Lentil spinach curry

Lentil Spinach Curry or my enemy for the life time?

To be honest I hate lentils my childhood days onwards ,this is the one dish my father love the most and mom prepares on a regular basis, means at least 5 times a week. During my school days it was an inevitable item in my tiffin box and almost all my text books is decorated by the yellow shades of the soup. When I entered into a wedlock I thought I will be able to escape from this lentil soup torture.


But fate has a different plan for me.After the 30th day of the wedlock we started our life together in a new environment,new country,new climate and everything new ,so as the kitchen. As I am a good cook I tried hard to find a good website which gives me some insight into how to prepare tea and coffee. As a result of my experiments Praveen decided to take over the control of kitchen for few days. And he prepared his fvrt dish that is the lentil spinach soup for 3 continuous days.

That was the provocation..sorry..inspiration for me to strat cooking. After two and half years of trial and error, I think I am nearly there. Of-course in friendly terms with lentil soup too bcoz I gave deepas version to the lentil Curry.

Here we go:



1. Toor Dal – 1 cup
2. Spinach – 1 bunch chopped.
3.Butter- 1/2spoon
4. Grated Coconut – 1/2 cup
5.Pepper powder-1/4 tsp
6. Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
7. Onion (thinly sliced) – 1 med
8. Dry Red Chilly – 3
9. Cumin Seeds – 1/2 tsp
10. Green Chillies(Sliced) – 2
11. Kunjulli (Shallots) – 4 or 5

12.Tomato (sliced)-1

13. Oil – 3 tbsp
14. Garlic – 3 or 4 pods
15. Chilly Powder – 1sp
16. Salt – As required
17. Water – As required
18.Musturd seeds – 1/2 tsp
19. Curry Leaves – A sprig
Method:
1. Pressure cook the Dal with Water, Salt, Turmeric Powder,tomato and Butter .
2.Grind coconut, chilly powder, jeera, green chillies and kunjulli with little water and keep it aside.
3. Heat half portion of oi in a pan. When it is hot add onions, garlic and red chillies and saute till the onions are golden.
4. Add the spinach and pinch of salt and saute for a few minutes till it is cooked now add the cooked dal to this and bring it a boil stirring frequently.
5.Add the coconut paste to the dal and cook it for a few minutes till the curry is thick.

8. Finally season the curry with Mustard Seeds and Curry Leaves sauteed in 1 tbsp oil.

Now it is ready for you...Happy to meet so many amazing bloggers around..love u all..u all are so talented.

Potato cheese omelette...another day of terror for Praveen.

Our Christmas week end, we enjoyed having paracetamol and few other capsules for cold and fever. Praveen tried to prove his excellence in kitchen but as usual ended up in the usual stuff ,rice soup( we call it kanji) and pickle. So for a change i ,decided to go for something simple and different.

So here comes the Potato Cheese omelet..for a change!!!!!!!!
( P.S : Wont recommend this for fever of cold victims ,but if your partner provokes you with their cooking experiments,vouch for sure, you can try this)
Cheese,grated: 50 gm

Potato (medium one)- boiled and mashed or grated.
Big onion half-sliced.
Green chili-one -finely chopped.
Garam masala optional-1/4 tsp.
Butter- 1 tsp.
Egg- 2nos.
Black pepper powder-1/4tsp.
Salt- As required.
Parsley or Curry leaves-  Few.

Method:



Heat pan with butter in medium heat,add sliced onion,green chili and bit salt stir well add garam masala(optional)now add  mashed potato stir for two to three minutes keep it aside.


Beat egg well, with bit salt and pepper.
Heat  your non stick pan(medium heat), add the remaining butter and add your egg mixture. Stir it gently using the edge of an wooden spoon,as egg begins to set, run spatula under edge of omelet, lifting cooked portion and allowing uncooked portion to spread to bottom of pan, tilting pan as necessary.
Now put your potato mixture in the middle of this omelet as a line. Put grated cheese on top of it. now gently turn the sides of your omelet to this middle portion from both sides.
Keep it in that pan for bit more time, just for that cheese to melt. If you are an expert cook ,you can turn the omelet upside down and allow other side to cook. What i do is i heat another non stick pan and put the omelet to that one from the current pan. Simple.
Omelet is ready. You can serve with green salad

Ray of hope

When the lamp set aside to sleep with night all will become empty in the cosmos, but the lamp left a ray like memories of hope.......the wisdom..... left for us when it was glowing that is enough to lead us from the darkness to the bright tomorrow. But one thing if we do not urge the power from that hallo around the lamp when it was glowing sure we all will be in the deep meadows of darkness forever. So try to analyse the difference between the glow that illumines, and the glare that obscures.

(Comment by Ajay visual panorama)

Did you actually find them?

Today, after a long dull day, I started playing with my computer. Sign in to Face book to see if my little brother vinukuttan is there so that i can be a "sorry creature*" and complain about my day.

Been to an interview, with wrong pair of shoes and was worried more about the shoes rather than the interview itself.
To be honest the job description given by the lady on the other end of the phone was crap. But yesterday i said yes for a face to face interview,  for the simple reason, their pay scale. ( I am dreaming about a new macro lense. So i thought i will give it a go).  I was there with three other people in a small room and we started talking about how to prepare a cake. ( Dont know how we came across such a topic, no idea, I think if you are nerves,bored and sick,you will talk about rocket science or cake baking).
Then the director came and asked us to have a group discussion and we started looking at each others eyes. Are we supposed to talk? Yes we did and they offered me the job. Cherry on the cake, ""THERE WILL BE A BIT OF SALES and that is out bound call". I never imagined before i can be a vanishing queen this quick it took only 5 minutes for me to reach the bus station( which is one mile away).
I cant do sales that too out bound.
Then i was thinking about texting a friend who will give me a tight hug and make me cheer up in her own way, her positive spirit will lift my mood and i can be the happy go lucky girl again. But since it is Thursday she will be attending her counseling course. So disappointment continues.
So back home, playing with the computer staring at research datas, draft mails, photos and again back to Face book page. I saw many familiar faces in chat box. ( If you are a victim of my friends list you may be aware i am bad at this art, i test your patience with my chatting. And I confess i seldom answer when you say hi or hello. I gave up chatting in-between with out giving you a notice).

Then I found an advertisement on right hand corner of the page, it says reconnect with your friends using your email and it further said "10 of your friends below are reconnected with their friends" and it was his photo appears first in the list.
It gives me a sense of positiveness, joy and many other emotions i cant explain through words. Is it true? Is it a sign from a guardian angel? And i heard it. The song "Would u hold my hand if i saw you in heaven?"

I closed my eyes thinking about that man i met only once or twice but "heard a lot about" from her. Her brother, friend and everything, he who loved my paradise, my home land, may be he loved that place more than us that may be the reason he had his last sunset and sunrise there away from his home, across the oceans.
I closed my eyes again. Is it wet when i opened my eyes i saw the chat pop up window and it was her. Asking me" how are u honey" oh dearest are we this much connected. I told her I am thinking about her. And I said i am with Eric Claptons tears in Heaven.

Then she said "wrong song , my brother used to tell me that it doesnt matter micky mouse still loves u and he"d meant it for you."

Do i need to laugh now or cry? I should laugh because that is what he wants us to do. I am so sure he is reconnected with his friends in that far away land. And he is reconnected with us too through the memories for ever.

To connect with some one you dont need technology, you dont need time, even a physical self.

Yes Eric clapton is ending the song ............I dont belong here in heaven...
Yes dear you belong to our hearts for ever we love you.
And the little snowflakes they are falling down from heaven and love them apparently for no reason.
.....................................

*Sorry creature - that is a word introduced by my brother for people always make complaints about life.

Macro photography and close-up photography.

Macro Photography.

I am not the right person to write about photography. I am just a hobbyist.  But couple of my flickr friends asked me how i manged to get close -up shots and macro shots. It made me think. When i heard the question for the first time, i was not sure about the difference between macro shots and close up shots. So i did my kind of research. But not sure about the result though.

From my limited knowledge i think Macro Photography  and Close-up Photography  is different depending on the lenses we use. Not all close-up photos are macro photos. It all depends up on how well you get the finest details of your subject matter as an end result in paper. It means you can even see the finest details of a hair on a butter fly in macro photography.

But in close-up photography you wont get that much magnification and finest details. ( I do agree as technology advances recently i have seen some good close up lenses which produces amazing end products).

Some good books which will give as a reasonable understanding about this are.















Now the gadgets, of-course it depends up on your budget. For a beginner i recommend

Tamaron AF 60mm. Tamron AF 60mm f/2.0 SP DI II LD IF 1:1 Macro Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras. /Tamron AF 60mm f/2.0 SP DI II LD IF 1:1 Macro Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras if you check this links it will give you detailed information includes price and reviews. But my friends who use this toy says this one take sharp macro pictures and excellent portraits.

But if you are little bit more serious in this business or looking forward to enter the next level of your passion then Tamron AF 90mm f/2.8 Di SP AF/MF 1:1 Macro Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras /Tamron AF 90mm f/2.8 Di SP A/M 1:1 Macro Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras is a good buy.

As stated earlier please go through the links and read the detailed reviews given by others.


If you are not that much particular about canon and nikon brand names then this sigma ones are also good. Any way check the reviews and see what the users feel about this.

Do we always need a high and end camera and lenses to capture this beauty's. From my experience i say NO. Even with a point and shoot camera you will get some nice results (as my husband says ok photos). If you feel the picture shown here is an "OK"close up photo then YES it is taken by a poor point and shoot camera. Canon PowerShot A720IS 8MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom. It is a nice camera will fit in your pocket or little bag and you will never miss a photographic opportunity if she is with you. Reliable on all occasions.

Some other nice less expensive point and shoots are.

Canon PowerShot SD1300IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Green),Canon PowerShot SX130IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 3.0-Inch LCD, Nikon Coolpix S3000 12 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Blue),Nikon Coolpix P7000 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 7.1x Wide Zoom-Nikkor ED Lens and 3-Inch LCD,Fujifilm FinePix S1800 12.2 MP Digital Camera with 18x Wide Angle Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 3-Inch LCDFujifilm FinePix XP10 12 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Green) etc. They are not that much expensive, still give you some nice snaps.


Any way happy clicking. Share your views and photo links in comment box, I love to see them.

Thanking you,

Deepa
.....................................................................................................................................................
About the picture above :Mahabharatam Flower with kavuravas, pandavas and krishna

"Passion Flower" / Passiflora caerulea /Mahabharatam Flower

What a beautiful name for a flower.

Scientific classification :
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Subclass: Rosidae
(unranked): Eurosids I
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Passifloraceae
Genus: Passiflora

Mahabaratham flower.

New year greetings 2011

New year greetings 2011, originally uploaded by Deepa.praveen.

Wishing you all a great new year ahead.

Brecon Beacons and Breacon Beacon National Park.

A snowflake is one of God's most fragile creations, but look what they can do when they stick together!, originally uploaded by Deepa.praveen.

The Brecon Beacons is the world famous mountain range in South Wales, United Kingdom. It"s welsh name is Bannau Brycheiniog. It forms the central section of the Brecon Beacons National Park . This park is one of Wales's three National Parks which is established in the year 1957. The other two are Snowdonia and Pembrokshire coast.


The Brecon Beacons are named after the ancient practice of lighting signal fires or beacons on mountains to warn of attacks by the English. In recent times it is used to commemorate public and national events such as coronations or the Millennium.

We can enjoy various walking paths in and around this area. This famous one is a 100 mile rule named Beacons way. This runs from r Ysgyryd Fawr east of Abergavenny, through Crickhowell and ends in the Bethlehem (Carmarthenshire).

Other than walking, you can enjoy cycling, sailing, mountain biking,windsurfing, horse riding, canoeing ,fishing, rock climbing, hang-gliding, caravanning, camping, caving etc.

The park is also famous for its waterfalls and wild welsh sheeps.

In and around this area you can see and visit many other tourist spots.

Mushroom cabbage stir fry...

Currrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyy, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.)

Yesterday was another day.
Yet another day of spending hours thinking what should be today's menu.
I hate this part. I hate the confusion and dilemma in fixing a proper menu for lunch or dinner. I think I am the only one having this problem.
I wonder how my mom used to manage her kitchen affairs and cook more than 3 items a day without giving it much thought.
I think preparing for my pg exam was way easier compared to this thinking process.

Beloved

Beloved, originally uploaded by Deepa.praveen.

Certain times,certain pictures tell u somthing.
it will tell u what you were
thinking at the time of taking that pic. Yes every time i browse
throguh my pictures this one tells me this..one of my fvrt line from
beloved.This may not have the picture quality u were looking at, but
for me it is special,because thorugh this i am going back to one of my
fvrt book...Beloved.

"..The picture is still there and what's more, if you go there--you
who never was there--if you go there and stand in the place where it
was, it will happen again; it will be there for you, waiting for you.
So, Denver, you can't never go there. Never. Because even though it's
all over--over and done with--it's going to always be there waiting
for you."
- Toni Morrison, Beloved.

For u

Art of winter, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.

A poem,
written by rain,
read through tears,
a poem,
that is what you are.
for me,for ever,
a poem
from heart..and for it..for ever....Love u my love...Love u Praveen

4 Boys and a new year eve.

New year eve.

I popped into one of my social networking sites .
I saw this.
"Call one of your old friend and say Hello."
Yes i didn't call any one nor send any new year greetings yet and it is the new year eve.
Do i need to  make a call to those far ends?
Lay on the bed, for a while thinking about that one line...
"Call your friend and say hello."


Yes i decided to call three friends.


First person- I am going to talk to that person for the first time, never meet face to face, in my life. The boy who entered  into my book in 2009.

Second one- The one i never meet, but that would be the one whom i am going to give a  hug instead of a firm handshake in the very first meeting.( Think so)

Third one- My first best friend, my first true friend who happened to be a boy,the boy who taught me, a girl and boy can be best friends, with out  the feeling that they belongs to different sex. The boy with whom i spend my long uni days. 8 years of my life and he was there as a friend.


Three boys. Three friends.
Why i selected them?


There are/were names in thousands. But why three?



Asked myself. And it leads to another question.

Why we communicate with others?
Is it just for the sake of communication?
No. For me not.
People say I am not calling them.
True because,don"t felt so.
I believe if you call someone,that conversation should uplift both those friends to another world of their own. Both should forget each others existence when they talk. They should cry while laughing, with out knowing they are crying. The laughter should be louder. They should talk in excitement. They should talk together without waiting for the other one to stop. There should be the sounds mixing together it can be the recollection of memories, it should be teasing one another.  It is obvious, they are not hearing those words by the other one. But they understood each other very well. Each word. Each sound,it has its own meaning. Only they can code and decodeit. Because that is the language of friendship. The language developed between two friends and solely belongs to them.
I believed in that language so i pick the phone and gave them a ring.
Vinay: A small brother. I got him from one of the social networking websites and together we migrated from one network to another. He gave some good laughs during those 365 days. He choose my side in several online battles. And that is not the one reason, I gave him that call, when he calls me "ammichechi" i felt somewhere inside my mind an elder sister melts. Another reason is i was missing my little brother vinukuttan(xavior vinod). And i look to you vinay and said vinukuttan will call me soon.



Vinay another vinay: How to introduce vinay? A man who is deadly positive. A back packer. Traveller,Biker, Hardcore patriot?How to introduce u paapz?
Pappan. Subfamilies in  kerala address their  elder most cousin as Pappan. It is a way to show your respect to them. Respect coupled with your love and affection. Vinay has lot of little cousins who are after him always shouting " pappan", for the little ones he is somewhat like a hero. Dont know when i started calling him by that name, but truly when i talk to him, I always feel i am talking to one of my elder cousins, towards him i do have a hero worship (which i never admit). The one who do all the things you wanna to do sometime in your life. The one who gave a Cristal clear picture to your own dreams by sharing his experience in life.When i talk to pappan i chase my own dreams. Yes it is like the bond between Rishi and Jayakrishanan in Thuvanathumpikal( a south Indian film).

 We call once or twice a year. We cant recognise each others voice from that first HELLO. There will be few hellos. Couple of silent seconds. Then one will start laughing, other joins and there will be that laughter,the primitive unconscious vocalisation. We never exchange those regular questions, how are you? how are you doing? what is the new news? Any new projects? no blah no blah. We reciprocate with each other with the feeling that last time we talked to each other was the day before. And when we end that call we are not sure whether we will call each other again.But we are filled with that filling. Positive energy of friendship recharged us for another time span. And that is it.


Pratheesh: Decade back some one asked me who is your best friend.
Answered. Pratheesh.

He replied" Oh it is a boy,is he your boy friend?
Answered. "No he is my best friend. Who happened to be a boy"
Few days back some one asked me. "Are you missing your home here,or your best friend"
I said yes.
He asked me again" who is your best friend? Your partner?"
I said "No. It is someone else and  it is Pratheesh"
He is the first one i meet during my law college days. We were together for 7 college years and one year out after that. He is the one who taught me how two people can be good friends with out considering the gender difference, with out falling in love with each other. He listened to me when i shared my dreams about my life with the person with whom i shared a relationship at that time. He consoles me during those tough times. During the break-ups he stood with me and said you will be alright. We never call each other unless there is some emergencies like college strike or to know the exam dates, or just to know the release date of some new movies.
He never said you are like a sister for me. I am a friend for him.

I used that weapon "brother", when i need one more ice- cream or coffee after the two glass. I plead like" I don't have a brother da, that is why i am asking you". And most often he spend those last few coins in his pocket for that extra cup of coffee accompanied by all the swearing words in his dictionary.

We studied together with same lecture notes and books. And together we wrote 14 semester exams and after few exams we found a funny factor our mark difference will be less than 10 always. Sometimes he score high. Sometimes itz me.

Our college followed a very conservative system at that time. If you talk to a guy both of you will get the most difficult assignments of that time. And during that era in that set-up we staged our first couple dance together for a funny song.
And our seniors were so serious and always into books and moot court competitions. And the lunch breaks were filled with assignment writings and test paper preparations. But it was out of our reach, so we started playing card games, cricket ,foot ball, very rude form of rugby  indoor. Our serious super seniors joined us, it was very easy for us to transform our little college as a primary school.
We saw movies together, we had lunch together, we hugged each other when we passed out, when we enrolled ,when he got his LLm entrance( literally i dragged him to the interview room, he was not confident enough in his decision to took a masters degree, so it was hard for me to pursue him. But now i am so happy watching him flying from one end of the country to another as a successful legal practitioner).
Whenever i hold his hands i never felt i am touching someone belongs to opposite sex. Felt the presence and warmth of a friend.
In fact he is my school a school for a friendship. A school to outer world . Good friendship.
That experience taught me, two people can be good friends,even though they belongs to opposite sex.


So i decided to call them because they occupy a special place in my life.


YEs my phone is ringing. A call for  me. A voice concerned about me. My "Man."
From the state of that responsible friend i am falling into the state of mind of that  spoiled brat. The naughtiest,irresponsible wife.
Same lame excuses for not having food, not going out,not doing anything worth that day.
Taking a day off for nothing. I know he don't like it. Don't like it at all. But i am doing it.
Why?
Because those days when i sit alone i realise my near and dear friend is him. My man.
Who value all my friendships.
Who believe in me and my "self"
Who trust me.
Who helps me to keep my friendships as what they were.
And with whom i can share anything and everything.
So i made those three calls to my 3 friends.
And received a call back from my near and dear friend. And my day was worth. Welcome 2010

Soya Fry/ soya masala

Soya Fry, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.

Soya chunk, is one of my other fvrt friend in kitchen. IT is very hard for me to find different veg dishes for my strict veg companion. So last day decided to give a go with Soya chunk.
But it was yummy. So decided to share this with you.

Soya Chunks – 2 cups
Meat Masala/veg masala – 2 tbsp
Red chilly powder – 4/3 tsp
Big Onion (sliced) – 1 large
Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
Tomato (sliced) – 4/3 large
Mustard Seeds – a pinch
Green Chillies (slit) – 2
Curry Leaves – A sprig
Corriander powder-1tsp
Pepper Powder – 1/2 tsp
Ginger ,Garlic Paste – 1 tsp
Oil – 2 tbsp
Salt – As required
Water – As required


Step 1:
Soak the Soya chunks in hot water for around 15-30mnts minutes. With bit red chilli,turmeric and salt.

Step two:
Squeeze out the water and clean the soya chunks and drain out excess water if any.
Step 3:
Put bit water to the masala and chilli powder then rost in in low flame.
Marinate the soya pieces with the above roasted masala powders and salt,leave it there in room heat for another two mnts.
Step 4:
Heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, add sliced onions and saute till the onions change its colour.Add turmeric bit salt,green chillies, chopped tomatoes and curry leaves and saute till the tomatoes are cooked properly.
Step 5:

Add rest of the chilly powder, coriander powder, pepper powder, ginger garlic paste and stir fry for a few minutes.
Step 6:
Add the marinated soya chunks . Add some water just to cook the ingreditens.

Step 7:
Cover and cook on low flame for another 15-20 minutes.

Curry is ready.

P.S:Since my veg boy doesnt agree with masala cotted fry i have limited all the ingredents,so mine as seen in the pic is a much more plain one. If u follow the above method you will get a masala cotted fry...Njoy

Curd Curry/ Moru kachiyathu

Curd Curry, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.

Well our sundays are busy with phone calls. Last day when i called amma (praveens mom )she said she had moru kachiyathu and upperi for lunch. I love the way she prepare this moru koottan( curd curry. Our kotttayam style moru kachiyathu is different from her palakkad style (two different places in kerela). My Curd curry is a mixture of these two styles.

Ingredients :-

Curd (well beaten) – 2 cups
Asafoetida(Kaayam) – a pinch
Fenugreek powder(Uluva) – a pinch
Salt – to taste
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Oil (preferrably Coconut Oil) – 3 tsp

For Grinding :-
Grated coconut – 1/4cup
Cumin seeds (Jeerakam) – 1/4 tsp
green chilli- 1 (you can use red chilli powder 1/4 tsp aswell insted of green chilli).
Ginger : a very small portion
Step one:
Grind all the above ingredients into a fine paste and keep it aside.

For Seasoning :-
Mustard seeds – few
Shallots (kunjulli ) sliced – 1/2 tbsp
Green chillies slit – 1 or two
Red chillies – 2
Curry leaves – a sprig.

Step 1:

Mix together curd,salt and turmeric powder in a bowl.
Step 2:

Heat oil in a pan and allow mustard seeds to splutter.
Step 3:

Add shallots ,fry til it turns brown . Add green chillies ,red chillies and curry leaves.Fry for a while and remove it from oil and keep it aside.
Step 4:

Reduce the heat to low .
Add the ground paste into the same oil.Fry for 2-3 mins stirring continuously.( Dont allow coconut paste to change its color).
Step 5:

Add asafoetida and fenugreek powder and stir well.

Step 6:
Add the beaten curd mixture and stir continuosly until it is warm.Never let it boil.Remove from heat ,pour the prepared seasoning over it. Your curd curry is ready.

Enjoy.

prawn fry

prawn fry, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.

What u miss the most if u are away from home?

Ofcourse yes , food prepared by your mom.

Same to me.

And as he is a strict veggi, some of my fvrt non veg things started appearing in my dreams.

If you feel something is away from u, u started thinking about it over and over.

My valluvanadan is quite ok with my non veg cooking at home. He encourges it too. Because since it is non veg he can escape from me. More over he can go back too one of his fvrt dal dish which i hate the most.

So few days back i made at attempt and here is the result.

As it looks it was not a failure. would u like to try?

Here we go
Large prawns 5( small prawns 10): deveined ,pealed and washed.
Chilli powder: 1tsp
Turmeric powder:1/4 tsp
Garam masala : 1/2 tsp
Ground Pepper powder :1/2 tsp
Lemon juice :1 1/2
cocunut oil :3-5 tbl spoon
salt : as per ur taste
Big onion: thinly sliced :1
green chilli:finely chopped:3-4
garlic:finely chopped 1 clove
ginger :1

curry leaves : 10
musturd :1/4 tsp.

Step one:
We need a marinade with all the powders ,lemon juice and prawns and one spoon oil. Apply thi to our prawns and leave it in there for half and hour.

Step two:

Shallow fry prawns. Leave it in heat for around 2-3 mnts,prawns needs little cooking time. Dont over cook.

In another pan, crack musturd in oil,apply sliced onion,bit turmeric,salt,ginger,green chilli, garlic, and curry leaves. When it turns to little golden brown add the leaft over masalas in that prawns dish to it. Reduce the heat to low and when that raw smell goes add the prawns to it. stir well for two three mints. IF u need littile gravy put less that 1/4 glass water too that masala leftover plate and apply the same to our fry leave it der another few mnts. Apply salt. stir well ur fry is ready

another day

vanishing beauty, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.

Enjoying a black coffee,it is shining out side, remembering evening solace .. Remeber only the first few lines.. Human heart has hidden treasures,in secret kept, in silence sealed, The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, Whose charms were broken if revealed. And days may pass in gay confusion, And nights in rosy riot fly, While, lost in Fame's or Wealth's illusion, The memory of the Past may die.......

Courtesy poem :evening solace.cant remeber the poet...

for u

for u, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.

love to see the rain when it is raining
love to feel the rain when it is raining
love to hug the raindrops when it is raining
love to walk through those meadows when it is raining
love to wonder through those slums again when it is raining
love to cry ,loud louder and louder..than those thunder storms
love to fall down as a raindrop in to his hands..
love to...
But rain it is away.....away from me and u..
This is just water falling from somewhere unknown

Stay near

give me my past

give me my past, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.

I wanna to be that child again,
Father,i want my childhood back,
I want u to take me like that,
I want u to walk around the street carrying me like that

And telling the big things to me,
You proved world is too small and
i am big "big enough to face any challenge"
You took me near the elephant ,i was not afraid.
you took me to the mountains ,i was not afraid.
you took me to the temple and i meet the idol face to face.
Together we crossed streets and streams like this,
I was not wet nor sweat.
But you, you were.
I still wanna to be that child dad,
Now i am walking alone
now u are telling only small things like
"miss you my child","be a good wife", "call home once in a while"
Those Short words,means a lot dear
Now i am one among the crowd dear
And the world is too big.
Now i am away from the wild and height
But i am afraid.
I know the "wild and the height" is with in me,
I placed many idols at home
But they are faceless
Now i am here doing nothing
But my cheeks are wet.
Thinking about tomorrow
it is burining inside and i can feel the sweat.
I want my yesterday back dear,
Give me my past.
Give me my journey back

Happy fathers day bit late (u know me, achey)

Kamala das,kamala suraiya, madhavikutti,aami..but for me she is...

Deerkha sumangali bhava, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.

I who have lost my way
And beg now at strangers doors to
Receive love, at least in small exchange?

She died. The one who wrote this. But what death means? Specially the end of some ones life who is known to me only through words? She was a poetess. But for me she is my romantic Icon. The lady walked through out her life with the fragrance of romance.
Live and die as a genuine human being.
How fascinating it was aami ? Follow your life as a street walker behind you. I did it. So do many.
This is in a way a confession from some one who can look at you,beyond your words.
My adolescence flowed with your words wandering in my dreams and thoughts.

Did i felt the same when reading this?
"My mother did not fall in love with my father. They are dissimilar and horribly mis mated".
Yes I did. So do they. My later chats with many women in red sindoor  in a train compartment ,or a bus station  or in a queue went around the same question.  The sweat around their fore head and the darkness around their neck gave me the answer “untold”.

I realised about the baggages i HAD, from your words. My good old baggages like my NAME, my LIKES and DISLIKES fashioned not by me,but by my surroundings, compulsive addictions to NORMS and FORMALITIES , SOCIALIY fixed DO s and DO NOT s. Those were not mine aami, i realised i am just a carrier because some where in the beginning some one gave those smelly loads and later many others filled their mercy into it. My “self”, kept it with me, like a kid wearing those Halloween clothes and wandering through the streets saying trick or treat, allowed others to throw their morals and rights into my bags .

It is you who liberated me from that kid to a woman. Yes when i read this "...why should this name, so sweet surrounding, entered at all the room where i go to meet a man, who gives me nothing but himself,who calls me in his private affaris By no name." Those were the words from which i emerged as a woman. Kamala your words were the womb which carries me several times.
I felt my existence inside you and my liberation from something unknown.
When you wrote about the birth of a child, “separated from darkness that was mine/ and in me.” For the first time I felt I am a newborn. Yes for the first time in my life I wish to attain motherhood.

Kamala, you opened my door to nobody's windows.  And i meet many there, they have different vocie ,colour but all of you are in the same time zone. That is why, i read your " I am a million ,million people ,talking all at once ,with voices raised in calmour,like maids at village wells
and
Dicknsons"s
“....I'm nobody! Who are you?  Are you nobody, too? Then there's a pair of us - don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know!... "
With the same pain and blankness.

You told the world " i am scared and alone". They laughed and giggled. Me too?   You cried, "I am betrayed,"
Sometimes your words reminded me, " am just another female animal."
Your words hurts my ego, many times, because those where direct weapon's towards social hypocrisies.
How powerful your clam voice is,"I always wanted love, and if you don't get it within your home, you stray a little" the echo hit several ends.
How imaginativie you were aami, and how realistic your imaginations were,who else can pictures The Dance of the Eunuchs in words with that perfection? Who else can drag others into that  meagre rain ,which ask them to taste the dust ,feel the attics and the urine of lizards and mice. After you who else is here to make me feel radha"s love towards krishana  and hold my breath when reading this lines again,
“
At sunset, on the river ban, Krishna
Loved her for the last time and left...
when you wrote this I can visualize how meditatively your radha stands there, when you wrote Krishna loved her for the last time, for you me and many others it is not that sexual act of mating it is making the other filled with love, that is why the single word left means so extending and powerful.
When we enter the next lines, again we were not entering into a sexual zone...
That night in her husband's arms, Radha felt
So dead that he asked, What is wrong,
Do you mind my kisses, love? And she said,
No, not at all, but thought, What is
It to the corpse if the maggots nip? "
How very well you portrayed the impersonal low voice of radha here? After writing this I, sit back, pressing my head against the wall looking through the window to the watercoloring sky,feeling your radha inside me,with a haunting nostalgic pain. Aami you were brilliant.
Brilliant and brave.

"A fond husband..a great tree, felled, he slumps against my breasts,
And sleeps. Ask me why life is short and love is
Shorter still, ask me what is bliss and what its price.... "
Mrs Das for me your sound is strange, unique but familiar,sometimes odd but victorious in its tone.
When I read the lines like
Getting a man to love you is easy only be honest about your wants as
Woman. Stand nude before the glass with him so that he sees himself the stronger one and believes it so, and you so much more softer, younger, lovelier. Admit your admiration. notice the perfection Of his limbs, his eyes reddening under the shower, the shy walk across the bathroom floor,dropping towels, and the jerky way he Urinates, all the fond details that make
Him male and your only man...”

Your words were responsive and receptive to the inner me. You are the one who introduced the concept of my “ man “ to me.

They asked me who is your man, will he come? Days months and several rains passed with out answering the query but your words gave me the re assurance, he will come.
and

Gift him all,
Gift him what makes you woman, the scent of
Long hair, the musk of sweat between the breasts,
The warm shock of menstrual blood, and all your
Endless female hungers.

Yes aami the tone of betrayal first heard through words later experienced in life. It is true aami

Getting a man to love is easy, but living
Without him afterwards may have to be
Faced.
How difficult it is to leave the life of drab and destitute.
.

Through your life you proved there exists “my man”.

You searched for him in krishna,allah and words. You meet him several times,
And you wrote,....
“I meet a man, Loved him. Call him not by any name, he is every man who wants a woman, Just as i am every woman who seeks love."

You are the one who taught us sex is a divine path towards love. When you wrote
"your losses are my gain",
I hold a wish in my heart ,please let her lost her self again in her world of dreams and back with words and vision. When you wrote

“this is the only kind of love,this hacking each others parts,Like convicts hacking,breaking clods at noon we were earth under hot sun. There was a burining in our veins and the cool mountian nights did nothing to lessen heat when he and I were one,we were neithr male or female. “
You are the one who taught me to go on with the feeling "
It will be alright, It will be alright . It will be alright between the world and me. “
How long this words spread through my pillow cover and what was the distance between my tears and those words. It may be the same between your soul and those words.
When you wrote my only freedom is the freedom to discompose......................

Some say, your words were simple confessional outpourings. I am not into the debate whether your words were voluntary or involuntary confessions, or mere imaginations or a deliberate compulsive effort to transform feelings as words, and create your own audience and space in literature. Don't know. But those outpourings are communicative.
You said
"Yes, I know, yesterday I might have been against liberation, today I am for it. Tomorrow I do not know what I would say, and how I feel".
It communicates even with future.
When you wrote in neipayasam.
"Have the children gone to sleep? Had they eaten anything, or had they just cried themselves to sleep? But they are too young to understand. Unni just stood there watching me when I put her in the taxi. Only the youngest one cried. But that was because he wanted to get into the taxi too. Certainly, they did not know the meaning of death.Did I know? No. Did I ever imagine that she would suddenly fall down one evening and die, without saying farewell to anyone?"
Reading this again and I wish if i am some one who is not aware about the effect of the death..let me wait for the dessert prepared by her through her words,let me feel again and again she will be back and prepare unforgettable stories again for us. Let me wait like those kids in neipayasam.
I am sure kamala there will be hearts rise and sings the songs of love in those voice never as sweet before same as your imagination and wish, and they will realise LOVE, like life is sweetest even after its end.
Because you, yourself was the real love kamala. I dont know whether your poems are ironical , cynical or confessional,but for me they are the true representation of a poetic self.
My StoryA Childhood in Malabar: A MemoirThe poetry of Kamala DasContemporary Indian Poetry in English: With Special Emphasis on Nissim Ezekiel, Kamala Das, R. Parthasarathy and A.K. RamanujanUntying and retying the text: An analysis of Kamala Das's My story (SELL-Series in English language and literature)Only the soul knows how to sing (Deecee contemporary series)Padmavati the Harlot and Other Stories"The Old Playhouse and Other Poems