But......

The sambar I cooked today ... kicked some ass! :-)

The most delicious sambar I have ever cooked.
And the recipe for the curious...

Dal - depends on how many ppl you want to feed
Moong Dal - depends on how much you like it

Cook it in a pressure cooker of your choice.

1. In a pan heat oil (of your choice and as much as you like).
2. Splutter mustard seeds, dried red chill and a little fenugreek
seeds.
3. Then add the garlic and let it brown.
4. Then add onions and fry them as much as you want :)
5. Then come in tomatoes and again let them sog as much as it allows.
6. Then add tamarind paste as per your taste and water.
7. Add turmeric powder, sambar powder and chilli powder to taste.
8. Add salt as much as your guests can digest.
9. Cover it and let the mixture cook.
10. After around 5-10 minutes or (50 if you like!) add the cooked dal.
11. Let it boil for 5 minutes.
12. .... And its ready to eat.

See.. its so easy - all it takes is knowing your taste and that of your guests.
:-)

Guten Apetit.

My first disaster in the kitchen

was a pasta dish I tried :-(

It turned out edible but not so lip-smacking good.
Was disappointed. I think I should look at some good
cookery shows about pasta making.

But the pasta ration is over and I dont think I will try it
out any soon :) Thank God (goes my roomie).
There's a nice place in the city center that has awesome pasta
I heard.. will try that out some day and then try out my hand again.
Surprisingly I HAD tried making pasta back in India and it had
turned out pretty well.. Anyway.. There's always a next time

Today's special - Kadhi Pakoda

If actions are anything to go by, I will not have to write anything more if
I show a pic of my finger licking roomie after eating the kadhi pakoda
I made today evening :)

First try and well worth the praise :) Not bad eh!

Clarity

The clouds of uncertainty are gone and there is light :)

Looking for another project now. Not sure of my release date yet.
Will be clear soon.

Hoping to get my next exciting opportunity sooooon.

Easter Weekend Trip - Part I

Had an amazing long weekend during Easter holidays. Went around Belgium
and Netherlands and the trip was really fantastic.

Landed in Brussels, BE and headed straight to Rotterdam, NL in a cute Fiat 500.
The journey was not long and was an easy drive on NL roads. Belgian highways
reminded me of some of the old highways in India - rough, patchy and dented.
NL highways were smooth as butter and driving thro'out the NL was a lovely
experience.

Rotterdam was a totally different from what I expected. Sky-scrapers, modern
architecture, jazzy offices - no this wasn't what I expected in Europe! :) So was
quite an evening walking around town marveling at the modern landscape.

Next day was reserved for Keukenhof - the famous Tulip Gardens of NL. Was so
excited about visiting this place that every minute delayed felt like I was gonna
miss something there. Thanks to the online tickets we bought we didn't have to
waste time in the long queues outside. From the moment one enters the garden
to the time one gets out - one is total awe of nature. The manicured landscape of
the garden is inviting and makes you want to spend more time with nature. The
thousands of different varieties of tulips - I can't even begin to describe. Till the
time I visited Keukenhof, I had only one picture of the tulip in my mind. After this
visit I am a little more conversant and if you don't ask me the botanical names I can
even tell you what all kinds :) Also saw the famous tulip farms on the way and they
were just like I imagined them! Sigh, couldn't get closer to them :(
So after a long day marveling, wondering and saluting nature headed back to
Rotterdam.

Then came the most tiring day of the entire trip. Hadn't planned it that way, but
since there was a car at disposal - made the most of it. Headed towards Delft - a
scenic, picturesque town on the way to Den Haag. It is known most for the blue and
white ceramic ware or Delftware as its called. It was a treat to the eyes watching
the cute little windmills in blue and white. Delft like most of NL has lot of canals
inside town and of course small little bridges over them.

After this lovely detour the next stop was Den Haag or The Hague. It used to be the
capital in earlier times and houses a lot of offices even today. The beach was choc-a-
-bloc with people and so was the parking, of course with cars. After spending some
time with Nord See (North Sea in English) we headed north to Amsterdam.

Amsterdam was an eye opener - literally. ;) Well before we go there let me also
mention - it reminded me of Mumbai. The central station looks very similar to
VT (or the new CST). The crowds are also similar -well demographically Indians
are a minority like the foreigners are back at CST. But the crowd is as much. It was
difficult to walk without nudging or being nudged. To get a respite we took the
Canal ride. It was cool looking at Amsterdam, its buildings, the various districts,
the people, their boat offices and homes (yes people do work out of their boats - how
cool is that!). It was in that ride that I came to know about the amusing central
station. It apparently is built on some 9000 wooden poles and amazes one no end of
how much rail traffic it handles day in and day out! Now comes the eye opener part.
Visiting the red light district of Amsterdam is a kind of ritual every tourist performs
while in Amsterdam. I was no exception. After a brief search we reached the narrow
alleys of the district. And I couldn't keep my eyes shut... lol. They were beautiful
women, barely clad, standing in the window of their one-room apartments waiting
for customers or negotiating with probable ones. That was a bold display and no
trace of shame or shyness to it. There were tons of people around flocking to see
these beauties and they were generous enough in giving them what they came for!
There was no turning back after this and so I headed to a show. Contradictory to my
gut feel I wasn't grossed out at all. It was pretty well done and even had acts like in
a regular theater act. There were sections to please different sets and to ensure
everybody went back happy - lol. So I came out with a smile on my face rather than
a grimace - and that was a pleasant surprise.

It was a long night already and the way back to the hotel in Rotterdam was even
longer. I enjoyed Amsterdam and would like to experience more of it some day again
- and this time a visit to a 'coffee shop' will NOT be missed. ;)

Thats the NL trip. Will write about the BE part soon. So long..