Oh la la! Pickles!

Pickles spruce up the flavors of rice and dal or Paranthas. In winters pickles are a favorite treat with khatta-meetha-spicy flavor.

There is only one thing to say "Oh la la!".

Connoisseur's delight

Some pickles are so delicious & unique in flavor that one keeps coming back for more. It's a treat for the taste buds.

Pickles have been prepared from time immemorial to preserve fruits and vegetables to be eaten in a season when they are not available. They are an integral part of Indian cuisine and are eaten daily with lunch or dinner along with the main preparations. Most common and popular pickles are that of Mango, Lemon, Aamla (gooseberry), Ginger, Carrot, Chillies, and Garlic. Chutneys prepared and eaten popularly are made of Mint, Coconut, Tomato, Chilli. Indians prefer to make their pickles and chutneys hot with lot of chilli pepper used in the preparation.

"Khaana accha ho to dil khush ho jaata hai, lekin agar saath mein pickles aur chutneys ho to aur bhi mazedaar hota hai. Yun keh lo sone pe suhaga ho jaata hai".

Chutneys and pickles add additional flavor to even ordinary food. Zayeka badal jata hai. Health wise also they enhance digestion process in the body if balanced amount of spices are used in their preparation.

Amla (Gooseberry) Pickle

Amla (Gooseberry) Pickle

Ingredients : Amla(Gooseberry), 3-4 tablespoon of Oil, Methi Seeds, Asafoetida (Hing), Turmeric, Salt.

Steps to follow :

1. Wash 10-15 Amla.
2. Heat the oil in the pan.
3. Put methi seeds in hot oil. It will change the color from yellow to black or brown.
4. Add some hing.
5. Put amla in the pan.Add pinch of turmeric and salt to taste.
6. Let it simmer for 10-15 mins.
7. Amla will become soft.
8. Let it cool.
9. Enjoy Amla pickle with paranthas.

Red chillies - Lemon pickle

India is the country of the spices and pickles.
Red chillies are easily available in winter. Lemon add zest to the chillies. The pickle is a delicacy with the tinge and spicy taste. Can be enjoyed with paranthas. They add ultimate taste to the food.

Here are the steps to be followed to prepare the pickle:

1. Cut 10 - 15 red chillies along longitudinal axis.
2. Heat oil in the pan.
3. Put some mustard seed. Let them split.
4. Add cut red chillies.
5. Now add some turmeric, a pinch of sugar and salt according to taste.
6. Let it cool.
7. Squeeze two lemons on it and put squeezed lemons in the pickle.
8. Keep the preparation in sun for 5-6 hours. Enjoy the delicious pickle.

Aao road cross karein - dodha dodha bhaaga bhagaa saa.

With the jam packed roads and so much of traffic chaos, a foot over bridge or a regulated zebra crossing is needed for pedestrians. It is a fight or you can say race for the fittest and the meek may not survive. An old man or a portly middle aged lady when trying to cross the road will need to bring to fore the battle readiness and the skills of the young by being ready to run as soon as an opportunity arises, and there is an opportunity to dodge fewer vehicles and smaller vehicles. The kids may not even try this arduous and dangerous stunt if they are alone. A small stretch of land of say 80 feet is like a battlefield that needs to be one with lot of planning, deftness of feet, and with a little or sometimes lot of risk.

Is it so critical for the drivers that human life is less important for them than reaching some place a little bit earlier? Think of a situation where a school is there right on a main road and the road is connected to a well known IT Hub and financial district. The kids have a hard time crossing the road as the IT professionals going through an ever present time crunch in their lives are trying to steal some extra time by driving fast and furious.

There are simple solutions to this problem - a foot over bridge or a regulated zebra crossing. An unmanned zebra crossing is like an unbridled horse. A Foot over bridge is also like a small hill hike for senior citizens. Any other viable solution??

Moral of the story -

If vehicles curb the speed, pedestrians cross the road.
If no; pedestrians wait for a chance and run run!!! It is RACE of the fittest and the fastest.

US Consulate sponsored Children's fest at Kaleidoscope

Story Telling

US Consulate sponsored a Kid's fest at Kaleidoscope center for learning resources on the occasion of Children day. The festival was held from 11 to 14 November, 2011. The festival included a Book Poster Exhibition. The theme was based on kid's story books. The paintings drawn by kids related to the characters from the story books. Kids who participated got a certificate from US Consulate General and kaleidoscope.

Hand Painting

The festival included activities like story telling, art and craft, meeting the characters from stories, face and hand painting, as well as a Puppet show. The festival did not require any registration fees and promised lot of entertainment.

Parents and kids

As one entered the learning center the volunteers greeted with a warm smile. The registration process involved giving name of the kids, parents and the contact numbers. At the time of signing out the kids got cool mouse pads with a logo of US Consulate.

They wrapped up the festival with a very impressive, lively and cheerful puppet show based on the story of "The Wizard of Oz". The kids enjoyed the show a lot and the entire audience applauded. The moral of the show was "Be grateful of the family that you have got and the home you belong to. There is no place like HOME".

Go green. --- Save Earth.

Restriction on Plastic Bags - Does it Work?

Yes, I agree that the restriction on Plastic bags implemented by local government in Hyderabad has brought down the use of plastic bags as now many people carry their own cloth bags to avoid paying money for Plastic bags. We can see some people taking their own bags to the retail marts, local shops and even chic Malls. Some very thin plastic bags are made in such a way that they are not recyclable and they pollute the environment by clogging the water sewerage systems. Since they cannot be reused and plastic being non-bio-degradable by nature such thin plastic bags occupy large tracts of waste land, occupy and start degrading the water bodies and natural environment. That way this ruling to not use plastic bags of a thickness lower than 40 microns is commendable.

But the point to be debated is why use Plastic bags at all when there is an option available to use cloth or jute (environmental friendly) bags. We should question the reason behind the shops, marts and malls selling plastic bags of any kind. People who don't carry their own bags have the option of buying plastic bags of different sizes - small for Rs 2, medium size for Rs 3 and large size for Rs 5. Would it not be better if the shops started selling only cloth bags? This will be a good way of educating and making people aware about not using plastic bags.

One day I was standing in the payment queue in Spencer's and a lady was in front of me. Fashionably dressed, she was busy on her Apple iPhone and kind of lost in her own world. The cashier asked her if she had her own bags to carry her stuff. She shook her head in negative and indicated that she needed the bags from the shop. The cashier put her things in at least 5 plastic bags and she had a very casual attitude towards that. In her purchased items were mostly organic food items so in one way she wanted to protect herself from harmful chemicals (pesticides, fertilizers) but on the other side she was buying plastic bags which would do a lot of harm to the environment.

Everyone should do their 2 cents towards helping the future generation by preserving and protecting nature. There should be a concerted effort towards bringing awareness in educated still unaware on unconcerned folks. At the same time the shops should also stop selling plastic bags and only sell bio-degradable and environmental friendly shopping bags. This initiative will only yield positive results if each and every citizen uses Eco-friendly bags.

We ourselves are unthinkingly exploiting our resources. It depends on the willingness of the people to change their perceptions and readiness to alter their present use of natural resources. Management in the stores will have to take a step ahead and sell cloth bags instead of plastic bags.

Be environmental friendly!!

Dev Anand Sir - A True Legend of Hindi Cine World

It is difficult to pay tributes to a legend like Dev Anand when there is a personal connection as well. Dev Sir was from Gurdaspur, my place of Birth. He was always remembered with lot of fondness by dwellers of Gurdaspur, even though he made Mumbai (Bombay) his home later on. He had a charm beyond compare amongst his peers, with young men and women of 1950’s, 60’s following him as his true fans and people of later decades looking in awe at a legendary entertainer.
Unique was the swagger, the way he walked with an easy bend showing his inclination towards being an eternal romantic. His head shake, his hopping feet when he sang to the heroines, the beautiful and charming smile all made the fans sucked in to his handsome personality and stylish flair. In the golden oldies where he acted as the romantic lead he enacted many songs which have become legendary just like him – mai jindagi ka saath nibhaata chala gaya, yeh dil na hota aawaara, abhi na jao chhod kar, tere mere sapne ab ek rang hain.
For any actor or star to draw hoards of fans it is but natural that he needs to show some unique traits. Dev Anand’s eyes were those of an ever positive romantic who loved life, loved beauty and was extremely passionate about movies. He kept on going till his last days working on what he loved the most. His spirit was always young defying his age and frail health. He is gone and has left behind a legacy that has made his name, his image immortal amongst.
He inspires us to be truly passionate about the work we do, to be always positive about the present and to be in love with oneself to truly remain unaffected by the critics and keep on working till we have the strength and energy to continue working. Many salutes to the young at heart, the evergreen hero – Dev Sir!