A Writer with a difference..

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness---Mark Twain"

Muthukrishnan made me to agree with Mark Twain's words. In a nutshell, Muthukrishnan is an impressive Writer, Social activist, Traveller for Peace , regular debator in popular Tv shows like 'Neeya Naana' and above all a great humanitarian.

I have hardly blogged about any subject that is other than food. This post is to bring awareness about this great-person and most importantly a wake up call to all those who failed to look at various issues that are revolving around us (including myself!)

How many of us rely on news channels and news papers to know what is going on around the globe?
99% of us believe whatever is shown in the media is the reality. We never question the integrity of the news we read. If we did, our world would have been a altogether a different/ better place.

Muthukrishnan does not fail to question what he hears from the media. In addition to that, he travels to the site himself, researches the actual scenario and finds out the truth. Not all of us can do this.
That is where his service comes to rescue. He writes essays and books on all the issues he has investigated with refutable evidences to support what he has observed.

Not only that, there are many social issues which have not been in limelight due to the media's bias. As a part of the humanity, its our duty to know what happens in the world we live. And we should try to reach out to those in need with our empathy. We all cannot quit our jobs and travel to create awareness. But at least we can render our contribution by maintaining peace and humanity with our fellow neighbors.

Like Muthukrishnan, there are so many eminent persons who have been working for social justice. And they all say, in order to overcome all these social problems a huge attitudinal change needs to take place in people's mind. Why?
Because everything is interconnected. Government, corporate, public, media, religion, social classification, environment , money and many more to list-all have its role to play in the vicious circle of whatever good or bad happens.
A single body alone (say for example government!) cannot be blamed.
Who is government? Our representation! ---there lies our answer.
So the change should begin from us. Again we all have this question, what positive impact is going to take place if I alone change? The rest of the billion population should also change. Well, they might also want to change but they would be thinking like me and not make an effort to change. So this is how the present scenario goes.

The solution ?
Somebody have to motivate us to create/be the change. I see, a person like Muthukrishnan as 'the change agent'. At first, I felt whatever he said and wrote in his books questionable and that led me to research further on the internet. And most of them 're convincing to me.
So I am here to ripple the change he initiated within many of those who attended his meeting yesterday. Not that I am endorsing a particular person, I just started reading his books and there are so much of valuable information which everybody needs to know.

There are so many good hearts out there doing great work for the society just like him. Its high time, we all need to shut down our usual ,stereotypical way of seeing things and have a deeper insight on any issue before taking a stand.

What this post has to do with travel? 
My treks page is calling me to post my long due travel posts.
Muthukrishnan with 120 other International fellows travelled from Delhi, India to Gaza Strip,Palestine via land. His experience of this significant journey was shared with us.
He mentioned how each place they visited was a big 'Revelation' to him. For example, Pakistanis were more friendly to Indians than Indians are to Indians!

Well, I see 'Gaza returned' Muthukrishnan as a great inspiration for all the globe trotters and small trekkers like me! All these years, I have been excited to travel just for the fun of it. But recently, did I discover that there are more to it.

 The Persian Poet Saadi says,

"A traveler without observation is a bird without wings"

So,every travel we do can be a life-changing experience if we do not fail to observe.

My present visit to Kuwait itself turned out more rewarding in that aspect!

Vathal kuzhambu

Vidhya Kumar- Chirpy, sweet, tamil Iyer and an amazing cook. That is how I should describe Vidhya for this post. I met Vidhya last year when I was studying in America. One of the finest south Indian vegetarian cuisines is from tamil brahmins kitchen. And my friend Vidhya is a master at it. Everytime I tried making at home, I would not get the same taste as how Vidhya makes. So one day she made it for me and it seemed quite simple. The secret lies in the sambhar powder and the amount of water we add.

Vathal kuzhambu-just the utter mention of it should makes one drool.

A spicy, tangy and hot gravy with some sun dried vegetables in it. Vathal (sun dried vegetables) can be of any sort but the most popular ones are manalthakkali (black nightshade in english!) , sundakai (turkey berry) and dried mango. Thanks to Vidhya for making it for me :)

You will need :

1 golf ball sized tamarind pulp

2 cups of water

3 tbsp of Sambar powder ( recipe below)

2-3 dried red chillies

3 tbsp of manalthakkali vathal

A pinch of asafoetedia

1 tsp mustard seeds

10 curry leaves

1 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

Sambar Powder recipe from Vidhya

Red chilli - 6 cups (can be any cup size..the ratio of other ingredients should be added accordingly)
Dhaniya - 4 cups
Jeera - 1 cup
Black pepper - 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds - 1/4 cup
Methi seeds - 1/4 cup

Dry roast and grind them together. 

Tip: This is ammas 'mysore podi' which is all purpose. Try them on rasam, sambhar and veggies as well.

Begin by soaking the tamarind pulp in the water.

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the mustard seeds.

Break the dried red chillies into smaller pieces and toss them into the oil.

Once it starts to splutter add a pinch of asafoetedia.

Add the manalthakkali vathal, curry leaves and the sambar podi and let it roast for a minute.

Mash the tamarind pulp and extract the tangy tamarind water from the pulp. Discard the pulp. Pour the tamarind water in the spice mixture.

Add salt and let it boil in low heat for 15- 20 mins until the gravy thickens. It should be ready when it is thick and the oil floating over the gravy.

Smear few tbsps of this gravy on piping hot rice and roasted papad to complete a hearty dinner.

It tastes even better the next day. And stays well in the refrigerator for upto a week!

Trails and pools!

I just got so absorbed by life that I almost forgot about blogging. Here, I come back with more eagerness and lot more things to share in addition to food recipes. I visited various places this summer with some of my awesome friends.

Last weekend I just happend to go for an hiking trip in 'Elephant Rocks state park' which is nearly 195 miles away from Springfield, MO.

The giant, red granite rocks are one of the most unusual geologic formations of southwest region in the States. These huge boulders stand in perfect sculpted position by the relentless forces of weathering and erosion over millions of years of geologic time.

The natural gaps between the rocks were so narrow that it is termed as the 'Fat man's squeeze'. There are various spur trails in this park to hike. One of the trail goes through 'The Maze' , a 100 foot region of vast rocky bed. Within this maze you will find 'the devil's kitchen', a semi-enclosed area formed by a monstrous rock. It was in deed so much fun to explore the caves and depressions in the rocks with friends.

As you walk along the trail, you get to explore the beauty and diversity of the flora in that region. There were also these naturally formed water bodies surrounded by lush green vegetation. On seeing the water, we all wanted to swim. So we headed to another state park close by ,Johnson Shut-ins.

Fearing water might get into the camera, we just left it in the car. But here is a wonderful collection of pictures that shows how it is to experience Johnson shut ins..

The unique thing about this park is the flow of Black river through the 'shut ins' ,a cluster of naturally formed hard volcanic rocks. These rocks pushes the water into many chutes, waterfalls and plunge pools. There are some potholes of nearly 50 feet depth. It was a terrific experience to dive and swim in those pools.

The most fun part began when we came across the different ranges of waterfalls. Each one of these falls brought a different yell of excitement. We almost forgot that we are not kids anymore and were sliding in those water chutes fighting with the other kids for turns :)

There are so many interesting spots in this place that it would take a whole day exploring and enjoying it without any hurry. This is definitely an amazing place for a summer weekend getaway!

Chicken Biryani

Basically I am a Vegetarian, but after coming to US I can't resist trying chicken dishes occasionally. Chicken Biryani is one among those irresistible chicken recipes. There are various methods of preparing Chicken Biryani ranging from the most popular Hyderbani Style to South Indian Ambur style. But here in Springfield,Missouri all the Indian students hail Preethy's Briyani. Lucky to be her room mate that I get to learn non vegetarian cooking from her. Every time she makes it, it turns out to be so perfect and she makes it look like so easy. I remember her making this biryani for nearly 50 people in our small cramped up kitchen all by herself.

A while ago, Preethy made Chicken Biryani at one of our friends place. Thanks to Mrs.Deshpande who whole heartedly let her kitchen for us to exploit.I clicked these pictures to share the recipe with you all.

I know many of my regular followers would have surprised by seeing a Non-Vegetarian recipe in my blog but there are many friends whom I know are die-hard fan of Preethy's Chicken Biryani. I just don't want this legendary recipe(esp. to the Springfield Indians) get lost and so wanted to share.

This is one of the easiest Chicken Biryani recipes I have found. It can be prepared in 30 minutes, if you have all the ingredients handy.

Here comes the recipe..

You will need :

1/2 Kg of Chicken(Boneless or with bone)

4 Cups of Basmati Rice

4 Big Onions

3 tomatoes

3 Green Chillies

2 Tbsp Ginger -Garlic Paste

2 Tbsp Plain yogurt/curd

2 Tbsp Oil

2 Bay leaf

3 Cloves

2 Cardamom

2 Sticks of Cinnamon

1 tsp butter or ghee

1-2 tbsp Biryani masala(approx)

2 tsp chilly powder(approx)

2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

The Biryani can be prepared in a jiffy if you follow the sequence of steps mentioned below..(The process explained below makes you think its elaborate,but trust me its not!)

Wash the chicken and dice them into medium sized chunks. Add yogurt, A big pinch of salt, a dash of chilly powder, a tsp of Biryani masala, one Bay leaf, one Cardamom and Cinnamon to the chicken chunks and mix well. Keep aside.

Wash the rice once and add water until all the rice gets completely immersed. Set aside for soaking.

Chop the onions lengthwise and slit the green chillies.Turn on the stove and place a pressure cooker or a large heavy bottomed vessel over heat. Pour the 2 tbsp oil.

When the oil is getting heated up, prepare the ginger garlic past. Take 5 Cloves of garlic and smash each one of them with the back of spoon/knife to remove the skin off. Peel the skin off a 2 inch Ginger piece.. Chop them finely or blend them in a grinder.

Now add the Bay leaf, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Cloves to the oil. Add the onions and green chillies when it started to splutter. Add a 1/4 tsp of salt to accelerate the cooking process.

Chop the tomatoes. Add the ginger-garlic paste and stir well. The onion should have turned translucent. Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, chilly powder, Biryani Masala and salt(remember we already added 1/4 tsp of salt)

Simultaneously, turn on another stove and place a large frying pan. Add butter/Ghee .Drain the water completely from the soaking rice. Add the rice to the frying pan and give a nice stir. Until the rice appears to be glossy. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Add the marinated chicken pieces to the tomato-onion mixture and cover it for couple of minutes. Add 4.5 cups of water to chicken masala mixture. Mix well and check for spices and salt. At this point add more of salt or spices if you want.

Once the liquid started to boil, add the roasted rice. Mix well and cover and cook in medium heat for one whistle( if using pressure cooker). If not pressure cooker, cook covered for 15 minutes in medium heat or until the rice is done.

Open the lid once the steam settled and get lost in the awesome flavors!!