On The Ning Nang Nong

Discussion in 'Education & Personal Growth' started by Iravati, Apr 5, 2017.

  1. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    Since such olfactory disposition is absent in sanitised forums, digital pheromones operate in an adaptive mode. On that fraternising note, I love reading the Edge Annual Question and recalled this response on affinity and prejudice from 2016. Overlooking the experimental grounds for now in that study, the conclusion is interesting. We are not attracted to co-race, co-gender, co-religion but co-partisan (political ideology). I am apolitical so I am confused. But does politics really dictates our rules of engagement in friendship?

    Online is a different ball game but not too opaque or challenging. Content and articulation are signals to draw or repel from a fellow wanderer. I usually avoid these types: (1) weepy and wimpy (2) lackey and unctuous (3) petulant and irascible (3) and the righteous and noble kinds. I prefer flawed contributors those with prickles or chips on their shoulders who are argumentative, opinionated, wilful, assured, nitpicking, gritty, funny and unstinting in critical assessment. I get along with bigoted, egoist, egotist, arrogant and unruly types but it is the auntyji type bathed in milk and doused in honey that I eschew. I prefer people to be natural and flawed to contrived mannerism. In other words, I get along with people who are like me, it is the saintly and virtuous folks dripping (stinking) in genteelism that I am slightly wary of.

    But that sambar? Hold on, but that sambar? Ab tumne mujhe lalkara! But that sambar. Take the next flight and taste for yourself and you will be reformed from "but" the sambhar to "and" that sambar. Hehe! My mom makes good sambar. In this trip as well, I was amazed at the bursting taste of her sambar. I keep teasing her that she has withheld a key ingredient in her recipe from her own kids because none of us are able to reproduce that taste.

    Where are the blueberries? There is a dollop of cream on the top. And she says, "but" the sambar. Hey, is it easy to make pancakes at home? Never tried. Have always eaten out. Do you have any simple (extra simple) recipe for newbies? Also, I noticed your rotis appear very soft. How do you knead the dough to make such soft and fluffy rotis? I add curd, milk and water but my rotis are still stiff.

    'Sarees with pants' sounds a novelty! I haven't come across the thread. I like Indian cotton. I cram my bag with T-shirts from India for daily use here. I love soft cotton. I don't find such soft fabric here. Most of the times, I feel the high-end blouses (on jeans) here are made of 'sari pallu' from India. They are gauzy or gaudy and glittery. Have you come across the types I am talking of? Seriously, you feel like the scarfs and skirts were hurriedly stitched from an Indian sari.
     
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2017
  2. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    Wow! I just skimmed the blog. But how do they match the shoes and garments with a brand and season? Do they take a picture and reverse image search in Google for the brand. I see pictures of celebrities juxtaposed with the original catalogue models. How do they trace it back to the brand/model, surely, the fashion journalists cannot clutter their brains with the memory of every fashion produce of the season. There ought to be a software that identifies the label of the clothes during celebrity spotting.

    'High heels' reminds me of Louis XIV and his flashy red sole and heels before Louboutin patented it.

    upload_2017-9-19_9-39-21.png

    Fashion trends are mercurial because they are up for the grabs by all classes and genders and eventually lose their novelty. Look at what happened to the high heels. The Persians developed high heels for horse riding to hold on to their stirrups. The Europeans were enamoured of this Persian fashion and manufactured heels of their own. The bourgeoisie started to imitate the high heels of the aristocracy. The nobility in an attempt to distance from the riffraff felt the need for a higher heel to showcase higher esteem (hence the expression 'high-heeled' or 'well-heeled' in colloquial English to mean "well-off"). Women arrive and confiscate this fashion trend and declare that heels are for women. High heels lose their patronage amongst men. The story takes several more bends before Beyonce shimmies in high heels and a museum is sought to house the shod leather. The history of high heels is fascinating so are the period hairstyles and dressing gowns whose vestiges still sparkle in modern couture.
     
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2017
  3. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    @Gauri03

    Tumne mere sambar ko reject kiya.

    Super-eclipsed chef has taken it as a challenge. Here is tamarind rice with mixed vegetable curry. Made it simple. Itna fancy nahi.

    upload_2017-9-19_14-8-54.png
     
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  4. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    See this is the problem with writing for you la-dih-dah Queen's English types! There is no room for error! :D I knew that sentence was dead on arrival when I wrote it. Poorly written and open to misinterpretation. But in a fit of laziness I stuck a heart-eyes smiley hoping it would fill in the missing words. It was supposed to read -- "but that sambar (most of all)" or "but that sambar (especially)". In hindsight even a "but that sambar is :hearteyes:" would have made the message clear. Anyway my ham-handed point was that out of entire spread the sambar deserved heart-eyes. It looked drool-worthy! So much so that I made sambar for dinner when I didn't have any plans to. If yours looks like that then your mum's must be heaven! It is on my bucket list now. : )
     
  5. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    We are a toffish clan!

    Nah! It arrived bonny then I fed my learner's grammar diet to it and in no time it lost all the fat and shrivelled like the drumstick in my sambar. I did tell you that I am practising grammar these days.

    The heart-eyes smiley preceded the friend invite. You inserted it after the exclamation mark of the previous sentence. (la-dih-dah nitpicking)

    That would have definitely made the message longer though and I love reading your long messages. Hehe! I know, I know what you meant but I love to tease, and with you, sokanasanah and cheeniya I take that liberty to prolong into a tease.

    That sambar might be thinking, no one has fought for my honour so much till date. No lady has looked upon me with hearty-eyes till date. No one made a sambar for dinner on whim till date. No one has bucketed me in their list. I would better stick with these hellish ladies and not switch places with their mum's heaven.
     
  6. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    Arerey! I have received similar vibes and vibrations (in pms) that I write the most boring essays and tracts that no one cares or needs. But I love rhinos and hippos so I ramble away more essays and tracts on cats, dogs, frogs and now lizards. In any case, I have moved the 'bored to the boned' topics to NNN.

    On that tangential note, have you heard about Nigel Stanford and his music?

    Here's Cymatics for you



    Why now all of a sudden? Because recently he posted another music album called Automatica that the Neural Watson might find amusing.

     
  7. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    Ira: Are you ready? We are getting late.
    Gauri: I am confused what high-heels to wear.
    Ira: Damn those heels!
    Gauri: Wait, one last try to find my other heel.
    Ira: We are getting late.
    Gauri: We are already late.
    Ira: I know, we were supposed to graduate to the next grade in March and we made it in September. I lost hopes!
    Gauri: With all the nonsense and drivel we write, I lost hopes for this year. Somehow we made it in September.
    Gauri: What happened to your bow?
    Ira: I lost it.
    Gauri: I doubt. You must have eaten it. You are one hungry bird. What is it that you are holding?
    Ira: That is my paint brush.
    Gauri: Paint brush? That looks like a toilet brush. Have you chewed away that also?
    Ira: Aren't you glad we made it finally to the next year in Neurite Campus.
    Gauri: Between us, who do you think writes the snoring and boring stuff?
    Ira: You write 'bore to the bone' essays but I write 'bore to the bone marrow' essays. Don't even try to compete with me.
    Gauri: Let's go.
    Ira: One picture for the album.
    Gauri: Ok.
    Ira: Make a wish.
    Gauri: Wish?
    Ira: Yes, a wish.. If we were really birds, what birds would we be.
    Gauri: We are two ostriches burying our heads in the nonsense we spawn.
    Ira: Say kimchi!

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    Last edited: Sep 20, 2017
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  8. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Ha ha! I had a handful of blueberries and they all sank to the bottom. Not visible in the picture but they're there. The dollop on the top is Amul butter. Pancakes from scratch are very easy to make.

    Ingredients
    • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 3 1/2 tsps baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1/4 cup sugar
    • 1 1/4 cups whole milk
    • 1 egg
    • 3 tbsp butter melted
    Instructions
    1. Melt the butter in microwave for 30 seconds, set aside.
    2. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
    3. Stir milk and egg together.
    4. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture.
    5. Pour the butter and milk mixture into the well.
    6. Use a wire whisk to stir everything together until just combined. It will be slightly thick and lumpy, but should be well incorporated.
    7. Allow the batter to rest while heating a lightly oiled skillet or griddle to medium high heat.
    8. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake.
    9. Cook each side for 3-6 minutes, until lightly golden brown.
    Source: Best Ever Homemade Pancakes

    I followed the recipe exactly as written. Just added blueberries to the batter.

    On rotis

    I am afraid I don't have any truly precise tips for you. I use lukewarm water to knead. It helps with the gluten formation. At the very end, when I have a soft dough ball, I add a teaspoon of oil and knead it into the dough. It seems to help during rolling. I think most of the trick is in the kneading. The dough ball should be stretchy and soft. Dough that pulls apart too easily will make chapatis that dry to a crisp once cold. I searched on YouTube and liked this video on kneading and rolling soft rotis -

    .
     
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  9. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    I can't stop looking at those bird graduates! :lol: They are adorable! Especially the ruffianesque Ira sans bow tie. Très mignonne!

    Gauri: Ira...
    Ira: Yes!
    Gauri: Er...what exactly are we graduating?
    Ira: Stoooopid! What did you think we were doing here since April?!
    Gauri: Erm...talking about Princess Bride, Kurt Vonnegut, Thomas Aquinas, consciousness, gourds and rotis? Is this a special curriculum?
    Ira: :facepalm::BangHead:
     
  10. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    You know, when the recipe sounds so simple and the dish so toothsome I worry if it is the skill in handling a griddle that merits a fluffy pancake. I shall try this pancake recipe but I have a feeling mine won't turn out as fluffy.

    This is again a challenge to me. That trick in kneading is something I could never crack. Let me try with lukewarm water this time. Below is the closest I ever got to aerate my roti. Well, as you can see for yourself, it involved an utter compromise in shape, crimped and uneven at edges that looked like a pita bread's bloated and blotchy cousin.

    upload_2017-9-21_11-36-34.png

    Dumping food musing from last week.

    upload_2017-9-21_12-25-53.png

    (1) Have you noticed that (indulgent) Indian burgers come with filling under and filling over. I so love it!
    (2) Motichoor laddoo
    (3) Butterscotch pastry

    To balance any excitement you might have felt at those food excesses, here's the downside. I put on 3.5 kilos in ten months (~ the beginning of the year). Are you ready for some fitness boot-camp?

    upload_2017-9-21_11-40-48.png

    Dinner: All the "but" acclamation got into my head and I made sambar again last night alongside brinjal masala.

    upload_2017-9-21_12-26-58.png

    Breakfast:

    upload_2017-9-21_12-36-3.png
     
    Last edited: Sep 21, 2017
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