Asked Mom Dad for lunch orders. Dad wanted just dal rice with some vegetable. Mom was keen on trying the Chinese eggplant. And also wanted my famous wok tossed veggies heavy noodles. So cranked out #OvenEggplant and noodles.
At my place, you don't have to choose. 😋😎
Mom described the #OvenEggplant as "begun Bhaja without deep frying" and yeah, that's exactly what it is.
So far today, between running a Split Hazard Model for a paper, sorting out a health insurance thing, I made
- Mango pickle
- Garlic chili pickle
- Scrambled egg
- Set yogurt
- Basundi
- Begun Bhaja
- Vegetable noodles
And it's not even 2 pm!
Very productive feels are coming!😇
Add pohe-murmure chivda to the list. To be taken to an NYC park for an evening walk picnic. 😋
Cut the long eggplant like that in long wedges. Place on the skin.
Oven at 475F/250C.
In a high temp oil, mix salt, chili powder, cumin powder, black pepper.
I'm often asked the recipe for my wok tossed veggies heavy noodles. For good reason. Noodles recipes online seem straightforward. But somehow you just can't replicate that restaurant level taste. I myself could not, for years.
Basic recipe is of course, heat oil, fry aromatics and veggies, then add noodles and spices and sauces, mix well, done.
Here are the "meta" things I focus on that has now made my noodles as good as in any restaurant, if I may be so immodest.
1. WOK!
That's half the flavor.
The best noodles are made on very high heat in very short time. You need a surface that gets REALLY hot, like seasoned cast iron or carbon steel. But where stuff doesn't stick.
Garden variety nonstick or stainless steel or generic kadhais don't get hot enough.
I've been reading this most excellent deep dive into the history of cities spanning over 6000 years. Wilson does a great history meta-analysis of sorts, finding common threads in cities across eras from Uruk to NYC to Lagos.
Oh and Harappa! Whoa the Harappa chapter!
He writes that pretty much all the other ancient civilizations with cities of that age had religion, huge temples/edifices for gods/kings, wars, inequality as shown by their remains.
Harappa's ruins across a million sq km suggest a uniquely utopian liberal civilization!
There are no religious edifices, no evidence of a huge organized religion, and no art or anything depicting wars or fights. And skeletal remains' analysis show almost everyone of equal health & diet.
And lots of art, toys for kids, and evidence of a comfy artistic life.
It is तिखट Tuesday in the Sabnis household. Made a raw mango pickle with Pune's favorite K-Pra masala. Mixed it nicely by hand for 10 minutes before the dry marination phase.
Then washed off masala from my hand with lemon juice & oil and made a small garlic & red chilli pickle.
Also, dad loves basundi & rabdi and was curious how it would taste if made from organic murcan farm bought whole milk with the red caps.
So we have that going as I try to figure out what the English word is for चारोळ्या or chironji (Hindi). 🤔🤔
This shall be called the @SubkrishnaRao Basundi cos it's flavored using nutmeg and cardamom from his own wawar in Karnataka that he so lovingly gifted us. 😍😋
Basundi, a Marathi as well as Kannada favorite, made from American milk by Marathis in NYC using Karnataka spices!🇮🇳🇺🇲
Indian media and social media for years have ignored the death of Habeas Corpus, which is the cornerstone of any democratic Republic.
Now they are trying to find legal justifications for #AfreenFatima's house being demolished at express speed.
Rename Republic Day as AFSPA Day.
And again, carrying paperwork is NOT due process!
Sanghi gaslighting is posting PDFs (of dubious veracity in terms of dates and legality) from U.P. to say "procedure was followed".
Police procedure is NOT due process.
Godi media tho is trying to "both sides" even this.
This 1966 paper is one of the best ones I've read about Nazis and bureaucracy. Given that sanghis are pretty much following the 1930s playbook of their old allies, it reads as if written about today's India.
Reading this news right after the #January6thHearings reminds me of how there were many ex soldiers in the mob that attacked the capital, and the tactical gear they came with. Plus how rabid Hindu leaders are telling Hindus to arm themselves to prepare for a civil war.
The one problem India has not faced on a widespread level is easy availability of guns and other tactical gear commonly seen in US mass shootings and also white supremacist actions like in Oregon or the Capitol cos India has strict gun laws.