Godhuma Dosa

Hey everyone.. no soaking, no grinding, no fermenting,absolutely no prep what-so-ever for this dosa!

  

 Figs. 1, 2, and 3: Godhuma Dosa in various poses.

I found this on Indira's old blog Mahanandi. It is also available other places as Wheat Dosa or Godhumai Dosa.

Method: Mix wheat flour (chapati aata) + water in about 1:2 or 1:3 proportion. Add salt to taste. You really shouldn't stick to these proportions for water though. Because I ended up messing around with the batter consistency till I achieved the correct texture in my dosa. The batter should be really thin. When you pour it on the frying pan, the paper-thin dosa should immediately form this mesh-like pattern. (You don't have to spread it, pouring should be enough.) If the batter is too thick it will not form this mesh. I have put up three pictures so that you can see the mesh. Try one or two dosas.. at most your third one will definitely be right!

One cup wheat makes about 5-6 really thin dosas. And Indira instructs to not leave the batter sitting for too long, becomes a gooey mess apparently. Noted! :)

Cheers and happy cooking everyone!

Chocolate Banana Bread and Banana Bites

Hey everyone... a double recipe today! Chocolate Banana Bread and Banana Bites.

Fig. 1 Chocolate Banana Bread

Fig. 2. Banana Bites

I love eating lots of bananas. Bananas contain potassium. When I started running, my legs would be sore all the time. At some point I decided to look up what I could do to reduce the soreness. A little reading showed me that potassium intake is good to keep soreness at bay. And eating bananas is a good way to get potassium in my daily diet (I don't particularly fancy eating potatoes every day). So a banana a day keeps my soreness away! 

But my banana consumption, weather conditions and grocery frequency are three data points that do not always lie on one line. I hear people freeze bananas or keep them in the refrigerator. Please let me know if you do that and it works ok for you to make something later. 

Anyway.. as is obvious.. almost every alternate weekend, sometimes even on week days, I am left with 1 or 2 bananas that are threatening to self-destruct. And even if desserts are not the best way to get one's potassium, they are a good way to not-waste over-ripe bananas.

Chicken cutlets

Hey everyone.. Chicken cutlets today.. Why is this post labeled - fitness? Because runners like motivation, even if it is motivation to cook.

Fig.1. Chicken Cutlets

Do you sometimes lose the motivation to do some particular thing?

I have gone through this before.. in different areas at different times. Loss of motivation to work.. to run.. to cook.. to clean.. basically anything that requires effort could be a target here. Usually I can figure out exactly what is the reason.

But that doesn't change the fact that I don't feel like doing it right now! And most reasons simply cannot be fixed.

Usually, however, there is no option in these things. You have to work. You have to cook. You have to run. You have to do whatever it is that is the task at hand. And do it well too! But sometimes.. it is possible to just push it to later..

"Later" is Lady Slackalot's favorite word! It really is a polite way of saying "No." ;) If I avoid cooking long enough, we will have to get take-out. :D And yes.. sometimes it's ok. But if I actually have the time and energy, and still avoid it.. avoid it too many times, then it's time for the cheer-leader to come out and motivate! We are our own cheer-leaders. And if we have to do something, we really might as well enjoy doing it!

How do you motivate yourself?

What do I do when I don't feel like working? I go and sit amongst a lot of people who are busy at work! Like a public library. I try to hang out with people who like their work. People who are successful at their work. I try to mix it up a little, try something new in the task. I create deadlines for myself. And worst comes to worst, if I find I do not meet my own deadlines, I make them public! I tell my family and friends and sometimes announce it on the blog too.. that I will do so-and-so thing.. run or walk so many miles this month.. etc.

I do this for work, for running, for cooking, chores, errands,.. a lottttt of things! And usually it works. (Again, there is not much option. Something better work!)

Last few days I found myself not cooking. :( I did the usual. I spoke with my friends and family swapping recipes and dinner ideas. I browsed and read through your blogs (hanging out with people who enjoy the task and are successful at it!) Told myself that I will make so-and-so dish on Sunday.. (setting deadlines). Finally I told my Mom that I have not been cooking!! (Making things public, and how!) That combined with Bong Mom making chicken meatballs (new for me) finally worked!!

I went and got ground chicken (fresh ingredients, the ultimate deadline) and made chicken cutlets!!!!!!!! Yay!! Not only that, I also took pictures! Waah-waah, shabbash beti!! :D

And to seal the deal, (further making things public)... mujhey mere blog ki kasam, I will post at least 3 more food recipes this month. Total public commitment! Ab bachkey kahan jayegi! We meet Lady Slackalot head-on and tell her to get out!

Continuing the drama just a little longer.. (where else but on my blog will we find so much detailed procedure for how to deal with "getting-bored"-ness..)

My thanks to all you bloggers and blogger friends! Reading your blogs is far more fun than cooking or writing my own! But it sure helps me do both! :) Also thanks to my readers.. It's hard for me to believe how many of you read my posts.. even the fitness ones!! Just seeing you check in and find my lonely turtle sitting there with stale old rasgullas gave me a good kick in my... Well, thanks you all! I will do my best! 

Turtle watching

The other day when I visited a friend, we went to a small nature preserve. A very short hike away, we reached a pond/some-sort-of-murky-water-body.. and there we spotted this darling turtle..

Fig. 1. Turtle

I increased the brightness a little so we could see the turtle in the pic.. and yet he is hard to spot. He must have been about 4-5 inches large and quite a bit away from us.

I tried to read up about Turtles, but couldn't figure out what this guy's name might be. He was really tiny, and this pic doesn't give very many details. So I am just going to call him Mr. Acrobat!

I couldn't click this, but underneath Mr. Acrobat, inside the water was another turtle poking his head out periodically. :)

Wish we could carry around cool zoom cameras all the time. Wish cool cameras were less expensive. Wish my cell phone camera could take better pictures. (No, this was not my cell phone camera, but even my best camera is an ordinary point and shoot.) Wish Turtles stood still! Wish I'd at least had the presence of mind to take a video of Mr Camera-Shy Turtle bobbing in and out of the frame...

What do you wish either you or your camera could do?