tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-138343512026-10-15T22:28:41.870-04:00BlogpourriUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger584125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-32177186179671418872015-11-25T11:09:00.000-05:002015-12-15T11:14:32.615-05:00South Indian Vegetarian Recipes for Your Holiday Feast
A road map for a vegetarian Thanksgiving. The entire essay is up at The Aerogram, including a recipe for Cranberry Pickle.
One of the best memories of all our years celebrating Thanksgiving is
the year we realized that the holiday had less to do with exactly what
form the dinner took and more with getting to spend time with family and
friends. It seems like a simple idea, but it Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-55184249648375667392015-11-09T10:36:00.000-05:002015-11-09T10:41:21.923-05:00FotoWeek DC 2015
For folks in DC, MD and VA, a week-long
photography festival and exhibition is currently on at various locations in DC and
Virginia. If you're in town, more than a few look like they could be
worth your time.
A complete list of events is at this link: http://www.fotodc.org/fotoweekdc/
Starting today: "In a special nighttime display from November 9-12, the
United States Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-91465991993336803112015-10-19T13:25:00.004-04:002015-10-19T13:25:54.396-04:00Two Avalakki (Pressed Rice Flakes) Recipes from North Karnataka, and a Peek Into a Kitchen of the Past
The entire essay and the recipes are on The Aerogram. Here are a few excerpts.
Avalakki is a staple in North Karnataka cuisine. Avalakki Uppittu, a
type of semi-dry porridge, is a popular breakfast dish. The rice flakes
are also used to make quick snacks eaten late in the afternoon. A few
basic spices and ingredients are all it takes to turn avalakki into
dishes that are flavorful but Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-36725522054760026222015-05-23T07:30:00.000-04:002015-05-23T07:31:19.213-04:00South Indian Recipe Series: What is Tamarind?
My new essay with two recipes, one for Tomato Dal, which uses
tamarind, and the other for a delicious accompaniment to the Dal, a
recipe for Baby Radish Raita.
The essay and recipes are available on The Aerogram.
Tomato Dal
Baby Radish Raita
The flavor of tamarind — a fruity sourness — is a cornerstone of
South Indian cooking. It’s more often than not paired with jaggery,
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-72399979370845491842015-05-01T11:37:00.000-04:002015-05-01T11:40:46.414-04:00Recipe: Flax Seed Chutney Powder
You will find many websites touting the health benefits of flax seed, the tiny, shiny seeds of the plant that gives us linen, but this post is a recipe for an Indian condiment called Chutney Powder (Chutney Pudi or Podi in the various South Indian languages, pudi/podi meaning powder).
Chutney Powder is served with a variety of Indian dishes such as Idlis (rice/lentil cakes), Dosa (rice/lentil Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-62413515967853537412015-04-28T15:03:00.001-04:002015-04-28T15:15:45.274-04:00Lincoln Cottage: Washington, D.C.'s Hidden Gem
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<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-49159840935161132102015-04-17T08:41:00.000-04:002015-04-17T08:44:05.733-04:00South Indian Vegetarian Homestyle Cooking: A Guide to Essential Spices
My new essay on the basic spices used in South Indian vegetarian cuisine includes a recipe for Potato and Onion Curry. An excerpt is below. The entire essay is on The Aerogram.
Indian cuisine is vastly diverse, not only in terms of ingredients,
traditions, and techniques, but also in terms of levels of complexity —
ranging from simple curries and chutneys to the biryanis that demand
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-35185502763418610082015-02-13T11:07:00.001-05:002015-02-13T11:08:05.407-05:00Semolina Porridge: How to Make Your Upma and Eat It Too
On AntiSerious, my essay on a childhood dish I learned to hate and then learned to love as an adult. The entire essay is here: The Pagan's Progress: How To Make Your Upma and Eat It Too
Then on one of my trips back to my parents’ home, I stumbled upon the
problem with my Uppittu. Or the answer to the problem. As my mom stood
over her stove, her die-hard cast-iron wok held firmly in one handUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-41904562536704760282014-11-26T07:25:00.000-05:002015-02-04T14:42:52.113-05:00New Recipes for Dips and Appetizers Inspired by Indian Condiments
My new food essay is up on The Aerogram with two recipes.
In my quest for dips that are a delicious departure from the ordinary, I
decided to re-purpose a couple of types of condiments that play
supporting roles in South Indian cooking — chutneys and bharthas.
Bharthas are somewhat of an unknown quantity outside of desi circles,
and while various types of chutneys are popular items onUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-89451242502573161332014-11-25T11:50:00.000-05:002015-02-04T14:44:09.852-05:00The Evolution of an Immigrant's Thanksgiving
My essay on Thanksgivings past.
We had left behind a culture that boasts of many festivals and rituals
that bring families together. With extended families still living in
close proximity, impromptu family gatherings are still the norm in our
hometowns. Once we moved here we got busy with school and work calendars
and we regularly lost track of those festivals (and still do), only aUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-72483691174467151942014-07-22T11:41:00.002-04:002014-11-26T07:16:00.997-05:00Book Review: Sam Kean's The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons
The older one, who's now 14, discovered Sam Kean first through The Disappearing Spoon and was hooked. The Violinist's Thumb followed quickly and there was no question about not pre-ordering The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons.
Here is a portion of his review of The Dueling Neurosurgeons:
The fastest
and most powerful computers in the whole world cost millions of dollars
to build and Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-48790148139242396102014-06-11T13:39:00.000-04:002014-06-18T09:09:36.639-04:00Documentary: The Last Man on the Moon
Anytime I hear about a human in space, I take all of about 10 seconds to marvel at the level of technological sophistication that is necessary to accomplish space flight. The rest of the time, it's the human story that leaves me awestruck.
In fact, it's the same with any endeavor (such as climbing mountains or plumbing the depths of the ocean) that involves extreme hardship and whose demands Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-69429128161235535192014-02-07T09:23:00.000-05:002014-02-07T09:23:35.303-05:00Theater Courses for Children in Kolkata (Calcutta)
This information is from The Creative Arts' Facebook Page
Objectives: Theatre Skills, Life skills, Creativity and Imagination :
The Creative Arts Theatre Workshop is dedicated to providing an
atmosphere for children to explore, imagine, create and have fun
through the world of theatre arts. We impart Theatre Skills like
Expressions, Acting, Voice, Speech, Body Training, Rhythm, Music,Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-21199025821965453072013-11-15T10:14:00.000-05:002015-02-04T14:43:07.426-05:00Easy Tomato Pickle Recipe
The recipe that accompanies the 'Food is the Tie That Binds' essay on preserving family recipes for future generations is also up on The Aerogram.
Pickling is usually a process that takes days if not weeks, but in less than a couple of hours, you could have on your hands this tomato pickle designed to delight your taste buds and impress your guests.
The entire recipe, with detailed notes,Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-18346005906872844692013-11-11T09:24:00.000-05:002013-11-15T10:15:26.687-05:00Working Out the Kinks in the Inter-Generational Recipe-Transfer Protocol
My new essay on The Aerogram:
So each time we sat down at my breakfast table I would bring out not only all our assorted notes, my computer, and pens and pe...ncils, but also my measuring cups and spoons. One day, even a golf ball ended up on the table. My mother-in-law held up her fingers for the nth time to indicate a piece of jaggery or tamarind, I forget now, and since we had decided that Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-5383550580929964752013-10-26T11:40:00.001-04:002015-02-04T14:43:43.187-05:00What Makes Food Comfort Food?
The Aerogram published my essay on why a bowl of rice and some pickle is my comfort food.
On any other day, late night infomercials would give me company through a bedtime snack, but that day, with the occasional swish of a car whizzing past the house for company, I stood barefoot in the kitchen and polished off the entire bowl.
Not for the first time, I wondered what it was that drove me to Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-34190209541839692902013-10-23T05:31:00.000-04:002013-10-23T06:26:27.445-04:00Pratham Books is a Finalist in the Google Impact Challenge
I wrote a while ago about Pratham books and how refreshing it was to come across stories for children set in India, written in language that is suitable for children's reading levels, and told in rich color and visuals.
The books are categorized by age groups and are available in a few Indian languages in addition to English. For example, the Tell Me Now! Series, Khikkhil Tota (Hindi, MarathiUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-87332565723175114212013-08-22T11:12:00.001-04:002013-08-22T11:12:46.672-04:00Amazing Resource for Research and Statistics on Indian Immigrants in the US
"The nearly 1.9 million Indian immigrants living in the United States in 2011 represented the third-largest immigrant group by country of origin, behind Mexico and China. The share of Indian immigrants among all foreign born in the United States grew from less than 0.5 percent in 1960 to almost 5 percent in 2011.
[snip]
This article reports on a wide range of characteristics of Indian Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-50342982493022462932013-06-19T22:08:00.000-04:002013-06-19T22:08:34.891-04:00Life as an Immigrant in Fairfax County
Fairfax County is one of the most diverse locations in the country.
Its residents come from every continent on Earth except Antarctica. A morning walk to drop off your child at school can put you within earshot of the more than hundred different languages spoken in Fairfax County (more than a third of the population speaks a language other than English at home). The student body in Fairfax Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-64924830954253497182013-06-12T00:06:00.000-04:002013-06-12T00:06:10.332-04:00Let Children Have a Say in What They Eat
A clap of thunder, a bolt of lightning and it hit me that this was it. The answer to my prayers to help me steer clear of the trap that many parents around me seemed to be unable to extricate themselves from — one in which feeding their children healthy food turned into wars of attrition.
My post on why it's important to involve children in the kitchen and tips on how to do Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-3296672618995076232013-06-06T20:55:00.001-04:002013-06-06T20:56:07.195-04:00Middle School Rules
Jessica Lahey on how 'regular' rules differ from 'middle school' rules.
Middle school rules. Different from the regular rules. Elusive, slippery things
I'm only beginning to master, and I have spent the past five years as a
professional middle school referee.
Read the rest of her thoughtful post on her blog for pointers on dealing with the all too difficult middle school years.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-86050786729310524582013-06-02T13:03:00.000-04:002013-06-02T13:03:09.398-04:00Even the Simplest of Things Come With Memories Attached
Seemebadhnekaayi curry with rasam rice was one of my favorite dishes as a long-braided teenager growing up in India. The squishy sweetness of the vegetable, a member of the squash family, gelled blissfully with the tangy spiciness of the rasam, a gravy-type dish usually eaten with rice.
[...]
I turned my sights to the other vegetables on my list, left the coyote squash where I had found Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-84530606357321416132013-05-02T13:53:00.000-04:002013-10-09T11:20:55.977-04:00A Spoonful of Pickle Makes Life Go Down Easy
At 2am on a cold,
damp weeknight, the highway that connects Washington, D.C. to its Virginia suburbs
was nearly empty. I had the run of its deserted lanes as I hurtled through the
darkness towards home with this single tantalizing thought on my mind – a bowl
of hot rice, ghee and spicy mango pickle.
The past several
days and nights had been one unending blur at work and the next few weeks Unknownnoreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-41738726175006661192013-04-24T10:01:00.000-04:002013-04-24T10:14:54.184-04:00Why Does the Higgs Particle Matter?
Physicist Frank Wilczek's essay is absolutely lovely to read, and inspiring, because it considers not only the science but also the human aspects involved in an inquiry of this magnitude:
The scientific work leading to the Higgs particle discovery involved thousands of engineers and physicists, not to mention billions of taxpayers, from all over the world co-operating to pursue a common Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-29928230791797258432013-04-18T01:56:00.000-04:002013-04-29T10:34:44.225-04:00When All That's Left of a Pressure Cooker are Fragments and Hurt
As an intern at a communications consulting company many years ago, I had to get familiar with the firm's documents and their various formats and templates. The resident tech guru pointed to the computer screen and said, "Click on that icon." Try as I might, I couldn't see an image of Jesus, Mary or any other religious figure. I turned to him and shook my head. "The icon. Here." He pointed Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0