Well, its that time of the year when the cold and flu viruses are out in the open and trying to migrate form one body to another. And we build our forts by taking in lots of vitamins and sometimes they are just not enough because that damned virus finds a way to break it year after year. So how do we deal with the virus? Here is an idea: -
Take your hardcore meat-eating friends (vegetarians will work too) and eat a lot of chicken in your favorite restaurant. Check out my typical menu when I fall sick –
Chicken clear soup / Chicken Manchow Soup with extra pepper
Pepper chicken masala
Spicy fried Chicken
Chicken friend rice or briyani
Chilli chicken
And after reaching home, if my head is still not clear, I take milk with a pinch of turmeric powder in it. Turmeric powder is a very effective antibiotic. The only other thing that may beat this above feast of food is the home made chicken soup (Tamil Nadu village style). And here is the recipe for that … do try it in case you get sick. It helps !
Chicken Soup from the village 1. Preparing the magic paste
50 grams shallots (small onions - around 10)
2 cloves of garlic
Small piece of ginger (around ½ inch)
Curry Leaves – around 10
Cumin seeds (Jeera) – ½ teaspoon
Whole Pepper – 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder– ¼ teaspoon
Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon
Grind all the above ingredients in a Mixer/Blender with a little water.
2. Making the soup
Use a small pressure cooker and add some cut pieces of Chicken. (Around 100 to 150 grams of bone pieces rather than flesh pieces). Add the paste prepared already, 2 cups of water, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 tomato cut into medium sized pieces. Stir the mixture, place the lid and let the chicken cook. After the first whistle comes, simmer the flame and let the chicken cook on the reduced flame for another 5 minutes. Remove the cooker from the stove, filter the soup and add additional salt and pepper according to taste.
Bon appetite and lets show the virus that we can throw it out our system ...
Friends, This is just a cautionary advice for you international fliers out there ... Caution 1: Flying through the middle east is a high risk for your belongings in your check-in baggage. It seems that the ground staff are paid very low salaries and put up in very pathetic living conditions (Refer to BBC documentary on the same) that they need to steal items from baggage whenever possible. (Is this how middle east makes profit?)
Caution 2: If, your check-in baggage ever gets delayed, useful stuff in it is most probably stolen. Try to get to the airport to receive the baggage when they say your baggage has arrived. At least you can make sure that the contents of your baggage will not be in the destination airport
Caution 3: If you lose any personal belongings in your bag, the airlines is not going to pay compensation unless you slap a law suit on them. This happened to me in Emirates, one of the best airlines in the world and I lost a lot of my used portable electronics when my baggage was stolen. They wont pay me a single penny and they have rules and regulations to protect themselves.
Check out their reason for not paying me - this is an extract from conditions of the carriage -
Conditions of Carriage in particular Article 15.5.3, ‘the carrier is not liable for loss of or damage to fragile or perishable articles, money, jewellery, precious metals, silverware, negotiable papers, securities, or other valuables, business documents, passports and other identification documents, computers, personal electronic devices, mobiles phone, stored data, any medication or medical equipment which may be required in-flight or during your trip or which cannot be quickly replaced if lost or damaged, house or car keys, valuable documents (including, for example, business documents, passports and other identification documents, negotiable papers, securities deeds) or samples, whether with or without the knowledge of the carrier.’
Obviously, we are not aware of these conditions during the time of booking. Like any other sane human being, we would probably just book the ticket rather than read through 50 pages of conditions of carriage before booking any ticket. This conditions of carriage is Emirates defense in having an insecure baggage handling service and how to get away from any theft from it side without paying any damages.
Do a Google search for Emirates Baggage Handling and you would get lots of hits. This shows their credibility in baggage handling. And their inability to accept their mistake and provide compensation shows their corporate creed and their true customer service image, definitely well hidden in those ads.
Well ... ever since the economy is doing bad and also there are lot of management people losing jobs, it is in bad taste to still have the blog entry that has the funny slandering of my friends who are in management. I am removing certain portions of my earlier blog with references to my friends in management.
I am technically competent plus my skill set is not mundane and hence I feel I have job security even during a bad economy. However, bagging contracts in the bad economy is like climbing the Himalayas or swimming upstream in a river when water from a dam on the river is released. I applaud their mettle and mental strength during this tough economic conditions. Like they say, a calm sea never made a skillful mariner. I guess I have a zillion things to learn from my management friends. Hope everyone rides out this economic storm.
My dear friends, Due to popular request and for all my vegetarian friends out there - am posting this recipe for Gobi Manchurian - the Indian way. After coming back to India I found out that one of my super good friends has turned into a non-vegetarian and another one of my super good friends turned into a vegetarian. I was happy that there was a loss and gain on both sides and the balance was restored in the world food chain. However, there was not really a balance in my blog with my pro-chicken attitude and I hope this post will bring out that missing balance between veggie and non-veggies.
Ingredients: 1. Cauliflower - 1 cup - cleaned and cut 2. Corn Flower - 100 grams 3. Maida (Refined flour) - 50 grams 4. Chilli Powder - 1 tsp 5. Soya sauce - 1/2 tsp 6. Ginger Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp 7. Salt - 1/2 to 1 tsp according to taste
Method: Now if you dislike Soya sauce, ginger or garlic - both of them are optional. But if u add it, it brings that extra magic touch to the taste. Add all 2 to 7 ingredients and pour water, in small quantities, to make a good batter. If the batter is too thin, u can make more of the manchurians and if it is too thick, u would make less of it. You can figure out what thickness the batter should be yourself.
Heat the cooking oil for frying, dip the vegetable in the batter and deep fry it, till bubbling comes down.
This is end of stage one. If u r really hungry, you can eat as such after frying (make sure you drain the excess oil, otherwise you might burn your tongue). Or you can choose to take it to next stage.
Ingredients: 1. 1 mid sized onion - chopped up nicely 2. 1 chilli - chopped 3. Soya sauce - 1/2 tsp 4. Ginger + Garlic - chopped up 1/2 tsp 5. pepper 6. 2 tsp oil 7. add a little sugar , if u like ur manchurians to be sweet
Method: Pour the oil in pan and put the onions, chilli, ginger + garlic chopped in and saute nicely. After a couple of minutes add the soya sauce and pepper and continue to saute. Now pour little water and let the onions cook for a bit. Once all the water is evaporated, add the fried Manchurians and stir till the mix gets even. The dry manchurians are now ready. And if you want to convert this to a gravy - just add a spoon of corn flour with water and add to the mixture.
Bon appetite ... Let me know how it turned out ...
It was a classic battle of the titans: one who knew how to genuinely cook versus one who knew how to cook from the book. The situation was simple: we had to cook something for the holiday party in office and my good friend in office said she would bring a vegetarian gravy for the South Indian Parathas (Parotas) which I had offered to bring along with the chicken gravy I was going to make.
(Technically she was helping me reduce the amount of gravy I had to prepare for the parathas. So Thank you Nalini :-) )
The party was on and one had to decide which was better - the Potato Peas gravy or the Chicken Gravy and here is the benchmark and verdict.
1. Which gravy had yummy chicken? Arun's awesome chicken gravy 2. Which gravy did not have potatoes and peas? Arun's terrific chicken gravy 3. Which gravy was more tasty because it had chicken in it? Arun's titilating chicken gravy 4. Which gravy was appreciated by the Vice president? Arun's astonishing chicken gravy 5. And finally which gravy was prepared by Arun? Arun's exotic chicken gravy
As you can see, it's a giant victory for my Chicken gravy hands down :DNow I really feel that I should share this amazing recipe with you all and so here goes:
Serves: Enough gravy for 16 to 20 rotis / rice (how many people: well, that depends on how many rotis one can eat)
Preparation: Cut around 1 pound of chicken into small pieces (around 3 to 4 cups) and marinate it with 1 cup of yogurt, 1 teaspoon of chili-powder, 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon of garam masala, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste. Mix the paste and chicken well and let the chicken marinate for at least 1 hour.
Method: 1. Heat 8 teaspoons of cooking oil in a pressure cooker or a pan 2. Saute 3 cups of finely chopped onions till they turn golden brown and till the raw smell of the onions goes away (You can add a spoon of sugar to speed up the process) 3. Add 2 teaspoons of ginger garlic paste 4. Add 1 to 2 teaspoon of salt according to taste 5. Saute for 2 to 3 more minutes 6. Add 2 to 3 cups of chopped up tomatoes (depends on how much you like tomatoes) 7. Add 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder 8. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of chilli powder depending on your taste 9. Add 2 teaspoon of garam masala 10. Add 2 teaspoon of corriander powder 11. Saute nicely till the mixture becomes a nice paste and raw smell of tomatoes goes away 12. Add the marinated chicken along with all the marination paste 13. Mix well and place the lid on the pressure cooker or simmer well if you are using the pan 14. If you are using the pressure cooker, let the chicken cook for about 2 whistles.
Do try the recipe my friends, happy cooking and Bon Appetit.
P.S.: As you know, I go by many names and in office, I am called Arun :*)
It all started with a spicy chicken gravy prepared by my room mate Srini and his wife Swapna. It was quite tasty and spicy or the “ssssss aaahhhh yummy” kind. After 3 buses and a flight I was in "Shivering Charlotte" to meet my best friend Elavarasan (I still cannot believe water is costlier than fuel on the flights). His ride was a 2003 black Ford Mustang and it roared down the highway in the ever brightening dawn sky. We met our good friends - Sai Gopal and Siva Sundar and we were on our way to Philadelphia. The ride was smooth until I started to drive. I had temporary driving license, and the fact that I had been driving in driver’s nightmare like Chennai gave me a bit of confidence. But little did I know that left handed driving would be so difficult than right handed driving. I had lot of difficulty keeping the car in the lane, I kept drifting towards the right edge of the lane and had a few scary moments with a big truck when I almost ran into it. Luckily, the brilliant truck driver moved further away from his lane. A million thanks to him as I am able to write my blog now. We stopped in the afternoon for some Chicken Chalupas from Taco Bell. This was the first time I had a chalupa and I must say that it is a brilliant invention of mankind. It not too hard, not too soft, just the right amount of “munchiness” (I am inventing this word, if it had not been invented already by another food lover). Resuming the drive we had dinner near Washington DC in Udipi Palace where I found a lot of Americans and Indians. Finding lot of Americans in an Indian restaurant told a lot about its quality. We finally reached Leo Gerald’s home. He is a very good friend from college, who is all brains and now working on steam cycles in nuclear power plants.
Sunday, Nov 23
We were in New Jeresy and we were searching for one particular Chennai restaurant: Yes, it is the "Saravana Bhavan". We were quite hungry and we could hardly wait after we ordered the ultimate delicacy: Ghee Pongal. (And since it won't fill our stomachs we also ordered the Saravana Bhavan Special Meals). I put one spoon from the Ghee Pongal in my mouth. I closed my eyes and felt the taste of the pongal in my tongue. My only senses active at that moment were my sense of taste and my sense of smell. As the Pongal slowly melted away from the tip of my tongue, reached the inner tongue and slowly glided down the throat, all I could think of was 'Singara Chennai' and all my friends over there. I was so mesmerized that I felt that I was back in Chennai in the bustling and relentless traffic; I could hear all the unnecessary honking and the sound of the iconic auto-rickshaws. It was a paradise in the mouth and the taste was just indistinguishable from the Pongal served in any of the 15+ Saravana Bhavans in Chennai. It was pure bliss. I was so satisfied from the food that I could not even notice the beautiful waitresses in the restaurant. Anyway, we were still hungry, and we completed the special meals, which again was terrific. I am running out of adjectives to describe the ambrosian food.
We then drove to New York and roamed around the downtown of the world’s largest city. The walk was tiresome and I settled for an Ultimate Chicken Burger at Ruby Tuesday. It was good but let's just say my taste buds were not in cohesion with that burger.
Monday, Nov 24
We were thundering down the highway towards Washington DC. En route, we met one of our closest friends Abhishek. Afterward, it was a walk in downtown of the capital city and also cruised in and out of the streets to see it's prominent landmarks. Soon after, we were throttling towards Charlotte when the traffic and rain delayed our progress. The visibility was poor and we took a detour in Richmond and had our dinner in a Farook’s restaurant. It was a small one, managed by a North Indian family. The naan, and onion kulcha were delicate and Chicken Jalfroze was a good combination. We gulped the food down and were back to the drive in the rain. I took over the drive for sometime to give rest for Ela and it was a scary 2 hour drive. All I could see was the yellow reflectors in the middle; the lane markers near the edge of the roads were not visible and driving at 70 Mph in that never-ending rain was a bit scary. At one point, the road narrowed and merged into a single lane near a construction zone, where the reflectors were not at all visible in the fleeting rain and I almost came close to the touching the concrete blocks on more than one occasion. Phew.
Tuesday, Nov 25
The flight took off and I found myself drinking cappuccino outside the Houston Airport waiting for my cousin to pick me up. He made his appearance in his big SUV and we made our way to his home. After quick refreshments, we had lunch in foodruckers and I chose a chicken carribean salad. The chicken salad was a beautiful combination of leaves, fruits and grilled chicken and helped me refresh my stomach. (I stopped having any all veggie salad after one unfortunate incident in Chennai, wherein I got sick for two days after eating an all green food.) After a quick trip to NASA and making sure that I don't belong there with my puny brain, we headed back home and I found my cute little niece waiting for me (and of course her dad). This was the first time I met her and soon enough we were playing while my sister-in-law made some terrific vegetable puffs, egg puffs and the Tamil Nadu village style mutton gravy. "!!!". Do I need to say more? We drove to Dallas that night, and I had an hard time keeping my eyes open during the 4 hour drive after such good food.
Wednesday, Nov 26
It was sister-in-law’s brother’s place and here is another amazing person and fantastic gourmet: my sister-in-law’s sister-in-law. Whilst I was playing with my niece, and with both of my niece's cousins (yes, I was twenty years younger and playing on par with them), she had made the Tamil Nadu village style mutton gravy, mutton briyani, pepper chicken fry, and chicken masala. Vvvvaaaaaaavvv !!! I had many servings of the delicious Briyani and it instantly reminded me of both my mom's and aunt's cooking. I came to know that my sister in law and her sister in law learned them from my aunt who is again a terrific connoisseur in the kitchen. I could really feel sitting at my home in Chennai. The key to a good briyani is how the aroma from the spices blends into the rice and the meat, something my aunt and mom have perfected over the years. Its really hard to express how happy I felt after having that good food.
That evening I met my dearest friends from college Jude and Mukesh who are graduate students at the University of Texas, Dallas and we had our food in a Thai restaurant and had something called yellow chicken curry. It reminded me of similar food in India from Tamil Nadu’s neighbour Kerala. There is a lot of similarity between the two cuisines.
Thursday, Nov 27
The next day after having delicious buffet in a restaurant called Chetinad with my friends, I had some Indian style cat fish fry again in my sister-in-law’s sister-in-law’s place. That night I met my sister who is also in Dallas: she and I – well, we are pretty good examples for "One need not be related by blood to be real brothers and sisters". After playing with my niece and nephew here I had some delicious Rava Idli. If there is one thing I like in south Indian vegetarian food apart from a perfectly made melt-in-mouth Pongal, it is Rava Idli. This was the first time that my mouth watered along with my heart.
Friday, Nov 28
The next day it was again Tamil Nadu style chicken gravy at my sister’s place. My sister-in-law’s sister-in-law had made some delicious Crabs. Once during my childhood I ate too much crab and threw up and ever since then I am unable to eat crab. Sadly I was not able to rejoice this delicacy.
Saturday, Nov 29
Back to Houston and my cousin and I took a small trip to Galveston. I had been insisting on one particular food item from my cousin and my sister-in-law it was the grand finale of all the food items I had for my whole trip: "Kothu Parota". It is relatively hard to make, compared to the rest of the food items discussed above (except for Saravana Bhavan melt-in-mouth Pongal). You need the right amount of flour and make proper Parota dough, the right amount of Mutton or Chicken Keema, eggs, onions and tomatoes and also a bit of the arm strength. My sister-in-law had made the it beyond excellence; I now feel like I owe her an expensive gift. She also made some Tamil Nadu style Fish gravy with Cat Fish which I enjoyed till my stomach could fit.I was so dumbstruck with the taste of the food. And so...
Flight tickets to Charlotte, Houston and back to San Diego: $600 Planned expensive gifts for cousin, sister-in-law, her brother and her sister-in-law: $1000 Eating titillating and exquisite South Indian food on the other side of the planet: Priceless
I met around 500 different people in one night! Beautiful women, elderly women, young women, women whose age I cannot decipher (perhaps from 20 to 40?), gentlemen, drunk men, senior citizens, children etc. In just 5 hours I met so many people with so many personalities, some of those characters I have only seen in Hollywood movies.
So how did this happen?
“No! I certainly was not an exhibit in the worst comedy section at the museum”.
I volunteered in the La Jolla (pronounced: La-ho-ya) Gallery and Wine Walk on the September 25th 2008. It was a fund raiser event for the leukemia and lymphoma patients. My work was to stand behind a desk and pour wine for people. Visitors have to buy tickets worth 30$ and they have 22 art galleries to walk through and in each one of them we have two kinds of wine and some of them serve food. This link will tell you more about the event itself.
I got a beautiful spot to pour wine. It was in front of the Africa and beyond art gallery and on top of Azul restaurants. I had to pour the Brigantine Merlot; I didn’t taste it but it smells really nice. (http://www.brigantine.com/index.html) I started to pour at 5 PM and went all the way till 8.45 PM. It was a spine breaking job, with no breaks or food. But, what the heck, it was all for a good cause. I was too stressed out at office that I really wanted a break and saw this as an opportunity and I took it.
Here is the picture of the place where I poured the wine (up the stairs and to the left) The Azul restaurant is down the stairs. It is supposed to be a very beautiful ocean view restaurant. Here is a google map link to that place.And here are some photos of that place.
I didn’t have much time to go to the restaurant that night, but I will probably try to go there sometime for the chicken.
Apart from this, I really got to know what sweet talk is all about or how a bartender feels like. If someone put too much emphasis on “Hai, how are you?” that means they are going to ask for a generous pour. There was one lady who was like, “generous pour please, generous pour please, common, you can do it, you can do it” and she said that in such a sweet voice, it was really hard to say no to it. But since I am straightforward guy (ya, ya, don’t laugh) I was like “I am so sorry, I am really sorry, I can only pour 1 ounce”. I can probably express much better non-verbally.
Also, I met some really nice people that day. The store owners for the Africa and beyond gallery – Julia and her hubby Ian, the girl from the restaurant – Julia, the restaurant manager – Jim, other volunteers – Robin, Sam, Martha; the security personals – Omar and Suse. And finally I have to say a big thank you to one of my co-workers Dina Maxwell, who is the head volunteer for this event without whom I would not have had an awesome evening - Thank you Dina.
It was an excellent night. Met lots of people (of course, beautiful girls but not many singles, damn); Learned a little bit about wine pouring; sweet talking; bar-tending; and wished “Have a good evening” and “Enjoy” to almost 500 different people and it was all for a good cause. I along with lot of other people helped raise funds. I hope I can do even better the next time.
Grind all the above ingredients in a Mixer/Blender with a little water. 
Use a small pressure cooker and add some cut pieces of Chicken. (Around 100 to 150 grams of bone pieces rather than flesh pieces). Add the paste prepared already, 2 cups of water, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 tomato cut into medium sized pieces. Stir the mixture, place the lid and let the chicken cook. After the first whistle comes, simmer the flame and let the chicken cook on the reduced flame for another 5 minutes. Remove the cooker from the stove, filter the soup and add additional salt and pepper according to taste. 
