2011 Cricket Fever

It's about time I post something here, been busy with mundane work. Anyway, let me get back to the topic which is "Cricket". I have been hearing lot of Cricket talk everywhere these days. As you might already know, World Cup Cricket is starting this month. Hubby dear got the TV set up just in time. Yes, we were living in dark until now without the companion of Idiot Box as the set up involved some logistics to be figured out because of the compatibility issue. L is a die hard fan of Cricket. Even though, he had stayed overseas for almost 20 years, his fondness for Cricket has not diminished. He used to follow the sport through Internet while we were there. He is very excited this year to watch the live action.

As you may already know, Cricket in India is not just a sport, it's much more than that. People live their dreams thru this sport. I like Cricket because it unifies all of us. People forget their prejudice, background, differences etc and route for India's victory. It is truly unity in diversity. They are so crazy about this sport that they hardly work when the India match is going on. I've been noticing lots of articles in the sports section pertaining to the world cup. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore is almost all geared up for India Vs England match on Feb. 27th. I heard in the radio today that lots of people from Kolkatta are coming for this match since this was initially scheduled for Eden Gardens in that city. I'm looking forward to watch the mania that will go on here during the world cup. I'm sure lot of craziness goes on when it comes to Cricket.
Reliance World Cup (1987) was the one I had followed very closely. After that, I have followed other World Cups (until 1996) but not in depth. I don't plan on gluing to TV this time but I definitely plan to watch here and there and follow the highlights.
As usual, people have high expectations for Indian team and they don't want any thing less than the World Cup. Anil Kumble has quoted in today's newspaper saying he is happy that he doesn't need to go to the field and face the pressure of playing against England. I don't blame him, that's really lot of pressure. I hope we win the cup this time. I'm sure S & R will be into Cricket by the end of this season.
We witnessed Mysore 400th dasara celebration last October and attended Kannada Sahitya Sammelana which happened in Bengaluru after 40 years. It's good to be part of the history. And now World Cup and do you know that we are one of the countries hosting it? Anyway, I plan to keep you all posted with the Cricket mania that goes on here when I come across any crazy fan or moment.

Everybody wants it...

Yesterday as usual, I picked up my kids from the bus stop after they got off the school bus. Their bus is one of the buses which doesn't come inside the community and the stop is in front of the gate. Kids can come by themselves as it is safe with the security guards watching and making sure they are going the right way and S being with R, I need not worry about getting them. But since I'm home and not working yet, I have made this as part of my routine and want to bond with them whenever I can and however I can while I can. Also, I can make out from their faces how their day went at school. As a typical parent, I ask R and S as to how their day was at school and try to listen to them as patiently as I can. Sometimes they both want to share the information at the same time and that turns into another fight.
Anyway, coming back to the topic, another question I ask is how was their lunch. The menu for lunch for the week usually consists of mix of american and indian food: poha, paratha, pasta, macaroni, sandwiches, fusion food etc. I prefer not to send only indian since they eat indian food at home no matter what. Also, I want to send something they prefer and can enjoy with their friends.
I had sent macaroni yesterday and wasn't aware that would become an issue for my little boy. When I asked him about lunch, he started off rambling...."Everybody wants it, everybody wants it, my friends were asking me: can I have some? can I have some ?" It was pretty amusing to me to see his pouted face. I could make out from his facial expression and gesture that he didn't want to share his food. Then I asked out of curiosity, "did you share?" and he said "yes" with a grin on his face. I was surprised to hear that. When it comes to sharing his favorite stuff, R is not a fan of it and he becomes so adamant that he throws a big tantrum. This was surprising for S also because she has been a victim of R's not sharing attitude, so she exclaimed " you shared?". "Yeah, I shared akka, I had to. How many times should I tell you?". It was very painful for R to answer again and again. His response "had to" made both of us curious again. Leaving that thought aside, I felt for R and I advised him that he didn't have to share if he didn't want to and asked him as to what made him share. Also, I got little concerned thinking the quantity I had sent was not enough to share with his friends. R pouted again and told me the real scoop: "they told me they wouldn't invite me for the b'day party if I didn't share". Bingo ! there comes the truth of sharing. Then, I tried to convince him by saying it was okay not to share and that they would still invite him but he wasn't ready to change his conclusion. My next thought was it wasn't hygienic to share the food especially these little ones and asked him how they shared. S intervened and explained to me that "Didis" in the school use another spoon and help them share the food. That eased me a bit. Every class room until Grade 2 in their school have helpers/assistants and they are called "Didis". Didis help these little kids.
When I was packing lunch this morning, R asked me as to what I was packing (even though I had told him last night) I said "Aloo sandwich", he started again "everybody wants it"story with the same expression, gesture and emotion. At this point, I realized there was no point in trying to convince him to change his conclusion, therefore, I promised him that next time I will pack his favorite food extra in another lunch box so that he can share with his friends. He smiled and said "Okay !". Even though, it was amusing and funny to hear this story and see him narrate the incident with strong emotions, we had got tired of his whining. Finally he stopped and it was a big relief to all of us. It surely is amazing to know how little kids' minds work.

Welcome 2011

Wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year !!
2011 is already here in Bengaluru, we just welcomed it 19 mins ago. People are bursting firecrackers everywhere. I hope the new decade brings lots of peace and happiness to the world.
NOTE: 2010 retro post will be coming soon.

Rasmalai

The story of learning how to make Rasmalai started about five years ago. Our family had gone to one of our friend's house for her son's second birthday party. M had made these yummies for the dessert. For some reason, I was under the impression that this was one of the sweets which was hard to make at home. When I saw this on the b'day menu, I was astonished to know that this could be made at home. I have not experimented much with desserts even though my husband and son both have a sweet tooth. I expressed my desire of learning to my friend after the party and she mentioned that she could do the demo sometime. My motivation was not strong enough to pursue my learning desire immediately as I continued my life journey through pregnancy, delivery, and sleepless nights with the infant for the second time.

Over the years, my life became extremely busy with an infant/toddler at home, going to school to earn MBA, spend time with my daughter and husband, and other things. Balancing home, work and school became my top priority and this desire had completely vanished from my mind. But it still used to peep in my brain to remind me whenever I ate Rasmalais at a party or at a restaurant. Having a desire without having much free time on hand was not helping me at all. I thought this was one of those things which I would get over it eventually.

This was the case until last year when we met again in one of the b'day parties. I reminded my friend M about my desire. It was really amusing to her because I had expressed it numerous times but never made an effort to learn. I made a plan with her to meet on Veteran's day at her house. Again, that plan didn't work out as my project at work was going on a roller coaster ride and I had to work overtime hours averaging about 60 to 70 hours a week which really sucked. Since I was taking time-off in December, I thought I could do it then, but that didn't work out either. Finally this desire to learn became a reality on Feb. 14^th 2010 at M's place.

Thanks M for doing the demo and teaching me how to make these goodies! I appreciate your time and patience during the whole process. Okay, okay ! I will end my story here and get into the recipe before you all yell at me :-)

Step 1:

Pour half gallon milk into a pan and let it boil until it reaches the boiling point. When the milk has reached this point, turn off the stove and add 1 scoop of lime juice. Stir the milk after adding lime juice for a minute or so. Allow the mixture to settle down for about 5 minutes.

Tip #1: Make sure you add the right quantity of lime juice; my friend indicated adding more than required makes the Paneer hard.

Once it has settled down, drain the mixture using a cheese cloth spread over a colander. Squeeze the residue hard to remove the remaining water.

Tie the cheese cloth containing paneer to a faucet and let it stay for at least two hours but not more than five hours. The reason being paneer has to retain right amount of water so that it is neither too soft nor too dry.

Step 2:

While you are waiting for paneer to be ready, you can get started with step 2. Soak about handful of cashews in water for about 30 mins or so.

Take about half a gallon of milk in a thick vessel and start the boiling process. The boiling process should continue until the milk thickens. Meanwhile, grind the soaked cashews to form a paste. Once the milk has reached a thick consistency, switch off the stove and allow it to cool.

Now, add the cashew paste to the milk and the following ingredients: saffron, pista, elaichi, sugar (about two cups but you can adjust according to your taste).

After getting the milk syrup ready as shown above and while we wait for the residue, there is one more thing you can get started with for Step 3.

Fill one of the pressure cooker containers with a sugar syrup which is made up of 2 ½ cup of water and 1 ½ cup of sugar. Depending on the quantity of rasmalais you are making, you may need to make the sugar syrup in more than one container.

Step 3:

Later when the paneer residue is all set to use, transfer the residue to a big plate and start kneading to make a soft and smooth dough.

Tip #2: Paneer residue should not be too hard or soft. If it is too soft, paneer discs may not puff up during osmosis process and being dry make the discs hard.

Tip #3: Make sure you knead the dough well as this helps in preventing the Rasmalai discs to crack later.

Make small discs out of the dough and put it in a sugar syrup and pressure cook it for one whistle. After one whistle, cook for about five to seven minutes on a medium flame.

Once it gets cooked, the disc should double in size. Take out the discs from the syrup and put it on a plate to cool down.

Squeeze out the water from the disc and drop it in the milk syrup prepared in Step 2.

Warm the milk slightly with the discs floating in it.

Yummy Yummy Rasmalais are ready to serve! Chill the Rasmalais before serving for best results.

Prarthane

Aum Shuklambaradharam vishnum
Shashivarnam chaturbhujam
Prasanna vadanam dhyayet
Sarva vighnopa shantaye


Meaning:


Aum, attired in white and all-pervading,
O moon-hued, four-shouldered One
with smiling face so pleasing,
upon You we meditate
for removing all obstacles.


Source: http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/lg/lg_ch-11.html