Creativity becomes me...

Sunday, August 28, 2011

From Aloo ke Paranthe to Aloo Tikki's

Not the best looking picture, but they tasted superb! =)

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I'd be writing a blog post on anything remotely related to food.

And yet, here I am talking about aloo (potato) and gobi (cauliflower) ke paranthe (stuffed bread) and tikki's (patties?). Whaddaya gunna do, eh? *shrugs*

To be fair, I've always enjoyed cooking. Never had much of a chance trying my hand at it while I was growing up (that's what happens when you have the world's best cook for a mother!), but when I moved into an apartment with my best friend during our M.Sc. days, I did my fair share of cooking.

That's where experimentation began. And boy, was it fun!

And now that we (my husband and I) have moved to the UK, the experimentation with cooking has begun yet again. =)

Two nights ago I gave my Mom in India a frantic call asking her to email me recipes for aloo and gobi ke paranthe. It was, after all, Rohit's 'cheat' day, which meant carbs galore. No wheat, no gluten, but good ol' carbs.

I made the aloo mix for his and gobi mix for my paranthe, got out some gluten free aata (flour) and went to work on them paranthe.

And what a disaster they were!

I shall not dwell into why (but if questioned, I will blame gluten free aata entirely).

So here I was with a lot - and I mean a lot of aloo and gobi mix but with no intention of trying to make paranthe with gluten free aata again. Ever again.

But I couldn't let all that mix go to waste either. So what do I do? Why, I recycle, of course! =)

I had this ingenius (ok, not that ingenius of even original, but hey!) idea to make tikki's from the mix. And despite what you're thinking, they turned out pretty damn good. =)

Let's take a walk through the tikki preparation, shall we?

What you'll need (or ingredients)

potatoes / cauliflower
onion
ginger
garlic
green chilies
garam masala
chaat masala (another link)
salt
chili powder
amchoor powder (another link)
aata (flour) - gluten free, preferably!

Note: all masalas above should be readily available in a store near you!

What you're going to have to do (or procedure)

[This mix can be used for aloo / gobi paranthe as well as aloo tikki's]

Boil potatoes and allow them to cool off. You can run them under cold water to speed up the process. Once done, peel off the skin and mash the potatoes.
Or, wash the cauliflower and allow it to dry. Once dry, grate the cauliflower.
Chop up an onion into real small pieces and add to the potatoes.
To this, add some grated ginger, garlic and green chilies. Make sure these are grated well else you'll bite into them.
Add garam masala, chaat masala, amchoor powder (just a pinch / pinch and a half) salt and some red chilli powder (optional if you have green chillies in there) to this mix.
I won't give you a specific quantity to add but when you've added the different ingredients, grab a chunk and taste. If it's tangy enough for you, then you've done it right. =)

Now grab a bowl, pour some aata (gluten free!) into it, add a little water and make a thick paste.
Get some oil in a pan and heat it.
While this oil gets heated up, start rolling the potato + spice mix into little round, flat balls (or tikki's!).
Dip these tikki's (one at a time) in the aata mix and add it to the oil to fry. This layer of aata mix is required to ensure the potatoes don't disintegrate as soon as they hit the hot oil. =)

Flip these tikki's occasionally but not too much. Let them cook nicely and you'll have yourself some yummy tasting aloo tikki's! =)

And there you have it...them tikki's! =)

Boy, I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but if you make these at home, lemme know they turn out!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Send me a postcard!

So, I've got a bit of a crazy idea. Not necessarily original, I'll tell you that.

A bit of background (if you know me, you know I like backgrounds with most of my posts!) - I've got four blogs. I've got this one on Blogger, another one on Posterous, one on Wordpress, and the final one on Tumblr.

There's a bit of distinction in my mind as to which host is for what. Posterous is for my #AwesomeHandles, Wordpress for the more serious me and Tumblr for a series of my favorite shots.

This one, ideally, I would like to maintain for the craftster in me. And boy is there a huge craftster in me! =)

Now, given that I've recently moved to the UK and will be setting up the house, I've been going insane trying to figure out what I can create on my own. My Pinterest page will tell you what I've been thinking! =)

During this process, however, I came across an idea. A 'what if', as it were. Again, I know this one's been done before but there's no harm in taking this further and seeing where it goes, eh?

What exactly am I on about? Well, I thought it'd be interesting get a collection of postcards from the lot of you!

I sent out a tweet and had four people ask for my address within 20 minutes. Now that's bloody encouraging!

So this is what I ask of you: wherever you are, whichever part of the world, whether you're at home or on holiday or travelling for work, just take a moment, pick up a postcard (hey, pick up as many as you want!) and mail them to me! =)

If you are interested in sending me a postcard, drop in an email to me at "swatirandev at gmail dot com". Put "I want to send you a postcard" in the subject line and tell me a bit about yourself in the body of the email - heck, even leave the body blank! =) Once I get this email from you, I'll send you my postal address and you can send me the postcard!

A bit complicated, I know, but I thought this was a bit safer than randomly advertising my home address here on the net!

I'm going to keep a collection and constantly update this blog with the postcards that come in.

If you've chanced upon this blog post and have no idea of who I am, you can check out my profile at http://about.me/silv3rglee to know more. And I would especially like to get a postcard from you!

I'm a bit skeptical about the success of this tiny project, but hey, I'll be happy even if I get two postcards! =)

*rubs hands in glee* I can't wait to get all your lovely postcards! =)

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Twits and their #AwesomeHandles 5.0

Ok, so this post's been sitting in my drafts for a number of weeks! Sorry about that!

*****

Here I am with another set of #AwesomeHandles!

In my last post (Twits and their #AwesomeHandles 4.0) I’d mentioned how the point-oh came into being. So, while this is the fifth edition of #AwesomeHandles, it’s technically the second edition of the point-oh system.

You’re right, that’s got nothing to do with anything. That was just FYI. =)

What, how, when, why and various other w’s and h’s are featured in the first edition, second edition and third edition. Skim through to get an idea. Or even if you just wanna see who’s been featured so far. =)

That reminds me, another feature that’s emerged from this trend is a handle I’ve created: @AweseomHandles. This handle only follows #AwesomeHandles that have been featured in my blogs so far. Some of the handles on my previous posts no longer exist: some users have deleted their accounts, while others have changed their handles to newer, more interesting ones!

In any case, all #AwesomeHandles that still exist are being followed by @AwesomeHandles. So in case you want a comprehensive list of which ones to follow, go on and follow this handle. But remember: if your handle isn’t featured on any of the #AwesomeHandle blog editions, then this handle won’t follow you. *shrugs*

Also, I don't really tweet a lot from that handle. It sort of just sits there following a bunch of #AwesomeHandles. *shrugs again*

For those of you who have no idea what I’m going on about: I essentially have a collection of Twitter handles (usernames) that are, well, kinda fascinating. Some of these I come across via numerous RT’s and mentions. However, most of these are on the list because someone recommended the handle. If it weren’t for these recommendations, I prolly wouldn’t have a list this long!

For this particular edition, I had heaaaaaps of help from two special people: @0__1 and @md610. Thanks guys! #AwesomeHandles 5.0 wouldn’t’ve happened if it weren’t for your recommendations! You rock! =D

Alrightie then…here goes the next set of #AwesomeHandles:

There you have it – #AwesomeHandles 5.0!

Remember – you can contribute to my ever-growing list by dropping in a comment below or by giving me a shout at @silv3rglee. In case you're wondering, yes, you can nominate your own handle if you think it's awesome!

Let’s see how far this list goes.

Total #AwesomeHandles count as of today: 432.

=)

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

United Egyptians stand!

As Egypt fights towards a better tomorrow, Egyptians show the world what they are truly made of: harmony and unity.

This picture completely blew me away. Credit for this picture goes to a friend of mine on Facebook (FB) who shared it on his wall. The caption underneath the picture is exactly as is on his FB page.

Even as the government declared a ban on Friday prayers, Egyptians came together in communal harmony to protect their countrymen that practice a religion different from theirs.

Oh, how much the world needs to learn from them!

Truly iconic photo from Tahrir Sq. yesterday, before the chaos.
Christian Egyptians protecting their Muslim compatriots during prayer.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

It's your turn now, Middle East

As the day's events unfolded and over 2 million (estimate / rumored number) took on the streets of Egypt at Tahrir Square, it isn't a wonder that the first thing I thought of was Tiananmen Square. Will it turn out to be the same? It's now 5.51pm in Dubai, and Egyptians continue to ask for a respite from Mubarak. Will it turn out to be another Tiananmen Square, I ask myself again. I don't know.

Egypt's Tahrir Square on 1 February 2011
Image source

Tweeps from all over the world continue to show their support on Twitter (hashtags #Egypt, #Jan25) and those on Facebook have set up a page for "A Virtual "March of Millions" in Solidarity with Egyptian Protestors". Live feed of what is happening in Egypt is available via Al Jazeera English's online link.

This is the true age of social media. A revolution supported and promoted and carried forward via various social media platforms through the people. True power to the people. This is the age. This is the time. This is us creating history.

As the world comes together to support and promote Egyptians and their protests, in some way or another, we are all now officially a part of history. History in the making. This day, needless to say, is going down in history as the day the world came together and supported the people of Egypt in their revolution, in their attempt to empower themselves.

And even as Egypt continues to seek power, news of Jordan has just trickled in. King Abdullah has just dismissed the Jordanian government.

The Middle East is waking up to a brand new world. To brand new possibilities.

And amidst it all, I can't help but wonder:
is this is the kind of "end of the world as we know it" scenario that has been prophesied for 2012? Is this the beginning of the end of political monopolies across the world? Or at least in the Middle East? Is this the end of oppression and the dawn of democracy?

I suppose one will only have to wait and watch.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Insanity Over Sanity

Tears of glory;

Tears of pain.

Contrasting people:

Some agonized, some insane.

Hatred, cruelty, destruction –

In the path of humanity, an obstruction.

Cries of anguish;

Cries of joy.

Playing with terror

As though a child’s toy.

Shattered, tortured, hurt hearts –

Terrorizing people, part by part.

Shouts of horror;

Shouts of cheer.

Horrifying the innocent,

Attacking peace with a spear.

Anger, retaliation, revenge –

The only sane way to avenge?

Smoke from blasts;

Smoke from fire;

With everyone in it together,

Peace had to retire.

Pain, horror, tears: the common trend.

Insanity, hereon, shall lead to the end…

*note: this is a poem I wrote a day after 9/11.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

My email to Al Futtaim / Volvo in UAE

For those of you who don't know, I bought a brand new Volvo C30 on August 10, 2010. It is January 27, 2011 and my car has been in the service station for almost a month and a half since I bought it. This is due to a recurring error ("Transmission Performance Low") that kept popping up, making my car go into limp mode.

I have been in touch with Al Futtaim representative at different stages. I will be writing another blog post detailing the kind of experience (not pleasnat!) I've had, but this is an email that I just wrote to them after a very disappointing call with their National After Sales Services Manager.

I just wanted to share it with you all.

Also, if you have any contacts within Al Futtaim UAE or Volvo, do please share with me.

A detailed post with the exact timeline of what has happened with me and my car will be up shortly.

**********

Dear Mr. X,

I have reviewed the letter you have attached herewith for my reference. I refuse to accept this letter from your side.

The meeting I had with you and Mr. Y yesterday has clearly been a complete waste of time. Whilst my request to you was to state that you give me a guarantee that the recurring error ("Transmission Performance Low") would not come back again, all I see in this letter is that you are "quite assured" that the error will not occur.

Every single time I have reported the very same error to you or someone at Al Futtaim, I have walked away with the car with an utmost 'assurance' from your side that the car is fixed 'this time'. And yet, the error came up each and every single time.

I made myself very clear yesterday that I needed a guarantee from your end that this would not happen again. Instead, I get Mr. Y's "opinion" that all the issues in my car are resolved.

I had given you two options during our meeting yesterday: give me a letter guaranteeing my safety on the road in that car (wrt 'Transmission Performance Low' error) - that is to say, guarantee that the error will not come back again, or kindly take the car back. You have now reverted back to me with a letter that merely states what you have done with the car since I started reporting the error to you, along with 'assurances' and 'opinions' on the current and potential future state of its performance. It does not give me any guarantees, whatsoever.

Not only am I disappointed in the letter that you have sent, but I am also disappointed in the way I have been spoken to by Mr. Y. He made no attempts to hold back his utter frustration while speaking to me on the phone. If dealing with a harassed customer that has reported the same issue to you repeatedly is such a hassle for you, then you should make that clear to us at the very beginning. If he has to heave a sigh of frustration when I tell him why I am agitated, rest assured it will do anything but bring my temper down! In no way am I assured of my safety on the road, and on top of all that, I am spoken to in a way that is most offensive!

I no longer wish to receive any kind of an assurance or guarantee letter from Volvo / Al Futtaim. I have sat back and been extremely civil thus far. Whilst I will remain to be civil in the future as well, I won't sit back anymore.

In addition, I no longer wish to deal with you both. Clearly these attempts have failed drastically and I am now being treated like a child that is throwing a silly tantrum. Instead of being reassured, my intelligence is being insulted by the way I have been spoken to. If you sat back for one minute and put yourself in my shoes, I am sure you would appreciate my plight and agitation. Alas!

I wish to reiterate that despite the fact I reported the same error to you over and over again, it has not been rectified. Yes, you may say that it has now been rectified, but I cannot believe you because this is exactly what you have said to me each time in the past that I communicated this error with you.

I would like you to kindly send me yours and Mr. Y's superior's contact number and email address so I can take this matter up with them.

Again, I no longer want a letter of guarantee from your end.

After the way I have been spoken to just about an hour ago, I do not want to interact with anyone, except for your superiors.

Kindly revert back to me at the earliest with these email addresses. Under the circumstances, I'm sure you will appreciate and agree that this is the least you could do.

Regards,
Swati Randev-Verma
One of your most upset, agitated and disappointed clients

**********

Copy of the letter from Volvo to which numerous references have been made in this email / blog post:

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Beyond The Black Restriction

Behind the veils of injustice,

Do you feel, as do I?

Do you feel the passions, aches and needs;

Do you then feel humiliated, ashamed, shy…?

Do you see the blurry world outside

And sometimes, silently cry?

Do you look beyond yours,

Wish, hope, pray; then just heave a heavy sigh?

Do you feel the need to break free;

Do you want to sometimes fly…?

Do you sometimes look at you

And simply wonder: why…?

Do you sometimes wish that you,

Yourself could go real high?

Do you feel the lack of privacy,

The presence of someone always there to pry…?

Does life seem very unfair to you,

Does it appear awfully sly?

Do you feel you can help yourself;

At least give it a try?

Do you let it all get to you;

Let the tear escape your eye?

Hidden behind the veils of coyness,

Do you sometimes feel, as do I…?

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Shhh…can you smell it?

As a child, I always associated particular smells with the city I was in. We moved a lot, thankfully. Every new place I went to, I associated a smell with it. Seasons too. Every season has a smell…Delhi’s winters, Mumbai’s summers, Bangalore’s all-year evenings, Kuwait’s bone chilling cold, Budapest’s flowery June…

Every time I revisited that city in that season, I smiled. I related ‘where and when’ with the smells around me. As an adult, I thank childhood me’s curiosity for this gift I carry now.

The best part about winters in UAE is that I can finally associate smells to this country.

As I roll down the windows in my car, I take in what this city is made of. As I go through the last underpass on Sheikh Zayed Road towards Garhoud Bridge, I can hear the city buzzing and echoing – literally. The blaring music in my car is shushed by the zipping cars, screeching ahead, hazards flashing. I hear the slightest brakes being applied by trucks around me, as I cringe my nose trying not to inhale the ugly smoke they let out as they halt in the traffic. What does Sheikh Zayed Road smell like? Smoke. Metal. And finally, character.

I zip past the airport towards Khawaneej and hear the gentle roar of a flight about to land. A subtle gush of dust flies around me and I take I can smell the versitility of nature. I glance up, smile, and take it all in.

As I enter Sharjah, the smells around me become far more profound. As my C30 crawls ahead on Al Khan, I glance to my left. I smell grass, sometimes freshly cut, on the mini-hill asking me to smile because I’m in Sharjah. And involuntarily, my lips curve into a lopsided grin.

Rolla, smelling like tandoori chicken, shows me what it’s made of. My elbow on the ‘window sill’, if I may, and eyes all around, I see the transition that Sharjah makes from tandoori chicken to…well, manure. As I drive towards my house, the four lane road divided by a broad stretch of concrete screams to me in agony. And why not, when it is being overloaded with manure, forcing a man made chunk of land to suddenly turn fertile?

In a few months this smell will become more pleasant. The stench of manure will be taken over by a pleasant, flowery one.

Unfortunately, in a few months when I drive past the same road, all I’ll smell is my car.

With windows rolled up, the air conditioner on high, I’ll drive past everything around me, and miss out on all of UAE’s summer smells.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Twits and their #AwesomeHandles 4.0

As is the law of nature, everything evolves. We evolved from monkeys – although some would contest that a few of us haven’t quite evolved all the way.

Regardless, as everything around us evolves, so must #AwesomeHandles.

Not so much in the handles themselves, but in the way I blog them.

It’s interesting. I was going through titles of my archived MS word copies of #AwesomeHandles editions (OCD? Yes.), and saw that I didn’t quite foresee this becoming a regular feature at the time. At least not in terms of the blog titles. The first one should’ve had some kinda “first” or “numero uno” kinda annotation or something of the sort. But it doesn’t. It’s very simply called: Twits and their #AwesomeHandles.

I did become a tad more, umm, shall we say perceptive? Yeah, I like that. It’s a 50 dollar word, at least.

So yeah, the next couple of rounds saw me being a bit more perceptive (*grin*) and titling them ‘Twits and their #AwesomeHandles – Second Edition’ and ‘Twits and their #AwesomeHandles – Third Edition’.

When I was formatting and reformatting my excel document with the fourth and fifth editions (yep, 14 handles down, 36 more to go for the next blog!) while I simultaneously updated the ‘Master List’ (one that has all #AwesomeHandles so far, arranged alphabetically), I said to myself, nah…this isn’t working.

What sounds more…what’s the word I’m looking for – futuristic! – what sounds more futuristic than just numbering out the editions? And that’s when I came up with this point-oh system.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present you with Twits and their #AwesomeHandles 4.0!

There it is - the first point-oh edition of #AwesomeHandles.

Like I said, 36 more to go for Twits and their #AwesomeHandles 5.0 to be blogged!

Think you have an #AwesomHandle or know of someone else who does? Drop in a comment below of send me a tweet (@silv3rglee) and I’ll put your recommendations on the next blog!

Pages