Chaat it up! Restaurant Review

You can take a woman out of India but you will never get India out of her. If you are like me -- you would give up several days of food in return for fresh street made Chaat food on demand, in the middle of the city cacophony. I was up in Oh Canada a few days back -- and some parts around Toronto are as Indian as Chandni Chowk. Actually Chandni Chowk with four times the space and half as many people :-D What better place to look for authentic chaat on the other side of the globe? A simple google search for "best chaat Toronto area" yielded an article from the Toronto Star which recomeneded -- Dhaba (King West, Toronto), Brars (Brampton) and Mirch Masala (Brampton). The first two finds were quickly vetoed because they served Chaat as appetizers! How tacky and high society! Give and take respect, people! Mirch Masala in Brampton, Ontario was touted to be the place to get together with friends over a fun meal. One look at the menu sampler on the article and I was sold. Pani Puri. Bhel Puri. Papdi Chaat. Whats not to like?

We drove into Bramdesh, as the localites lovingly refer to Brampton -- and into this hidden jewel somewhere outside of town

Mirch Masala
8917 The Gore Rd,
Brampton, ON

We pulled into the sprawling strip mall aptly titled Jaipur Gore Mall, lined with Indian businesses -- a Hindu temple, a Hindu Montessori school, Subzi Mandi cash and carry, Chilli Szhezuan Indian Chinese restaurant etc. Snug n the middle was 'Mirch Masala' standing out with its bright yellow sign and the attractive posters boasting of the sheer variety in the menu. "21 Paratha varieties", "51 eggless cake flavors", "100 % Vegetarian". We walk in -- and we are the only ones there! Maybe we were the only chaat crazy ones on a late Sunday afternoon. Well -- no time is better for chaat than right now if anyone cared for my humble opinion.

On glance at the menu and you know you are out for a smogarsboard. Why can't you have yourself a Pani Puri, a Bhel Puri, Dahi Puri, Aaloo tiki chaat and Papdi chaat when you have it all for less than CAD 5.00 a piece? Once you are down with the light stuff, head over to the 11 different varieties of vegetarian burgers. Are you reading this McDonalds? Now that is what I call a happy meal. Try a 'samosa'wich burger -- a burger packed with samosa pieces and spicy chickpea curry, topped with onion, tomato and lettuce. Add chilies to your burger, kick back your shoes and sink in. Samosa does not fancy you today? No problem, try a Indian curry burger or a Bollywood burger or a Greek Burger. Make it a combo and add Masala fries and a soda.

Ok, you really wanted to go to Brars but your chaat crazy wife guilted you into coming to Mirch Masala? Don't worry, you will not be missing out on anything. Have a Paneer Tikka platter - includes grilled paneer tikka, with grilled peppers, tomatoes and onions. With a side of chickpea curry, butter nan and rice for CAD 8.99.

And end the meal with hot gulab jamuns. Wash it all off with a fresh lime soda or masala chai.
Sriracha hot sauce flows free as the Niagara Falls. Goodbye bland food!

Next time you are in the area, stop by at Mirch Masala and enjoy a quick meal. The menu is sure to please all kinds of taste buds. If any locals are reading this -- please enlighten me -- why wasn't the place swarming with people, a place like this deserves dedicated patronage :) Is there a better chaat place I should try?

Dinner Dance

You may graduate from college in four years, but graduating from the college lifestyle can take longer. I have trouble getting up for those early meetings. I am forever running 10 minutes late for everything. Dinner is something I get in the stomach, not necessarily on the table. While I am growing out of these habits slowly and steadily, there are crazy days that I absolutely need to conjure dinner in less than 10 minutes. Most often this is because I am absolutely dying of hunger at the end of the day. I call this my weekday dinner dance. Today being an exemplary day of swooning to the rumblings beats of hunger, I turned the stove on, rummaged for my favorite pan, drizzled a few drops of oil it and placed the pan on the stove. Then I tapped off my shoes and washed my hands. From the freezer, I picked out some veggies – chopped mixed peppers, broccoli or cauliflower, threw in a handful of them in the hot pan added some seasoning. As the veggies rocked and rolled on the stove, I morphed into my pyjamas and washed up. I ran a knife through whatever combination of fresh aromatics I had on hand – onions, garlic, cilantro, and chili peppers and dropped them into the party. Thinly sliced tofu and aimed them into to the pan with seasonings of salt and pepper. The tofu and vegetables browned as I checked out the day’s mail and separated the bills from the junk. Two huge fistfuls of dry thin rice noodles went to the pan, with a cup of water. Now I did some on the spot walking as I patiently let the noodles cook up and the water get absorbed or evaporated. Noodles were transferred to a plastic container and eaten right out of the container. The leftovers were left over in the same container for the next meal which may be the next day’s lunch.

Such is the joy of cooking that satisfies your basic human needs.

Granola bars - bhel puri ishtyle

I have become a breakfast person. I still have difficulty waking up in time for breakfast, but I can have breakfast foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I am a self proclaimed coffee addict and quick cooking oats fan. I love my dosas, idlis and vada sambars. If I were to skip a meal before bed, I would dream about the white fleshy doughy morsels of idlis soaked in a spicy mixture. True to my Indian born thirst for the complex spices, I will run a marathon (heck, a triathlon) if the reward was a bellyful supply of chaat – pani puri, bhel puri, pav bhaji and the likes.

And I like crunchy cereal and granola bars. My only peeve is that most American breakfast foods (whatever is vegetarian-izable) is laden with sugar and cannot be enjoyed if you have a spice tooth. Why do granola bars have to be based on honey and sugar syrups. The three primary seasonings in our culinary world are salt, pepper and chili powder – why can’t we have a granola bar or a health bar that actually uses one of them? I decided to break the trends and create the spicy granola bar. The ultimate go-to snack chaat bar. I would base it off the classic Indian street food – bhel puri.

The main challenge involved in steering the sweetness out of the bar – find a sticky substance powerful enough to bind the ingredients together and not fall apart. Bhel puri is like a salad or crumbly granola of sorts made of puffed rice, fried dough chips (papdi – vernacularly translated), chopped onions, tomatoes, spices with a dressing of tangy, sweet, spicy chutneys. Now puffed rice would readily get soggy at the first hint of moisture and that would make for bhel that tastes like cotton. And making the bhel-puri bar healthy would not be a bad idea.

So off I went to the neighborhood Whole foods and spent a leisurely evening of food label reading. I came back with the following

Crispy Brown Rice Cereal (substitute for the rice puffs)

Old fashioned rolled oats (it is a granola bar of course)

Sliced almonds (initial thought was peanuts, but figured almonds are healthier)

Baked pita chips (substitute for the papdis)

Dates (sticky substance + sweet taste)

Tamarind paste (sticky substance + sour taste)

Mixed dry fruit – cranberries and apricots

My game plan was this – just like a traditional granola bar, I would toast the oats and nuts while I create the binding sticky substance. I contemplated using molasses as the sticky agent. But that would be sweet all over again. I decided on using egg replacer as a thickening agent and if ever it shows properties similar to the egg, when baked it should coagulate and bind its neighboring particles together. If all else fails, I may not end up with a bar – it may just be a crunchy granola mixture. But, it shall be spicy and it shall be healthy.

1 cup sliced almonds 1.5 cups old fashioned rolled oats	Spread on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven at 300F for 10 mins. Allow to cool
2 cups brown rice crisps cereal 1 cup baked pita chips broken into bits	Mix together with the toasted ingredients and set aside
2 tbspoon tamarind paste 5 dates (pitted) A handful of coriander leaves A few curry leaves Salt (about half tsp) Any hot sauce (for desired spice level) .5 tsp Cumin seeds	Using as little water as possible blend into a nice sticky paste.
2.5 tsp Ener-G egg replacer 1 tbspoon water	Dissolve the egg replacer with water and combine into the sticky paste. Now in a convenient mixing bowl combine your dry ingredients with the sticky ingredients Grease a baking dish slightly and transfer your mixed granola. Press down firmly to allow all ingredients to acquire stickage. Bake at 300F for 10 minutes or till nice and crunchy Allow to cool overnight and then cut into bars.

I still need to let the bars cool overnight. I may not have achieved the desired level of stickiness – but the bars are still quite warm to touch. I did hazard a taste and not bad ladies and gents, it may be a worthwhile experiment. I forgot to include the dried fruit in the bars – but I can eat those while I wait for the bars to cool.

Whats the verdict? not bad for experiment #1. I still have not dropped the idea completely.

If folks out there want to try making the traditional granola bars, look know further than the Alton Brown recipe.

Southwest Scrambled Tofu

I aspire to be a morning person. Every morning, I attempt to wake up around 6 am, very groggily fix myself a cup of Joe that I drink while catching up on the morning news and weather outlook. With that relatively calm beginining, the hum-drum of the day commences. I will admit I do not do justice to breakfast - the supposed most important meal of the day! However, I am usually big on balanced meals. If breakfast consisted of junk, I try to ensure lunch or dinner fare better!

Being the unabashed tofu fan that I am, most weekend brunches involve tofu put together with the contents of the fridge - different veggies: peppers, spinach, accompaniments: ketchup, soy cheese and warm toasted bread. Here is a Tex-mex variation of tofu scramble with chipotle chillis. These are smoked jalapeno peppers that come in a jar all soaked in Mexican Adobo sauce. The Adobo seasonings include garlic, tomato paste and onion. So, thats all you need for the flavorings. When I run out of the usual green chilis I used for daily fare, I substitute these chipotle chilis.

Here is how I went about making the Southwest Scrambled Tofu. Use firm or extra firm tofu, cut off desired amount from the block, slice thin and squeeze out excess liquid from the tofu crumbling it in the process.

Southwest Tofu Scramble
1 tsp peanut oil 1 cup crumbled tofu (liquid squeezed out) 2 chipotle chilis (or less for a milder flavor), chopped 1 tsp of adobo sauce from chipotle chili jar .25 tsp turmerica pinch of salt (or more to taste)	Heat the oil in a pan (omlette pan works well). Add the tofu, chili, turmeric and the sauce. Add salt if necessary - the Adobo sauce is seasoned. Cook for 2-3 minutes till tofu is dry and resembles scrambled eggs
2 tbsp cooked black beans	Add the black beans to the tofu, heat through. Serve with heartly whole wheat bread

Add a glass of freshly squeezed orange-grapefruit juice, and you have given your metabolism an early morning boost!

On most weekdays I do the cereal routine. If you are like me and flee at the mention of milk, try adding cereal or granola to some greek styled yogurt. Greek yogurt is strained thick yogurt that comes low fat and is readily available in most regular well stocked supermarkets! I like Kashi's Go Lean Crunch cereal. It is delicious and each 1 cup serving has 9 gms of protein, 8g fiber and Omega 3 fatty acids.

This balanced breakfast is my entry to this month's Weekend Breakfast Blogging (WBB), concieved by Nandita of Saffron Trail, hosted this month by Mansi. Thanks for choosing the theme of 'balanced breakfast meals'!

Doodh Peda (Milk Fudge) : 6 Minute Guilty Pleasure

When it comes to enjoying Indian sweets, I find Milk Pedas absolutely *irresistible*. Next in the sweet hit list would be all kinds of milk based desserts - likes of Gulab Jamun, Ras Malai, Kala Jamun. At the tail end of the list are all dry fruit based sweets. Kaju Katli (Cashewnut fudge), in my humble opinion is nauseating. Just thinking of it makes my stomach churn uncomfortably. How some people I know (take Hubbie for instance) can down them 4-5 at a time is alarming.

But all good things in life are difficult to come by. Agree? Traditionally to make pedas you must painstakingly boil the milk for hours *without* burning it. However, with the magic of processed foods and invention of appliances for busy people you can enjoy pedas in not 9 minutes, not even 8 minutes, but just 7 minutes and 59 seconds. However, if you were to follow the recipe properly you can cut 2 full minutes of prep time. Hopefully I have made you googly eyed just like those attractive infomercials on TV this time of year :-)

All you need for this recipe is a nice big microwave safe glass bowl (with a wide mouth), a can of sweetened condensed milk, a stick of butter and 1/2 cup of non fat dry milk. I don't regularly endorse brands, but Carnation brand dry milk works best - other brands I have tried have given less than optimal results.

Doodh Peda
1 stick or 1/2 cup unsalted butter	Place butter in a large glass bowl and microwave for 30 seconds or more so as to melt it.
one 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk 1-1/2 cup of non-fat dry milk	Mix in the condensed milk and dry milk powder and microwave for a minute. Stir vigorously to combine. Repeat the microwaving for a minute and stirring 4-5 times until the texture and color of the mixture resembles cooked oatmeal.
2-3 cardamom pods a healthy pinch of saffron	Grind the black seeds inside the cardamom pods and the saffron into a powder and mix in with the peda mixture. Let the mixture cool until it can be handled by hand. Shaped into small balls and flatten to form pedas. Alternatively spread on a greased sheet and cut into shapes when cooled completely. Decorate with slivered almond or pistachios

Only seriously insanely obsessive picky eaters will be able to tell you have not slaved over the stove for hours. For the rest of us - this tastes as authentic as it gets. There are many variations to this basic peda recipe - but this one has turned out perfectly multiple times and is what I call a keeper recipe. Thanks to my dear cousin who made these pedas specially on my birthday!

All in one solitary meal: Tofu Spinach Roti

I can tell that it has been too long since my last visit to the grocery store because I am all out of junk food. Yes, been a slacker lately - no excuses. Plenty of theories for my lack of motivation to cook (besides the hackneyed too busy at work) -we'll go over them another day.

But, today I was possessed with the will to cook something good. I was surveying the pantry when it came to me - the mother of all one dish meals - the paratha (Indian flat bread). I gathered all elements of the USDA food pyramid - whole wheat flour, tofu, frozen spinach, vegetable stock cube, water and oil. And got to work. Also, in my life when it rains, it pours. So in true overachiever behaviorial pattern, I also launched another unit of processing - laundry. I kneaded the dough for the parathas and put the clothes in the washer as the dough rested. The whole cooking, cleaning and eating process was done before the end of the dryer cycle. Of course, I was eating as I was cooking. Here goes the recipe for the parathas/rotis

Tofu Spinach Roti/Paratha
0.5 cups frozen spinach 1/2 a vegetable stock cube	Place spinach and half a stock cube in a microwave safe bowl (big enough to knead the dough in) and nuke for 1 min to defrost the spinach
1.5 cups whole wheat flour 2-3 tbsp crumbled tofu (no need to drain) 1 tsp chili pow Not more than 1/2 cup water	Add the flour, tofu and chili pow (and salt if needed, the stock cube will have seasonings). Use your hands to incorporate all the ingredients. Add water little by little and knead into a smooth dough. Keep aside for a few minutes if you can spare.
	Divide dough into 10 parts, Roll into balls and flatten to form discs. Using a rolling pin, roll out into discs of about 6in diameter. Shape has no effect on the taste and nutrition. Heat a griddle/shallow frying pan till hot. Slap on a rolled out disc, flip after cooking ~30 sec on each side. Now drizzle some oil if desired and toast both sides applying slight pressure till brown spots appear on both sides.

Eat by itself or with plain yogurt. A proper meal, two loads of laundry and a blog post all in one week night - tonight is going to be hard to beat. If only I can now muster up motivation to put away that laundry!

Peanut Coconut Curry Sauce - So easy even the Geico Caveman can do it

I love PF Changs - the Chinese Bistro. But have you tried getting a table at the restaurant lately? Reservation or not - you need advance notice to plan for a fun evening at PF Changs - the place is notoriously full by 6:30 pm on most week nights! I haven't been there as many times as I would like because most of our plans tend to be spontaneous and regrettably last minute - so I am left salivating on thoughts of Tofu lettuce wraps, Coconut curry vegetables and some fresh brewed tea!


I came across a recipe for a Simple Coconut based peanut sauce (vegetarian-ized version of Sandra Lee's recipe) - once all the ingredients are at hand, it took less than 10 mins to put together. Reminded me of PF Chang's Coconut Curry sauce - one of my favorites. My kind of a meal - definitely one that would please many others. And I hereby confer on this recipe the Geico Caveman approval seal. Here is the recipe that will comfortably serve 2 as the main meal with rice

Vegetables in Peanut Coconut Curry Sauce
1/2 block of tofu cut into cubes (of desired size) 1 tbsp oil a splash of soy sauce	Heat oil in a pan. When oil is HOT, add the cubes of tofu and pan fry till a nice brown crust is formed. Add a splash of soy sauce and allow the tofu to absorb the liquid.
2 cups of chopped vegetables of your choice (green beans, peppers, broccoli, snap peas etc) salt to taste	Add veggies and salt to the pan, cook till vegetables are tender crisp. Around 3-5 minutes
1 12 oz can light coconut milk 1/2 cup vegetable broth 1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter 2 tbsp brown sugar 1 tbsp red chili paste 1 tsp tamarind extract (or a few bits of tamarind soaked in the stock)	Whisk together ingredients on the left into a smooth sauce. Add to the pan of simmering veggies. Taste for salt since the broth/peanut butter are seasoned. Simmer and let sauce thicken for about 6-8 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve with steamed brown or white rice

Change is good And Healthful modifications

Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine

I read that quote on an email signature and laughed out aloud. If the last time I had updated this blog some one had told me how much my life would change in just one year - I wouldn't have believed them. Life today has taken unbelievable twists leaving the future murky and uncertain. We don't know whats in store for us but at least we have the option of making it what we want it to be. Change is good. Change is good, indeed. Change is certainly difficult to get accustomed to. But here we are facing refreshingly new challenges, cleaning out the cobwebs in our heads - change is good indeed.

So, to take my mind off how different things are, I decided to come back here to my familiar spot in the blog world. Thanks to the people who have cared to ask how I am doing. The last year has been one enjoyable roller-coaster ride - failures and successes. Finally, both hubby and I are pursuing what we have wanted to. In the midst of all that action - this blog has suffered my lack of attention. But I am back at least for now.

The last I mentioned here was a wonderful book that I had come to own - a book on healthy eating. Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I really wanted to get one recipe that I have made time and again out on this blog - Cracked Wheat Idli

If you like Rava idli (steamed dumplings made of semolina flour), you can make a simple modification of substituting some or all of the Rava with cracked wheat for an equally delicious, yet more nutritious idli.

Cracked Wheat Idli
1 cup cracked wheat (fine)	Dry roast in a pan the raw flour smell is gone (just before it turns brown)
1 cup yogurt salt to taste water to dilute	To the roasted wheat add yogurt and salt. Mix to combine. Add water (tablespoons at a time) to make the dough into a pouring consistency of idli batter. Not more than 1/2 cup water. Allow this mixture to rest for at least 15 minutes
1/4 cup grated carrot 2 tbsp grated coconut 1 in piece of ginger grated 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander	Add grated carrots, ginger, coriander and coconut to the mixture. Pour ladle-fulls of the mixture into idli moulds and steam cook for 15 minutes. Serve with coconut chutney.

You can add any vegetable to this idli just be careful about the water content. For instance if you are going to add grated bottle gourd, cut down on the water in the recipe accordingly. Need to settle down into my blog yet again. So much has changed here as well. Need to find out whats new with the Google blogger. Until then, it feels GREAT to be back!

What I have learnt from MIL

I mostly learnt to cook by trial and error and parental phone guidance. I wish I had paid more attention at home when my mother had taken care of the food side of things :) But, whoever gained anything from crying over spilt milk, right? As some of you have noticed my absence from the scene, it was because we were trying to spend as much time as possible with my parents-in-law who were visiting us.

MIL too is an ardent cook ... she loves to cook not just for herself, but for sharing with everyone. And I have mentioned elsewhere in this blog that she enjoys food discussion and description! So, needless to say, I got to learn a lot many new recipes with her around. Infact she brought with her a cookbook in Hindi which I greedily grabbed. It has been such a long time (10 years to be specific) since I have properly read any form of Hindi. I used to be prolific reader of the language during my school days. Now, I will get a chance to rebuild my Hindi skills along with healthy cooking ideas. The book is titled (Translated for every one's benefit) - Health Reviving Dishes - Vegetarian Related. I also have a fresh supply of family recipes, which ofcourse I will try to share with you all in due course :)

Some other important cooking lessons that MIL has imparted on me

• Reduce Wastage - This one is a biggie. In my daily rush to get done with dinner, I usually throw in what I find in the fridge. No proper planning into whats been there for how long or how leftovers can be used. With MIL here for these past months, I just cannot remember throwing out any edible item just because it went bad before it could be used. She had a plan of what to do with a vegetable or produce item when we bought it at the store. Also left overs were planned for accordingly. For example, today's leftover dal or cooked rice would be made into muthiya's for the next day's breakfast. Wastage also was not only in food items - I tend to be prolific in my use of plastic ziploc bags, paper towels etc. Since my habit is an easier and quicker option, it might be difficult to change. But I will certainly be concious about other alternatives before I lunge to grab another bag or paper towel :)
• Importance of Breakfast - This is something I knew all along... that a good breakfast is a great start to the day. But, somehow never incorporated it in my lifestyle. Cooking up a hot breakfast means adding planning time, cooking time and extra washing time to the morning drill. So, I have usually avoided it in the past. When MIL was here, she would make it a point that we didn't leave without a hearty breakfast. She would make us hot jowar/bajra rotis. Just one at 8 in the morning would fill me up good until 12 or 1 in the afternoon. We have gone back to our cold cereal routine for now, but maybe I can practice speed-breakfast skills on weekends.

Sev Tameta - (Tomato & Chickpea flour fritters)

Slacker? Procrastinator? Absent-Minded? What would you brand a person who posts this tantalizing teaser almost two years ago... but doesn't realize that the post providing answers to her puzzle is safely tucked away as a draft in her blogger dashboard? Well, here is the pheonix you all would have never expected to rise out of its ashes - the much awaited, the much guessed about, the minimalist wonder, the sensational - Sev Tameta!!

If you were actually waiting for this post all this time, please accept my heartfelt apologies for imposing this excruciating suspense!Without further ado, here's how you make Sev Tameta
Simple foods... that are simple enough to cook without planning give you inexplicable joy. That's what happened to us during our Lake George trip. We packed a bunch of spicy Indian snacks including the Indian Sev and Gathia. These snacks are made of a spicy chick pea flour dough, pressed out of sev/gathia presses similar to Murukku presses (cookie press) and deep fried. The stuff we carried of course, were store brought.

So we packed these snacks for tea time munchies. As we got used to cooking at the well equipped kitchen at the resort, we realized we had all the ingredients for this famous Gujarati dish - Sev Tameta, which is one of Hubbie's favorites. So we decided to be happy campers and leverage our limited supplies towards lunch.

You can use any kind of sev, gathia or even crisp puris (as used in papdi chaats)... We used a mixture of the kinds we had... Bhavnagri Gathia (Speciality of a region in Gujarat called Bhavnagar) and Spicy Sev pictured below

Sev Tameta
2-3 tbsp oil 1 tsp mustard seeds pinch asafetida 1 tsp tumeric powder 1 tsp coriander powder	Heat oil, add mustard seeds. Allow to sputter, then add asafetida, turmeric powder and coriander pow
1 tomato chopped fine salt to taste splash of water (if required)	Add tomatoes and salt and cook down until the mixture is pulpy. If the tomato is not juicy enough, add a splash of water
2 cups assorted sev/gathias	Add to mixture and mix. Turn off heat and allow to soak until the sev is tender

You can add more water to this dish if you prefer it watery. The soaking time for the sev depends of its thickness. Serve this with chappatis or theplas. Yum!

Soaking up sun, water & wind

We are currently soaking up all the good stuff... fresh air, warm sun and breathtaking scenery! Presently, we are vacationing in beautiful Lake George located in the Southern Adirondack region in upstate New York. A perfect relaxing vacation, in a resort right along the lake. Here is a view from our lodge

And even while away at this resort, we are trying to be 'Happy Campers'... cooking us comfy little simple meals with the fewest ingredients. Here is something we cooked up the other day. Any guesses what it might be? I'll post details and the recipe in a couple of days... Enjoy!

These are a few of my favorite things

Note to the Reader: This particular post was supposed to go up on Mother's day.. but I didn't have time then. But, now even Mom's b'day is a long way off, so I thought I would post this now anyway. Another motherly figure (MIL) is with us right now... and I can't wait to write about the excellent dishes she is making for us here. I will try to be back soon :)

10 things I miss of Mom's cooking

Try as I might, I can never enjoy my own cooking. It has been cruelly long since I've had any of mom's cooking and I thought I would salivate a little thinking of what I miss the most. Here is what I came up with...

10. Her many undocumented masterpieces... *clean up the fridge special*... with warm just ballooned chappatis. I miss the variety in taste and the incredible suspense in those meals. Oh.. the joy when we correctly guessed the secret ingredients :)
9. Badam Kheer (Almond milk pudding)
8. Fragrant Arachvitta Sambar (Sambar with freshly ground spices) with drumsticks
7. Alu Paratha
6. Rava Payasam (Semolina milk pudding)
5. Filter Coffee
4. Masala Dal Vada (deep fried, crunchy lentil fritters)
3. Lemon rasam, rice and crunchy roasted small potatoes and/or Vazhaka Podimas (Spicy Mashed Plantains)
2. Hot idlis, rubbed generously with Molaga Podi
1. Vatral Kuzhumbu with hot steaming rice, with creamy spinach kootu on the side

I am rumbly in the tummy with all that food talk.
I would love to hear what some of the readers consider their childhood indulgence!

UPDATE: Following the suggestions of some fellow bloggers, I have decided to make this into a Meme - 10 Things I Miss of Mom's Cooking. It doesn't have to be a food item, may be just a meal tradition etc. I hope you will enjoy writing it up! Here are the first few people (in no particular order) I am tagging.

1. Revathi
2. Aparna
3. Ashwini
4. Shammi
5. L.G.
6. Mika
7. BDSN
8. Sailu

Participation ofcourse will be entirely optional. Tag 3-5 people to continue the meme. Enjoy!

Tomatoes are to Pasta what Peas are to Carrots

Pasta and Pomodoro go together like peas and carrots (a la Forrest Gump). The sweet tang together with the chewy goodness of pasta is often a quick meal. Most pasta sauces are so forgiving that you can use canned diced or crushed tomatoes. Leftover sauces can be creatively used in any Indian gravy recipes inplace of tomatoes or tomato puree.

I remember seeing this recipe on a TV cooking show long back, I don't remember which one. Reconstructing by memory, here is Pasta with Three Tomatoes (fresh, canned and sun dried)

Pasta With Three Tomatoes
1 lb spaghetti Plenty of water salt to taste	Bring plenty of well salted water to a boil and cook spaghetti according to package directions, until al dente
2 tbsp tomato olive oil (from oil packed sun dried tomatoes) 2 tbsp minced garlic 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes	Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds
1-28 oz can crushed tomatoes 1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes 2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes halved	Add crushed tomatoes and sun dried tomatoes, cook down for 15 mins. Then, add the halved cherry tomatoes and simmer until the cherry tomato just turns soft. Drain spaghetti, add to the sauce. Add some retained pasta water to dilute sauce if desired. Top with grated Parmesan cheese (optional).

Each tomato sauce recipe has its signature - play with herbs, add a dash of vodka or wine or in this case, work with different flavors of the tomato. If you don't like the sour taste of sun dried tomatoes, you can reduce the amount used in the recipe.

This is an entry to ARF/5-a-day at Sweetnicks.

Snack Happy!

Don't we all love to snack once in a while or several times in a while? Unfortunately, most sought after snacks in the Indian cuisine are heavy for the belly - being deep fried most of the time.
Chivda is a wonderfully crispy and delicious snack made from crunchy beaten rice flakes (Poha). It can be considered healthy with oodles of peanuts, dry coconut and seasame seeds. It is not deep fried, but you may decide to add more oil to crisp up the dish more.

The list of ingredients may seem long, but it comes together before you can say ... it's tea time. Ok not that quick, but you know what I mean :)

Traditionally the beaten flakes are sun dried inorder to crisp them. Us urbanites can achive a similar effect by roasting in the oven. I personally prefer the toaster oven, where the heat is more uniform and is faster than the regular oven. I usually divide the poha into small batches and toast in the oven for about 2.5 mins each batch

Roasted rice flakes batch

Roast them twice for an extra and long lasting crunch.

Bringing the ingredients together - Clockwise from the top - minced green chilies, dry coconut, peanuts, broken cashews, curry leaves, dalia. In the center, sesame seeds and mustard seeds

Chivda
2 lbs thin Poha (beaten rice)	Roast in small batches in a toaster oven. About 2.5 mins per batch.
6 tbsp oil	Heat oil in a big pan (enough to fit all ingredients)
1 cup roasted chick peas (dalia)	Fry till brown in the oil, remove all set aside with the poha
1 cup peanuts and cashews (together)	Fry till brown in the oil, remove and set aside
1 cup thinly sliced dry coconut	Fry till brown on low heat, remove and set aside
2 tbsp oil	Add extra oil to the remaining oil in the pan, and heat.
2 tbsp mustard seeds 3 tbsp sesame seeds several sprigs of curry leaves 4-5 green chilies minced	Add the seeds, allow to sputter, then add the curry leaves and green chilies. Fry till nicely browned.
1 tsp asafetida 2 tbsp turmeric powder salt to taste	Add the spices to oil and cook for a few seconds. Add the poha and the other prepared ingredients and mix really well on a slow flame.
2 tbsp sugar	After the ingredients are well mixed, turn off heat, take the pan off the stove and add sugar. Mix well to incorporate.

Of all wierd and wonderful food combinations, this ones seems outrageous. But Chivda makes a great side to left over cold chappatis :) Enjoy.

I'll be bringing over some Chivda to Meeta's Monthly Mingle and snack while watching the game.

Dash 'n Dine Meals

Yes, how awfully long since my last post! But, I've been busy with work lately and had to resist any blogging temptation. Thanks for all your enquries while I was gone! It is certainly appreciated.

During my busy phase, several delicious quickie, dash-in and dish-out meals courtesy of fellow bloggers were presented at the dinner table. (Sorry no pictures)

1. Mango Rice , Indira - This was one of the many recipes from the decadent Jhiva for Ingredients (JFI) spread that I must try this Mango season. Preparation of this meal was less than 15 minutes (excluding cleanup, of course :) ) Keep the rice to cook while you grate the mango, saute the ingredients and finally mix with rice. Perfection!

2. Wheat Dosa, Indira - I once said that you can make a paratha out of anything. On a similar note, if you are bored with parathas, make a dosa out of that something. Check out Shilpa of Aayi's recipes fame, for her excellent collection of dosas. Back to Wheat dosas, they were delicious and satisfying. Each dosa takes about 5 mins to cook (on my electic stove, *sighing and moving on*), but that is good news if you have to multi task. Just put each dosa to cook, go about your business around the house, come back to turn it over and so on. Will be making this often. Unlike rava dosa, this one seemed to take less oil to cook too.

3. Tamarind Rice, Sailu - I've had a eye on Sailu's Bisi Bele for the longest time, but never got around to making it. Why? because the recipes asks to let the rice and spices sit together for 45 mins. One of these days, I want to try the recipe the traditional way. Anyway, another recipe that should go in the 'recipes to keep' folder is her Tamarind Rice. Simple to prepare and such a satisfying meal along with some vegetable, this one was a hit at dinner and also a thumbs up by Hubbie to pack for his lunch the next day. This was my first time making tamarind rice 'from scratch'. I didn't realize it was this easy.

4. Dahi Baingan, Saffron Hut - Simple to execute yet looks like you have slaved in the kitchen to prepare this dish! I baked/broiled the baingan, and in the mean time prepared the rotis. Now thats a 30 minute meal(cleanup not incuded)

5. Saar Upkari, Happy Burp - A ton of protein, yet so simple. I used canned chickpeas and frozen yams for this one. As Vaishali says, the recipe is so forgiving, go ahead and add your signature to it :) A simplistic meal is a perfect end to a whirlwind of a day.

Stay tuned for the next edition of Dash 'n Dine meals!

Spring Time Rice aka Tomato Rice

You know it is the end of winter when you see produce like this at the market!

But what to do with these tomatoes for a weekday meal? Something that would do justice to these beauties... Answer Tomato Rice. Another recipe from Hemant Trivedi. Don't frown at the long list of ingredients -- it's simple to put together and really tomatillicious. If not for taste, you can eat it for health reasons, Lycopene found in tomatoes, is one of the most sought after antioxidants. On that note, I would like to submit this to the weekly healthful ARF event hosted by Cate .

Tomato Rice
1 cup long grained Rice 1/4 cup peas 1/4 cup carrots, chopped 2 tsp salt	Cook rice with salt, until grains are separate. Drop in the peas and carrots during the cooking process
1 tbsp oil 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 4 ripe tomatoes, chopped	Heat oil in a wide pan. Add seeds, when they start to sputter, add tomatoes and stir fry till oil separates
1 red onion, cubed 5 cloves garlic, minced 1 inch ginger, grated	Add onion and cook till soft. Then add garlic and ginger, cook for 3-4 minutes
1 tsp garam masala salt to taste 2 tsp chilli powder 1 tsp turmeric powder 1/4 tsp pepper powder 4-5 curry leaves	Add the dry spices and curry leaves and cook for 2-3 mins. The tomato mixture must be pulpy by now. Take off heat.
1 tsp oil 4-5 cloves 2 inch cinnamon stick	For tempering, heat oil add cloves and cinnamon. When the cloves puff up, add to the tomato mixture. Add cooked rice and vegetables to the tomato mixture and mix well. Serve with yogurt or raita

Check out Sweetnicks place to see a round up of other healthy ARF entries.

Food Bloggers Around the World Meme

Wonderful Sumi tagged me for this Food Bloggers Around the world meme. Just for that, Sumi, I have decided to emerge out of my blogging sabbatical :-) I've missed blogging and visiting around!! Unfortunately, my dear readers, be prepared for more interrupted blogging from my side until atleast the end of April. After that, I hope to return in full ferver. Until then, enjoy the meme :)

1. Three recipes recently bookmarked to try

a) Tri-Colored Paneer Kababs from Sailu - With summer almost upon us, this is a great barbeque recipe. I love the colors so rich and pleasing! I do intend to try it out some time this summer.

b) Vindalu Vegetables from The Fat Free Vegan Kitchen - For some time now I've been curious about slow cooking/crockpots. I thought they were only useful for cooking meat or beans. But this one is an adaptation of a vegetable recipe cooking entirely in a slow cooker. One of my projects this summer is to find out once and for all if slow cooking is any good for our lifestyle and eating habits.

c) Rich Fruit Plum Cake from Annita - Plum cake is awesome! Annita provides such detailed explanations, that I think I might be able to manage this! And I do love plum cake...

2. A food blog in your vicinity

Most of the food blogs from the US are close to me! Distance of course, is relative :-)

3. A food blog or more that is located far away from you

Happy Burp, from Germany

4. A food blog (or more) that you've recently found

Recently? I'm going to take that as in the last two weeks.

Sumi's Kitchen
Happy Burp
Vineela's

5. Any people or bloggers you would like to tag

Ah... so many people I know have already taken part in the fun... But lets see..

Ashwini
Kay
Mika

You guys are tagged!

Bharelu Shaak: Gujarati Style Stuffed Vegetables

Gujarati food is another unique cooking style in India. Majority of Gujaratis are vegetarians and their cuisine comprises of the simplest of ingredients, which combine to deliver a signature taste and texture. Gujaratis love their food. Maybe thats an understatement :) If you have ever visited a Gujarati family or a Gujju restaurant, you know. They are absolutely passionate about food! There is seldom a Gujju restaurant without a huge Thali spread, commonly unlimited. From their simplest kadhis (curd based dish, served with rice), to the multi flavored oondiyu (signature dish, mixed vegetables slow cooked with special spices), each dish can offer something new to the taste buds! Some of their preparations can come across a bit sweet (small amount of sugar added to enhance other flavors), if you are new to the cuisine. This is essentially true of the Kathiawadi (a region in Gujarat) style preparation. On the other hand, the Surati (another region) preparation is predominantly savory. While on the topic of Surati food, Surati Farsans (snacks... fried snacks) immediately come to mind! Jalebi (Indian Funnel cake) with Fafda (chick pea flour fritters) is a nostalgic brunch combination. Dhokla, Khandvi, Handvo, Patra ... all snack items!

Also, another interesting point to note is that Gujaratis are the #1 consumers of cooking oil in India! Thats what makes their food so irresistable I guess :) One of my favorite Gujju dishes is a stuffed vegetable preparation, which very suprisingly is NOT deep fried! More surprisingly, inspite of being non-deep fried, it is one of Hubbie's favorites too. Just bring up this recipe, and you will undoubtedly hear him rave about how well his grandmother makes this and sigh in foodie nostalgia! I suspect it is one of his favorite childhood memories.

Indian food bloggers have blogged about varieties of stuffed eggplant... Andhra, Maharashtrian and modern-deconstructed version. Here is another variety - stuffed Eggplant, Baby Potatoes and Onion. Kanda-Batata-Ringana Nu Bhareli Shaak (Onion-Potato-Brinjal stuffed Curry)

The trick here is in choosing the vegetable and stuffing it. Choose small baby purple brinjals, baby potatoes and small red onions. Usually you would make a plus shaped cut to stuff the vegetables. But stuffing them can be a gentle art, especially frustrating for stuffing onion. Here is are some stuffing tips directly from Hubbie's favorite chef (his grandmother)
Onion - Trim the tips, peel and wash
Potato - Peel and Wash
Brinjal - Wash and trim the stalks.

Hold each vegetable vertically and make a diagonal slit, 3/4 into the vegetable. Then turn it upside down and make a similar slit on the opposite diagonal. Instead of the cross cut of the same side, you have the two slits on the opposite ends. This enables easier and more abundant stuffing. Now here the the details of the recipe

Clockwise from left Potato, brinjal and Onion

Stuffed Onion Potato and Brinjal	Serves 2
2 small red onions 4 small brinjals 4 small potatoes	Peel/wash and make slits on the vegetables as described above
1.5 tbsp chickpea flour 2 tbsp coriander powder 1 tbsp cumin powder 1 tsp red chili powder 1 tsp garam masala 2 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar juice of one lemon 2 tbsp minced coriander leaves 2 tbsp oil	Mix all these ingredients until they form a coarse lumpy texture. Stuff generously on both slits of the vegetables. Place the vegetables in a steamer basket and steam for about 20-30 mins or until a knife goes through gently into the potatoes.
1 tbsp oil 1 tsp mustard seeds 2 tsp cumin seeds	Heat oil in a large (wide) non stick pan, add the seeds and allow to sputter. carefully drop the steamed vegetables. Toss them around in the oil being careful. Avoid using a ladle and just shake the pan gently to move the vegetables around for 2-3 minutes.

This preparation goes best with juwar rotli. An excellent guide to the delectable rotlis can be found at the Cook's Cottage. Here is what my attempt at the rotlis looked like.
Wam, fluffy rotis also make a great accompaniment to the stuffed veggies.

ARF/5-a-Day #13: Whole Wheat Pasta with Spinach and Feta

For this week's ARF event, I prepared a one-dish-meal rich in not one, not two but THREE ingredients from the top 10 Antioxidant foods - whole grain, spinach and garlic. Mediterranean style Whole Wheat Pasta with Spinach and Feta Cheese - One pot meal with a side of quick garlic bread. The recipe is adapted from the book "Vegetarian Times Cooks - Mediterranean". This book by the way, is an excellent collection of unique vegetarian recipes from France, Italy, Spain and others in the region. The savory tarts, focaccia and pizza recipes are in my must try list. Many traditional recipes are modified to include vegetarian or even vegan ingredients.
Ok, on with the recipe.

Spinach and whole wheat pasta taste great together. To vegan-ize the recipe, you can replace milk with oat or soy milk, and substitute feta cheese with one cup of well drained, well pressed crumbled firm tofu which has been sauteed over high heat with garlic in olive oil.

Whole Wheat Pasta with Spinach and Feta Cheese	Serves 6
1 lb dried whole wheat pasta (I used fusilli) 1 bag (10 ounces) spinach leaves, washed	Add pasta to large pot of salted boiling water. Cook till al dente, about 11 mins. Stir in the spinach during the last 2 minutes of cooking.
1 tbsp olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 tbsp all purpose flour 1 cup milk	Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cook until soft. Add flour and cook stirring continuously for about 2 mins. Remove from heat and add the milk. Return to the stove, and cook stirring continuously till the sauce boils.
1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp white pepper (freshly ground) 1/4 tsp nutmeg (I skipped this one)	Remove from heat and add salt, pepper and nutmeg
1 cup crumbled feta cheese 1/4 cup minced dill (I skipped this one too)	Drain pasta and spinach and transfer to serving bowl. Add the sauce, feta cheese and dill. Mix well. Serve with garlic bread.

One dish to rule them all, one dish to find them, one dish to bring them all and in the heat of the stove, bind them. erm... the essential food groups (carbs, protein, fat, fibre and minerals) I mean :-)

Visit Sweetnicks place to read this week's ARF roundup!

Tyrannosaurus Veg?

Presented below is an editorial by Chandan Mitra, verbatum from The Pioneer . Then I shall present my 'thoughts' on it :)

Tyrannosaurus Veg
That vegetarians are relatively docile beings is an extremely misleading notion. In my experience, they are actually quite tyrannical. Take for example dinosaurs. Even the biggest of them, Tyrannosaurus Rex was a veggie. As the name itself suggests, it must have tyrannised the rest of its tribe as well as other prehistoric beings.
I had a taste of vegetarian intolerance during the last few weeks of the bird flu hoax that swept across much of the country. The story, in my firm opinion, was a media creation and served certain interests (especially those of pharma companies with excess inventory) rather well. Of course it was blown out of all proportion and cost almost a million chickens their lives. The dreaded flu, if it was indeed bird flu, was confined to a small area in Maharashtra and did not warrant the nationwide panic that ensued. But taking advantage of the scare scenario, veggie fanatics went on the rampage, whipping up frenzy against all forms of flesh.
It is rare for such viruses to survive India's heat and dust as we saw earlier during the much more serious SARS scare. I was sceptical about the alleged bird flu epidemic especially its purported threat to human lives, from the day the story broke. In fact, I argued (unsuccessfully) with my colleagues against making it the main story on the front page. They were all petrified at the prospect of contracting the flu and insisted that it was our professional duty to scare our readers too. Faced with their fundamentalist conviction, I conceded and The Pioneer like every other paper in the country gave full play to the story while it lasted. Occasionally, I managed to squeeze in a report doubting the extent of the disease or pointing out that all blood samples had returned a negative reading.
Armed with these alarmist media reports, veggies ran riot. Non-veg food was unceremoniously turfed out of trains and planes. The few diehard meat eaters like me were compelled to furtively shop for fish or mutton, whose prices skyrocketed. As it is, I belong to an endangered minority since I smoke. With vegetarian cacophony reaching a crescendo, I faced double jeopardy. Travelling to Mumbai at the height of the bird flu hoax, I gingerly asked the airhostess what was on offer for non-vegetarians. Scowling most disapprovingly, she asked me whether I never read newspapers. Apologetically, I ventured to tell her I edited one.
Unfazed, she informed me with all the official authority at her command that non-vegetarian meals had been discontinued in view of the bird flu. Infected chicken being banned, I understood, I plaintively argued back. But what about serving mutton or fish? She didn't bother to reply. From her looks it was apparent she was a vegetarian fundamentalist - the type that drools at the mere mention of the word 'paneer' or 'gobi parantha' or worse, kaddu and arbi! Anyway, I was instantly saddled with a meal of hara-bhara kebab, cabbage-stuffed spring rolls and alu-matar.
Conventional wisdom has it that meat is bad for the heart, cholesterol and what not. Ayatollahs of vegetarianism would probably insist deep fried spring rolls, frightfully spicy hara kebabs and subzi preparations that float in an ocean of oil at wedding meals do wonders to your lipid profile or cardiac condition! Agreed, all vegetarian food is not disagreeable; in fact, Rajasthani food is rather tasty, South Indian is delicious and even Bengali veg is fabulous at times.
Still, I ardently believe that there can be nothing more offensive to the human taste buds than paneer or lauki or kaddu. Tons of paneer invade my house every week because my Canadian-origin, pedigreed Labrador finds that gruesome thing delightful, and gobbles up dollops in seconds. Needless to add, I never touch the stuff.
My suffering at the hands of tyrannical veggies didn't end with the plane journey. Rushed for time in Mumbai, I decided to pick up some fast food to eat in the car en route to Nariman Point from Bandra. Since no McDonald's or Dominos was conveniently located, my colleague suggested a croissant joint, which apparently served some super chicken or sausage croissants. We entered to find two sad-looking cheese and onion variants - the last croissants left in the shop's display cages by hungry Mumbaikars of the locality. Anything non-veg, I dared to query, undeterred by my airline experience. The shocked expression on the salesman's face was reply enough. Okay, okay, sorry I even asked, I mumbled, picked up the dilapidated remnants and forced myself to gulp them down with some diet Coke.
A week later, I took the Shatabdi to Ludhiana to be greeted by the same intolerance. Since chicken was taboo, there was no doubt about which ban came first. Eggs were nyet, nyet. The waiter, who recognised me presumably from my TV appearances, was at least apologetic. Come back next week, Sir, and we will start serving eggs again, he said as if to console. I was served me some cold vegetable cutlet stuffed with yet another subzi I happen to hate - carrots. I have never understood why carrot is referred to with such approval in the expression, 'carrot and stick policy'.
Give me the stick any day, if the alternative is carrot! I had hoped my hosts in Ludhiana would spread out a sumptuous non-veg meal, for the earthy Sardar usually finds a meal inedible without generous helpings of kukkad. Chicken is, indeed, Punjabi by nature and the vice versa is not true. But for once the reverse appeared correct. There was no chicken on the menu, although they tried to make up with lots of fried fish, which didn't quite gel with the rest of the fare.
Mercifully, the conspiracy against non-vegetarians is finally petering out. The Parliament House canteens have resumed chicken. So I gather have airlines. But I am sure the tyrants are displeased about it. This was probably the second time in Independent India's 58-year history that democracy was brutally throttled. I have no doubt that given half a chance their latent tyranny will resurface. I recall an incident when I moved to a rented house in A-1 block of South Delhi's Panchsheel Enclave. This was located just behind Soami Nagar. One day, some worthies from the neighbouring colony landed up, saying nobody was allowed to consume fish or meat in their locality. They produced a document regarding the rules of conduct in Soami Nagar. I was rather baffled, not knowing what they were cribbing about. Finally, they demanded rather categorically that we discontinue our 'obnoxious' non-vegetarian culinary preference for theirs was a 'holy' colony. Angrily, I told them to keep their holiness to themselves and not attempt to expand their zone of intolerance beyond the boundaries of their 'sacred' Soami Nagar.
I am told that a particular shop in Bengali Market is boycotted by the rest of the shopowners because it serves chicken cutlets, shami kebabs and cakes that contain eggs. But unknown to rabid vegetarians, they end up consuming vegetable oils or using soap said to contain beef tallow!
Don't get me wrong, dear vegetarian reader. I uphold your right to vegetarianism. I accommodate sensibilities by shifting to another table if a vegetarian friend seems uncomfortable looking at my plate laden with non-veg delicacies. Live and let live should be one's mantra. But the unseen hand of veggie tyranny doesn't seem to be too happy about that philosophy.

Mitra humorously lashes out his friendly frustration towards fundamentalist vegetarians in India! Mr. Mitra - Have you considered that the pharmacutical industry is behind the situation you describe and is cashing in this uproar surrounding the bird flu? Recently, I read a not so nice article about the 'self-absorbant' vegetarians. I will not even bother quoting the immature article from a juvennile college publication. Being a vegetarian, I can understand Mitra's frustration, but the second publication I mentioned is the one which is 'self absorbed'. Now that I have a wonderful medium of this blog to express my opinions on this, I will do so without further ado.

I prefer to practice a live and let live attitude towards all kinds of diets and hopefully my dealings with my diverse population of friends exemplify that. I don't appreciate infliction of opinion on others. By now, I am used to the blank stares I sometimes get at restaurants when I ask them if they can modify one of their menu items to not include the meat. Some times the restaurants oblige graciously but many times, point me towards their over-priced, wilty garden salads. Luckily for me, I like salads and steamed veggies with salt and pepper :) Lately I have taken to really read food labels and discuss about ingredients with friends and sometimes call the company. It is surprising how many ingredients can be animal derived.

I am a vegetarian due to religious and some personal standards regarding cruelty. The meat industry has become a slaughter factory today, with the most attrocious measures of cost reduction. I won't get into the details here, but there are various grim and graphic resources available, just a google search away. The same cruelty unfortunately is true of the diary industry today. I am determined to pay the extra price for kindness and make necessary life style changes to switch to organic milk and eggs. I agree with the views expressed by Barbara of Tigers and Strawberries in this article (a very well deserved 'Best Post' food blog award). If people killed their own animals for meat, there will be a lot less non-vegetarians in the world today.

I am proud to be a vegetarian, not because my beliefs are supreme, but because for once, I have been able to stand up for something. Among my resolutions to wake up earlier in the morning, complete items on my to-do list, restart abandoned projects, I have been able to continue practicing vegetarianism and stick to my beliefs, in an uninvasive way. If the above sounds fundamentalist, then, well - bring me a dictionary.

I've met my share of 'tyrannous' vegetarians - people who insist on muttering incoherantly under their breath while carrying a raw egg (with shell and all) covered in kitchen napkins, staring disgustingly at their already apologetic room-mates. I understand, and find that over bearing too! But, please, don't blame a poor unsuspecting vegetarian who screams at the sight of raw squids lying in his/her kitchen sink, left by inconsiderate house-mates! Vegetarians come in many flavors, and it is wrong to stereotype them all as 'self-absorbed' or 'fundamentalist'. They are a minority and hence a somewhat oppressed population. Think of the number of products that don't completely reveal their ingredient sources or worse mask ingredients under the two words 'Natural Flavors'. Being a vegetarian in the vast outside world is like having a food allergy, the more information you can extract about the food, the better for you.

I hope this post is not overly opinionated! I express my appreciation to many non-vegetarian friends for their thoughtful consideration every time they have us over! Also, I thank them for accepting food invitations at our place, knowing very well that they will be served boring vegetarian food. Sorry, Mr. Mitra that vegetarians have troubled you :) It is not easy being a vegetarian either (in the US). I do see the satire in your article. It is difficult being different in a crowd... a meat eater in a majority of vegetarians in India or as in my case a vegetarian in a country of mainly meat eaters. Who said life is fair :)