Today was rough alright!

I woke up real late this morning. Around 9.30 to be precise.

See normally it would be okay to wake up that late, but not when I'd set the alarm to buzz at six itself. God knows I'm trying to obey dad's discipline regime.

It's not even about waking up late. It's about waking up late with a grunt, a (croc) tear and having to do the bed myself.

So what kept me going right up till lunch time? The fact that I was gonna get myself a lovely tomato basil/mushy corn soup. And for FREE! Whoever said "There's no such thing as a free lunch" was so damn right. Because today, ladies and gentlemen, I lost the coupon that was gonna get me that free lunch.

And to top all of that, a blabbermouth blabbered the wrong stuff out to all and sundry, and chose to shut up about something important. It irks me to no end that there's no guilt either. Why do I even bother caring? Soooo pissed me off.

Well, am gonna go out now. Will sit with a big tub of ice cream tonight and watch pathetic Laaga Chunari Mein Daag. That's gonna lift my spirits up. Oh yeah!

Rasam and Vendakkai curry

As I'm writing this, I'm the only one to have tasted tonight's dinner. But, I can proudly say that this is probably my best contribution to the food world.

Seriously... I'm the queen of Rasam and Vendakkai curry! (ok fine, you can take some credit Amma).

The Rasam is the simple Parppu Rasam. The ingredients were simple and regular - the tomatoes, tamarind, hing... and ofcourse, Amma on the phone :P
I thaalichikottified it with mustard seeds and ghee right at the end, and I must say, I'm really trying hard to not pour myself a glass of hot rasam. Dee, here's my post on the perfect Rasam, just like you had predicted.

The Vendakkai/ladyfingers* curry was a little bit of a struggle though. The pre-cut frozen ladyfingers, although a blessing, is a bane. When it defrosts, it becomes all mushy and stringy. Yuck! And it's not a pretty sight mind you. It gets worse when the oil is hot and because of all the water, the whole thing begins to splatter when you add the thawed (and hence wet) ladyfingers. However, I rose to the occassion. I made it work. And work it did. It's simply finger licking good, with the right mix of textures (with the crisp mustard seeds and golden brown daal). Poo this is something you'd have loved. It's your style bhindi.

I'm so pleased with myself. I can't wait to start eating, and finish my meal with good curd rice and pickle. Only thing I'm lazy about is cooking rice. I think it's a chore. Unless I get the other eating participant to cook the rice. But me being me, will probably just lift my ass from the oh-so-comfy chair, be the good Indian wife, cook the rice, and GRUNT.

FYI: There is no Sambar powder in tonight's dinner. So there!

* - You can replace "ladyfingers" with "lady's fingers". If I remember right, I picked this up from F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

Diwali ke shubh avsar pe...

I found my Shiny Ink Pen... the pink one!

Yaaayiiieeeeeeeeeee.

Fireworks and more!

Happy Diwali it is...

Woke up at 5 a.m. (I know!)
Patti performed the "put kaachified oil on head" ritual
Lit diyas (alright, so my aunt lit them and I took pictures)
Lit sparklers, and my favourite, snake tablet thingy
Wore Pattu Saree (supposedly a Sneha Pachai one)
Ate:
- Inji Marundhu
- Rava Laddoo
- Boondhi Laddoo
- Thengozhal
- Chakli
- Nada Pakoda
- Omma Pudi
- Mixture
Watched Sun TV like there was no tomorrow (the Pattimandram, Chennai 28, Gilli, Surya's interview, and every advertisement that came repeatedly during every ad break)
[also noticed that a friend of mine from school was "Fortune"ately acting for some cooking oil advertisement]
Visited the temple here to witness a pooja and then went on for some 'Paet Pooja' to an Indian Restaurant (v.v.imp).

I'm too lazy to scroll up now, but also add Badaam Cake to the list of things I ate.

You know how they say, it's a pity one doesn't get to choose relatives. Well, with mine here, I say Thank God for them. Diwali wouldn't have been the same. I'm blessed I got to celebrate it with family, old and new.

So there was Halloween that came by and went. We drove to the suburbs to watch little kids "Trick or Treat"ing in cute costumes (the most common ones were the characters from the Pirates movie), saw really fancy Jack-o-lanterns, spook/haunted houses etc. This was my first American festival, and it was an interesting experience. What gave me a high were candies my cousin managed to bring home. We weighed it, a whopping 10 pounds of candies of all colours, tastes, shapes and sizes. I swear to God I wished I wasn't 22 already... sigh. (Do not correct me on my age).
What also made it special were all the scary/horror movies that they were showing on TV all that week. Missed a few friends :( [Trivia: Which movie in Hindi is "Hayawaan Uth Gaya"?

Oh well, Diwali is still my favourite festival. Did wish I was in Bangalore with my folks, but I shouldn't complain. Diwali, here, was good too.

And so was Navratri... what with the 5 padi golu, the decorative lights, the dandia et al.