Bye bye November

Yet another month... so many posts in fact the maximum for me this year almost one a day. The end of another month and almost another year. And half this month, I have spent in solitude and working my a** off... another birthday gone by... and a lot more reflections. It's time to welcome December and welcome I do, with outspread arms for I have just under one week to go to India! Yoo the hoo! I think my blog will be reduced to a sporadic whimper once I am back in the Motherland. But if my wedding trip was any indication, not quite! I suppose I will be a bit irregular during the first week for sure. However, can't wait!

Disoriented

This may have happened with some of you sometime. You get up in the wee hours of the morning and you can't remember where you are and what's supposed to be happening. Sometimes it just means you slept that well. But some other times other events may add to the confusion, like today for me. I went to sleep pretty late after watching Hum hain rahi pyaar ke, fully aware that it was Sunday today (it is, isn't it?) and I could sleep late. So understandably I was pretty darn confused when the sound of machinery outside my window roused me. I checked the cellphone for the time.
8:00am.
Yeah, that was the time they normally came. But never on the weekends. Had I overslept on a Monday? I checked the cellphone again - Sunday. Still not convinced I tottered over to the laptop. Sunday. Then what the hell was the crew doing outside? I half-opened the shades. And yes, all their machinery was going on in full swing. What the hell was going on? People working on a Sunday? In France? Unheard of. Declaring them all overzealous, I went back to a half-baked sleep.

It is Sunday, right?

Bar bar baingan - with recipes now!!

For the unfamilar few, the post title is in Hindi and it means -brinjal (eggplant) again n again.

Well, I did promise the baingan bharta to anyone who followed what I was saying last week. Addicted to my own cooking, I did make it again... and managed to recreate the magic (what my dad says is the mark of a good chef)... alright alright, enough peethal (tamil for uncalled-for praise). Here's a pic of the subji... The light was gone outside and I had to resort to the good old yellow ceiling lighting and hence the bad photo. But I assure you it tasted way more delicious than it looks. Also, I was out of cilantro and didn't want to stock some so close to leaving, hence the boring garnishing.


And what did I have it with? My indian bread speciality - theplas :D. Made enough for the whole week. Take a look -

Leave me a comment if you're interested in either recipe. I'll be happy to share. Happy tucking in!

RECIPES -
Well, there was atleast one request for the recipe... so here goes.
Hint - Read blue-coded words for the order in which to add ingredients.

Baingan Bharta -
Ingredients
1. 1 medium-sized eggplant
2. 1 large onion
3. 1 can of tomatoes/2-3 medium sized tomatoes
4. 2 cloves of garlic
5. For seasoning - mustard seeds, jeera seeds, 1 tsp each of dhaniya (mustard) power & jeera powder, 2 dry red chilis, 1/2 tsp of red chili powder, a pinch of turmeric and salt to taste.
6. For garnishing - a fresh sprig of coriander leaves
7. For cooking - 1 tbsp of oil

How to make it
1. Heat the oil in medium-high for 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the onion up into medium-sized pieces.
2. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic, finely chopped and the dry red chilis.
3. As the garlic starts turning brown, add the cut onions and some salt, so that the onion releases it's juices and cooks in them.
4. Once the onions get done, add a pinch of turmeric and dump the can of tomatoes into it. Add the dhaniya, jeera and red chili powders to it and stir well. Cover the saucepan and allow to cook for about 5 minutes to allow all the masalas to seep into the onion-tomato mix. Set aside.
5. Prepare the eggplant to be roasted/smoked on the gas/hotplate. Put 2-3 drops of oil on your hand and rub it through the entire eggplant to coat it everywhere will a thin film of oil. This prevents the eggplant from burning and aids even cooking on the inside.
6. Turn the gas to medium-high and once it's hot, hold the eggplant by the stem or using a pair of tongs and place directly on the gas. After a minute of two of steaming, once you turn the eggplant a bit, you can see that the skin starts peeling slowly. Do this on all sides, including the bottom so that the eggplant is cooked throughly on the inside. It should look something like this -

Set asideto cool off.
7. By now, your onion-tomato mix would've cooled reasonably. Grind it into a coarse mixture in the mixi, not too fine, to make sure that you have some chunks remaining. This is your gravy.
8. Once the eggplant has cooled down, run it under water and peel away all of the skin. The eggplant should've lost all its firmness and can now be cut into small pieces or mashed into a mixture to be added to the gravy.
9. Heat 1tsp of oil in the saucepan and allow mustard-jeera seeds to sputter. Add the chopped/mashed eggplant and cook for a minute before adding the gravy and mixing everything evenly.
10. Garnish with coriander and serve with parathas/phulkas/theplas or steamed rice.
Note: Smoking the eggplant is what distinguishes the baingan bharta from any ordinary baingan subji. Do not skip this step.

Theplas
Ingredients (for about 20 mid-sized theplas)
1. 4-5 cups of whole wheat flour
2. Condiments: 1 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of red chili powder, 1tsp of sugar, pinch of turmeric
3. 2 cups of water, more or less
4. 2 tsp of oil

How to make it
1. Add the condiments to the dry flour and mix well.
2. Add the water in small portions while kneading the dough with your fingers to a smooth consistency. Stop adding water when the dough has reached the right consistency. (Hint: If the dough is too dry, it will flake while rolling out the theplas. Make sure it is a little sticky).
3. Rub the oil in your fingers and knead into the dough.
4. Set aside for 1-2 hours (Hint: Make your subji in the meantime to save time overall!)
5. Roll out like chapathis, except you don't need extra flour to roll them out. They should be easier to roll than chapathis.
6. Cook on a tava like chapathis, using the flame itself to have them 'ball-up' like phulkas as well. (It tastes just as good even if you don't do it that way).

Advantages: They are spicier and tastier than normal chapathis and make for a good change. They also last longer and are a great snack with chai.
Enjoy!

Incredible India

I wrote this post 2 days ago but didn't publish it for some reason.. And then the Mumbai attacks took place and it felt mis-timed to talk about India tourism. I am hoping that it doesn't sound out-of-place in the whole grand scheme of things.
____________________________________________________________________

Ever been asked a question, to which you have soo much to say that you can't answer it? Let me ask you the same question that my professor asked me, not verbatim, but pretty much the gist.

"I am going to India for a conference based in Chennai. I will have 4 days for sightseeing.. what all should I see?"

Trying to see India in 4 days is like trying to swallow an elephant in one go. It's impossible. But I have often found myself floundering to answer various combinations of the very same basic question. Me, who can give you unsolicited opinions and direct suggestions about what to do and what not in most of the other places I have visited am left clueless when it comes to India, maybe because I haven't seen a whole lot yet, maybe because I haven't played tourist while having planned the trip (our parents planned the trips when we were young).

Of course, what came to mind almost instantaneously were
1. Mahabalipuram (simply coz if the conference was in Chennai, then it's a must-see),
2. Pondicherry (same reason + it's all French-French)
3. The backwaters and a houseboat experience in Kerela (God's own country)
4. Taj Mahal
5. Fatehpur Sikri
6. Palaces of Jaipur, forts of Jodhpur, the city of Jaiselmer
7. Bangalore - Mysore
8. The Western Ghats (and Bombay n Goa perhaps)
9. The Ganges - Himalayas - Haridwar-Hrishikesh
10. The temples of the south (Tirupati, Kanchi Kamakshi, Madurai Meenakshi) the Golden Temple in Amritsar
11. The caves of Ajanta-Ellora
12. Sanchi

And suddenly it seems like I could go on and on about places and spots to visit and importantly regional cuisines and food to try. But where to start? And where to end? And that too in a 3-4 day trip? If any of you have given recommendations to a friend to do something similar or have done it yourself, do give me some tips here. Your perspective of must-see in India will be most appreciated. Thanks!

Prayers for India

Why India again n again n again... and particularly Mumbai? If you don't know what I am talking about, it's the terror attacks in Mumbai last night. Over a 100 people have been killed by various attacks at different points in the city, some very high profile. Read about it here - http://ibnlive.in.com/news/terror-nonstop-101-killed-in-mumbai-attacks/79122-3.html .

Major officers of the ATS(Anti-Terrorism Squad) have been killed. The Deccan Mujahideen have claimed responsibility. It's shocking and very very sad. Everyone please take a moment and pray for peace. May those souls that were lost, rest in peace. Jai Hind.

Cold weather - Hot Manchurian

Well a girl's got to eat... Even if the motivation to cook is low because of S not being there, it's the best way to melt away 2 hours. Usually it's lesser time... but for making manchurian, you might as well do it well and in style. And for the cold weather the piping hot manchurian was fabulous. And I've been on a roll. I made my best baingan bharta yet the other day and unfortunately I was too hungry to take pictures. Hehe. But it tasted so great, I want to do a repeat performance soon and I promise pictures soon enough. Enjoy this one though!

Ice ice baby..

Wish it were a just a glamorous song as opposed to the situation in my office. The temperature has dropped here in Paris this past week. And my office evidently is ancient, for it has no heating! And it's the corner office on the 3rd floor and consequently I am left with teeth chattering and shivering and wearing the hood of my hoodie indoors (no kidding). No wonder I spend so much time in the warmth of the Cleanroom, huh?

Not for long though... Sunny pastures beckon as early as next week!