Dangerous Popping seedai

I planned to make some seedai for my son and husband but never thot it will turn into a popcorn seedai. I later learnt that seedai has to be dry before frying. One sunday evening I tried my hands on this uppu seedai and vellai seedai mela. My son was watching tv and husband was upstairs playing veena. everything was going fine till i put the seedai into the oil. thatzzit the oil got all angry and started spitting the seedai all over the place.. i switched off the stove and was standing near the kitchen door. Saravedi maadiri seedai was bursting and flying all over the place. My son called it "dangerous snack.. may b it is popcorn". As he rightly said it was popping seedai. When I told this to my mom she said u wud have added more water to that seedai. So next time I will have to try it out properly and make some "friendly seedai".

Oru vadai kudu elephant swamy.

This year pillayaar chathurdhi was celebrated in a grand manner by us. It all started with my the visit to the Indian store the previous day. A sudden nostalgic feeling like I went to India. Full of festive mood.. Pillayaar, flowers, fruits, coconut (mattai thengai),Mango leaves, Banana leaves and beetel leaves. Well I landed up buying everything. I was debating between a bigger pillayaar and a smaller one but bought the smaller one.

I had a clean plan and so went off to sleep and woke up the next morning and started my cooking. I made appam, vadai, payasam, sundal and the special kozhukattai. everything came out well!!

My son was all excited about the Elephant swamy pooja as he calls it. we then decorated the place with maakolam. my son didnt like it and later when it dried he was all happy. our pillayaar thundu was bigger than our pillayaar. it was looking more like a blanket (my son decided that pillayaar is feeling cold and that is why we have porvai for pillayaar). made some poonal with twine thread (last minute make over. have to appreciate our creative thinking).made some panju thiri malaai. put a golden chain for pillayaar.. my son and my husband were dressed in silk dothi and i wore a silk saree.i made a mental decision that i will wear silk sarees for all festivals from now on. creating a chance to wear all those wedding sarees of mine. my husband chanted all the slogams and my son and i were his assistants helping him offer all the flowers to pillayaar.We then offered all the neivedhiyams.

The highlight of the event was when my husband asked my son to pray to Pillayaar and ask him something. My son was sitting right in front of vadai and he was all hungry. He said "oru vadai kudu elephant swamy". Both me and my husband couldnt control our laughter.Sometimes he is a grown up guy but mostly he is my sweet little kundaal.

Jackson's paradox

I have never cared to listen and learn to know more about this guy till after his death. His death was the triggering point for my attention towards him and his songs. A posthumous recognition to him from me. His songs are definitely inspiring. His music knowledge is amazing. Why did he lead such a pathetic life?

Sis turning 30

well is she 30 already.. i still remember her as the small gal with two plaits going to school.. v used to fight a lot when v were kids.. but no more..

her blogs make me feel "oh!! my !! is this my little sister" she has grown so big.. has a daughter of her own.. have to pinch myself to believe it..

she thinks very different and makes me always "wow".. also the thot definitely crosses me "do i know her fully?".. we luv each other.. v have different opinion about many things.. from her maturity sometimes i feel i havent grown up at all.. she has lot of my mom's straight forwardness annd clarity of thot..

she was the one who made me blog.. thanks to her..

Small world or big world

This blog was initiated by my sis.. she had written about many people who just got down from her life journey.. yes there are few who travel with u and few who opt to get down.. internet has made the world small but people's heart are still the same.. they decide to move on and learn to forget the old pals.. it is their choice.. orkut, linkedin tries to bring people together but people themselves try to unlink. v r no longer their high priority.. it was tough the first time it happened.. but nowadays i just dont crib about it.. but those friends of mine do cross my mind every once in a while.. y??? this question hasnt got the answer yet.. that is what life is all about..

Paper kappal

Yesterday my three year old wanted me to make a paper boat.. well i made it and gave it to him.. he wanted to float it in the bath tub.. i just travelled down memory lane for few minutes when i was a little kid i used to luv rainy days.. no school.. just water and play.. ofcourse on a raindy day is when i learnt to play the cards.. so all of us (mom, dad, sis and i) will sit and play cards... what fantastic days.. well as soon as the rain stops for a while i will make paper boats and float it in the water.. what more!! make cargo boats by loading small stones in the boats.. so much fun.. never bothered about any dirt on my dress.. well even now i try to play with my son.. i jump in the water puddle along with him (my husband ofcourse scolds me) but that is fun all about.. whenever i think of rainy day i do remember this incident about my school days.. v were asked to write a story about rainy day.. i wrote about may paper boat bcos that is what i do on rainy days.. when i told my friends in class about it they just giggled and ridiculed me.. well i was praised by my teacher at the end... so be it yday or today or tomorrow i luv to live with so much fun.. i will be a good company to my son..

First and best roller coaster ride.

Y not write something light today? Our trip to florida was a totally unplanned and surprise for all of us.. We just packedourselves and were there in a couple of days.. That whole week was a total enjoyment.. We were on the theme parks everydaytaking as much sun possible on our heads.. But still v kept going.. The best part was when my son enjoyed the rides.. Hewas tall enuf to go on some rides for the kids.. The Shamu express roller coaster ride came as a surprise for me.. I thinki still dont know him.. For all I know he gets scared of sounds and darkness. So i always didnt know how he will reactto roller coasters.. I was having my fingers crossed and the roller coaster takes off and there i see my son sitting quietnot making any happy noises either.. I was expecting him to cry anytime.. But he didnt and when the roller coaster came toa halt.. I looked at his face and cudnt figure out whether he enjoyed it or not.. He took me by surprise by saying "'Mommy one more time".. "Wow!!".. We went one more round and he was all happy.. Now I have a company in my son to enjoy all thoserides.. Later we went on other rides but this was the first and the best. I will cherish it my lifetime.

Is terrorism the solution?

The death of prabakaran the LTTE chief makes me think.. What really these terrorists achieve by being so violent? Atthe end they seem to die a horrible death. Always live under fear of attack. See your own kids die in front of you.. Have they slept a day with just peace on their mind. Suicide bombers where small kids were trained for this purpse.. Nastyway to achieve something. I still do beleive that LTTE was initated with good intentions. But the path they chose was not the correct one.There can be protests against the partiality shown by the government but it reached the peak and there was no trustworthynegotiations which can be had. At one point hunger for power eats away the good intention.. Will it satisfy them if theyreach power. Never. they would still aim for something different and keep fighting the war. Their intention is to fightand not achieve. What good can it do to the people who follow and beleive? I dream and pray for a world without terrorism where only happiness thrives.

Air travels are they safe anymore?

This news definitely disturbed my mind for a while. I was thinking for sometime about Bermuda triangle. Later when I readabout Bermuda triangle some researches prove that this just like any other place in the ocean. The plane went missing witharound 220 passengers.. saddening. offlate we have been hearing many plane crashes when we thot plane travel is safe.. The aircraft was in good condition on take off. The voice recorders and the so called black box are still missing though therescue crew managed to find some parts and some human bodies. Based on these, the research indicate that the plane indeedwas flying through turbulence and had lot of some issues with a sensor called pitot tubes which provide info aboutthe air pressure and thus help in measuring the airspeed of an aircraft. The airbus company did indicate issues with the pitot tubes and had urged air france to replace but for some reason this was ignored. This has cost the life ofnearly 220 people. Is it economy that is the reason for this negligence? This makes me think... How safe is to travelin the air plane any more? What do we trust?

Maiden Camping

one more tried from my to try list.. camping.. it was exciting for me.. but my friends who had come where complaining that it was no good when compared to their previous camping experience.. well i had nothing to compare and so no complaints. putting the tentwas not as difficult as i imagined it to be.. but deciding the place was the tough one i guz.. well even after so much of debate we had our beds tilting little bit.. may b that is the fun part of the camping.. yapping around the camp fire was fun.. calming downmy son and putting him to sleep was a big ordeal.. he didnt want to close his eyes and miss on any fun. middle of the night hewas confused about his wherebeings. we were cooking outside and eating.. everything was tasting delicious.. was it bcos we were super duperhungry or bcos we were all eating as a group or bcos it was really delicious? The hiking was the highlight of the camping.. It was tiring but fun. I will definitely continue camping.

Ear infections..

So y did I pick up this topic, because my son and ear infections were partners for a long time in the past.. Well offlate the partner seems to be signing contract with other kids and waving him goodbye slowly.. He has become allergic to penicillin.. thanks to all the anti-biotics courses to cure his ear infections.. he got his first ear infection when he was 11 months.. after that it was a regular.. when it came to question of surgery, i quit my job to take care of him at home.. this definitely helped and he did good for more than an year until recently his ex-partner wanted to visit him and say hi.. since it was after a long time ear infection had come for a visit, it became very fond of my son and my son had lost touch with his old partner and so cried in the middle of the night.. well emergency was the only option and after ear drops and anti-biotics he is doing better.. last time his ear infections took my job as a price.. this time it took my working from home option as a price.. i really wish that this is the last visit of ear infection for my son..

Hubby hobby

My hubby's hobby list seems to be growing day by day.. Well I like lot of them myself but he really puts lot of effort in equipping himself better with information.. His first interest is to read news and thanks to his blackberry he keeps himself updated anytime of the day.. He has a lot of interest in music. No wonder v have keyboard, 2 guitars and a veena at home.. He wants to have a dedicated room for music when v move to a bigger house.. He recently started trying his voice also.. He has joined a troup and planning to sing it out.. Then comes photography.. Got him a digi SLR for bday and now he is loving that. One other thing that my husband has dived into is stocks/options.. He is trying his luck there.. Well i should say he hasnt hit the jackpot yet.. Apart from this he is a good speaker and so is part of Toastmaster and is mastering all the toasts possible.. He is good at putting across his ideas and convincing people.. He is recently all into gardening.. He just stunned me by buying so many plants this year.. Last but not the least interest he has is to reads all movie news (thunukku mootai) and is thinking of directing a movie sometime down the lane.. I wish him all the best in his hobbies..

Work it out

I try not to gain too much weight and so off and on i get into this exercise mode.. May be a gene from my mom tells me to keep fit but sometimes other work come up to slow this down a little bit.. Working out at gym is not possible these days as my work blocks my work out. So I try various other things like WII fit, eliptical etc at home.. But few exercises that mymom taught me always helps. I thot y not blog it and have it safe..
1 Lie flat on the back with both hands on the side (palm facing down). Now lift one of your leg and count (1..5) and put it down count (1..5). repeat this for 3 times
2 Do the above with the other leg.. repeat this for 3 times
3 Now lift both the legs and do the same.. repeat this for 3 times
4 Now lie flat on the back and both hands on the side (palm facing down). Now just lift your head and look at your foot. count(1..5)and put your head down.. count (1..5). repeat this 3 times
5 Now lie flat on the back and both hands on the side (palm facing down). Fold your leg. Touch your knees with your hand. count (1..5)and put your hands down and count (1..5). Repeat this 3 times
6 Now lie flat on the back and both hands on the side (palm facing down). Fold your leg. Lift your head and count (1..5)and put your head down and count (1..5). Repeat this 3 times
7 Now lie flat on the back and both hands on the side (palm facing down). Fold your leg. Lift your hip and count (1..5)and put your hip down and count (1..5). Repeat this 3 times
8 Now lie flat on the back and both hands on the side (palm facing down). Fold your leg. Lift your folder leg and put yourhands around the folder leg and touch your knee with your head.. You look like a ball now. count (1..5) and release your leg, hands andhead. count (1..5). Repeat this 3 times.

Vazhai Illai saapadu

Delicious variety food always will attract my attention. I still remember the days when I used to fight with mom for not taking me toweddings bcos I love the whole thot of eating at weddings with all those variety food.. U wont believe it I will ask her tocook all that she ate in the wedding for me.. That is the limit of my liking for vazhai illai saapadu..Well dont imagine me to be a "sappaatu raami"bcos of this, I fall for quality and not quantity. I do a sampling of all the items and satisfy my taste buds.. thalai vazhai illaiyilpaayasam, pachidi, kosmalli, kari, kootu, aviyal, oorugaai, vadai, kalandha saadham, oru sweet is a feast to my eyes.. Well I cannotstop my temptation to eat in the first pandhi.. That moment nothing else matters than to treat myself with those yummies.. Paruppusaadham and pitlai is a very good combination.. Well then comes mor kuzhambu.. After this comes rasam.. One more round of paayasamafter rasam is my favourite part.. I cannot finish my meal without that thayir saadham.. Wow!! writing this blog made my mouth water..

Virtual Trip bank

I always feel that my body and mind relaxes when I am on an outdoor trip. The kid in me suddenly surfaces and I just thoroughlyenjoy my time.. When my son is next to me I have the perfect kiddo company. My husband had to take care of 2 kids (my son and i).I just love to see places and i feel like having a virtual bank wherein I deposit all these places that I visit. So I want to be rich when it comes to these trip banks. Being vegetarian gives me tough time eating out but again we do manage. I am awaiting my trips to the Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Kurumbee thots

Kurumbees are my friends for almost 2 decades now.. wow!! we are in our early thirties now but v still talk like when we were in our teens.. ofcourse we are matured... v have unity in diversity just like our mother country india... each one of us have different tastes, likes and dislikes but v have our friendship, luv and affection binding us together... whenever the thot of kurumbee cross me my mind relaxes and a pleasant feeling fills my heart and a smile happily sits on my lips..

Thot on second kid

Sometimes i think my son should have company. He should grow up with someone sharing and playing. He shouldnt miss on the sibling fact. But on the other hand I think I shouldnt lose focus on arjun by bringing in additional family member. Also given all the economy, i dont want to add another member and suffer as a result. This debate is going on in my mind for a while. Always "One is enuf" thot is winning over "Y not go for the second?" looking at all the pros and cons.

Recipe Thots

Thot to share some recipes

How about some good looking yummy gulab jamuns.. It has always been one disaster or the other while preparing the gulab jamun.. I always thot how come these advertisement gulab jamuns are perfect shaped and look so tempting.. Then I thot how come vadai gets cooked fully and thot of applying the same logic here.. It really worked.. Roll the jamuns into a perfect sphere and poke a hole in the center with a tooth pick.. Now cover it with a wet towel... Ok here goes the recipe

Ingredients for the jamun1 cup of dry milk powder1/2 cup of pancake mix (1/2 cup of all purpose flour + 1/2 tsp of baking pwder)2 tbsp butter (melted)
Ingredients for the syrup
2 cups of sugar1 cup of water3 or 4 cardamoms1/4 tsp kesari powderfew strands of saffron.rosewater (if desired)
Oil for frying
Method for making syrupAdd 4 cups of sugar and 2 cup of water to a vessel and Add crushed cardamom and saffronAlso add rosewater if desired. Let it get a syrup consistency (not too thick). now keep it warm.
Method for making jamun
Add milk to make it into a dough. Roll into perfect circles (with no breaks).. Cover it with wet towel..
Now with a tooth pick put a hole in the jamun. this helps the inner part of the jamun to cook as well.
Now heat the oil and bring it to between medium and low heat..
Add not more than 8 balls at a time.. the balls will slowly come up.. Now keep rotating them constantly, this way it getsbrown evenly and also doesnt loose shape also..
Now once it is fried remove it from the oil and keep it aside for some time before putting it in the syrup. syrup need not beboiling hot, it just need to be warm. Make sure you have enough room for jamuns to expand. Keep it soaked over night and you can serve it
Dressing
You can have dry sliced almonds or sliced pista on top.
My suggestion
Eat the warm gulab jamun with vanilla ice cream.. It is the best combination I have had..

Now i thot y not share this also... Here goes an ez recipe for dhoodh bedas in minutes..

Ingredients1 can of condensed milk2 cups of milk powder1 stick of butter1/2 tsp of cardamom powder
Crushed almonds and cashew (if desired)
Melt butter in the microwave ( 1 min)
Now add the condensed milk, milk powder, cardamom powder, crushed nuts to the butter.. Mix it well. Microwave for 2 minutes.Take it out stir it. Microwave it again for 2 minutes. Take it out and stir it.. Microwave for 1 minute. Done..
Now leave it aside for 15 minutes. Then role it into beda shapes..you can be creative with shapes.. You can add fried almond or cashew to the center.. These are left to your creativity..

Mom thoughts

My thot about moms. I think Windows multi-tasking is less effective when compared to the multi-task that moms do. I was never reliable for any house work or cooking before marriage. I think soon I will be graduating from my Masters in House Work and Cooking. I plan to proceed with my PHd on this.

Son's thot process

Whenever my son shares this thoughts it has never failed to amaze me. He thinks people sit inside the tv on all shows. He thinks people sit inside a phone and talk. He avoids talking to grandparents because he cannot bear the fact that they wont come out of the phone.

Blog my thots

This is my first day blogging.. The thot is going on for sometime.. What to write was a big question.. I decided to blog my thoughts about things happening around me and to me..