mash them a bit. A little more simmering and voila! Every thing was ready to pose.

A masquerade ball called life

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:20:38 +0530

Ever remember getting an invite to that one. Its our birth certificate. Its a free life-time entry to this game of charades. We may decide to not play but we still will get played with. Often by people who claim to detest just such games and swear by their honesty. So look deep into those vacant eyes. Do you really see a soul in there?
Image courtesy of Jon daly photography.
The anguish courtesy of all the “honest people” out there.

Tokyo Tokyo

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:00:24 +0530

I was in Tokyo a few days back. It was a hectic trip and I was practically on my feet the whole time. This was , hopefully, my last trip to Tokyo , as a student. Yep, I was there for the convocation ceremony.
Since , I’d had to toe the line and wear western formals for my pre-defense and then the actual defense, I was pretty set on wearing Indian formals , particularly the saree for the convocation. Ever heard of making god laugh?
Because thats pretty much what happened. It rained on my parade, literally and metaphorically and I sported a drowned rat look on what was my BIG DAY.
That said and done, I am still waiting for the elation to hit. If it does that is.
Meanwhile, the sakura you see in the pics in bang on time. Beginning to bloom and how.
Also made a trip to Kappabashi dori, the kitchen district of Tokyo and that was definitely fun. More coming on that later though..........
I am gonna go look at that degree again :)

The Saigon saga

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:57:58 +0530

I visited Saigon for 10 days in June’06. It was a family reunion of sorts with my parents staying there and my brothers flying in from India.

To fresh starts

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:18:45 +0530

I’ve been blogging for quite a while now. For a year now and maybe longer, all my blogs ( yep, I have quite a few ) have been lying inactive.
Time though , that I started again .
Here’s to another fresh start...