lemons - memory

we had this lemon plant behind our house in Udupi which was highly aromatic. the tiny plant was full of lemon. in summers, first thing in the morning i did was fill a huge vessel with water, add sugar to it. By mid morning the sugar would melt. i would then squeeze a lemon or two, give it a thorough mix and refrigerate it. friends, guest would be served this sherbeth and everybody would go gaga over the aromatic drink. othertimes i would add the lemon to tender coconut juice. wish i had got that plant with me. last year we had been to Udupi for Srikanth's neice wedding. we hired a car and visited our old haunts...the girls' school, Budnar , the house with lemon plant, our second house at hayagreev nagar, Indrali where my mom's friend is...etc etc #memories

ಸುಮ್ನೆ ಒಂದು ಲಹರಿ

ಎಲೆಗಳೆಲ್ಲ ಉದುರಿ , ಈಗಷ್ಟೇ ಚಿಗುರುತ್ತಿರುವ ಅರಳಿ ಮರದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಟ ವಾಡುವ ಬಾರ್ಬೆಟ್ ಗಳು. ಕೆಲವೊಮ್ಮೆ ಕಾಗೆಗಳೂ ಸೇರಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತವೆ. ಹದ್ದು ಕಾಗೆಗಳ ಕಾಳಗವೂ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತೆ. ಹಸಿರು ಕಂದಿನ ಚೆಂದದ ಚಿಗುರಿನ ಬಣ್ಣಗಳು. ನೇರಳೆ ಮರದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಸಲ ಭಾರಿ ಹೂ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದೆ. ರಂಜೆ ಮರದಲ್ಲೂ ತುಂಬಾ ಹೂ ಗಳು. ದುಂಬಿ , ನೊಣ, ಮತ್ತು ಜೇನುನೊಣ ಗಳ ನಿರಂತರ ಝೇಂಕಾರದಿಂದ ಕೂಡಿದ ಹಾರಾಟ.

ರಂಜೆ ಅಂದಾಗ ನೆನಪಾಯಿತು. ಆಗಿನ್ನೂ ನಾನು ಫೇಸ್ ಬುಕ್ ನಲ್ಲಿದ್ದೆ. ನಮ್ಮ ಕಾಂಪೋಂಡ್ ಗೆ ತಾಗಿರುವಂತಹ ರಂಜೆಮರದ ಕೇಳಗೆ ನಿಂತು ತೆಗೆಸಿದ ನನ್ನ ಚಿತ್ರ ಹಾಕಿ -ಈ ಸಂಜೆ : ರಂಜೆ ಘಮ ಕಿ ಕಸಮ್ ' ಅಂತ ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಹಾಕಿದ್ದೆ. ಅದೇ ಸಮಯಕ್ಕೆ ನನ್ನ ಆಪ್ತ ಮಿತ್ರರಾದ ಫೇಸ್ ಬುಕ್ ನಲ್ಲಿರದ ಬರಹಗಾರರ ಒಂದು ಪುಸ್ತಕದ ಮೇಲೆ ರಂಜೆ ಹೂವುಗಳನಿಟ್ಟು ತೆಗೆದ ಚಿತ್ರ ಮತ್ತು 'ರಂಜೆ ಹೂವಿನ ಸಂಜೆ 'ಎಂಬ ಒಕ್ಕಣೆಯೊಂದಿಗೆ whatsapp ಮೆಸೇಜ್ ಇತ್ತು. ನಾನು 'ಅರೆ ಈಗಷ್ಟೇ ನಾನು ನಮ್ಮ ಅಪಾರ್ಟ್ಮೆಂಟ್ ಬಳಿಯ ರಂಜೆ ಮರದ ಕೆಳಗೆ ನಿ0ತು ತೆಗೆಸಿದ ಫೋಟೋ fb ನಲ್ಲಿ ಫೋಟೋ ಹಾಕಿದೆ.ಅಂತ ಮರದ ಫೋಟೋ ಆವರಿಗೆ ಕಳುಹಿಸಿದೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರತ್ಯುತ್ತರವಾಗಿ, 'malathi, save these trees, they are getting extinct' ಅಂತ ಕಳುಹಿಸಿದರು ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ವಿಷಯ ಈಗಲೂ ಜನ 'ಯಾಕಿನ್ನೂ ಫೇಸ್ ಬುಕ್ ಗೆ ಬಂದಿಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ ಕೇಳುತ್ತಿರುತ್ತಾರೆ..ಅವರಿಗೆಲ್ಲ : ಇನ್ನು ಫೇಸ್ ಬುಕ್ ಗೆ ಬರುವ ಅಂದಾಜು ಇಲ್ಲ. instagram ನಲ್ಲಿದ್ದೇನೆ ಅಂತ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಮೇಲಿನ ವಿಚಾರ ನಾನು ಬಾಲ್ಕನಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಳಿತು ಟೀ ಕುಡಿಯುವಾಗಿನ ದೃಶ್ಯಗಳು.

ಸರ್ ಎ ರಾಹ್/on the road

 ನನಗೆ ಪಾಕಿಸ್ತಾನಿ ಸೀರಿಯಲ್ ಗಳು ಬಹು ಇಷ್ಟ. ಒಂದು ಕಥಾ ಹಂದರ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿರುತ್ತೆ. ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ಅಭಿನಯಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ, ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ ಕೆಲವೇ ಕೆಲವು ಕ0ತಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಗಿಸಿಬಿಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. 

ನಾನು ನಿನ್ನೆ ನೋಡಿ ಮುಗಿಸಿದ ಈ ಧಾರಾವಾಹಿ ತುಂಬಾ ಇಷ್ಟ ವಾಯ್ತು. ಹೆಣ್ಣಿನ ಸಬಲತೆ ಇದರ ಉದ್ದೇಶ. 6 ಎಪಿಸೋಡ್ಸ್ ಮಾತ್ರ

ನೀವು ವೀಕ್ಷಿಸಿ ಖುಷಿ ಪಡೆಯಿರಿ, ಕಾಮೆಂಟ್ ಮೂಲಕ ನಿಮಗೇನ್ನೈಸಿತು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾದರೆ ತಿಳಿಸಿ

ಧನ್ಯವಾದಳು. ಕೆಳಗಿನ ಕೊಂಡಿ cluck ಮಾಡಿ 👍👍❤️

ಸರ್ ಎ ರಾಹ್

ರಾಗಿ ಹಾಲುಬಾಯಿ/ಹಾಲ್ಬಾಯಿ

 

Husband is not a big fan of sweets. once in a while he likes traditional sweets like halubai/duddaLi. so for his birthday i made him ragi halbaayi. 

As i have mentioned multiple times i dont like to cook nor spend too much time in the kitchen. so this halubasy is a cheat.

i soaked ragi flour in water overnight with lots of water. in the morning i discarded the clear water that forms on top and put the remnan5s in a double filter. by the time breakfast was over i got a fine  slurry.
i use jaggery treacle. heat in a thick bottomed pan. once it bubbles add coconot milk and ragi slurry. half way into the process add powdeted cinnamons . (fry some nuts and raisins in ghee - optional)and add. once it starts to coagulate and stops sticking to the pan, transfer it to a plate brushed with ghee or coconut oil (if vegan).
i poured it in a mould lined with plantain leaf. no need to apply oil/ghee to the leaf.

refrigerate if need be.
measurement : 1:1:1...if u like it sweeter u can add more jaggery

chaman mahal, ಚಮನ್ ಮಹಲ್

 ಭೋಪಾಲ್ ದಿಂದ  ಇಸ್ಲಾಂ ನಗರ್ ಗೆ ಬರಬೇಕು ಈ ಚೆಂದಫ ಚಮನ್ ಮಹಲ್ ನೋಡಲು.

ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಚರಿತ್ರೆ

                     ಕತೆ/ history ಇಲ್ಲಿದೆ 👆👆

chane ki saag

 

In bhopal saw these tiny chane ki saag for sale. since husband returned to bengaluru by flight, bought a few vegetables and sent it through him. vegetables are cheaper in winter.

the train was supposed to reach bengaluru by 12.30 pm but got delayed by 4 and half hours. i trusted the train to be on time, cos akka had a cake order. but she had to cancel it . if it is natural disaster like rrains, thunderstorm or flood i can understand the delay, but if it is a technical problem i think it has to attended to before the commencement of journey. i am a bit pissed  off. the train is Karnatak express...originating from New Delhi and last stop at KSR. we shelled out 9000 + rs for two to travel first class and expected a few clean basic amenities. the coup was dirty. sheets were dirty. toilet was dirty. cannot entirely blame railways for dirty toilets because it is we the people who make it dirty. i just cannot understand why people do not use water when it is available.
to add to the woe there was no wash basin on the outside..we had to visit the toilet everytime we had to wash hands and utensils. we try to carry home cooked food as much as possible. but we were compelled to order food since we were reaching late.   there is really no improvement in the quality of food sold in trains. since there was network problem we could not order food from restaurants either.

                      a sunset in maharashtra

the windowss were dirty, so i could not enjoy my view of nature. the train travels through UP M P AP, Maharashtra and Karnataka, it is absolutely thrilling to observe the changing vista.

the ac was strong on the top bunk but did not reach lower berth and i felt suffocated.  i am usually not the complaining type.  but this journey made me angry. i can overlook anything except clean windows and toilets. we could not go to other compartments becos either they hanged huge sacks carrying used sheets  and the other side had a locked door.  the narrow passage way most time had vendors selling tea, food etc.
the latch to our coup was not working.  other passengers and vendors have mistakenly opened our doors disturbing our privacy
we reached home around 5.45 and had to clean a weeks worth of dust. thank fully there was some milk in the fridge. first of all i drank my tea.
then soaked some peanuts in hot water. after cleaning of home followed by a hot bath, i started the kitchen fire 🙂🙂
cleaned the chane ki saag thoroughly and chopped them roughly.
heat oil. add mustard, curry leaves, green chillies and a red chilly, chooped onions. once the onions are translucent , add softened peanuts with a bit of salt. saute. add the chopped greens. cover and  cook. check for salt. add a bit of jaggery..this is optional. finally add fresh grated coconut.  i enjoyed this with phulkas.

*malathi's tried and tested tips : if you are trying out a green for the first time., add salt at the end of the cooking. the chane ki saag shrunk in quantity once cooked 🙂👍

we have got bathuas, palak, cute brinjals

 radish/shalgam, and an unknown saag along with chane ki saag. today making pahadi saag ki sabji. we even got broccoli. ❤️

        a beautiful sunset kaliasot dam, bhopal

i enjoyed the chilly weather of Bhopal and usually people were worried that i was not wearing coat or socks. some even check my arms for goosepimple 🙂🙂.. esp the husband.  i can tolerate cold but not summer.  it was 11 degrees on saturday morning 😁

Bread usli/uppittu

 

coarsely pulse bread into the grinder so it looks like rawa.

coarsely pulse coriander leaves, green chillies, garlic, ginger as per your taste
soak frozen peas in water
heat oil and ghee, add mustard, jeera, curry leaves (optional, i love it) . once the tempering is ready, add chopped onions. once the onions are aromatic/slightly pink in colour, add the pulsed mixture. fry for a bit. add turmeric, salt and pinch if sugar. mix well. add peas...(at this stage you can add tomatoes, i did not., instad squeezed aromatic lemon from our teerthahalli farm, just before serving the dish)once the peas are done, add the crumbled bread. mix well. chk for salt. add freshly grated coconut (optional)
my fav food to carry on travels.
Srikant just returned from Bhopal. it was an official visit but he got to spend two days with my Nimpi. peas were selling at 20 ₹ per kg.. so he got some since he arrived by flight. i love green peas.

you can watch the preparation on instagram reel. 👍❤️😀