Fall

Recipe: Cranberry Pickle

The Thanksgiving holidays are just around the corner, and if you're like us, you'll probably have quite a few Indian dishes on the menu along with some traditional ones (here's a menu from a Thanksgiving past - and the New York style cheesecake was homemade, just so you know).

For a desi twist on that Thanksgiving staple, Cranberry, try pickling it - Indian style. Here's a recipe from my friend Lakshmi (ingredients are in bold):

1. Choose firm cranberries

2. Clean (chop off any dry ends near the stems) and dry them completely. There should be no water because water tends to rot the berries and the pickle will get spoilt.

3. Chop the berries into halves

4. Add salt, red chilli powder (paprika) to taste

5. Add a dash of turmeric powder

6. Add 1 tsp of roasted fenugreek powder (methi powder)

7. Heat sesame seed oil (for 250 gms cranberries, 50 gms oil), add powdered asafoetida and 1 tsp mustard seeds

8. Wait for the oil mixture to cool and add to the cranberry mix

9. Enjoy! Try it with warm pita pockets and humus.

With the exception of the roasted fenugreek powder, you'll find everything ready to use at the Indian store. If you don't find the fenugreek powder, ask for the seeds (buy the smallest pack available), dry roast them until you can smell them (a darker shade of the golden brown they already are) and grind them at home.

Let me know how it turns out!

A Love Letter to Bangalore

Aaman sent me this link via e-mail. I'd read bikerdude before, but not in a while. Anyway, this post is hilarious and I want to go to a donut angadi. Like now.

The shop assistants, imported as always from a different planet, nodded and shook their heads for everything. Several sweet delights later, I waddled back to work and realized my wallet was gone. "Aiyo!" I screamed, and huff-puffed back to the donut shop. "Did you see my wallet?" Nod, shake. "Wallet, purse. Left here. Anybody saw?" Nod shake. "No?" Nod shake. "Yes?" Nod shake. I gave up, wrote my name and number on a paper and told them to call me if it turned up. Nod shake.

.

22 Things Guys Always Wanted to Know...

... about women. Trust Amrita to have her finger on ... lots of pulses, actually. So she found this set of questions, answered them brilliantly, and wickedly passed on a tag. Here goes nothin'.


1. How do you feel after a one night stand?
It's not cheating unless you get caught?

2. Do you ever get used to wearing a thong?
See 3 below. If you've gotta do it, you do it.

3. Does it hurt?
Only as much as flossing does.

4. Do you know when you are acting crazy?
Yes. Right at the moment people start running the other way.

5. Does size really matter?
As the wise man Bob Dole is rumored to have said, depends.

6. When the bill comes are you still a feminist?
Prospects need to be nurtured. The good ones, that is.

7. Why do you take so long to get ready?
Clearing the brush is a labor-intensive enterprise.

8. Do you watch porn, too?
Watching is so overrated.

9. Will something from Tiffany’s solve everything?
Nope. But groveling along with the blue box in hand help.

10. Are guys as big of a mystery to you as you are to us?
Not the ones in the fringes. The "normal" ones, yes.

11. Why do you sometimes think you look fat?
Because sometimes I am.

12. Why are you always late? (oh yeah, see question six!)
Good things come to those who wait.

13. Does it bother you when we scratch?
Not if one scratch saves nine later.

14. Do you wish you could pee standing up?
Who sez we can't?

15. Why do so many women cut their hair short as soon as they get married?
So you can't tell whose hair is clogging the shower drain.

16. How often do you think about sex?
In my book, detail trumps frequency.

17. What do you think of women who sleep with guys on the first date?
WTG!

18. Would you?
Too late for that now.

19. Do you realize every guy wants a girl just like his mom?
Really?

20. Why does every woman think she can change him?
Because mom obviously didn't do a good job if 19 is true.

21. Does it matter what car I drive?
Nope. It sure matters how.

22. Do you ever fart?
Ever heard of the stealth bomber?

Now for the fun part - I tag Poppin's Mom, Sue and Aditi.

Photoshop Magic Erases Faith Hill's Elbow

Redbook, supposedly the magazine for a "mature" audience, is in some hot soup this week following a behind-the-scenes look at the machinations to "fix" Faith Hill's cover photo. Jezebel.com got a hold of the "before" picture and has helpfully created an animation that jumps between the before and after verions of the country music star's image. Here's a blow-by-blow account of the the fixes if you want more details.

It's mesmerizing.

US Schools: Public vs. Private

If you've ever thought about whether to send your children to public schools or to private schools and were looking for a way to assess the pros and cons, then this past weekend's Washington Post Magazine provides the personal insights of two families who've grappled with this issue.

In Learning to Conform, Fredrick Kunkle "reflects on how the drive to test and label students at his daughters' public school has snuffed out freedom and fun," and in Unreal World Pamela Toutant argues that, "for all their privilege, private school children miss out on the richness of being around kids not so like themselves."

As you will see, the choice is not an easy one to make and doubts linger no matter what.

Middle Name Tag

Sue tagged me a while ago to write a post related to the letters of my middle name.

The rules of the tag are:

1. The rules must be mentioned in the beginning of the tag.

2. You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

I don't have a middle name but I love the name Maya. It also has the advantage of being short! Here goes:

M - I love the flavors of Mediterranean cuisine - the fresh veggies, the olives, the herbs, the grains, the hummus. There's always a tub of hummus in my fridge and makes a great snack (with some bread) in an emergency. I also love my mom's Mysore saaru. A meal of simple tomato saaru and beans palya is always a treat!

A - Astronomy and Art - I wish I knew more about those subjects than I do now, which is not much at all. Some day, hopefully.

Y - I have a terrible yelling voice. When I scream at the top of my lungs (at a game, for instance), I sound like a banshee and people turn to look.

A - I want to say I'm stubborn; will use adamant here. I am that when it comes to the things that are important to me.

I'm going to break rule number 3 and tag Taz, BPSK and Sunshine.

The Rising Rupee, the Falling Dollar and Lost Jobs

The story of the strengthening rupee, dubbed by Indian newspapers as the "raging" or "roaring" rupee, has cast a long shadow on the export industry. According to the Federation of Indian Export Organizations, 4 million Indians have lost their jobs this year, and the number is estimated to rise to 8 million by March. The worst-affected exporters are those producing garments, leather goods and handicrafts for U.S. customers, as well as companies providing information technology services to the United States.

Today's Washington Post on the fall out from the strengthening rupee.

The Chronicle of One Family's Decision to Return to India

Writer and journalist Shoba Narayan painstakingly chronicles her family's decision to return to India. The words jump off the page as she describes her longing, confusion, determination and excitement.

It was after I had a child that I first entertained the previously heretical possibility that, perhaps, America wasn’t home for me. I was tired, sleep deprived and encumbered, and the “land of the free” no longer seemed so to me. I was saddled with a toddler and missed parents, relatives and other potential babysitters. I missed the respite that came from dropping off a child with a trusted aunt for a few hours.

India’s social fabric seemed more conducive to raising a family. There, I could call a neighbor, any neighbor, at a moment’s notice and ask her to watch my child while I ran out for some milk. I missed the septuagenarian grandfathers who patrolled my neighborhood and reported back all naughtiness and babysitter negligence. I had hated their interfering as a child; now, as a mother, I viewed them as allies. I missed the whole village of people who had raised me, who would help me raise my child.

The whole thing is here (via SAJA).

Updated to add links to previous posts on this topic:

Where is Home?

What Makes a Community?

Parenting from an Immigrant Perspective

Identity - The Quest for Comfort Within our Skins

Bangalore: The Insider/Outsider Debate

Happy Deepavali!

We were very lucky to have celebrated Deepavali the last two years with our families and friends in India. It was childhood all over again - braving the crowds at the firecracker stands, having to make choices between equally enticing flowerpots, rockets, Lakshmi patakis, vishnu chakras and bhuchakras, splurging on the garland of 10,000 crackers, running through the entire flowerpot stash in ten minutes, and then running to the shop to splurge some more, the endless cups of tea and carrom board games, the family jokes, the teasing and the gossip, and the FOOD!

Two years ago, apart from two cousins, the entire set from my mom's side was in attendance and it was great to hang out with them - babies when I left but now all grown up.

Pictures from Deepavalis past are all we have this year and the hope that we can meet up with some friends this weekend and recreate the magic.

Bedtime Reading Picks for the Under-6 Crowd

M. Venkatesh's bedtime reading picks for the really young in this past weekend's Mint Lounge.

Blogging and Community

Choxbox and Poppin's Mom both awarded Blogpourri the Community Involvement Award and they both cited my posts on schooling in Bangalore. I've been basking in the warm, gooey feeling ever since. Thanks a bunch guys! I'm just glad those posts are helping someone.

I pass the award on to Saks - her involvement with causes and passion for helping people is tremendous and admirable. Go Saks!

Children's Book Review: The Little Man in the Map by E. Andrew Martonyi, Illustrated by Ed Olson

My hat, my face, my stylish shirt.
Two states that prop my hat.
A whispering state, a pack of books.
Say "Cheese!" A honking pat.
A puppy and a mitten,
With a cozy sleeve below.
My drinking cup's the final state.

You probably have no idea what this verse is all about, but hidden in it are the clues that not only help elementary school children learn the names of all the states in the Midwestern region of the United States, but also exactly where they are positioned in relation to each other on a map. No mean feat for seven lines of verse.

Learning the names and locations of all fifty states is no easy task, even for older students, but is one of the main building blocks of elementary geography education. Most children recognize a few states - perhaps the states they live in and the ones around it and one or two others - but memorizing all fifty of them and where exactly they are on the map is quite something else. The Northeastern states are all a jumble as are the ones to the west of Illinois and south of Virginia.

Enter Andrew Martonyi's The Little Man in the Map, the winner of the silver Moonbeam Children's Book Award in the Non-fiction picture book category. It is a gem of a resource for parents and teachers on a quest to make US geography engrossing and captivating for young children.

With the help of an imaginary "Man Inside the Map" (the shape formed by five states down the middle of the United States - Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana), Martonyi employs mnemonics, simple verse and a healthy dose of creativity to help spark enthusiasm and excitement for an arguably dry subject.



Minnesota is the little man's hat, Louisiana is his boot and Kansas is his backpack. The narrative bestows each state with a function in relation to the ones around it, so if you recognize one, identifying the adjacent ones is a breeze.

To help children assimilate the information in small, bite-size chunks, Martonyi breaks down the US map into discrete regions - Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, Northeast and West.

By the time the story of all the fifty states is told, Ed Olson's graphic illustrations and Martonyi's knack for spotting everyday things in the shapes of the various states have done the trick. The name of each state is recalled with ease. I should know - my seven year-old learnt the entire map in two readings of the book.

Every so often there's a study that bemoans the falling standards of geography literacy. Books like Martonyi's, written for children with an intimate understanding of what captivates and retains their attention, are much-needed agents of change. I wonder if he has plans to tackle world geography next.

Image courtesy: Schoolside Press

Great Resource for Comparing Bangalore Schools

I received a comment on one of my Bangalore Schools posts about a website dedicated to listing, comparing and providing other information about schools in Bangalore. I took a quick look and it seems like a great resource. It's simply called Bangalore Schools and is at Bangaloreschools.net. Good luck.

Update (Sept. 27, 2009): A wonderful post on alternative schools in general and one in particular, the Krishnamurthi school, at Punarjanman. Lots of good info about myths and advantages and disadvantages of alternative schools.

A Father's Dilemma

Herman had chronicled his son's life from the day he was born, writing down details that only parents have the urge to remember for ever and ever.

But it also memorialized anecdotes like the time when he sat with my wife on the front step of our home and watched as a bird crashed headfirst into our front window. Unshaken by the limits of his 2-year-old vocabulary, he turned to my wife, put his hands to his head and quietly offered up his assessment of the bird's plight: "Helmet" was all he said.

Now, eighteen years and 250 pages later, the baby is a grown man and has flown the coop for college. What is the father to do?

Herman has his turn in Newsweek.