Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Becoz Maama says so :)

What are all the things your mom said when you were a kid and you actually believed they were true!!!

1. Santa actually existed and left presents for me on Christmas Day in the stockings. (I realised mom only kept the presents for me on Christmas Eve in the stockings after my 5th grade)

2. Guardian angel looks over you and keeps you away from all evil (Hmmm, in Fukuoka.... all alone in my apt... I hear footsteps and strange noises all the time... ... hope she is looking after me!!!!)

Some more from my friends:

3. Bhagwan jab rote hai toh baarish hoti hai.... (Bhagwanji or due to the condensation of water in clouds) aur bhagwan jab gussa hote hain toh badal garajte hain ... (science ki aisi ki thaisi.....)

Translation: When God cries, it rains..... (Is it God or due to the condensation of water in clouds) and when God gets angry, there are thunderstorms (Science is in a mess!!!)

4. Chanda mama aankhon main neend leke aate hain .... (mujhe to peth bharke khaane se hi mast neend aati hai :P)

Translation: Moon mama brings sleep in the eyes (I have a peaceful sleep with my tummy full ... slurp!!!!!)

5. Patile se malaai khaoge toh shaadi main baarish hogi .... as though that malaai is gonna become alive after 20 yrs.....

Translation: If you eat butter from the vessel ....it will rain in your marriage... as though butter is gonna become alive after 20 yrs....

6. Kabhi bhi kisiko hurt mat karna (Ab hum Gandhiji toh nahi hain.... insaan hi hain.. To err is human)

Translation: Dont hurt anyone (Well we are not Gandhiji.... just mere human beings... So to err is human)

Additions:

7. Mommy says I shouldn't talk to strangers! (Hmmm.... Mommy if I dont talk to strangers.... Ladki ko kaise pataoonga wink wink :P)

Translation: Mommy says I shouldn't talk to strangers! (Hmmm.... Mommy if I dont talk to strangers.... How will I talk to that beautiful girl...... wink wink :P)

Whatever she may have told.. in whatever way she may have told.... she is one person we will always believe through our life and we will always remain a kid to her (even though we maybe 50 yrs old :P)

Love you Maama always :)

P.S. Anyone has more stories please do drop in a line, I would love to add them......
Translations added on public request!!!!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Emotional Atyachar!

You see a baby smile at you and you smile back.
You see your mom after a long long time and go and hug her..probably cry too.
You see your friend after many years and you cant help but chatter away to glory with her.
You see your college and cant help but remember your college times and the fun you had.
You go to a shop and see that lovely dress and you cant help but imagine yourself in it.
You see those lovely flowers in the garden and feel the fragrance.
You see an old couple helping each other to get down the stairs and you feel that's sweet.
You feel like yelling at your best friend who hasn't called you for many days now and when they do call all you can do is respond back to their warmth.
You have had a bad day at office and you feel like yelling out.
You see the name of you ex-lover and automatically you feel your heart is heavy.
You have been stuck with a bug for past 3-4 days and you try solving it even in your sleep.
The local road side shop plays your favorite song and you want to sing along with it.
You wait for the office bus and see the college crowd and wish you could go back to that carefree world.
There is nothing for you to do on the weekend and you feel lonely and lazy too.
A sunny day brings brightness on your face and a rainy day brings in romantic feelings.


Every single moment of our life undergoes so many emotions that we dont even realize them. One moment, we are happy... the next sad... the next angry...and we all seem to effortlessly juggle between them. No wonder chats also offer so many emoticons for each reaction.


Emotions are such a gr8 cover too:
We smile when we are actually sad so that others dont see our tears.
We cheer for others when we may be feeling jealous about their victory.
We cry when we dont have to (Crocodile tears)
We party when we dont have a reason to be happy.


However, we may express them/not express them, emotions in appropriate quantities - good, Emotions in excess.... Harmful!!!! Have you ever wondered, when you feel sad ... is it worth being sad. Look around there are hundreds of people with more problems than you. When you are happy .. spread that infection to everyone around you .... When you are angry, dont build up your anger but take it out ... you will feel better....Don't suppress your emotions .... they may burst and belittle you. Let them out when you can... you will always feel light!!!

Safed Din :)

If you thought that lovers only celebrated Valentine's Day then hold on.... there is also a White Day (Oh! So sweet one more day to celebrate!!!... Agar India main hota toh archies ki toh lottery lag jaati :) )

Facts: Its celebrated in Japan and South Korea(as per Wikipedia ... am not aware if its celebrated elsewhere too), and has many special meanings attached to it.

Recently, a dear friend of mine told me the way Valentine's Day and White Day is celebrated in Japan. It was interesting becoz these days in Japan are meant for friends and for people who would like to express their love for each other (Not the committed ones )

So as it goes, On Valentine's Day, the girl gives gifts to the guy which are mostly mostly chocolates. So, If you get a factory manufactured chocolates, it means that gift is just for courtesy (so just return it back on White Day),

If you get home-made ones... wow you hit the jackpot!!!! these are very personal and given to express the girl's love. Cho Chweet!!!!

Come White Day (One month after Valentine's Day on March 14th) and its the guy's turn to return these gifts.

He can give any gift but the value should be about 2-3 times of what he received from the girl (So a hole in your pocket ... hee hee.. not much na if you really love a person!!!)

So, for this dear friend of mine who got home made chocolates this Feb 14th..... My recommendation for a gift on WHITE DAY for his .... ahem ! ahem !..... Am clearing my throat guys :)

http://www.lovintheoven.com/2010/02/chocolate-chocolate-chip-cookies.html


Cya in my next blog.... Keep Loving your loved ones always!!!!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Momochi Chicken (My very own chicken fry recipe)

This chicken fry recipe is on demand by Dinesh san!!!! So here it goes....

Ingredients:

1. Dear old Chicky (Chicken pieces)





2. Allium cepa or onions (In Japan, the onions taste a bit sweet so I prefer to keep the nos less) . So For about 20 pieces, I use about 1 big onion. - Cut or sliced into small pieces.




3. Solanum lycopersicum or tomatoes (1 big one should be fine ) - Cut into small pieces

4. Chicken masala (MDH, MTR, Aachi whichever you can find)

5. Ginger paste (1/2 teaspoon)

6. Chillies (4-5 cut into small pieces)

7. Oil (Depending on your health inclinations, you can decide on the amount of oil). I like to use more oil (about 3-4 teaspoons) for frying as it gives more taste and chicken looks like a real chicken fry.

8. Chilli powder, turmeric powder, cloves, cinnamon sticks, Curd

9. Salt to Taste

Marination (Time : 30 mins)

Clean the chicken pieces and marinate this with curd, chilly powder, tumeric powder, ginger paste, chicken curry masala and allow this to marinate for about 30 mins. After 30 mins, pressure cook it with water so that it becomes soft and edible !!!!

Cooking Method:

In a deep fry kadhai, heat oil and add the cloves, cinnamon sticks and allow it to fry. Next add the chilies and after this is fried a little, add the onions and ginger paste. Fry this until it turns golden brown. Now add the chicken curry masala and chilli powder. By this time, you should be getting a good fragrance. Now, add the tomatoes and allow this paste to fry more for maybe 3-4 minutes. Next add the cooked chicken pieces along with a some amount of the chicken stew. Bring this to a boil for about 5-10 minutes. Allow all of the stew to dry off and keep frying the chicken for 3-4 minutes. Your Momochi Chicken fry is ready !!!!

Suggestions and comments are welcome !!!

P.S.: If you were thinking why Momochi Chicken... Thats becoz I stay in Momochihama in Fukuoka :) . Will be also adding a pic of how it looks at the end soon :)

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

My cooking expeditions@Fukuoka

Food in India is never a problem... You always have multiple choices to choose from ... big restaurants, small ones, fast foods, dabba system, ready to eat, home delivery etc etc ..... especially if you are not interested in cooking or want a respite from your daily dull routine....

In Fukuoka,with the limited options .... options are really limited ... just a handful of Indian restaurants. To be very specific...... 3 near to my office where we frequent for lunch..... 2 a little further away..... our fav joints for dinner..... 2 more still further away (ok lets leave them they r too far away :) ). I would also like to mention about the semi-japanese restaurant wara-wara that we go to for dinner at times.... Probably the only japanese restaurant I like as they serve some fried food too in addition to japanese food. Its not a expensive or a very high-profile restaurant but ya the environment simply relaxes me. Any day from office take me to this place and am at peace with myself..... :) .... There is something really soothing about this place.... Do give it a try if you are anywhere in japan.
For vegiies (esp the very strict ones) ... pls do learn some cooking before you plan to come to Japan :). Funniest part is we have to order Indian groceries from tokyo which takes about 3-4 days to reach us but thankfully we do get those things. I am told by the old timers here that we didnt have this facility earlier (Technology u see :) )

Flashback: I wish I had listened to my Dad when he used to tell me to learn to cook ... boo hoo boo hoo.... i need a kerchief :) but as all kids do "Never listen to good things". I also followed suit and I finally landed up in Fukuoka on 25th March 2007 with zero knowledge of cooking. My cooking abilities extended to only making tea and coffee. Thankfully I had roomies who knew cooking.... God is great you see... and then started my gr8 expedition to discover cooking.... By the time they left fukuoka, i could manage to make a decent meal for myself but others never!!!! ... I would try to make excuses to avoid making for everyone so that no one had to eat the bad food I made.... (So very generous of me :))

Then came the most embarrassing moment when I had to make rice kheer for potluck (this time i had no escape:( ) and it got all burnt. It really felt bad to see the disappointed faces of my colleagues. Probably that was the day I decided to learn cooking in a more proper way. So started my cooking lessons with vineet san and the numerous recipes found on the net (My invariable guide is of course uma san ... In recent days leena san, rachna san,bela san ... well practically all members of the Ladies committee of Fukuoka).

Initially there was still the inhibition in making a dish as to whether it will turn out good or not but thanks to all my colleagues who tasted it (even though at times very bad)!!!! ..... So Sweet of them !!!!.....I went on to discover the art of cooking. I discovered the usage of onions, tomatoes, masalas
etc etc (whoever discovered masalas... tussi gr8 ho..cooking without MDH masala & MTR masala is still a bad experience for me :P). I still wonder why Indian cooking uses so much of masala.... while there are so many countries where food is made without these masalas too. Indians do like a lot of masala :P

Coming back to the present, my penchant for good food and obvious scarcity of Indian restaurants did make me learn cooking. I know my dad will smile on reading this. He loves to make me cook at home but wont keep his nosey out of my cooking.. "Masala is more.... so much of tomatoes... so much of oil and it goes on......and on....!!!" (After all parents will be parents :P).

So all of you who hate cooking.... pls dont do :) ..... cooking is sheer pleasure and always remember one thing while you cook ... "Tussi gr8 chef ho" ... Enjoy cooking!!!!!! :P


Monday, February 1, 2010

A status msg tells a thousand words !!!

My status message and the varied responses i got for it has given me an impetus to write my first blog:

My status msg:

"Dard ki koi dawai nahi !!!" (Read: There is no medicine for pain)

Friend 1 says:
"Gum kaa saathi rum" (Friend in pain is Rum)

Friend 2 says:

"Aur whisky baate gum"
(And whisky shares your pain too)

(As though Rum n whisky were not enough .... now somras..... )

Friend 2 says :

"Rum saathi aur whisky baate gum, koi bataye bhala gum ko udanchu karne ka kaunsa hai woh ilajh
.....somras????"
(If run is friend and whisky shares pain how to make pain disappear..... somras ???)

(Now the gr8 rising of the man in them.... drinks can really make ppl think crazy)


Friend 1 says :

"Mard ko Dard nahi hota"
(Man does not feel pain)

Friend 2 says:
"Yehi toh hai sab se bara gum"
(This is the biggest pain)

(I started with "Dard" and it went upto "bhagwanji" .... God help!!!)


Now my obvious counter:
"Hey bhagwan mujhe bacho !!! Maine toh dard se shuru kiya tha"
(God!!! Pls help me.... i started with pain)

Friend 1:
"bhagwaan ne hi to banayi hai rum.. kaise keh de wo ab isme nahi hai dum"
(God has only made rum..... how will he say its not good!!!)

(3 idiots has really had an effect on ppl :P ... Three cheers for Aamir Khan)


Net conclusion by Friend 2 :

"All iz well....anth hamesha khushi se hona chahiye" (All iz well..... all is well tat ends well )
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