Food for Thought

When I was in my BA class, three gentlemen from America had come to visit our college - they were from some Rotary club. One of them asked us: 'What are the first two adjectives that come into your head when you hear the word - America' and I answered 'fast and free'. I grew up in a small town in India. My parents believed that we should be sheltered from hurt and unhappiness. But never from truth or facts. They did not hide anything from us, instead answered our questions as honestly as they could. A few weeks ago, I was sitting with friends and they were narrating how embarrassing some of their progenies' queries could be! and how they handled those situations, and it was nice to hear their no-nonsense approach to these situations. I had thought then, that well, there you go, with parents like these, the future looks good.  And yet, there are people out there making decisions for their children based on their view of what the world should be. Not what the world...

I am sitting at home, watching TV following the Hope for Haiti telethon. I just watched Coldplay sing a song. I had already watched the telethon from Canada - we do have a Haitian-Canadian Governor General as well as one of the largest populations of Haitians outside Haiti. But as I watched Coldplay sing - I thought 'Please give me some money - I will entertain you with the talent I have'.  I noble endevor indeed. But all of a sudden, I remembered this beggar who use to come begging in our area every Sunday around 10 in the morning. He was suffering from leprosy. He had two tiny cymbals, which he would ring while singing his little song. He would do a little bobbing dance with it. For some reason, I remember the raggedy clothes he wore, the ribbons of fabric blowing in the wind as he sang the same song every Sunday. A simple song. That spoke of a simple need.  'Gobinda is hungry If Gobinda is fed Gobinda is happy' And he would smile his toothless smile as he ...

....यानी के सारी दुनिया जिससे बरामुन्दी कहलाती है. हम इसे BHETKI कहलाते हैं. बंगालियों के लिए यह एक ख़ास  मछली है. बंगाल के तालाबों में यह मछली मिलती है. इस में बहुत कम कांटे होते हैं, और इसकी मॉस बहुत ही स्वादिष्ट होती है. कई साल पहले मैं ने DISCOVERY CHANNEL पर एक शो देखि थी. दो AUSSIES खाना बना रहे थे. मछली देख कर में आश्चर्यचकित हो गयी. यह तो अपनी भेटकी है!! पर यह लोग इसे BARRAMUNDI कह रहे थे. पता चला, बरामुन्दी का मतलब है large scaled river fish - पर अगर मेरी नजरिया से देखो - तो बरा मुंडी यानी 'बड़ा सर वाला' जो की इस मछली का बिलकुल अची description है. अजीब है, न? खैर, जब से मैं अमेरिका आई, यहाँ पर कुछ कुछ मछलियां पाई. - जैसे रोहू, इलिश, पाब्दा, पर भेटकी न मिली. यह मछली मुझे बहुत ही पसंद है. इसे खाने को मैं तरस जाती हूँ.  कल शाम को में खाना बनाने चली - पता चला घर में हल्दी नहीं है!! अरे! किसी बंगाली के घर में हल्दी न हो तो खाना कैसे बनेगी? आज ऑफिस से वापस आते वक़्त मैं एक Loblaws में रुकी. Canada का यह एक बहुत बड़ा बाजार है, पर मैं पहली बार आज ...

I made this recipe out of leftovers - and its a great munchie!! ENJOY!! Chop up the bread slices into little cubes toss with salt, pepper spread on parchment paper on baking tray sprinkle with some soy sauce, oil handful of chopped onions, raw peanuts in the oven at 350 for ~ 25 minutes until crunchy serve hot

So I decided to start this blog as an alternative to my other blog 'Travelogue' ( http://girl-of-fire.blogspot.com / ) ! I'm going to be writing down my thoughts here and also some of my recipes will appear here.  Now I do not pretend or even pretend to pretend that I know what the heck I am talking about - but I like to write and this is going to be so much fun! Oh yes - don't forget to look up my recipes on http://allrecipes.co.uk/cooks/4253/madhumita-recipes.aspx Read the posts - browse the links - Leave your comments - enjoy!