MY PUTTUR TRIP

"Puttur" is a small Ooru (town) at M'lore. That's my native. Our house there is a beautiful place for vacation (only). And that is because of the weather conditions. It's very hot throughtout the year. During rainy season it is forever pouring. So there's hardly a way out. Just extremities. That makes it disgusting. Otherwise it is a lovely place to be.

Let me tell you how it looks. It is a mangalore tiled house, as we usually see in the coastal areas down south. My house stands alone in between a vast jungle. Believe me it scares me in the night. Lots of mosquitoes & other insects. Insects of all sizes, shapes & color. Lizards on walls as big as crocodiles, any insect & reptiles you name, it is king size. For eg., spiders as you see in Hollywood movies "BIG" that scares the $#!* out of you.

Amongst all these drawbacks it is still very close to my heart. My Badimaa lives there. I've spent my childhood there with my grandma, Badepapa, Badimaa, Mom, Dad & my younger brother.

We always had guests then. Never was a day without anybody visiting us. They used to make a stay at our place with their kids. I always had a gala time then . When these relatives would make a move, me as a child never liked it. I would always cry my lungs out. I usually forced them to stay for some more days. But still when they had to make a move I would again play all my pranks on them. Would usually hide their belongings. Sometimes it worked but many a times they would still go away, thinking they would collect their things the next time they paid visit. Very childish!!!! Gone are those days. Now we call ourselves "mature" but still long for those days of being "childish", as those were the days we lived the way we wanted. No set conditions or norms of life. No responsibilities.

This time when I had been to Puttur, I visited my old school.
St. Victors English Medium School. Since it was holidays, I could not see all my old teachers. Many of them I heard who were there, then, were transferred elsewhere.







But I still have to thank God for my encounter with my 2nd standard teacher. Her name is Miss Evelin. She was quite plump with a big bindi on her forehead, then, but has reduced now due to age & the recent pain of losing her daughter.



Pain of losing someone very dear to you & whom you love, is beyond explanation. Only the one who goes through it would know the pain. And this is the worst experience of any life & I fear it a lot. I know at some point of time I have to face it, but wonder how would I handle myself. Even the thought scares me & makes me sob..... God help me. I know life is not a bed of roses, but still I pray to God that HE keeps me away from these miseries of life at least till I am alive.

Oh............ Where am I going???? Whateva, that has to happen will 'HAPPE HAPPEN'. I remember one of my friends saying this.

The other teacher I met was a teacher then, but now she is the Head Mistress. Very soft spoken, small & cute, but I guess students see a different side of her. She is Miss Hilda.



I was very happy seeing them both. And Miss Evelin could remember my name, my family, the way I was then, everything but only after sometime. I was happy that she did, that was kinda enough for me for the rest of my life. She kept telling others ( the staff) as to how I was then, & still the same.



Miss Hilda said that I still looked a 7th standard girl with the same childishness. I hope I remain so till I LIVE.

I still remember my first spelling mistake of my english dictation & that was in class 2, the word being DOUBT which I spelt as dout not knowing 'B' was silent. Kept wondering why was it there in the first place when it is of no use ;-). I remember during my vacation at class 2 Miss Evelin asked me what would I bring her when I came back from Bombay & I said chocolates. When the stewardess offered chocolates in plane, I pocketed almost all the chocolates in the tray. After I came back I gave these chocolates to my Miss Evelin.

Hmmm........ Very childlike Gesture!!!



May God bless them all with the happiness they deserve. Love you Miss.
My school has changed a bit of its seating arrangements, uniforms & many teachers of course. Classrooms, school houses (Satya,Seva,Prema,Shanti), the loo are still the same.

So that was my school trip, a trip to my school days through the present.

Now back to my house at Puttur. It is definitely an escape from the monotonous life at Bangalore. Amongst greenery, birds chirping, vegetation, flowers of different kinds, insects of differnt kinds, fruits direct from the trees & many more. Lots of space for us play any outdoor games.



Is it not a feeling out of this world to be amongst this greenery & the closeness of your roots? Roots that I will never forget & am proud to be a part of. My people at home say that grandpa had bought a piece of land then, & he, grandma, BadePapa, BadiMaa & my parents have only improvised it. But the fruits are now less compared to those times when Grandma & Badepapa were alive.

Now that's me at Puttur. Happy & gay being amongst the greenery outside, posing & photographing. Courtesy : All me !!!! ;-)

MAVINAKAAYI CHITRANNA

Raw mango is used in several popular preparations. One of which is maavinakaayi chitranna, commonly prepared in B'lore. Very Yum! When mangoes are not available people generally use lemon for the sour taste instead of raw mango. Usually prepared in the mornings with the left over rice.

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup, already prepared
Raw mango - Grated, 2 tsp
Green Chilli - 2-3 chopped
Onion - 1, finely chopped
Coriander leaves - 3-4 twigs, finely chopped
Coconut - 1 tbsp, Freshly grated
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt as per taste
Sugar as per taste

Tempering:

Curry leaves - 1 twig
Oil - 1 tbsp
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Ground Nuts - 1-2 tsp



Method:

Heat oil in a wok & add mustard seeds & let it crackle. Now add curry leaves. Add dlas & groundnut & saute for a couple of minutes. Do not let it turn dark. When it turns slightly brown, add green chilli & saute for a min. Now add chopped onions & stir fry. Once done add 3/4 th of the chopped coriander leaves & saute. Then add grated mango & saute for a min & then add coconut, stir fry. Once you see coconut has changed color add the turmeric powder. Now add the rice, salt & sugar. Stir continously. Leave it on fire for a min or two, stirring. Yhen remove from heat & garnish with the remaining chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot all by itself or a chutney of your choice.



Note: If lemon is used instead of mango, then squeeze the lemon (half would be enough) when you add salt & sugar to the rice.

SUTTI (DrumStick Gravy Bihari Style)

"Drumstick" is a very tasty vegetation. Nuggekaayi or Nuggekodu in kannada, Sutti in Bihar is commonly used in India. Down South it accompanies other veggies in a sambhar, Korma or even dal. Up North it is used in gravies.

At work when girls found me eating this vegetable, would tease me saying my hubby would have a tough night. Very funny I thought. But I understand, there is a popular belief associated with this vegetable that it is said to increase the sexual libido (desire). Though not medically proven anywhere, this belief does the rounds. Good God!

This particular preparation is prepared at my in laws. And believe me its very delicious. My folks at home like it a lot. I shared this recipe with my Badimaa at M'lore & she even tried it after I came back to B'lore. You would relish it too.



Ingredients:

Drumstick - 3-4 sticks (ridges peeled & cut into 2 1/2 " long)
Potato - 1 medium, diced
Onion - 1-2 sliced
Dry red chilli - 2-3
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 cup
Garlic - 10-12 cloves
Tomato - 1 chopped
Water as required
Salt as per taste
Turmeric Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Kitchen King Powder - 2 tsp
Dhaniya powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Jeera powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Mustard Oil - 2 tbsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp for tempering

Method:

Cut the peeled drumsticks to 2 1/2 " long. Dice the potato & leave it in water to avoid the pieces turning dark. Now grind the mustard seeds, garlic cloves with little water to make a fine paste & keep aside. Heat oil in a wok, add mustard seeds & let it crackle. Then add broken dry red chilli & then add onions & fry till it changes color. Add ginger garlic paste & fry.Now add chopped tomato & stir. Let it cook. When this is done add the masalas one by one. Haldi, namak, lal mirch powder, jeera powder, dhaniya powder & kitchen king powder. Keep stirring till done. Now add the potato & drumstick & stir fry. Let it cook while stirring. Once the drumstick releases its aroma, add water (more if you need gravy or less if you need dry or medium as per taste & requirement). Now cover the lid & let it cook. Stir occasionally. Once the veggies are soft & cooked remove from heat & garnish with chopped coriander leaves & finely chopped drumstick pieces. Lip smacking sutti is ready. Serve hot with white rice & dal.

Note: Keep it watery for rice & thick gravy for rotis.

SIMPLE BIHARI DAL

Hey! I had been absconding all this while as we were all held up with my brother's shopping for his wedding & other chores. I found sometime today, hence would be posting. Welcome Back!!! ;-)

This Dal preparation is a simple one, which is prepared daily in every Bihari house. Usually, the menu for lunch includes several preparations unlike here in Bangalore. Here it is just one gravy or saaru & one dry sabzi or palya. But at my in laws, as I have seen, there would be 2-3 different sabzis either dry or gravy. And to accompany this menu a dal preparation is a must. May be they skip dal if it is a non-veg menu. It's a very easy one. Even a kid can prepare it just like that!

Ingredients:

Tuar Dal (lentil) - 1/4 cup
Masoor Dal - 1/4 cup

(* I keep both the dals mixed)

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
salt as per taste
jeera - 1 tsp
Dry red chilli - 2-3
pinch of hing (asafoetida)
oil - 2 tsp
Ghee - 2 tsp
water as required



Method:

Wash the dal, empty it into a pressure cooker. Now add salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, tsp oil & water depending on the consistency desired. I like my dal watery, hence more water. Now cover the lid & pressure cook till it gets cooked. Remove from heat. Mash the dal. Now heat the remaining oil in a wok. Add jeera & let it splutter. Then add dry red chilli broken & hing. Turn off the heat. Add this seasoning to the dal. Serve this hot with white rice. Just before serving heat ghee & add to the dal preparation. Very divine by taste. One does not require any other side dishes. Just this while very hot & one can experience heaven as the morsel makes its way down the throat.

JANNAT!!!! This is what I keep blabbering as I eat.

Also serves roti for nights. Very simple. Light on tummy as well.

LALBAGH FLOWER SHOW

This year we had been to Lalbagh to view those beautiful flowers & their wonderful arrangements.

It had been a long long time since I had been there. May be the last was when I was in 1st PU. Since then got busy in an affair with Kuku, my parents objection to that, then love got arranged & I sailed for 15 years in love with him & being married. I look forward to many more.

This time I saw them all, again, with many more additions of course. People just await this particular flower show in Lalbagh every year. Now I understand, why? I am a romantic who enjoys every bit of flowers.

With the annual flower show @ Glass House, Lalbagh entertains Bangaloreans & others with varieties of local & international floricultural presentations.





Me & Kuku. " Dekha Jo Tuje Yaar, Dil main Bhaji Tanpura" LOL!!!!

SOME UNKNOWN BEAUTIES

There are many unknown flowers in this world. Many of which specimens, are unknown to man till this date & few of which I am not aware of. But I find them all beautiful & extremely exotic. Only God knows the names of his creations.

Many of these are supposed to be wild specimens. They are "WILD" but exclusive creations.



This violet flower resembles the traditional 'gramophone'.

This particular flower that I photographed was on my way back to B'lore from Kushalnagar. I've no words to express the beauty of this creation. I had not seen such a flower till day. Again a wild brand i two colors. My hubby had stopped by for water & this specimen caught my eyes. I found this on the rocky hill at the side of the road.



It resembles the 'fancy firework', the 'jasmine drops' in specific.