sunday dal

In my search for the perfect Dhal recipe, I have been asking people about their favourite recipes. Today I tried a new one from someone who kindly shared a few with me.. Many thanks to Raji for this one.

The technique is similar to other dhals but there is a distinct flavour to this - perhaps due to the tamarind and lemon juice. It would be a good one to accompany other dishes.

Raji’s GUJARATI DAL
Ingredients
2 cups toovar dal
1 cup yam ,
chopped2 tablespoons peanuts

Other ingredients
marble sized ball of tamarind, soaked or 1 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tomato,
chopped50 grams jaggery
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 piece ginger, diced
4 green chillies, slit
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

For the tempering
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seed
10 to 12 curry leaves
2 cloves
2 sticks cinnamon
1 bay leaf
2 small round red chillies
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
2 tablespoons ghee
1 tablespoon oil
salt ot taste

For the garnish
4 tablespoons chopped coriander

Method
1. Wash and pressure cook the dal in 4 cups of water.
2. In another vessel, pressure cook the yam, peanuts
3. When the dal is cooked, cool slightly and blend till it is smooth.
4. Prepare the tempering by heating the ghee and oil and adding the mustardseeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, cloves, cinnamon, bayleaf, red chillies and asafoetida.
5. Add 3 cups of water, the tamarind, tomato, jaggery, lemon juice, ginger,green chilli, chilli powder and turmeric powder and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Add the dal, yam pieces, peanuts and salt and simmer for 10 to15 minutes.7. Serve hot garnished with coriander.

lost baggage

I had an email from a member of my step-family who I haven't seen for a long time. In fact, I haven't seen half of my family for a long time either so receiving this email has thrown me back to a time in my life that I had managed to put behind me with some degree of success. While I had thought I had actually dealt with some of the stuff that happened, it is clear to me that I have not dealt with much of it at all. While the email itself was a nice surprise, it reminded me of a lot of people that have caused a lot of pain in my life. It will be good to catch up with her though, she was always a lovely kid. I had wondered whether there was something behind her making contact but realise that at some point I have to let go of mistrust and take things at face value.

It seems that the emotional baggage I thought was well lost has found me again.

Million Paws Walk

The RSPCA has an annual fundraiser called the "Million Paws Walk" which involves thousands of people across the country bringing their dogs along for a walk and a host of activities. We have been meaning to go for years now but finally got around to taking the hairy one along this year.

It was such a fun day which was really well attended. Having a mad kelpie, we were a bit worried that she would get a little over excited (she loves to round up other dogs) but once she realised that there would be unlimited access to dogs she settled right down and had a ball. She met up with her friend the spoodle and spent all day in a state of complete joy. She even got to run an obstacle course - we were so proud of her.

The RSPCA did a great job and hopefully they raised a lot of money for all the amazing work they do. We will certainly be going along next year and have decided that since we dont know the little one's birthday, Million Paws Walk day will be her 'Dog's day'.

silencio!

I have lost my voice! I woke up this morning and couldn't make a sound. I caught a bit of a cold and this is where it led.

I went into work this morning and sent an email to let people know that I couldn't talk which was met with people coming to my office asking me questions. When I whispered my weak replies, many responded with something like 'oh, can't you speak'

Perhaps I wasn't clear enough when I said that I had no voice.

The Time Traveler's Wife

I heard that Eric Bana is set to play the part of Henry in the film adaptation of 'The Time Traveler's Wife' by Audrey Niffenegger. This was a truly wonderful book but, while Eric Bana is a talented actor, I am having trouble seeing him in this role. I am so thankful to a friend for lending me this unsuspecting book, I had it for a while before I had a chance to properly devote myself to it. When I started, I was completely captivated. The book has been lent continually around the office and groups of friends and has proven to be a topic of energetic discussion. It was one of those books that will stay with me forever, such a compelling and thoughtfully crafted story.

In simplistic terms, the story is about Henry and his wife Clare. Henry suffers from a genetic disorder called Chrono-Impairment that causes him to time-travel. He cannot control when it will happen or where he will end up but it appears that his travelling is linked to stress and anxiety so he runs compulsively. He seems to travel to places and times which are linked to his memories (those which he has had or will have). I didn't expect to like this book - no summary could elicit the beauty of the story. Just read it...