World Cup 2011 - My Indian Squad

The Playing 11
1.   Sachin Tendulkar
2.   Gautam Gambhir
3.   Virender Sehwag
4.   Suresh Raina
5.   Yuvraj Singh
6.   Mahendra Singh Dhoni
7.   Yusuf Pathan
8.   Harbhajan Singh
9.   Praveen Kumar
10. Zaheer Khan
11. Ashish Nehra

The Reserves
12. Virat Kohli
13. Rohit Sharma
14. Munaf Patel
15. Sreesanth/Parthiv Patel/R Ashwin.
      (Would prefer Cover Wicket Keeper -Parthiv)

Chicken Malvani -- the making

dt:7 dec 2010

Ok last Sunday we(my brother n me) got back to cooking .We decided on Saturday that we would go for a new recipe this time and bhai suggested we must go for Malvani Chicken.


Malvani cuisine is the standard cuisine of the Konkan region of Maharashtra and Goa, and some northern parts of West Karnataka. Although Malvani cuisine is predominantly non-vegetarian, there are many vegetarian delicacies. Although it is an independent cuisine, it overlaps Maharashtrian cuisine and Goan cuisine. Malvan is a town in the Sindhudurg district on the west coast of Maharashtra.


Ideally we start with a lot of recipes on the net and then zero in on  the one which we find easier to understand/prepare.

Of all the Chicken recipes I have tried over the last year or so this was the best.

Ingredients :
1kg Chicken (cleaned) .
1 Coconut
Garlic,Ginger,Turmeric Powder,Onions(4),Tomatoes(2),Red chillies(8-10),Black Pepper,Bada Phool (Garam Masala), Jeera,Coriander seeds etc etc...

Getting down to the recipe for future reference :

1.Marinate the Chicken


a.We prepared Ginger Garlic paste using one inch of ginger and 3 cloves of lehsun .Add some water and get and use a mixer to get the paste ready.
b.Marinate the Chicken with 1 spoon turmeric powder,1 spoon salt,and the Ginger Garlic Paste.

2.Prepare The Malvani Masala

a.The Malvani Masala ingredients.
Here is what I did
1) 3/4 tea cup coriander seeds
2) 1plus 1/4 tea cup dried red chillies (Used around 8 )
3) 2 star anise (Bada phool -Garam Masala)
4) 1 large spoon black pepper
5) 1/4 cup jeera .
6) Used a few Garam masala spices to add my touch to it ;-)
Once u find all these fry them and grind it or grind without frying to get an aromatic masala.The malvani Masala.

3.Coconut paste (Masala base)

Take the Coconut - Grate one whole coconut . Chop the onion into long pieces
Now heat the pan and put 1 table spoon oil in pan.
First put chopped onion and fry well till it turns transparent brown.
Remove aside after frying, now put grated coconut in pan and oil if needed, fry the coconut till it turns slight brown (Dont burn it otherwise it spoils the taste )
Keep it aside for cooling.

 

Now in a grinder put the fried onions, fried coconut, 2 to 3 tea spoon Malwani Masala(prepared previously). ,1 inch ginger, 7 to 8 cloves of garlic, 1 teaspoon haldi, 1 tomato and grind well, dont grind till a soft paste. Make a rough paste.


4.Good to Go
Now keep the utensil in which you will make chicken on gas.

Put 2 table spoon oil. Put 1 chopped onion .Fry till it turns brown. Add tomatoes, curry leaves and fry well.

Now add paste of Coconut(Masala Base) and  stir well.
Keep the gas slow cover with lid and wait till the paste leaves oil.Stir in between .

After oil leaves, put the marinated chicken pcs in it and stir well. Again keep the lid for 5 mins. So that the masala mixes well with the chicken.

Now pour warm water in it -- Add water as per gravy consistency needed (  thick or thin gravy ).
Put 2 teaspoon salt(as per ur taste) and  then keep for boiling.
After 30 mins check if the chicken is boiled, if boiled then you can remove from gas and set aside.


5.The Result
At the end of all that effort what you get is a chicken dish which is rich in flavour and Aroma.Truly amazing it gives you a satisfying experience :-)

Added Label Cloud to My Heart.....

Its just a feature add to the blog. I wanted to add label clouds to my blog to keep a count of what topics I have been blogging for sometime now.

I have been reading so many blogs but somehow it always skipped my mind that my own blog doesnt feature a label cloud.

So Google comes to the rescue allows me a gadget to display  the label cloud on my blog page.A label cloud is nothing but a list which groups all blogs in your domain according to the labels you have provided for a given blog. It helps users to navigate through the blog for subjects close to their heart without wasting much time.

So if you are looking to have people spend more time on your blog then the CLOUD is a must have for you.

Cheers.

Getting your blog to be noticed by Google.

Ok I may not have been an active blogger for long .But hey guys who doesn't want his or her blog to feature on google's search results and that too on the first page.

Though I had read a lot of articles in the past to achieve this...I never really implemented any of those as I had other things to worry about then.Now that I am slightly free I have once again ventured into this journey to achieve more hits to my page.And that my dear friends is not an easy job .

Though I have a few friends who can help me out with this right now.But knowing myself  I don't like things when they come too easily.It has to be hard fought.The victory has to be cherished.So I decided to get it done My WAY...and that as my close friends would know is by consulting Google itself.

Just Imagine Google searching blogs to find out a way to get my blog on go-ogles search .That sounds weird...complex...it may sound to you But not to the next explorer ..who may stumble on to this page to get success for his blog.......

 So today I share trick one :

Change your blog page title to the title of your blog .

By default it is Blog Header:Blog Page Name.

So if an Idiot like me has named his blog My Heart and the Blog has posts on all topics then Google(google search) says that it may not be that useful to me.

But hey does this actually work.I don't know ..Oh Come on its only a day since I have implemented it.Will post back results as and when they come.

Cheers.

[---All efforts are sincerely meant to increase the figure next to $ sign in my ad sense reports for earnings.Dont think I have got hold of what it means but seriously $0.01 looks really bad .. :-)  ---]

Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon

My name is Francis Tolliver, I come from Liverpool.
Two years ago the war was waiting for me after school.
To Belgium and to Flanders, to Germany to here
 I fought for King and country I love dear.

‘Twas Christmas in the trenches, where the frost so bitter hung,
The frozen fields of France were still, no Christmas song was sung
Our families back in England were toasting us that day
 Their brave and glorious lads so far away.

I was lying with my messmate on the cold and rocky ground
When across the lines of battle came a most peculiar sound
Says I, “Now listen up, me boys!” each soldier strained to hear
As one young German voice sang out so clear.

“He’s singing bloody well, you know!” my partner says to me
Soon,one by one, each German voice joined in harmony
The cannons rested silent, the gas clouds rolled no more
As Christmas brought us respite from the war

As soon as they were finished and a reverent pause was spent
“God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” struck up some lads from Kent
The next they sang was “Stille Nacht.” “Tis ‘Silent Night’,” says I
And in two tongues one song filled up that sky

“There’s someone coming toward us!” the front line sentry cried
All sights were fixed on one long figure trudging from their side
His truce flag, like a Christmas star, shown on that plain so bright
As he, bravely, strode unarmed into the night

Soon one by one on either side walked into No Man’s Land
With neither gun nor bayonet we met there hand to hand
We shared some secret brandy and we wished each other well
And in a flare-lit soccer game we gave ‘em hell

We traded chocolates, cigarettes, and photographs from home
These sons and fathers far away from families of their own
Young Sanders played his squeezebox and they had a violin
This curious and unlikely band of men

Soon daylight stole upon us and France was France once more
With sad farewells we each prepared to settle back to war
But the question haunted every heart that lived that wonderous night
“Whose family have I fixed within my sights?”

‘Twas Christmas in the trenches where the frost, so bitter hung
The frozen fields of France were warmed as songs of peace were sung
For the walls they’d kept between us to exact the work of war
Had been crumbled and were gone forevermore

My name is Francis Tolliver, in Liverpool I dwell
Each Christmas come since World War I, I’ve learned its lessons well
That the ones who call the shots won’t be among the dead and lame
And on each end of the rifle we’re the same

The Talking Newspaper AD -Volkswagen

Source :  THE ECONOMIC TIMES -- article

NEW DELHI | MUMBAI: Volkswagen’s advertisement for its Vento sedan has become the talk of the town, literally and figuratively. On Tuesday(September 21,2010), readers of The Times of India in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune and Chennai woke up to the surprise of their newspaper ‘speaking’ to them about the Vento, the first ever advertising campaign of this type in the world. On social networking sites and among media professionals, the starkly different advertisement has drawn excited comment for its innovativeness and potential to become a trendsetter. 

The ‘talking’ advertisement — an audio rendering of the print commercial — was made possible by a light-sensitive device weighing just a few grams and pasted on the final page of the paper’s special 10-page section. It was carried in some 2.2 million copies. 



Volkswagen, no stranger to unconventional advertising, said the aim was to do something innovative to help raise awareness of the brand and drive traffic to showrooms. In November last year, the German ran its ‘Roadblocked’ campaign in The Times of India, filling up all advertising space in the paper with its own ads and blocking out all others.

Lutz Kothe, head of marketing at Volkswagen India, credited his 14-year-old niece Beatrix Madersbacher for giving him the idea of a ‘talking’ advertisement when he was on a business trip to Munich.

"My niece sketched the idea on paper, sealed it and asked me to open it in Mumbai, where I stay," he said.

Back in Mumbai, Mr Kothe shared the idea with his creative and media team to convert the teenager’s idea into an iPod-sized device embedded with a chip, a speaker and batteries to last for 140 minutes. Made at a Volkswagen plant in China, about 2.5 million of these devices were distributed with The Times of India and The Hindu.

“Was wondering if the walls were speaking, when I opened the TOI today.. really unique audio ad by VW!! Das cool!”, Vanessa from Chennai wrote on Twitter.

Bhaskar Das, executive president of The Times of India Group, described the advertisement as an innovation in co-creation that makes a statement for not just Times of India, but the entire print media.

“It tells you that even as static a medium as print can deliver and that if there’s a great idea, print media has no constraint in execution.”

The advertisement needed almost six months of groundwork. Volkswagen, media agency MediaCom and The Times of India worked together to source the chips, paste them on 2.2 million copies, create the edition and distribute the copies on time. Volkswagen and The Times of India group declined to provide financial details.

Media communications group Mudra’s chief creative officer Bobby Pawar was of the view that the fact that there was a chip in the paper was not the only innovation. “We wanted to give voice to the passion of the people who create the car in a media that has no voice.”

MediaCom MD Divya Gururaj said Volkswagen is a modest spender compared to competition and unconventional methods help it stand out.

“When we launched the brand, awareness was very low. Competition like Maruti, Tata, Hyundai outshouted us by far. In such a scenario, we had the option of following the norm and doing regular full-page/half-page ads or doing something completely radical. Our strategy to be innovative has worked,” she said. 

********************************************************************************

The audio in the ad:

"Best in class German engineering is here. The new Volkswagen Vento.Built with great care and highly innovative features.Perhaps thats why it breaks the heart of our engineers to watch it drive away.The new Volkswagen Vento.Crafted with so much passion its hard to let it go.Volkswagen .Das Auto"

********************************************************************************

And whats better its still playing.Using a simple photo diode and weighing so less it is an exciting and innovative market strategy.The photo diode acts like a solar cell converting light energy into current and voltage.

 ********************************************************************************

Public Reaction:

Whilst some people were bemused by the ad there were others who were literally scared by a small black box in the newspaper continuosly speaking some words.And with the latest terrorist threats going around some felt that it was a small timer bomb which was ticking in their morning paper. :-)

********************************************************************************

Chicken kolhapuri.

After perfecting my art with Chicken chettinad (Chennai cuisine),I decided to try something different last weekend.
I felt that now that Chennai has been conquered it was time to come closer home.So this time the experiment was with the Kolhapuri version of Chicken named Chicken Kolhapuri.
After scanning the net for few recipes I finally settled for the one that looked simpler and went ahead.
Kolhapuri chicken or for that matter any kolhapuri dish has the characteristic Kolhapuri masala added to it .

RECIPE :

In a large mixing bowl, combine the yogurt along with the spices (salt, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder and ½ tsp red chili powder). Mix well to combine and add the chicken pieces. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for at least 4-6 hours in the refrigerator. If possible, overnight works best.(I had only one hour to marinate the chicken )

In a large deep skillet on medium heat, add 1 tbsp of oil. Add the whole spices (bay leaves, cloves, black peppercorns, cardamom pods and cinnamon stick). Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and then add the onions. Stir fry the onions until slightly browned and then add the grated coconut, ginger and garlic. Stir fry for another 3-4 minutes and then add the chopped tomatoes. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Next, remove from the heat and set aside to cool. When the mixture has cooled, puree into a smooth thick paste. This mixture is known as Kohlapuri masala.

Add the remaining oil to the skillet and when hot (medium high heat), carefully add the chicken along with marinade to the pan. Add the Kohlapuri masala, kala or garam masala and remaining red chili powder. Stir well to combine, cover, reduce the heat and let simmer 10-12 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked yet moist and tender .

It was the first time that Chicken marinated with dahi was prepared at home .And it gives a delicious new dimension to chicken.With some help from the Mom I eventually managed to come up with a pretty decent chicken curry.Made some mistakes which need to be rectified next time..but nevertheless chicken tastes better when u prepare it yourself :-)

This is what the end result looked like .........

Tulunadu breakfast..

Being born in a south Indian family means that breakfast will not always be the routine parathas with variation aloo gobi etc etc....I do not know what variations do the north indians get in their breakfast but being a manglorian is fun especially when it comes to the morning brunch.

So last weekend saw a little deviation from the routine IDLIS.It was time for some GATTIS(tulu name).This is one hell of a breakfast and though they never became as popular as the Idlis and Dosas they well deserve to be in the same league.

Rice is available in plenty in the south and its but natural that rice finds its way into most of our preparations. This one is made with rice barter spread on a large leaf .Once the barter is spread it is covered with another layer of jaggery and grated coconut.The leaves are then folded and steam cooked .The leaves add an amazing flavour to the dish .Once cooked the coating of leaves is removed and there you are..

Though i am not sure about the recipe .I hope to get the exact recipe soon from my MOM ..cheers :-)

This weekend in Pictures !!!

What happened this weekend ........

Every pic has a story...will blog  about them soon :-)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Life These Days at LnT

Was feeling so bored at the workplace today, that coupled with the awesome climate outside made me get into a lyrical mood .Penned down a poem to make best use of the time.I think it ended up well so posting it.Engineers might be able to connect.

I miss the hustle bustle of a hectic day

I miss the quarrels in the team

I miss the solutions that would pave the way

I miss her glowing beam

 

Wasn't long before coding was a craze

Wasn't long before requirements were a maze

Wasn't long before we would solve them in a  blaze

Amidst all that I would never miss her gaze

   

Sometimes I would wish that the project would never end

So that to the newcomers my experience I could lend

And be aware of the latest trends

And with that her company i would intend

 

Today that experience has been zapped

That awesome initiative has been scrapped

My colleagues have gone ,new opportunities they have lapped

And its only NOW that I realized that I had been trapped...

Coz it was not the project but it was SHE who had me nabbed........
  

My Name Is KHAN -- Controversy or Publicity?

Dt:17 Feb,2010
Recently there was a huge uproar in the nation after Shah Rukh Khan's admission that he wished to have Pakistani cricketers play for his IPL team the KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS.Subsequently that lead to huge protests from the ShivSena(political party based prominently in Mumbai).The Shiv Sena decided to prevent screening of SRK's movie My Name is Khan in the state.That in turn prompted the Congress Government to provide king size security to the theatres to get the movie released peacefully.Eventually they managed to get the movie released admist continuous comments from political leaders of all parties.But somewhere in between this whole episode lost its real significance and purpose.Let us try to anlayze this political circus from a neutral perspective.


We are all fans of SRK the actor .Over the years SRK has managed to gain my respect as an actor by providing stellar performances in movies like Swades,Chak De India.But his commentary on issues not related to him have always been flamboyant and sometimes uncalled for.So when the IPL teams did not pick up any Pakistani players in the open auction it was evident to all that there was some reason for not doing so and it had nothing to do with cricket as such(probably nothing to do with the Goevrnmant also).Once that was evident ,everyone sympthasized with Pakistani cricketers and let that episode go by.It was only later that Chidambaram pointed out that the government had not issued directives to IPL to do so just to clear the Government's name.


Now when everyone was clear as to what had happened there was no reason for SRK to raise that issue again and give a public comment on that.The nation does not have a problem with people from any where in the world coming here to play games , as long as they dont send fellows to play blood games in India or play blood games with Indians in their country.That cannot be tolerated and that is precisely why cricketers from across borders were not welcome.


SRK had previously asked Gavaskar to shut his mouth when he had commented on multiple captain theory in KKR.Now Gavaskar is one of the greats of the game and SRK needs to understand that being a superstar doesn't give him the rights to insult other greats or for that matter insult national sentiments.Now that they attacked PUNE and killed innocent people ,we want to know what does SRK feel about this incident as an Indian.I am not questioning his loyalty to India,don't get me wrong but why cant you now stand up talk for the nation that you respect,for the same people who are your biggest fans.


But he wont stand up for this issue nor will he comment now because that doesn't concern him.No one has questioned him now .His film has released to packed audiences in India and also across borders.People went out in support to watch the film but no one commented on the fact that his comments were uncalled for.
Shiv Sena had a valid issue but their mode of protest meant that they lost both the plot and peoples support.Today no ones talking about what SRK said but only about how people defied the Sena.


As always in poltics of the nation the real issue has been lost somewhere whilst parties try to sum up their political gains.